Venerable Ephrem the Syrian

Venerable Ephrem the Syrian was born around 306 in Nisibis, Mesopotamia, into a Christian family. In his youth he had a hot, impatient temper; after being unjustly imprisoned, he deeply repented and turned to strict ascetic life. A disciple of St. James of Nisibis, he accompanied him to the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea (325). He served as a deacon and taught at the School of Nisibis. After the Persians took Nisibis in 363, he withdrew to Edessa, living first in the desert mountains and later near the city, where he continued writing biblical commentaries, polemics against heresies, and penitential hymns and prayers. He is the author of the Lenten prayer "O Lord and Master of my life," read throughout Great Lent. Shortly before his death he traveled to Caesarea in Cappadocia to meet St. Basil the Great. He reposed in 373. He is venerated as one of the greatest teachers of repentance in Christian history; in 1920 Pope Benedict XV declared him a Doctor of the Universal Church.