Ephrem of Syria
9 June -- Commemoration
If celebrated as a Lesser Festival,
Common of Teachers, page 473
Born of Christian parents around 306, Ephrem was baptised as
a young man and then ordained deacon. His early years were
spent as a teacher in Nisibis in Mesopotamia until the city
fell under Persian occupation in 363. Fleeing from his
home, he settled in Edessa (Urfa in south-east Turkey) where
he established a school of theology. Best known for his
Syriac poetry, Ephrem is acclaimed as the greatest poet of
the early Christian centuries, described by his
contemporaries as the 'Harp of the Spirit'. His hymns,
still used today, have found a place in liturgical
traditions outside the East Syrian Church. He died on this
day in Edessa in the year 373, ministering to victims of the
plague.