EPHRAEM SYRUS, SAINT (c. 306-373), one of the most productive
spiritual writers of the fourth century. Lives of Saint Ephraem
(Bibliotheca Hagiographica Orientalis 269) are late and provide
us with no objective information about him. His portrait can
best be traced through the considerable quantity of his works.
He was born at Nisibis around 306 and must still have known and
been subject to the influence of James of Nisibis (303-338). The
portrait he gives of the latter is that of a pastor and a saint,
an ascetic and a churchman, whose relics protected the town
against the Persians. Bishop Vologesus (346-361) is also the
subject of the most lively eulogies. Through innumerable hymns
it is possible to compile a table of the numerous doctrinal
deviations on the periphery of Christianity in the fourth
century in Mesopotamia. In 363 the town of Nisibis was handed
over to the Persians following the defeat of JULIAN THE
APOSTATE. Ephraem then went to Edessa, where he certainly taught
at its famous school. He appear