Historical Background:
When we speak about St. Ephraem the Syrian, it is necessary first to have a look on the Syrian Orthodox Church with its language and literature. The
The Syrian Orthodox Church is the
It is a tradition in the Syrian Orthodox Church to select bishops from among the ranks of the monks, while patriarchs are chosen from among metropolitans. In exceptional cases, however, a monk may be chosen. After election as spiritual fathers, they continue to lead an ascetic and arduous life as if still living in their hermitages.
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1) Ronald Roberson, the Eastern
Fifth edition, p. 213
During the first three centuries of the beginning of Christianity, the Eastern Church suffered much from the persecution of the kings of both the Romans and the Persians. "The Church suffered much from the persecution of both the Persians and the Romans and offered a countless number of martyrs. On the coming of the fourth century, the Persians and the Romans divided the East which fell under dreadful wars between these two powers."1
The Roman Emperors persecuted Christianity, killed many Christians until
The
"Though the
The monasteries were established in the mountains and on the banks of rivers. They resembled institutions of higher learning, usually possessing a library. There were also a number of schools headed by monks. Monks attended these schools, like those in Nisibis and
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1) Ignetius Zakka I Iwas, the Autobiography of Mar Ephraem the Syrian, the Syrian
Patriarchate (
2) Nisibis was a city lied on the border between the two Emperors and was a great center
For trade. Now it is the modern Turkish town of
3) Ronald Roberson, p.16
The Syrian Language in
The Syrian language is the Aramaic language, and the Syrians are the Aramaic themselves. After Christianity the word, 'Syrian' was usually used instead of 'Aramaic.' It was the language of the people who inhabited '
The Syrian language was the language spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ and the disciples. The people of Antioch spoke the Syrian language and used it in their prayers and rituals, and the first Mass arranged by James, the Lord's brother and the Bishop of Jerusalem, was written in the Syrian language. All the Syrian Churches all over the world still use this Mass and they pray in the Syrian language besides their local language.
"The Aramaic, Syrian language is one of the Semitic languages. It consists of twenty-two letters. It is the language of part of the divine scripture as it is part of the Book of Daniel and the Gospel of Mathew. The Book of Genesis testifies the deep-rooted of this language about the year 1750 B.C. " 1 . In the eighth century B.C., we read "Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rabehakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and talk not with us in the Jews' language in the ears of the people that are on the wall." (Isai.36:11, 12)
The Syrian Literature:
" The history of the Syrian literature begins with history but since the Syrians at the dawn of Christianity destroyed all their pagan literature for fear that their children might be affected with them, nothing reached us from the Syrian literature before Christianity but the Book of 'Ahika' the minister of Sinharib the king of Assyrian 681 B.C. This book contains some wise advice, sayings and many stories.
The Syrians translated both the Old and the New Testaments from Hebrew and Greek into the Syrian language, and this translation is known as 'the Simple.' It was the beginning of the Christian Syrian literature. The Syrian thought flourished gradually through the schools founded in cities, villages and monasteries, the most famous were the
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1) Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Historic, Religious and Literary Researches, Part I, (
1998) p.15.In fact The Gospel of Mathew had written first in Hebrew in the opinion of the scholars of the Bible.
2) Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, the Autobiography of Mar Ephraem the Syrian, pp. 8 - 10.
St. Ephraem was taught in those schools, the
Monastic Life in the
Thus, the life of the
- Many times have I suffered hunger and my body has called for nourishment, I have abstained to become worthy of the blessedness that those who fast attain.
- My body, made of dust, sought to still its thirst, but I spurned it in wrath that it might become worthy to savor the dew of the
- And when in my youth and in my old age my body sought to tempt me, I chastened it day after day to the end.
- On the morning of each day, I thought that I would die in the evening. And like a man who cannot escape death I attended to the labors of the day without trepidation or tedium.
- Each evening I imagined that next morning I would no longer be alive. Therefore, I arose and prayed to God and worshipped him until the rising of the sun.
- When my body pleaded for the sleep I sorely needed, I lured it with the blessedness that God bestows on those who keep vigil.
