St. Ephrem the Syrian (about 306–373) was a deacon, teacher and poet of the Syriac-speaking Church in Mesopotamia, who wrote hundreds of hymns to teach the true faith to ordinary people and to answer the heresies of his time, so that he has been called the “Harp of the Holy Spirit.” He organized choirs of women to sing his hymns in church, and he spent his last strength caring for the starving and the sick during a famine. Pope Benedict XV declared him a Doctor of the Church in 1920, the only Syriac Father to receive the title. His feast day is June 9. Below are his story, one of his Christmas hymns, and prayers to St. Ephrem.
A short prayer to St. Ephrem, written for this page:
St. Ephrem, Harp of the Holy Spirit, you sang the mysteries of Christ so that everyone could understand.
Pray for musicians, poets and teachers of the faith,
and fill my heart with wonder and praise. Amen.
Who was St. Ephrem?
Ephrem was born around 306 in Nisibis, a frontier city of the Roman Empire in what is now southeastern Turkey, and was baptized as a young man. He served as a deacon and teacher under the bishops of Nisibis and, according to tradition, remained a deacon all his life out of humility. When Nisibis was handed over to the Persians in 363, he moved with many Christians to Edessa, where he taught and wrote until his death.
He wrote in Syriac, the language of the Christians of Mesopotamia, and expressed theology in poetry rather than in dry arguments: hymns on the Nativity, the Church, faith, paradise, virginity and the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom he praised with a tenderness that influenced devotion in East and West. Because heretics spread their ideas through popular songs, Ephrem set the true faith to music and taught choirs of women to sing it. In the winter of 372–373, when famine struck Edessa, he organized the distribution of food and care for the sick. He died on June 9, 373.
A hymn on the Nativity
From the first of St. Ephrem’s Hymns on the Nativity:
This is the day that gladdened them, the Prophets, Kings, and Priests, for in it were their words fulfilled, and thus were the whole of them indeed performed! For the Virgin this day brought forth Immanuel in Bethlehem. The voice that of old Isaiah spake, to-day became reality. He was born there who in writing should tell the Gentiles’ number! The Psalm that David once sang, by its fulfilment came to-day! The word that Micah once spake, to-day was come indeed to pass! For there came from Ephrata a Shepherd, and His staff swayed over souls. Lo! from Jacob shone the Star, and from Israel rose the Head. The prophecy that Balaam spake had its interpreting to-day! Down also came the hidden Light, and from the Body rose His beauty! The light that spake in Zachary, to-day shined in Bethlehem!
The psalm invites us all to sing (Psalm 46:7–8, Douay-Rheims; Psalm 47 in other numberings):
Sing praises to our God, sing ye: sing praises to our king, sing ye.
For God is the king of all the earth: sing ye wisely.
What is St. Ephrem the patron saint of?
- Spiritual directors and spiritual leaders, in traditional lists
- Church musicians, hymn writers and poets
- The Syriac Churches
Prayers to St. Ephrem
Written for this page.
For church musicians
St. Ephrem, you taught the faith through song.
Pray for choirs, cantors and church musicians, that their music may lift hearts to God and teach the truth. Amen.
In time of famine and need
St. Ephrem, you fed the hungry of Edessa in the famine.
Pray for all who suffer from hunger, and move us to share what we have. Amen.
Feast day
The optional memorial of St. Ephrem, deacon and Doctor of the Church, is June 9, the day of his death.
Frequently asked questions
Why is St. Ephrem called the Harp of the Holy Spirit?
Because of his hundreds of hymns, which taught the faith in beautiful poetry and music.
When was St. Ephrem made a Doctor of the Church?
In 1920, by Pope Benedict XV.
When is St. Ephrem’s feast day?
June 9.
More saints
- Lenten prayers
- St. Cecilia prayer
- St. Hildegard of Bingen
- St. John Damascene
- Sts. Basil and Gregory
- Catholic Christmas prayers
- Saint of the day
Texts and sources
- Ephraim the Syrian, Hymns on the Nativity, Hymn I, trans. J. B. Morris, rev. A. E. Johnston, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, vol. 13 (1898), public domain (Wikisource).
- Psalm 46:7–8 (Douay-Rheims).