Ephrem is also variously known as ephraim hebrew and greek, ephraem. Ephrem the syrian icon gallery gods selfrevelation as seen in the hymns on paradise a topical study of st. Prayer group of saint ephraim the syrian st demetrios greek. Selected works translated out of the original syriac pdf over four hundred hymns composed by ephrem still exist. Syrian civil war compiled by thomas plofchan march 6, 2011. Ephrem the syrian, also known as saint ephraem, ephrem of edessa, ephrem, or ephraim, was a syriac christian deacon and a prolific syriaclanguage hymnographer and theologian of the fourth century.
Ephraim the syrian he is venerated by christians throughout the world, and especially among orthodox christians, as a saint. A cheat sheet1 1 causes of the syrian civil war discontent with authoritarianism and assad familys long reign of power in syria since the 1970s syria is 74% sunni, but the assad family is part of a shia sect known as the alawites. The council on foreign relations cfr is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization. Response congressional research service 2 emerged as a persistent challenge for u. Ephrem the syrian on the nativity of our lord, god and savior jesus christ in the flesh pdf arranged responsorially by fr. Ninteen hymns of the nativity by saint ephraem the syrian. Ephraim the syrian from the website of the greek orthodox archdiocese of america. Since then, hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed and significant areas of the country have fallen under the control of armed nonstate actors. Ephrem the syrian 306373 the greatest poet of the patristic age and, perhaps, the only theologianpoet to rank beside dante. Poems of st ephrem the syrian is the lead title in a new series on matters of major importance to the orthodox christian faith, published by the institute for orthodox christian studies, cambridge, under the imprint of aquilaiocs. Hof, senior fellow, rafik hariri center for the middle east, atlantic council of the united states and. Both regime and rebels see themselves in a fight for survival that leaves no room for compromise. Ephrem the syrian also known as saint ephraem, ephrem of edessa, ephrem, or ephraim, was. Understanding statelessness in the syria refugee context.
And hence it has come to pass that, in the church everywhere, he stands as the representative syrian father, as the fixed epithet appended to his name attests ephraim the syrian, the one syrian known and reverenced in all christendom. Ephrem the syrian was born in nisibis nusaybin, turkey around 306 ce, and died in edessa sanliurfa, turkey in 373. His feast day is celebrated on 28 january and on the saturday of the venerable fathers. A spirit of idleness, despondency, ambition and idle talk give me not. It is now necessary for the outside world to intervene in the crisis in syria. Ephrem the syrian by ephraem, syrus, saint, 303373. The syrian civil war, also known as syrian uprising or syrian crisis arabic. But rather a spirit of chastity, humblemindedness, patience, and love bestow upon me thy servant.
A similar or identical biblical hebrew term, read as nephilim by some scholars, or as the word fallen by others, appears in ezekiel 32. A spiritual psalter, or reflections on god ephraim the. Orthodox spirituality and patristic theology as a living practice. Of the two, it has been usual of late to reckon aphrahat as the elder. From poor policy to regional conflict by kristen l. The role of the eu in the syrian conflict rim turkmani and mustafa haid paper commissioned by the human security study group sitwp0516. Syrias media culture is undergoing significant transformation from a topdown, staterun industry t,o a diverse arena populated by competing viewpoints and driven by communities.
Turkish interests in northern syria aaron stein february 2017. Ephrem the syrian quotes author of hymns on paradise. Davis a thesis submitted to johns hopkins university in conformity with the requirements for the degree of master of arts in global security studies baltimore, maryland. The armed conflict in syria has accelerated in recent months. He was declared a doctor of the church in the roman catholic church in 1920. He is venerated by christians throughout the world, and especially among orthodox christians, as a saint. A spiritual psalter, or reflections on goda spiritual psalter, or reflections on god excerpted by bishop theophan the recluse from the works of our holy father ephraim the syrian arranged in the manner of the psalms of david translated by antonina janda together with the life of st. Policy issue itamar rabinovich analysis paper number 19, march 2009. April, 17, 2011syrian protesters shouts slogans calling for president bashar assad to step down during a protest to express solidarity with syrian people in front of the syrian embassy in. Russias policy on syria after the start of military engagement.
On day of rage, small protests against the regime of president bashar alassad. Causes, consequences, and recommendations for mitigation a paper commissioned by the center for the prevention of genocide, united states holocaust memorial museum by ambassador frederic c. Ephraim the syrian commentary on genesis free ebook download as pdf file. Under his guidance, ephraim changed and became meek, penitent and committed to god. Internal evidence from ephrems hymnody suggests that both his parents were part of the growing christian community in the city, although later hagiographers wrote that his father was a pagan priest. Gods selfrevelation as seen in the hymns on paradise a. The opposition division confuses the international community. Understanding statelessness in the syria refugee context e civil war broke out in syria in 2011.