- I have built a church in my soul, and I have offered up to the Lord the travail of my body as incense and fragrance.
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1) Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Historic, Religious and Literary Researches, Part II, (
1998) pp. 416,417
- My spirit became the altar, my will the priest, and like a lamb without blemish, I sacrificed myself.
- Lord, I have borne Thy yoke from youth to old age, and I have worshipped Thee constantly to the end of my days, I have spared no pain nor suffered tedium.
- I have borne the sufferings of hunger and overcome them, for I have seen Thee taste bitterness between the two bandits for the sake of my redemption.
- I have ignored the torments of thirst because I have seen my Lord Drink vinegar from the sponge for my sins.
- Food was of no significance for me; I disdained wine, for my eyes were upon the banquet of Thy kingdom, O heavenly bridegroom!
In this manner, monks vanquished the passions of the flesh to be able to bear the hardship of life, the bitterness of asceticism and the severity of the rules. They kept vigil by night fasting and praying, they performed heavy manual labor in their quest for the pure life. The divine light was cast upon them from on high; some among them who attained perfection in their asceticism even achieved the stage of union with His glory.
From the beginning of the 4th century, many famous monasteries were founded throughout the lands under the jurisdiction of the Antiochian see, that is to say in Syria, Mesopotamia, on the southern coast of Palestine, in the Syrian desert, in Mount Edessa, at Mount Izala, which surveys Nisibis and Tur-Abdin, and in Qardu and Al-Faf close to Mosul. They became centers of learning and of the virtuous life; thousands of monks and nuns withdrew into them from the worldly life in their quest for the
The monasteries resembled institutions of higher learning, usually possessing a library. There were also a number of schools headed by monks. Monks attended these schools, like those in Nisibis and
“People came to this school in search of knowledge from southern
“The Monastery of Mark the Evangelist is also referred to as the Monastery of the Mother of God in
Monasticism, according to St. Ephraem, is in the Service of the Church. The beginning of orderly liturgical life in the
Ephraem the monk was aware of the three vows of Monasticism. The pious monk seeks to observe these three vows, which he makes publicly by his own free will. These vows are absolute obedience to his spiritual superior, voluntary poverty, signifying that he may take nothing from the world as his personal property and Chastity, enjoining him never to marry and to remain chaste. The basis of Christian monasticism, in fact, is based on the imitation of the life of Christ on Earth and on obedience to his sublime teachings. Our Lord Jesus withdrew into the solitude of the desert and fasted there for forty days and forty nights. We are told: "He went about doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, for God was with him." (Acts
The Life of St. Ephraem:
St. Ephraem was born around the year 306 in the city of
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1) Ignatius Ephram I Barsaum, the History of Syrian Science and Literature, Bar Hebreafus
Verlag,
2) Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Historic, Religious and Literary Researches, Part II,pp. 426.
It was a time of great religious and political tension. The Roman Emperor Diocletian had signed a treaty with his Persian counterpart, Nerses in 298 A.D. that transferred Nisibis into Roman hands. The savage persecution and martyrdom of Christians under Diocletian were an important part of Nisibene church heritage as Ephraem grew up.
Jacob, the first bishop of Nisibis was appointed in 308, and Ephraem grew up under his leadership of the community. Jacob of Nisibis recorded as a signatory at the First Council of Nicea in 325. Ephraem was baptized as a youth, and almost certainly became a son of the covenant, an unusual form of Syrian proto-monasticism. Jacob appointed Ephraem as a teacher.
"He was born within the Roman pale, in the ancient and famous city of
He was ordained as a deacon either at his baptism or later. He began to compose hymns and write biblical commentaries as part of his educational office. In his hymns, he sometimes refers to himself as a 'herdsman' to his bishop as the 'shepherd' and his community as a 'fold' Ephraem is popularly credited as the founder of the School of Nisibis, which in later centuries was the centre of learning of the Church of the East.
A slanderous charge against St. Ephraem:
"A slanderous charge, however, was laid against him in his youthful manhood, which, but for supernatural interposition granted to his prayer, would have ruined his good name."
