| St. Ephraim Sirin |
Ephraim the Syrian
(+ 373), deacon, reverend, one of the great teachers of the Church of the century Memory January 28
Born in Nizibia, in the first years of the century. According to the legend of his Syrian biography, the Monk Ephraim was the son of a pagan priest, who expelled him from his parental home for converting him to Christ.
St. Ephraim was reckless and irritable in his youth, but, having accidentally ended up in prison on charges of stealing sheep, here he received his sight, was worthy to hear the Voice of God and humbled himself. After this, he went to Jacob of Nizibia and studied the Holy Scriptures. Saint James knew the high virtues of his disciple and used them for the benefit of the Church - he instructed him to read sermons, teach children in school, and took him with him to the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea (325). The Monk Ephraim was in obedience to Saint James for 14 years until his death.
He led an ascetic lifestyle in the mountains until the capture of Nisibia in 363 by the Persians. From that time on, he settled on a mountain near the city of Edessa, taught the people, preached Christianity to the pagans, refusing the rank of bishop offered to him by St. Basil the Great in Caesarea.
He died in 373 in the rank of deacon.
Ephraim himself calls himself a man “unlearned and meaningless”; however, Basil the Great was “amazed” at his learning, as Theodoret put it.
Troparion to Ephraim the Syrian
With the streams of your tears you cultivated the barren land, / and those who from the depths of sighs brought forth fruit for a hundred labors, / and you were a lamp of the universe, / shining miracles, Ephraim, our father, / pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls.
Proceedings
The Monk Ephraim left many interpretations of the Holy Scriptures and other works, translated into Greek and read in churches, as well as touching prayers and chants and the repentant prayer “Lord and Master of my life” and many works of an ascetic nature.”
In the writings of Ephraim himself one can see a good familiarity with the works of not only Christian scientists, but also with “Hellenic wisdom”, with pagan mythology and the beginnings of natural science of that time. In his sermons, the Monk Ephraim often talks about the benefits of knowledge and education, which, in his words, is “above wealth.”
The works of St. Ephraim were translated into Greek during his lifetime; according to Jerome, they were read in churches after St. Scripture, as was done in ancient times with the works of Hermas and Clement of Rome. The number of his works, according to Photius, extended to 1000, not counting the prayers he composed and which were partly included in liturgical use, as well as poems expounding church teaching and set to folk tunes in order to counter the spread of the heresy of Bardesan.
The Russian translation of the works of St. Ephraim (Moscow Theological Academy, 1848-53) does not even contain all of his published works (only 265 titles).
The first place among the works of Ephraim is occupied by his interpretations of the Holy Scriptures, which have not completely reached us. Among the exegetes of the Eastern Church, the Monk Ephraim occupies one of the first places. Knowledge of the Jewish language, ethnography and geography of Palestine gives special value to his interpretations.
The dogma of St. Ephraim is much lower in merit. According to the mental development of the Syrian Church in his time, an elementary presentation of Christian teaching was needed rather than its speculative and dialectical interpretation; Moreover, Ephraim himself, in terms of his spiritual powers, was not so much a thinker as an orator and poet. From his acquaintance with “Hellenic wisdom” he derived a negative attitude towards it, and based his entire theoretical worldview exclusively on religious principles, on the so-called faith of the church, shunning speculative theology. This protective, strictly confessional direction of the theology of Ephraim the Syrian constitutes a feature that sharply separates him from other great church teachers of his time. Even in his anti-heretical writings, for the most part he does not enter into a learned discussion of heretical doctrines, but is content with only pointing out their disagreement with the faith of the church and deep sorrow for the wickedness of heretical freethinkers.
