It is difficult to separate the truth from the legends which
have grown up around Ephraem the Syrian, and only a very few facts are
definitely known about his life. He lived approximately between 306 and 373. He
was born in Nisibis and his parents were probably Christians, not pagans. He
practiced ascetic discipline from his earliest youth, and was very close to
Jacob, bishop of Nisibis. He entered the clergy but never rose above the
diaconate. However, he played an active role in the life of his native city. In
363 Nisibis was ceded to Persia and Ephraem withdrew to Edessa, where he devoted
himself to literary activity and to teaching in what was known as the "Persian
School." Apparently it was Ephraem, who had probably taught Biblical studies
earlier, who founded the Biblical school in Edessa. Lucian studied in Edessa
with a certain Macarius, and Eusebius of Emesa was also a pupil there, but it
was Ephraem who first organized the school.
We can form a conception of Ephraem's teaching from the
Biblical commentary he has left, but we have no other reliable in formation
about the early years of the school of Edessa which later became so famous.
Although it is unlikely that the school experienced any great changes, most of
what we know of it relates to a later era when the Greek influence was
predominant. During this period the school was similar to the Hebrew schools in
which the pupils lived in dormitories and formed a kind of fraternity. The main
subject of study was Sacred Scripture. Students learned to explicate the Bible
by writing down and memorizing the exegeses of their teachers. In this way the
"school tradition" came into being. Study was probably similar to this during
the life of Ephraem, and it is his teaching that was acknowledged as the
"tradition" until the middle of the fifth century.
We have no other reliable information about Ephraem. His later
life in particular is obscure. An encomium to him has been ascribed to Gregory
of Nyssa, but probably does not belong to Gregory. According to tradition
Ephraem was present at the Council of Nicaea, traveled through Egypt and Pontus,
and visited with Basil the Great, but none of this can be proven. Little
biographical material can be drawn from Ephraem's own writings, and furthermore
the mass of compositions which have survived under his name have not yet all
been definitely attributed to him, since his name was freely used by later
scribes. The exact year of Ephraem's death has not been established.
Ephraem was primarily an ascetic, but at the same time he had
an outstanding gift for lyricism. He is least significant as a thinker. His
theological writings, which are euphonic and melodious, are the work of a lyric
poet. They are sincere and intimate. Ephraem's orations are also lyric, and it
often seems that he is singing rather than speaking. His abundant images are
vivid and often extremely complex, and they frequently evolve into independent
dramatic scenes. Besides this, Ephraem had the gift of tears. "Weeping for
Ephraem was the same as breathing the air for other men. His tears poured forth
both day and night." These were not tears of fear or guilt, but of tenderness
and compassion.
Ephraem's severe personal asceticism did not make him harsh in
his relations with other men. Even in his exhortations to repentance he does not
denounce sinners but tries to soften their hearts and to move their souls. His
cosmic imagery is especially remarkable. It is Ephraem's talent as a poet that
accounts for his exceptional influence and the broad and immediate popularity of
his works. Jerome has written that "in some churches (in the East) his writings
were publicly read after the books of Scripture." And Theodoret has remarked
that the holidays honoring martyrs are made more solemn by the hymns of Ephraem.
According to Sozomen his works were translated into Greek, which Ephraem himself
did not know, even during his lifetime.
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