An official of the church, named likewise Ephraim, had seduced a girl of noble birth. When pregnancy was detected, she at the instance of her friend charged Ephraim the pious as being the author of her shame. Her father laid the matter before the Bishop, who in much grief and astonishment summoned his disciple to answer the accusation. The youth received it at first in amazed silence; but finally made answer, “Yea, I have sinned; but I entreat thy Holiness to pardon me.” Even after this seeming acknowledgment of guilt, however, the Bishop was unconvinced, and prayed earnestly that the truth might be revealed to him but in vain.
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1) Philip Chaff, the Nicene and post Nicene Fathers (Books for the Ages, Version2, Volume 13, U.S.A) p. 252 – 255, this is from The Christian Orthodox e-Reference Library, Published by The Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Sydney.
When the child of shame was born, and the father of the frail damsel required him to undertake the charge of it, he repeated his seeming confession of guilt to the Bishop. St. Ephraim he received the infant into his arms: he openly entered the church carrying it; and he besought the congregation with tears, saying, “Entreat for me, my brothers that this sin be pardoned to me.” After thus bearing for some days the burden of unmerited reproach, he perceived the great scandal caused to the people, and began to reflect that his meek acceptance of calumny was doing harm.
On the following Sunday, therefore, after the Eucharist had been administered, he approached the Bishop in church in presence of the people, carrying the infant under his mantle, and obtained his permission to enter the altar. Before the eyes of the astonished congregation, he produced the babe, held it up in his right hand, facing the altar, and cried aloud, “Child, I call on you and adjure you by the living God, who made heaven and earth and all that therein is, that you confess and tell me truly, who is your father?” The infant opened its mouth and said, “Ephraim the paramonarius.” Having thus spoken, it died that same hour. The people and the Bishop received this miraculous vindication of the wrongfully accused with amazement and tears; the father of the sinful mother fell on his knees and cried for forgiveness; the true partner of her sin fled and was seen in Nisibis no more; and Ephraim was restored to more than all the favor and affection he enjoyed before.
St. Ephraem in Nicene Council:
Not long after, the young disciple received a singular proof of the high esteem in which he was held by his Bishop. When summoned with the other prelates to the great Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325), Jacob took Ephraim with him as his attendant or secretary, and brought him into that Holy Synod. It is to be inferred that a youth so chosen must have shown early maturity and zeal for the Faith.
In 325, when King Constantine ordered that a council be assembled in
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1) Fr. Barsaum Y. Ayoub, the Genuine Mar Ephraem the Syrian, (St. Mark Monastery,
"Ephraem comments that orthodox Nicene Christians were simply called 'Palutians' in
The Dream of St. Ephraem:
After attending the Council of Nicene, Mar Ephraem went back to Nisibis and began to study in its school, which founded by his teacher Mar Jacob. He began to write hymns, poems, and anthems eloquently using verses from the Holy Bible and thus his dream came true. He said, "When I was a boy I saw a fascinating view. When I was lying beside my mother, I saw a grapevine germinated in my tongue and grew until it rose to the sky. It mellowed a lot of bunches of grapes, and it had many leaves that stretched so much that they almost covered the whole land. Then birds of the sky came and began to peck the clusters, and the more they eat, the more the vine increases." 2
Fathers of the church interpreted this dream as follows: the vine is compilation and classification; the clusters are the poems and hymns, whereas the leaves are the anthems. They were much as Mar Ephraem is said to have written about 12,000 poems. The birds in the dream are the fathers of the church who squeezed the clusters and offered the juice to the believers.
"Mar Jacob died in 338 and Mar Ephraem eulogized him saying that he was a noble bishop who struggled to get triumph in his life. He had both charity and zeal in his pastorship. He was armed with piety and excelled in his kindness towards his subjects." 3 St. Ephraem succeeded Mar Jacob in administrating the
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1) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/“Ephraem_the_Syrian” [A Site from the Internet]
2) Fr. Barsaum Y. Ayoub, pp. 16 .
3) Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, the Autobiography of Mar Ephraem the Syrian, p. 30 – 42.
St. Ephraem in
When Nisibis was handed to the Persians in 363, Ephrem found himself among a large group of refugees that fled west, first to Amida and eventually settling in
As he was about to enter
Other authorities give a somewhat different turn to this story. “According to them, Ephraim approached the city, praying and expecting to meet at his first entrance there some holy and wise man by whose converse he might profit. The first person whom he encountered at the gate was a harlot. Shocked and bitterly disappointed, he eyed her, and was passing on; but when he noticed that she eyed him, in turn, he asked the meaning of her bold gaze. In this version of the incident, her answer was, “It is meet and fit that I gaze on thee, for from thee, as man, I was taken; but look not thou on me, but rather on the ground whence thou wast taken.” Ephraim owned that he had learned something of value even from this outcast woman; and praised God, who from the mouth of such an unlooked-for teacher had fulfilled his desire for edification.” 1
St. Ephraem led, by the advice of a monk whom he casually met, to join himself to one of the Solitaries who dwelt in the caves of the adjacent “Mount of Edessa.” There he passed his time in prayer, fasting, and study of the Scriptures. But a divine intimation was sent to call him back from his retreat into active life in the city.
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1) Philip Chaff, pp. 258, 259
A vision came to the Solitary under whom Ephraim had placed himself. This man, as he stood at midnight outside his cell after prayer, saw an angel descending from heaven and bearing in his hands a great roll written on both sides, and heard him say to them that stood by, “To whom shall I give this volume that is in my hands?” They answered, “To Eugenius the Solitary of the
They were filled with admiration, and when they learned that Ephraim of Nisibis was the author, and heard of the vision by which his merit was revealed, they went at once to seek him out in his retreat. In his modesty, he fled from their approach; but a second divine vision constrained him to return. In the valley where he had sought to hide, an Angel met him and asked, “Ephraim, wherefore fleet thou?” He answered, “Lord that I may sit in silence, and escape from the tumult of the world.” “Look to it,” rejoined the Angel, “that the word be not spoken of thee, Ephraim hath fled from me as an heifer whose shoulder hath drawn back from the yoke.’ Ephraim returned to
The Journey to
Some critics say that the distance between
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1) Fr. Samuel the Syrian, the Egyptian Monasteries, (
St. Ephraim set out on his journey, taking with him an interpreter, for he was unable to speak Greek. In the first instance, he made his way, not to Cappadocia, but to a seaport where he took ship for
On his arrival he had sought out and found Anba Bishoy, to whom, because of his special sanctity, he had been divinely directed before he quitted
It is to be noted that the name of Bishoy (in Greek, Pasoes) is known as that of the founder (in the fourth century) of the monastery of Anba Bishoy. Still occupied by a community of monks, in the
On the other hand, it is to be added that a tradition of Ephraim’s sojourn in Egypt, connecting him with Anba Bishoy, lingered in quite recent times, and may probably still linger, among the monks, Syrian and Coptic, of the Nitrian region. Travelers of the seventeenth, and even eighteenth, century, tell of a tamarind tree which was shown to them within the precincts of the Syrian monastery of the Theotokos in that region, reputed to have grown from Ephraim’s staff which he set in the ground on his arrival there, as he was about to enter the cell of Anba Bishoy. It is probable that this legend of the staff may have grown out of the belief that Ephraim once visited the Monastery.
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1) Philip Chaff , pp. 261,262
St. Ephraim’s Writings:
St. Ephraem was not only a hermit and ascetic monk but also a clever fervent teacher. He did not spend his time only in prayers and fasting but he studied the Holy Bible thoroughly to clarify the hidden meanings of the Old and the New Testaments, guided by the Holy Spirit. In addition, he studied the origin of philosophy and logic in order to be able to refute the heresies of his age.
St. Ephraem was a clever writer, a tender poet, and a brave defender of faith. His sword was his pen and his shield was Faith. Researches, therefore, has been doing their best to gather his writings and publish them, as much of his works is still missing. What reached us from his writings is the interpretation of the Book of Genesis, part of the Book of Exodus, and little of some books of the Bible including the Books of Judges, Samuel, Kings, Job, and the Book of Acts.
