*ST. EPHREM THE SYRIAN* June 18

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June 1⃣8⃣

Feast 🌟

*ST. EPHREM THE SYRIAN*

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_(The harp of the Holy Ghost)_

Ephrem was a Syrian poet and theologian, born in 306 at the Mesopotamian city of Nisibis. His father was a pagan priest who forced him out of his house because Ephrem had sympathies for the Catholic faith.

Ephrem was then baptized by St. James, Bishop of Nisibis and then he became famous as a teacher. In 363 the Christian emperor was forced to give away Nisibis to the Persians after defeated in battle.

Ephrem, along with many other Christians, thereupon migrated to Edessa in Syria, where he soon gained a reputation for scholarship, especially in the Scriptures.

He was ordained a deacon, though he later declined to be ordained to the priesthood. The Church in the fourth century was divided by many heresies and controversies. Ephrem opposed false teachings and forcefully upheld true Catholic doctrine.

His unique and effective approach involved writing hymns against the heretics of the day; he would take popular songs of such groups and, using their melodies, compose very beautiful hymns expressing true doctrine.

Ephrem is called *"The Sun of the Syrians"* and *"The harp of the Holy Ghost"* because of his Bible commentaries in Syrian language and for composing liturgical hymns‼

Ephrem also composed many other religious works, and after his death his writings were translated into Greek, Latin, and Armenian.

In spite of his great fame, he maintained a simple and unpretentious lifestyle, living in a small cave outside Edessa. He died in A.D. 373, and in 1920 was declared a Doctor of the Church.

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*"Virginity will serve as a chariot, lifting heavenward all those who guard it, as did Elias".*

📖✍🏻+ _St. Ephrem_

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