Memorial Day of St. Ephraim the Syrian (10/02)

Saint Ephraim was born in Mesopotamia in the city of Nizibia. Ephraim was born during the reign of Constantine the Great and lived to see the reign of Theodosius the Great. It is known that the parents of St. Ephraim were righteous Christians.

In his youth, Saint Ephraim renounced the world and went into the desert, where he became a monk. He received from God the gift of wisdom: they said that grace flowed from his mouth, like a sweet river, the souls of all who listened to his teachings were filled with tenderness. This gift was foreshadowed for him at a very early age.

When Ephraim was still a child, his parents saw the following dream about him: the vine rose in the boy’s tongue and, growing up, filled the entire Celestial Empire with branches and clusters. The birds of the air gathered and ate grapes, and as much as they ate, the number of grapes increased. When Saint Ephraim then labored on one desolate mountain, filled with great tenderness and heartfelt contrition, one of the God-bearing fathers saw in a dream a bright husband, shining like angels.

He held a scribbled scroll in his hand and asked: Who can accept and preserve this scroll? A voice from above answered him: No one else except Ephraim My saint.

Ephraim stood in front of his husband who appeared. He opened his mouth, and his husband put a scroll in his mouth. Reverend Ephraim ate the scroll, and then soon after began to speak and write edifying speeches that touched everyone who read and listened to them. The speeches of Ephraim in every hearer could arouse the fear of the Lord and set him on the path of repentance. Ephraim's inspired books broadcast the same thing.

The Monk Father Ephraim, having lived God-pleasingly for many years and led many to salvation, predicted his death in advance and wrote an instructive will for his disciples. Having been ill a little, in old age he went to the Lord. His honest body was buried in his monastery, located in the Syrian desert, within the Edessa.

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