“Of the innumerable writings, controversial, expository, hortatory, devotional, which were for Ephraim the fulfillment of his dream in childhood, the fruit of the many years of literary activity that exercised his full heart and busy brain, enough remains to give an adequate idea of his powers and to amaze us by its variety and abundance. The exaggeration of Sozomen who reckons the number of lines written by him at “three hundred myriads” (three millions) is not to be taken as more than a rough guess at the probable total; but it is evidence of the impression made on the men of the generations to whom his works were transmitted by his fertility. That he himself was conscious of this gift appears in the fact that he records the dream and claims for his hymns and sermons that in them is to be found its interpretation.”
On interpreting the Holy Bible, St. Ephraem followed the
“Blessed be that Child, Who gladdened
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1) Philip Chaff, p. 287
Praise to the Fountain that was sent for our propitiation. Praise be to Him Who made void the Sabbath by fulfilling it! Praise too to Him Who rebuked the leprosy and it remained not, Whom the fever saw and fled! Praise to the Merciful, Who bore our toil! Glory to Thy coming, which quickened the sons of men! Glory to Him, Who came to us by His first-born! Glory to the Silence, that spoke by His Voice. Glory to the One on high, Who was seen by His Day-spring! Glory to the Spiritual, Who was pleased to have a Body, that in it His virtue might be felt, and He might by that Body show mercy on His household’s bodies! ” 1
In the following extract, St, Ephraem mentions some advice on how to treat others, concern one’s sins and not to try to search for the faults or the sins of others:
“Search not out the faults of men; reveal not the sin of thy fellow; the shortcomings of thy neighbors, in speech of the mouth repeat not. Thou art not judge in creation; thou hast not dominion over the earth. If thou lovest righteousness, reprove thy soul and thyself. Be thou judge unto thine own sins, and chastener of thy own transgressions. Make thou not inquiry maliciously, into the misdeeds of men. For if thou doest this, injuries Will not be lacking to thee. Trust not the hearings of the ear, for many are the deceivers. Vain reports believe thou not, for false rumors are not few.”
As for poetry, St. Ephraem wrote two kinds of poetry: long poems or epics, and anthems. The first tell stories from the Bible and the history of the church. The second are rhythmical anthems with different meters. His poetry included theological and spiritual matters. We have about 500 pieces of his poetry, which reflects his faith, wisdom, and kindness.
When the Arian Emperor Valens (364-378), in the course of his persecution of the orthodox, approached the city of
disregarded the command, and gathered into the great
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1) Philip Chaff, p. 424
Amazed at her resolve, he reported the matter to Valens, to convince him that the Edessenes were prepared to die rather than submit. The Emperor was moved to relent; the people and their Bishop and priests came forth; he heard their plea, was ashamed of his cruel purpose, pardoned their disobedience, and departed. Ephraem celebrated this victory of faith in the following verses:
“The doors of her homes Edessa1
Left open when she went forth
With the pastor to the grave, to die,
And not depart from her faith.
Let the city and fort and building
And houses be yielded to the king;
Our goods and our gold let us leave;
So we part not from our faith!
Full of prudence and understanding.
She is clad in discernment of soul;
Faith is the girdle of her loins;
Truth her armor all-prevailing;
Love her crown, all-exalting.
Christ bless them that dwell in her,
And the name of her champion her beauty!
City that is lady over her fellows,
City that is the shadow
Of the
After all was thus restored to peace and orthodoxy, Ephraim withdrew to his retreat on the Mount, which he is not recorded to have again quilted, save on one occasion, to be presently related.
It is to be noted that the meter of Syrian poetry is substantially the “thought-meter,” reduced to regularity of form by the rule that each of the lines into which the balanced clauses fall shall consist of a fixed number of syllables. There is no systematic rhyme; but the nature of the language which by reason of its uniformity of etymological structure abounds in words of like terminations, often causes correspondences of sound amounting to rhyme, or at least to assonance.
