Hymns on Paradise (Popular Patristics Series)

Explore St. Ephrem the Syrian’s cycle of fifteen Hymns on Paradise—a stunning example of Christian poetry which weaves profound theological musings around a biblical narrative. Beautifully translated by Syriac scholar Sebastian Brock, Ephrem’s hymns have an immediacy achieved by few other theological works from the early Christian period. Rather than being tied to a particular cultural or philosophical background, his theology operates by means of imagery and symbolism basic to all human experience. Centered on Genesis 2 and 3, the Hymns on Paradise expresses his awareness of the sacramental character of the created world, and of the potential of everything in it to act as a witness to the creator. He posits an inherent link between the material and spiritual worlds. St. Ephrem’s mode of theological discussion is biblical and Semitic in character, using types and symbols to express connections and reveal things otherwise hidden—expressing meanings between the Old Testament and the New, between this world and the heavenly, between the New Testament and the sacraments, and between the sacraments and the eschaton.