Commemoration Day: January 28 (February 10)
Biography
Childhood and Youth
The distant ancestors of Ephrem the Syrian belonged to the poorest social strata and lived on the alms of charity. His grandparents and parents were farmers who managed to achieve some material prosperity. The time of the Venerable Ephrem's birth is approximately determined to be the year 306, and the place more precisely is the city of Nisibis, located in the northeastern region of Mesopotamia.
Ephrem received the beginnings of a Christian upbringing from his parents. In addition to his parents, his environment also contributed to his moral formation. Later, the saint recalled that he had an example of piety and the fear of God not only in his father and mother, but also in his neighbors and relatives, and even noted that he was related to martyrs.
Despite the abundance of external instructions and examples, in his youth Ephrem still displayed traits such as hot-headedness, inconstancy, lack of restraint, and impulsiveness. And once he committed an act so unseemly that he long regretted it afterwards.
Once, either out of mischief or youthful daring, he released a cow belonging to a poor man from its pen. As a result, it was caught and torn apart by a wild beast after being weakened by hunger. This incident remained unknown to others for some time, but not to God. Soon after, the Lord taught Ephrem an unforgettable lesson regarding this.
One day, when he went out of town at his parents' request, he had to spend the night in the forest with a shepherd of sheep. At night, while both were sleeping, the flock, due to negligence, became the prey of wolves. The owners of the sheep, learning what had happened, did not believe the explanations and hastened to accuse Ephrem of having brought thieves who stole the cattle.
Innocent of this event, Ephrem was brought before a judge, who imprisoned him in a dungeon during the investigation. The chance of suffering for the shepherd was very high. Meanwhile, at this time, several other people were also imprisoned, who, like Ephrem, were accused of things they had not actually committed. Suddenly, a certain mysterious man appeared to Ephrem in a dream and advised him to turn to his memories, to examine his past deeds.
Then Ephrem remembered the cow he had released from the pen, for whose death he had avoided punishment, although he deserved it. Now he was undeservedly suffering because of the loss of cattle. Talking with his fellow prisoners, he found out that one of them, falsely accused of murder, had once failed to help a drowning man, although he could have, and another, falsely accused of adultery, had once, out of self-interest, slandered an innocent widow, accusing her of adultery, thereby depriving her of her legal right to inheritance.
The vision was presented to Ephrem several times, and he realized that there was a certain just retribution in all this. In the end, as promised by the one who appeared, the innocent, including Ephrem himself, were released, and the real culprits were found and punished (in his case, the shepherd, who was in a state of severe drunkenness that night).
This event was so deeply impressed upon Ephrem's heart that it contributed to the most sincere repentance, a rethinking of his attitude towards his own life, and entrusting himself to God's Providence.
The Ascetic Life of Venerable Ephrem the Syrian
Soon, Ephrem renounced the goods of this world and withdrew to the hermits. Step by step, he became more and more strengthened in his ascetic labors and grew in spirit. The righteous James, later glorified as Saint James of Nisibis, had a great influence on him.
Touching upon this period of the saint's biography, his life story particularly highlights the following incident. A certain member of the clergy of the Nisibis Church, also named Ephrem, had a fornication relationship with the daughter of an influential man. When this sinful connection led the confused maiden to a predictable pregnancy, she, on the advice of the actual culprit of the shame who feared public exposure, shifted the responsibility for what had happened onto his namesake, Ephrem the Syrian.
Soon, rumors of the incident spread throughout the area, and the maiden's parents lodged a complaint with the bishop. However difficult it was for Ephrem the Syrian to accept the role of a fornicator and seducer, he did not justify himself but humbly trusted the Supreme Judge. The father of the victim brought the infant to the supposed culprit, handing it to Ephrem in the presence of the assembly of believers so that he would raise it himself.
God's judgment was not long in coming. Once, having asked the bishop's blessing, Ephrem ascended the ambo together with the infant and, adjuring him by the name of Jesus Christ, demanded that he name the real biological father. The infant three times uttered: "Ephrem, the church steward," after which he died. The former accusers, having witnessed God's miracle, asked the saint for forgiveness. Thus the Lord glorified His servant.
When the First Ecumenical Council was convened in Nicaea, Bishop James of Nisibis went there together with Ephrem. At the Council, Ephrem proved himself a zealous defender of the Divine dogmas.
After the death of Emperor Constantine (337), the Persian king Shapur, taking advantage of the situation, decided to capture Nisibis, brought troops to it, and laid siege. Bishop James encouraged the city's defenders by his personal example of reliance on God, heartening and comforting them. Ephrem, by his blessing, prayed on the wall. Suddenly, the Persian army was attacked by hordes of insects, causing great confusion in the camp, and Shapur was forced to lift the siege and withdraw.
Sojourn in Edessa
After the death of James of Nisibis, Venerable Ephrem moved to Edessa — a city, as he noted in his testament, blessed by the mouth of the Savior through a disciple: according to Tradition, the sacred image of the "Holy Mandylion" was located there, and after Christ's Ascension, the Apostle Thaddeus was sent there by God's blessing to preach the Gospel. Furthermore, the city of Edessa was famous for the fact that God-pleasing monastic life flourished in its surroundings.