The best part of the writings of Ephraim the Syrian are his sermons, especially moral ones. He does not so much prove as express his thoughts and feelings. The “Prophet of Syria” (the name given to him by his contemporaries) appears here in his innate sphere; he is a true and genuine speaker in the Christian sense of the word. His speeches are alien to artificial construction and conventional rhetoric; His preaching often turns into real hymnology: the endless variety of comparisons sometimes reaches the point of excessive verbosity and excessive allegorization. The dominant argument in his sermons is a skillful quotation from Holy Scripture, their main content is the teaching of life for God and in God. The discrepancy between the actual life of Christian society and the Christian ideal fills his soul with inconsolable sorrow. He talks about repentance, about moving away from the vanity of the world, about the fight against passions; depicts death, the Last Judgment, the afterlife fate of sinners and righteous people. Alien to extreme rigorism, he blesses marriage and family, advises parents to take care of raising their children for life, good marriages for their daughters, and getting their sons into public and state service. His preaching of repentance is not a preaching of a gloomy and joyless state of mind. He turns the listener's thoughts to the Christian teaching about the goodness of God; despondency is presented to them as a grave sin. Some of his teachings are brief and take the form of gnomic instructions from ancient Greek philosophers; others are presented in the form of a pre-Origene homily, that is, a real conversation - a dialogue between a teacher and students; still others represent the type of Origenian homily, that is, a sequential interpretation of a greater or lesser passage of Holy Scripture, interspersed with moral teachings; the fourth are truly extensive thematized words (λόγοι), characterized by a comprehensive explanation of the subject and truly oratorical presentation. The most famous sermons of Ephraim the Syrian belong to this group, the largest: seven words about the second coming of Christ, about the resurrection of the dead, about the suffering of the Savior, about the cross, about patience, about faith, about fasting, about virtues and vices, about pride.
When and where did Ephraim the Syrian live?
Ephraim the Syrian lived in the 4th century. He was born in 308 and died in 373 at the age of 65.
The Monk Ephraim the Syrian spent his entire life in the territory of Mesopatamia, a state in Central Asia, the territory of which is now occupied by Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria.
On all icons, St. Ephraim the Syrian is depicted wearing a Syrian doll.
Prayer of Ephraim the Syrian
Ephraim the Syrian wrote a large number of psalm prayers during his lifetime.
At one time, Saint Theophan the Recluse translated most of them into Russian (the book was published under the title “The Psalter of Ephraim the Syrian”), but his most famous prayer is the Lenten prayer, which is read in the Church during Great Lent - “Lord, Lord of my life...”
We wrote about the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian in detail, read it.
Ephraim the Syrian, life briefly
The life of the saint itself contains almost no facts about him.
It is only known that he was born in the city of Nizibia and spent in it and its environs until he was almost forty years old. After Nizibia was conquered by the Persians, the Monk Ephraim moved to the city of Edessa, where he later died.
For many years in Nizibia, the Monk Ephraim was a novice under the ascetic James of Nizibia - who in turn was a disciple of Saint Anthony the Great: the same Egyptian elder who founded monasticism in the Christian tradition.
Here, perhaps, are all the facts.
(It may also be noted that tradition has preserved the memory of the absolute gentleness of St. Ephraim. This is a real feat, considering that in his youth he was distinguished by a hot-tempered and angry character, but in monasticism he completely overcame these passions in himself.)
Tests of humility
On his way there were also scoundrels who wanted to stop the monk. There was an attack with a weapon, Ephraim was beaten very badly, and he was on the verge of death. But even this situation did not affect the state of his soul; he continued to write and pray even harder.
The monk often gave sermons that were very instructive. His favorite topic was contrition of his own sin; he also touched on the topic of the Last Judgment and the memory of the Lord’s sacrifice. Awareness of all these sermons and a sincere desire to improve his state of mind led the person to peace and tranquility. Ephraim’s words touched the most subtle matters of the soul, the man was elevated with his thoughts and heart. This gave some grace, enlightened the mind and thoughts. Such a conversation helped to reveal to a person the truth of existence, which gave many the opportunity to rise to a new level of their own spiritual development.
In the year 350, a tragedy occurred in the life of Ephraim - the death of his own mentor and first teacher, Jacob of Nisibite. The life of Saint Ephraim the Syrian changed dramatically.
