The Hymns on Faith
Overview
Ephrem the Syrian was born in Nisibis (Nusaybin, Turkey) around 306 CE, and died in Edessa (Sanliurfa, Turkey) in 373. He was a prolific author, composing over four hundred hymns, several metrical homilies, and at least two scriptural commentaries. His extensive literary output warrants mention alongside other well-known fourth-century authors, such as Gregory of Nazianzus and Basil of Caesarea. Yet Ephrem wrote in neither Greek nor Latin, but in Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic. His voice opens to the reader a fourth-century Christian world perched on the margins between the Roman and Persian Empires. Ephrem is known for a theology that relies heavily on symbol and for a keen awareness of Jewish exegetical traditions. Yet he is also our earliest source for the reception of Nicaea among Syriac-speaking Christians. It is in his 87 Hymns on Faith—the longest extant piece of early Syriac literature—that he develops his arguments against subordinationist christologies most fully. These hymns, most likely delivered orally and compiled after the author’s death, were composed in Nisibis and Edessa between the 350s and 373. They reveal an author conversant with Christological debates further to the west, but responding in a uniquely Syriac idiom. As such, they form an essential source for reconstructing the development of pro-Nicene thought in the eastern Mediterranean. Yet, the Hymns on Faith offer far more than a simple Syriac pro-Nicene catechetical literature. In these hymns Ephrem reflects upon the mystery of God and the limits of human knowledge. He demonstrates a sophisticated grasp of symbol and metaphor and their role in human understanding. The Hymns on Faith are translated here for the first time in English on the basis of Edmund Beck’s critical edition.
Top Highlights
“In your revealed clothing dwelt your hidden strength.” (Page 122)
- Title: The Hymns on Faith
- Author: Ephrem the Syrian
- Series: The Fathers of the Church
- Volume: 130
- Publisher: Catholic University of America
- Print Publication Date: 2015
- Logos Release Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Hymns, Syriac; Hymns, Syriac › Translations into English
- ISBNs: 9780813227351, 0813227356
- Resource ID: LLS:HYMNSONFAITH
- Resource Type: text.monograph.hymnal
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T20:03:29Z
Ephraim the Syrian (c. AD 306–373) was a fourth-century theologian and hymnographer, and is a doctor in the Catholic Church. Born in Nisibis, near Edessa, he was converted to Christianity by Bishop Jacob of Nisibis and appointed a teacher. He lived in Nisibis until AD 363, and then went to Edessa for eight years to teach at the School of Edessa. Over 400 hymns composed by Ephraim still exist, hymns which he used to teach doctrine and to warn of heresy. His poetry garnered him the titles of “Lyre of the Holy Ghost” and “Prophet of the Syrians.” Ephraim also wrote homilies and prose, of which far fewer manuscripts have survived.