Ephrem the Syrian

Who they were

Ephrem was born in 306 at Nisibis in Mesopotamia. He came to know the Gospel at fifteen and was baptised at eighteen; he followed Bishop James to the Council of Nicaea in 325 and then opened a school of Scripture at Nisibis.

In 362 he settled at Edessa, where he went on teaching and preaching and helping the people in need. While nursing plague victims he caught the disease and died there in 373. It is not certain whether he was a monk; he was always, in an exemplary way, a deacon.

The miracles

There was never a formal cause: Ephrem has been honoured as a saint since his death. He is a Doctor of the Church.

Why that counted as sanctity

Ephrem was both a profound theologian and a poet who clothed the faith in hymns that touch the heart - 'the harp of the Holy Spirit' - and a deacon who died serving the sick.

Connected on this site

• Jacob of Nisibis Saint Teacher
  “He was lauded as the "Moses of Mesopotamia", and was the spiritual father of the renowned writer and theologian Ephrem the Syrian.” — Wikipedia
• Aphrahat Saint
  “He was a near contemporary to the slightly younger Ephrem the Syrian, but the latter lived within the sphere of the Roman Empire.” — Wikipedia