{"id":25628,"date":"2010-06-09T06:57:44","date_gmt":"2010-06-09T10:57:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/2010\/06\/saint-ephrem-the-syrian\/"},"modified":"2010-06-09T06:57:44","modified_gmt":"2010-06-09T10:57:44","slug":"saint-ephrem-the-syrian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/2010\/06\/saint-ephrem-the-syrian\/","title":{"rendered":"Saint Ephrem the Syrian"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"saint-ephrem2.gif\"<\/a>It is indeed fitting to honor the blessed deacon of
\nEdessa for his desire that the preaching of the divine word and the training of
\nhis disciples rest on the purity of Sacred Scripture. He also acquired honor as
\na Christian musician and poet. He was so accomplished in both arts that he was
\ncalled the “lyre of the Holy Spirit.” From this, Venerable Brothers,
\nyou can learn what arts promote the knowledge of sacred things. Ephrem lived
\namong people whose nature was attracted by the sweetness of poetry and music.
\nThe heretics of the second century after Christ used these same allurements to
\nskillfully disseminate their errors. Therefore Ephrem, like youthful David
\nkilling the giant Goliath with his own sword, opposed art with art and clothed
\nCatholic doctrine in melody and rhythm. These he diligently taught to boys and
\ngirls, so that eventually all the people learned them. In this fashion he not
\nonly renewed the education of the faithful in Christian doctrine and supported
\ntheir piety with the spirit of the sacred liturgy, but also happily kept
\ncreeping heresy at bay.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
The artistry introduced by Blessed Ephrem added dignity
\nto sacred matters as Theodoretus stresses. The metric rhythm, which our saint
\npopularized, was widely propagated both among the Greeks and the Latins. Indeed
\ndoes it seem probable that the liturgical antiphonary with its songs and
\nprocessions, introduced at Constantinople in the works of Chrysostom and at
\nMilan by Ambrose (whence it spread throughout all of Italy), was the work of
\nsome other author? For the “custom of Eastern rhythm” deeply moved
\nthe catechumen Augustine in northern Italy; Gregory the Great improved it and
\nwe use it in a more advanced form. Critics acknowledge that that “same
\nEastern rhythm” had it origins in Ephrem’s Syrian antiphonary.<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
It is no
\nwonder then that many of the Fathers of the Church stress the authority of St.
\nEphrem. Nyssenus says of his writings, “Studying the Old and New
\nScriptures most thoroughly, he interpreted them accurately, word for word; and
\nwhat was hidden and concealed, from the very creation of the world to the last
\nbook of grace, he illumined with commentaries, using the light of the
\nSpirit.” And Chrysostom: “The great Ephrem is scourge of the
\nslothful, consoler of the afflicted, educator, instructor and exhorter of
\nyouth, mirror of monks, leader of penitents, goad and sting of heretics,
\nreservoir of virtues, and the home and lodging of the Holy Spirit.” Certainly
\nnothing greater can be said in praise of a man who, however, seemed so small in
\nhis own eyes that he claimed to be the least of all and a most vile sinner”
\n(12-14).<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/font><\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Pope Benedict XV<\/p>\n

Principi
\nApostolorum Pet<\/a>ro (On St. Ephrem the Syrian), 5 October 1920<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is indeed fitting to honor the blessed deacon of Edessa for his desire that the preaching of the divine word and the training of his disciples rest on the purity of Sacred Scripture. He also acquired honor as a Christian musician and poet. He was so accomplished in both arts that he was called … Continue reading Saint Ephrem the Syrian<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,2],"tags":[1712,1710,2448],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25628"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25628\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}