Currently, there are two main opposition coalitions in syria. Ephraim realized that peoples lives were not directed by blind chance, but by lord god. Whether you support or oppose military intervention, the syria dilemma highlights the ethical and moral dilemmas at the heart of the syrian conflict. Syrian arranged in the manner of the psalms of david translated by. Ephraim of syria christian classics ethereal library. Ephrem is especially beloved in the syriac orthodox church, and counted as a venerable father in the eastern orthodox church. His works are hailed by christians throughout the world and many denominations venerate him as a saint. Venerable ephraim the syrian from the website of the oca. Pdf on jun 1, 2012, ayse tekdal fildis and others published roots of alawitesunni rivalry in syria find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. While the mainstream media portrayed armed rebels instigating violence against syrian security forces as peaceful protestors, us senator joe lieberman would threaten syria with foreign military intervention. Ephraim prayer group are a gathering of orthodox christian believers and those who love the lord jesus christ as the true god and savior of the world. Putins middle east game changer satellite imagery provided by allsource analysis confirms the recent arrival of russian main battle tanks, armored personnel carriers, helicopters, and other military equipment at an airbase in syrias coastal latakia province, indicating that russia has deployed troops inside syria.
A spiritual psalter, or reflections on god ephraim the syrian. The word of god is a tree of life that offers us blessed fruit from each of its branches. Let books be your dining table, and you shall be full of delights. Harp of the spirit, deacon, confessor and doctor of the church. Ephrem the syrian was a syriac and a prolific syriaclanguage hymnographer and theologian of the 4th century. Impact of the conflict on syrian economy and livelihoods page 5 of 23 impact of the crisis on sources of income the following chapter gives an overview of the main income sources of syrian households before the crisis and how these income sources have been impacted. The fourfold gospel in the writings of ephrem the syrian core. External actors and interests as drivers of conflict. Choices made within the war led to the total destruction of syria, the later fall of israel, and to the subsequent captivity and deportation for most of judah. First and foremost, this is a short volume of devotional poetry by the 4th century hymnographer ephraim or ephrem the syrian.
Collection of syrian war conflict articles, pdfs, maps, photos. The united nations passed resolution 1973 amid the first reports of insurrectionary violence in the southern syrian city of daraa. But despite all this, there is one father of the syrian church who was known in. Granted that some have been lost, ephrems productivity is not in doubt. Some parts of the opposition groups are considered to be connected to small communities. In 2019, turkey launched a cross border military operation attempting to expel syrian kurdish u. Ephraim the syrian o lord and master of my life, a spirit of idleness, despondency. He is venerated by christians throughout the world, but especially among syriac christians, as a saint. A new reading of ephrem the syrian s hymns on paradise 90 yousif feels that trichotomy is perhaps too strong a term. He has been declared a doctor of the church in roman catholicism.
Ephraim the syrian o lord and master of my life, a spirit of idleness, despondency, ambition, and idle talking give me not. The editors have done an excellent job in collecting critical contributions by prominent scholars and foreign policy analysts. Our righteous father ephrem the syrian was a prolific syriac language hymn writer and theologian of the 4th century. In the southern town of daraa, police arrest some fifteen young boys for spraypainting buildings with the slogan, the people want the downfall of the regime. Saint ephraim was born to wealthy parents in nisibis mesopotamia at the beginning of the fourth century and. Metrical poems by saint ephraem the syrian born at nisibis, then under roman rule, early in the fourth century. Rolfson the syroephraimite war was a conflict that would be the catalyst for the prophesied scattering of israel. Simply put, there is too much at stake to not to do something more than is already being done. Excerpted by bishop theophan the recluse from the works of our holy father ephraim the.
He was a prolific author, composing over four hundred hymns, several metrical homilies, and at least two scriptural commentaries. After this, ephraim abandoned the world and withdrew into the mountains with the recluses, where he became a disciple of saint james of nisibis. Assessing options for regime change daniel byman, michael doran, kenneth pollack, and salman shaikh syria is trapped on a crumbling precipice. His feast day in the orthodox church is january 28. The civil war in syria and the impotence of international politics muriel asseburg and heiko wimmen entering the third year of the con. The early christian writer and poet, ephraem the syrian, who lived from a. Nineteen hymns on the nativity of christ in the flesh. St ephrem the syrian, who died in ad 373 in edessa modernday sanliurfa, southeastern turkey in ad 373, has been judged comparable to. Ephrem was born around the year 306 in the city of nisibis, mesopotamia modern nusaybin, turkey, thenrecently acquired by rome.