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Saint Ephraem

Catholic Saint

st.Ephraem-Doctor of the Church

Feast Day : June 9

Also known as: Ephrem; Ephraim, Ephraem the Syrian, the Harp of the Holy Spirit

Ephraem was born under Roman rule in Nisibis in Mesopotamia; his father was a pagan priest. He was raised in the Christian mysteries by St. James, bishop of Nisibis, and was baptized either at age 18 or 28. He went with James to the Council of Nicea in 325. Ephraem aided James in giving religious instruction to the people of Nisibis and was especially influential during sieges of the city in 338, 346 and 350. According to lore, he cursed Persian troops from the city walls, causing a cloud of flies and mosquitoes to descend upon the troops and drive them away. In 363 Rome gave control of Nisibis to the Persians and most of the Christians fled. Ephraem left and settled finally in Edessa, the capital of Osrhoene, where he spent the last 10 years of his life as a hermit. He condemned heretical sects, especially the Arians and Gnostics. According to St. Gregory of Nyssa, Ephraem visited St. Basil in Caesarea in 370. Ephraem died in 373 and was buried in a cemetery for foreigners. His body is claimed to be at the Armenian monastery of St. Sergius in Edessa. Most of Ephraem’s prolific writings were done during his hermit years. He composed commentaries on the Scriptures, most of which have been lost or survive in fragments. He wrote sermons and exhortations, mostly in verse, and composed hymns. He is credited with introducing hymns to the public