Enduring Faith
One of the harlots who tried to tempt began a conversation with Ephraim. In this case, he was able to explain everything to her, and even persuade her to repent and go to temple. Soon, the former harlot became a zealous nun in one of the monasteries. It was this meeting that became fateful for her, completely turned her life upside down and gave her the true path that paved the way to the temple of God.
But in addition to prayer and feeding your soul, you also had to take care of your body. To buy a piece of bread, you had to work for a man who ran his own bathhouse. Also, in his free time, Ephraim the Syrian read sermons to save the souls of those around him.
The most famous story from the life of Ephraim the Syrian
The life of St. Ephraim is not replete with facts. The main memory of him is his creations and texts of prayers, which the Church still preserves.
Perhaps the most famous story about Ephraim the Syrian happened to him in his youth, when he went to prison.
Although Ephraim grew up in a pious family, in his youth he did not lead the most righteous lifestyle. One day he got drunk with one of the peasants, and in the morning he was accused of stealing several sheep.
The Monk Ephraim the Syrian did not steal the sheep - they were dragged away at night by wild animals - but they did not believe him and put him in prison. There he found himself with two other prisoners, who were also imprisoned on false charges.
In prison, three people got into a conversation and it turned out that according to these charges, all three were innocent (Efrem the Syrian did not steal sheep, the other did not commit adultery, the third did not kill), but each, it turns out, committed an act in his life that deserved punishment - just about no one recognized them. For example, some time before, Ephraim the Syrian himself, out of mischief, drove a poor man’s cow into the field - and there it was killed by animals.
Soon the real criminals were found and all three were released. But Ephraim himself was greatly impressed by what happened. It turns out that justice is a human concept, and above it lies God’s providence, which is not always immediately visible. And how varied - and always according to divine truth! - life gets settled.
The Life tells that after this event, Ephraim the Syrian immediately (or soon) decided on a monastic life and became a monk.
Meeting with Basil the Great
One day Ephraim saw a vision in which there was a huge pillar of fire, and a voice said that this pillar was Vasily himself. It was about Saint Basil the Great. At that time he was the Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia. Reverend Ephraim decides to hit the road to meet Vasily. Upon arrival, he found him in the church; at the end of the service, they had a sincere, friendly conversation. As it turned out in the conversation, Vasily heard a lot about the actions of Ephraim, so he communicated with him as with a person he had known for a long time.
Saint Basil saw that Ephraim was worthy of more, but did not force him to his will. He read prayers over it. Ephraim decided to stay for three days and then went back to his city to continue preaching to the people. He did this absolutely unselfishly, trying to give his love to those around him. He avoided praise, respect or honor, trying to devote every free moment to communication with God. One day people wanted to make him a bishop.
An unpleasant event and a wonderful omen
The child's mother knew about her son's purpose. The whole point is that Ephraim was imprisoned and charged with stealing sheep. It was then that the mother had a dream that prophesied the fate of her son. It was within the walls of the dungeon that he was able to focus on his condition and hear his soul. After his release from prison, Ephraim was still very young, but, nevertheless, he was able to make a firm decision to go to the mountains to the hermits. It was there that he was destined to meet his first teacher named Jacob. In subsequent years, James became Bishop of Nizibia. Many church ministers believe that every serious Christian must study the life of Ephraim the Syrian in order to feel the mood of a true obedient to God.
Ephraim the Syrian and the harlots
Another story that is often told about St. Ephraim.
More than once harlots tried to seduce him, but each time he convinced them to repent with his spirit and words. Each time, he verbally agreed to the harlots’ proposal, but with one condition - that the sin would be committed in the central square of the city.
The women were embarrassed by such a proposal, and the Monk Ephraim the Syrian reproached them, saying that if we are ashamed of people, then how can we not be ashamed of God, who can see everything better than the townspeople on the central streets.
Birth and early years
Numerous sources say that the monk was born at the end of the 3rd century in a small town called Nizibi. His parents were not of noble birth, ordinary farmers who earned their bread through hard work. But these people were special, because their Christian faith gave the child the first impetus on his life’s path. His close relatives also included representatives of the Christian community. The child was raised in humility from childhood. However, this character trait did not prevent him from being very active and inquisitive.
