The only authentic sources for Ephrem’s life are the occasional autobiographical allusions in his own work. The fact that these usually contradict the popular “Lives” adds credibility to their statements. He was born near Nisibis, a military outpost on the eastern edge of the Roman Empire. He was the child of Christian parents (CHaer. 26, 10). The often cited date of his birth, 306, cannot be substantiated. He became a believer at an early age. (Hvirg 37, 10), and was probably baptized in his early teenage tears (CHaer 3, 13). He became an early participant in the church of Nisibis and is our principle source for its early history. He describes the first four bishops: Jacob (c. 308-338), Babou (+346), Vologes (346-361) and Abraham (HNis 13-21). Ephrem himself was not ordained but was a member of a sort of lay order, the gyama, a group of persons who by their spirituality, asceticism and celibacy sought to achieve the “ideal” Christian life. That such vows require celibacy (NHis 15, 9), poverty and a contemplative life style is not to be confused with monasticism, as has often been the case. He eventually became a deacon (CHaer 56, 10) and would be known in the west as the “deacon of Edessa.”
Jacob of Saruge on Ephrem and the Singing Women Dr. Kathleen McVey
Language and the Knowledge of God in Ephrem Syrian Dr. David Bundy
THE FIRST KATHISMA A Spiritual Psalter St. Ephrem the Syrian
Ignatius Aphram Barsoum ( 1887 – 1957 ) Translated by Dr. Matti Moosa
St. Ephraim the Syrian (d. 373) Patriarch of Antioch and All the East
“St. Ephrem the Syrian Hymns”Hymns on the Nativity
Translated and Introduced by Dr. Kathleen E. Mc Vey
St. Ephrem the Syrian “Hymns on Paradise”
Introduction and Translation by Sebastian Brock
St. Afrem the Syrian