St Ephrem The Syrian Quotes

This Lord of natures today was transformed contrary to His nature; it is not too difficult for us to also overthrow our evil will." Hymns of the Nativity, Hymn 1:97, pg. 74 in Ephrem the Syrian: Hymns (New York: Paulist Press, 1989).

And if any one wishes to say, concerning something which to himself seems meet;--"It were meet for God to do this;" let him know that it is meet for himself not to speak thus concerning God.  For the chief of all things meet is this:  that a man should not teach God what is meet.  For it becomes not man to become God's instructor.

My God, without ceasing, I will tread the threshold of Thy house; I who have rejected all grace, I will ask with boldness, that I may receive with confidence

out of the stream the fish whereof Simon took, out of it the Fisher of men came up, and took him.  With the Cross which catches all robbers, He caught up unto life that robber!

And when Death came to feed after his custom, the Life in His turn swallowed up Death.  This is the food that hungered to eat its eater. So then, by one fruit which Death swallowed hungrily, he vomited up many lives which he had swallowed greedily.

Him Aaron looked for, for he saw that if his rod ate serpents up, [367] His cross would eat the Serpent up that had eaten Adam and Eve.  Moses saw the uplifted serpent that had cured the bites of asps, and he looked to see Him who would heal the ancient Serpent's wound.

the ungodly were terrified and said;--"His disciples have stolen His body;" that they might be held in contempt when it should be discovered.  But the disciples, who [they said] stole the dead body from the living guards, were found to be assailing Death in the name of Him Who was stolen; that [Death] might not steal the life of the living.

Let us avert by that which has been, the thing that is yet to be; let us be taught by that which has come, to escape that which is coming; let us remember that which is past, to avoid that which is future.  Because we had forgotten the first stroke, the second fell on us; because we forgot the second, the third bore heavy on us.  Who will yet again forget!

because it was through the tree that mankind had fallen into Sheol, so upon the tree they passed over into the dwelling of life.  Through the tree then wherein bitterness was tasted, through it also sweetness was tasted; that we might learn of Him that amongst the creatures nothing resists Him.  Glory be to Thee, Who didst lay Thy cross as a bridge over death, that souls might pass over upon it from the dwelling of the dead to the dwelling of life!

It is right that man should acknowledge your divinity, It is right for heavenly beings to worship your humanity. The heavenly beings were amazed to see how small you became, And earthly ones to see how exalted.23 St Ephrem the Syrian

Thus the coming of Islam seems to be nothing less than a divine judgement on the Byzantine world for its failure to fulfil its mission. And the cause of that failure was the same as that for which St. Ephrem, the greatest of the Syrian Fathers, reproached the Greeks in the fourth century - the unbridled lust for theological controversy which made the most sacred dogmas of the faith slogans of party warfare, sacrificed charity and unity to party spirit.