Deacon and Doctor of the Church · Remembered on June 9
St. Ephrem
St. Ephrem is remembered on June 9 in Bless’s calendar of saints.
| Remembered on | June 9 |
|---|---|
| Title | Deacon and Doctor of the Church |
| Died | c. 373 |
| Next on Bless’s Today screen | None left in the published calendar (through December 31, 2028) |
Life
A deacon of Nisibis and then Edessa who never sought priesthood, called ‘the harp of the Holy Spirit’: he wrote theology almost entirely in verse, hundreds of hymns on the Nativity, on Paradise, on faith, against the heresies of his day — and taught choirs of women to sing them.
When famine struck Edessa he organized the relief of the starving, and died within weeks of the plague he caught serving them. The only Syriac father honored as a Doctor of the Church, he shows that theology can be sung.
In the calendar
The upcoming dates, through December 31, 2028, when Bless’s Today screen shows St. Ephrem. Where the US calendar keeps another celebration that day, it is named instead and no rank is given.
Readings
No dates are left in Bless’s published calendar, which runs through December 31, 2028. St. Ephrem keeps June 9 in Bless’s calendar of saints: see the saints of June.
All the saints of June Born on June 9? A saint for every day
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