Syriac-speaking Church Father of the fourth century (c. 306-373) and the greatest Syriac Christian poet. Born at Nisibis in Mesopotamia (on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire); served as deacon under Bishop Jacob of Nisibis (and his successors); when Nisibis was ceded to the Persians by Emperor Jovian in 363 (after the death of Emperor Julian the Apostate during his Persian campaign), Ephrem and many other Christians migrated west to Edessa (modern Urfa in Turkey); served at Edessa as deacon, teacher in the catechetical school, and substantial theological-pastoral figure until his death (373, during a famine in which Ephrem reportedly devoted himself to relief work among the poor). Ephrem's literary corpus is the largest and most substantive in Syriac Christianity. His principal contributions are: (1) hymn-cycles in Syriac on doctrinal, biblical, and liturgical themes (the Hymns on the Nativity, Hymns on the Resurrection, Hymns on Paradise, Hymns Against Heresies, and many others; the hymns were often composed for female choirs Ephrem trained); (2) biblical commentaries on Genesis, Exodus, and parts of the Pauline epistles; (3) prose polemical works against the major heresies of the era (Bardaisanites, Marcionites, Manicheans, Arians). Ephrem's theology is distinctively Syriac: poetic-symbolic rather than philosophically-discursive; deeply rooted in biblical typology and symbolic imagery; substantial engagement with the Hebrew language and Old Testament background; characteristic emphasis on the Pearl, the Robe, the Garment, the Bridal Chamber, and other Syriac-tradition images for the divine mysteries. Sometimes called the Harp of the Spirit in Syriac tradition; the only Syriac Church Father to be honored across Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and various Eastern Christian traditions.