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E02531: The Homily (memrā) on *Ephrem (poet and theologian of Edessa, ob. 373, S01238) is written in Syriac during the late 5th/early 6th c. by Jacob of Serugh (c. 451-521). It celebrates the life and achievements of Ephrem, with particular emphasis on his work as church poet and defender of orthodoxy.

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posted on 2017-03-08, 00:00 authored by sminov

Jacob of Serugh, Homily on Ephrem

The homily opens with a brief exordium, in which the author acknowledges his inadequacy to address the subject (pp. 24-29 of Amar's edition). In the following main section of the Homily, the virtues and accomplishments of Ephrem are celebrated. One of the most prominent subjects in that regard is the ministry of Ephrem among Syrian women, for whom he composed hymns to sing during church services; developing this theme, Jacob compares the saint with Moses (pp. 34-53). Another major aspect of Ephrem's image in the Homily is his defence of orthodoxy against a wide range of heresies, including Arianism, Marcionism and the teaching of Bardaisan (pp. 53-57). On several occasions Jacob expresses his pride in Ephrem as a fellow Syrian, describing the poet as 'an amazing orator who surpassed the Greek in his manner of speech' (p. 33) or as 'the crown of the entire Syrian nation' (p. 65).

History

Evidence ID

E02531

Saint Name

Ephrem, poet and theologian in Edessa, ob. 373 : S01238

Saint Name in Source

ܐܦܪܝܡ

Related Saint Records

https://oxford.figshare.com/articles/Ephrem_poet_and_theologian_of_Edessa_ob_373/13732504

Type of Evidence

Liturgical texts - Hymns Literary - Sermons/Homilies

Language

Syriac

Evidence not before

451

Evidence not after

521

Activity not before

451

Activity not after

521

Place of Evidence - Region

Mesopotamia

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Serugh

Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)

Serugh Edessa Edessa Ἔδεσσα Edessa

Major author/Major anonymous work

Jacob of Serugh

Cult activities - Liturgical Activity

Chant and religious singing

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Composing and translating saint-related texts

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Ecclesiastics - lesser clergy

Source

The Homily on Ephrem is a poetic celebration of the life and achievements of Ephrem the Syrian, the famous 4th c. poet and theologian from Edessa. The Homily belongs to the literary genre of memrā, a narrative poem that employs couplets all in the same syllabic meter. Such poems, which appear to have been recited rather than sung, were presumably used in the liturgy, though there is no evidence from Late Antiquity of exactly how it happened. There is a critical edition of the Homily, prepared by Joseph Amar on the basis of manuscript Damascus Patr. 12/14 (11th c.). Syriac text: Amar 1995; English translation: Amar 1995; Dutch translation: den Biesen 2014. For general information on Jacob and his oeuvre, see Brock 2011; Lange 2004; Alwan 1986.

Discussion

The Homily presents so far the only specimen of the liturgical commemoration of Ephrem the Syrian from Late Antiquity. Similarly to several other of Jacob's homilies dedicated to saints, it contains neither references to the saint's miracles nor appeals for his intercession. It is noteworthy that the image of Ephrem in the Homily is free of ascetic ideology. As Jacob limits himself to such general statements regarding the saint's way of life as 'he demonstrated in his own life conduct of the highest order' (p. 65), his portrayal in the Homily stands in contrast to the emphatically ascetic image of Ephrem as a solitary fleeing from the world, found in the Syriac Life of Ephrem (E###).

Bibliography

Main editions and translations: Amar, J.P., A Metrical Homily on Holy Mar Ephrem by Mar Jacob of Sarug: Critical Edition of the Syriac Text, Translation and Introduction (Patrologia Orientalis 47.1; Turnhout: Brepols, 1995). den Biesen, K., De zingende vrouwen van St. Efrem de Syriër. Mimro van Mor Jacob van Sarug over de gelukzalige Mor Efrem (Partute: Schatten van de Syrische Vaders 2; Losser, The Netherlands: Bar Ebroyo Press, 2014). Further reading: Alwan, K., “Bibliographie générale raisonnée de Jacques de Saroug († 521),” Parole de l’Orient 13 (1986), 313-384. Brock, S.P., “Ya‘qub of Serugh,” in: S.P. Brock, A.M. Butts, G.A. Kiraz and L. van Rompay (eds.), Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2011), 433-435. Lange, C., “Jakob von Sarug, † 521,” in: W. Klein (ed.), Syrische Kirchenväter (Urban-Taschenbücher 587; Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer, 2004), 217-227.