There is a tradition that as Ephrem approached Edessa, he prayed to God to meet a prudent man with whom he could have soul-saving conversations, but he met a woman. And when she began to look at him, he became indignant and asked why she was so shamelessly looking at him, a man, and not casting her gaze down to the ground. Instead of the expected apologies, she replied that since woman was taken from man, therefore she looks at man; but man was taken (created) not from woman's rib, but from the earth, and therefore it was fitting for him, that is, Ephrem, and not for her, to look at the earth. Being instructed by this witty answer, Ephrem glorified God.
Having no material means of subsistence, he, having stopped in the city, was forced to seek work and hired himself out to the owner of a local bathhouse. Here, a certain indecent woman showed him strong attention. When her advances exceeded the measure of what was permissible, the saint, for the purpose of instructing her, agreed to do what she asked, but on the condition that the sin would be committed in the middle of the city in front of onlookers. When she objected that she was ashamed of people, he replied that one must first and foremost be ashamed of the All-Seeing God. It is said that the woman, disconcerted by this brief sermon, began to ask Ephrem for deeper instructions and then withdrew to one of the surrounding monasteries.
At that time, many pagans lived in Edessa, and Ephrem, moved by the desire to spread the faith, often engaged in dialogue with them. Once, a righteous elder from a nearby monastery witnessed one such conversation. Amazed by Venerable Ephrem's knowledge, he asked him about his life. Discovering that he wished to join the local monastic community, the elder took him to a mountain where ascetics were laboring. Thus, a new stage of Christian ascetic labors began for him.
The life of the local ascetics passed in labors and prayers. Caves served as their cells, and local vegetation as their food. Ephrem's cell was next to the cell of a pious elder, Julian. The constant tearful compunction and grace-filled tenderness with which Julian approached the reading of the Divine Scriptures and prayer served as an example for Ephrem to emulate. There is an opinion that the elder who noticed Ephrem was Julian.
At that time, Ephrem read a lot and was considered a sufficiently educated man, but he had not yet resorted to writing. It is believed that he embarked on this path only when he received God's blessing, conveyed through a revelation to a clairvoyant elder.
The Activity of Saint Ephrem as a Teacher of Monks and an Enlightener
Having composed a commentary on the Pentateuch of Moses, Venerable Ephrem gained respect and recognition as a writer. However, not desiring earthly glory and wishing for solitude, he hastened to move to a dense forest, to a desolate mountain. It is reported that an angel then appeared to him and forbade him to withdraw from the service to people appointed by God. Following the instruction of the heavenly being, the saint began to actively participate in enlightening activities, as well as in the struggle against the heretical errors that were tormenting the Church of Christ at that time (Arianism, Gnostic false teachings, etc.).
The scope of his preaching activity included commentary on the Holy Scriptures, general and specific instructions for monks and laypeople, answers to pressing questions, recommendations, and the denunciation of sinful vices (see: Works).
Over time, Venerable Ephrem began to gather disciples around himself and organized a school in Edessa, which continued to exist after his repose.
Venerable Ephrem's Journey to Egypt and Caesarea
Wishing to see the renowned ascetics of Egypt personally and to learn from them higher knowledge and spiritual experience, Venerable Ephrem, taking with him a disciple who knew Greek, reached the Mediterranean coast, boarded a ship, and set sail. The Nitrian worshippers received the saint with hospitality. By God's Providence, he had the good fortune to converse with such an outstanding man as the monk Paisius. It is said that while in Egypt, Ephrem healed an Arian by driving out an evil spirit from him.
On the way from Egypt, Venerable Ephrem decided to fulfill another desire—to visit Caesarea in Cappadocia to meet Basil the Great. By that time, Saint Basil had earned a reputation as a zealot of Orthodoxy. During the meeting, which took place in a church, Saints Ephrem and Basil discussed the most important pressing issues. It is reported that during Ephrem's visit to Basil the Great, the latter ordained him as a deacon, and later, after Ephrem's return to Edessa, invited him, offering him the episcopal see. However, Ephrem, considering himself unworthy of such a high rank, declined the offer.
The Last Years of the Venerable One's Earthly Path
Upon returning from his journey, Ephrem the Syrian intended to devote himself to solitary communion with God for the rest of his days. But God willed otherwise. At that time, Edessa was struck by a severe famine, and the saint, by the power of his exhortation, began to persuade the rich not to anger the Almighty and to show mercy to the poor. The preaching was successful: the wealthy began to donate funds, which were then distributed among the needy. Another fruit of the Venerable One's charitable activity was the organization of an almshouse.
After the situation normalized, Ephrem withdrew to a cave. Soon he fell ill. The news of this spread among the local population, prompting crowds of people wishing to receive his final blessing to flock to him. Before his death, Ephrem wrote a testament, in which, among other things, he instructed that he not be given a pompous send-off, confessed his faithfulness to God, and asked for posthumous prayers. Soon the saint's heart stopped, and he peacefully passed away to the Lord. It is believed that this happened in 372 or 373.