“It is in his Hymns that Ephraim lives, for the Syrian Churches, and indirectly for the Christian world, of the East if not of the West. Throughout
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1) Philip Chaff, p. 269
“Hymns occupying in the Eastern Church” as Dr. Neale observes “a space beyond all comparison greater than they do in the Latin, the Syrian Church, and not the Greek, took the initiative in the development of ritual, appears from the facts that, though there is evidence of the use of Psalms and Canticles from Scripture throughout Christendom from the first.” 1
The Death of St. Ephraem:
Because of wars, famines spread in
St. Ephraem himself cared about the poor and the old people. Soon plague spread in the city and St. Ephraem visited the sick people to comfort them until he caught the disease but he could bear patiently the sufferings of the disease until he passed away on
From the Testament of St. Ephraem before his death, the extant Syrian document that is metrical, we can read the following verses:
“I Ephraim am at point to die: and I write my testament;
That I may leave for all men a memorial: of whatsoever is mine,
That though it be [but] for my words: they that know me may remember me.
Woe is me, for my times are ended: and the length of my years is fulfilled;
The spinning for me is shortened: the thread is nigh unto cutting;
The oil fails in the lamp: my days are spent, yea, mine hours;
The hireling has finished his year: and the sojourner has fulfilled his season.
Around me are the commoners: on this side and that are they that lead me away.
I cry aloud, [but] none hears me: and I complain, [but] none delivers.
“Woe to thee, Ephraim, for the judgment: when thou shall stand before the
Son’s judgment-seat,
And around thee they that know thee: on the right hand and the left,
Lo! there shalt thou be confounded: woe to him who is put to shame there!
Jesus, do Thou judge Ephraim: nor give his judgment to another;
For whoso has God for his Judge: he finds mercy in judgment;
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1) Philip Chaff, p. 272 - 290
2) Bishop Isezurrus, the Precious Store in the History of the Coptic Church, (
For I have heard from the wise: yea, I have heard from men of knowledge,
That whoso sees the face of the King: though he has offended, he shall not die.”
This farewell lines are no doubt modified, but the main part of what is above translated is confirmed as genuine by the references to it of Gregory, who had undoubtedly read it in a Greek version.
Conclusion:
The Syrian Orthodox Church founded in
St. Ephraem the Syrian is one of the saints of the
The teachings of St. Ephraem reached to other cities apart from
Because of his piety the Syrian Orthodox Church, celebrate his feast on the first Saturday of the Lent. The
John the Golden mouth said: "Ephraem is the lyre of the Holy Spirit, the store of virtues, the comforter of the heavyhearted, the guide to youth and those who get astray, and against the heretics he was like a double edged sword." Other titles given to Saint Ephraem the Syrian are: the teacher of scientists, the polar of poets, the owner of wisdom, supreme ideas and inventive writings, the Sun of the Syrians and their prophet, the star of wilderness, the crown of the Aramaic, Syrian nation, and the light of the Catholic Church.
Bibliography.
- The Holy Bible, New International Version, International Bible Society.( Great Britain,1999).
- Philip Chaff, the Nicene and post Nicene Fathers, Books for the Ages( Volume 13.Version2, U.S.A.,1997) this is from The Christian Orthodox e-Reference Library, Published by The Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Sydney, Australia.
- Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, the Autobiography of Mar Ephraem the Syrian, the Syrian
Patriarchate(
- Ronald Roberson, the Eastern
- Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Historic, Religious and Literary Researches, Part I,(
1998).
- Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Historic, Religious and Literary Researches, Part II (
1998).
- Ignatius Ephram I Barsaum, the History of Syrian Science and Literature, Bar Hebreafus
Verlag(
- Fr. Barsaum Y. Ayoub, the Genuine Mar Ephraem the Syrian (St. Mark Monastery,
- Fr. Samuel the Syrian, the Egyptian Monasteries(
- .wikipedia.org/wiki//“Ephraem_the_Syrian” (A Site from the Internet).
- Bishop Isezurrus the Precious Store in the History of the Coptic Church part1. (
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