Saint Ephrem

<p>Ephrem lived from about 306 to 373. Although the details of his life have been lost, we do have many of his writings in the original Syriac, as well as in Greek, Latin, and Armenian.</p>
<p>Born in Mesopotamia, he was baptized at 18 and eventually became a deacon, but humbly refused ordination to the priesthood. After the fall of his home city to the Persians in 363, Ephrem retired to a life of solitude in a cave near Edessa and there wrote his commentaries and hymns. Recognizing the power of music and poetry to evangelize, he was the first to introduce hymns into public worship. He was called the "Harp of the Holy Spirit." He died at Edessa on June 9th. In 1920, he became a Doctor of the Church, the only Syrian ever to be honoured in this way.©2011 <em>Living with Christ, </em>Novalis - Bayard Press Canada Inc., <strong>http://www.livingwithchrist.ca/</strong&gt;. Reprinted with permission.</p>