About the Church

The hymn “On the Church” is part of the cycle of hymns against Julian the Apostate. St. Ephraim the Syrian dedicated it to researching the image of the Church in the light of Holy Scripture and the historical situation. The main methods of expression are allegory and symbolism. The central idea of ​​the work is the affirmation of the unity of the Church and its protection by the power of God's grace. The hymn consists of several key themes connected by the general idea of ​​the Church as a spiritual space organized according to God's laws. Topics raised in the essay: - The Church is the True Branch. The church is depicted as a symbol of a living tree, growing from roots that penetrate into God's mysteries; - the importance of trials and temptations for the believer; - denunciation of heresies and apostasies. Through the images of the prophets Elijah and Daniel, St. Ephraim the Syrian shows how false teaching and apostasy lead to destruction; - Vertograd and helicopter graduates. The hymn contrasts true and false fruits. Work and obedience lead to the fruits of virtue and eternal life. False Christians are depicted as parasites who enjoy the benefits of the Church but are unwilling to make the effort; - and other images and comparisons. The Monk Ephraim, or, as the Syrians call him, Mar Afrem, is equally widely known both in the Greco-Slavic patristic tradition and in the Syriac-language literature of the Christian East 1 . The undoubted and enormous ecclesiastical authority that he enjoyed in Byzantium and Rus' rests on the fairly early existence of a corpus of translations of his works (mainly ascetic) into Greek, known as “Ephraem Græcus” - “Greek Ephraim”. This corpus was constantly replenished and over several centuries it included a large number of Byzantine ascetic writings that had no relation to the historical Ephraim. At the same time, the paradox lies in the fact that it was the Greek (and the “Latin” Ephraim that arose in parallel with it) that to a certain extent “overshadowed” the image of the real Mar Afrem, which was too “eastern” to fit organically into the Byzantine paradigm. The real Ephraim the Syrian was born and lived his whole life in Mesopotamia, and died in the famous Syrian city of Edessa (Urhoy, modern Urfa), the capital of the Osroene region. Little is known about the life of the monk; his Syrian life is of a late nature; one can only say with confidence that Ephraim was the regent of the choir of virgins (the so-called “daughters of the Covenant”) and a monk (in the Syrian world of that time, monasticism was just beginning, and the hermits called themselves Rei Zav, literally “lonely” or “only begotten”). Later legends say that St. Ephraim had the rank of deacon. Connected with this information is the legend about the visit of Ephraim the Syrian to Caesarea in Cappadocia and his meeting with the saint. Basil the Great. Whatever the strictly scientific judgment about this legend, we can definitely say that Ephraim did not speak Greek, and his works show no traces of familiarity with Greek-language literature. On the other hand, Rev. Ephraim knew and used various Jewish interpretations of Holy Scripture, midrashim and targums that arose in the so-called. the intertestamental era, mainly in Aramaic, a language related to the one in which the monk himself spoke and wrote. The allegorical, or more precisely symbolic, method developed in these interpretations was widely used by the monk. In addition to his creative approach to biblical exegesis, Rev. Ephraim was also an inspired poet, which earned the Syrians the nickname “lyre of the Holy Spirit.” This combination of poet and theologian makes him similar to such Fathers as St. Gregory the Theologian, St. Andrew of Crete or St. John of Damascus. Among the numerous works of Rev. Ephraim - interpretations of the Old Testament, Diatessaron (Syrian consolidated Gospel), on the epistles of St. Paul, on the Acts of the Apostles. He also wrote dogmatic and polemical works against Manichaeism, Arianism and the Gnostic teachings of Bardesan; among his other works are cycles of hymns about virginity, about Abraham of Kidon, about fasting, about Christmas, the famous “Hymns about Paradise”, “Nisibin chants”, etc. He also wrote prose words of various contents, ascetic and dogmatic. We are publishing for the first time in Russian translation the hymn 2 Rev. Ephraim of 15 bytes (lit. "houses", as the Syrians call the stanzas), published by the German scholar Edmund Beck from a Syriac manuscript in the British Museum (Add 14571), dated 519 and called by him "De Ecclesia", does not actually have this inscription in Syriac. But it has an edge (acrostic) with the name of its author: [...], Afrem. In the manuscript it immediately precedes the cycle of hymns known as the Hymns against Julian. In this cycle of sublime poems, Ephraim, a direct witness to the events of 362–363. (the era of the short reign of Emperor Julian the Apostate, who tried to restore the paganism of the Roman Empire and recklessly eradicated Christianity, which had already begun to establish itself as the state religion), reflects on the fate of the empire, Orthodoxy, and the Church after the catastrophe that occurred during the short reign of Julian. The monk himself, among many Christians from Nisibin, was forced to leave his hometown after Emperor Jovian ceded this city in 363. This “historiosophical” cycle, which became a response to pressing events, was preceded by a large dogmatic cycle of hymns “On Faith”, directed against Arianism. Thus, if at first the monk turned to defending the teachings of the Church from heretics, then here he is already defending the Church itself, or rather, the Orthodox teaching about it. Of particular interest to the published hymn is a certain similarity of the historical moment with the current evil times, when the Orthodox teaching about the Church and its borders is most actively being revised, and the modern mass apostasy, when apostates and heretics lay claim to church property, is reminiscent of the era after the death of Julian, when numerous “fallen” and heretical Arians sought to destroy the true Orthodox and win over the Roman emperors to their side. As you know, they failed. In this hymn Rev. Ephraim, speaking about the Church, as is usually the case with him, develops several main themes and images at once, mostly inspired in one way or another by biblical images, which are intended for the spiritual edification of listeners and readers. These topics are briefly as follows: 1. The Lord is the True Branch (Vine), giving grace-filled canopy and fruit. The hay-leaved branch gives rest in the summer heat (in this way the Holy Father indicates God's protection and protection in circumstances). Speaking about the fact that the Lord is the hope of the Church, Rev. Ephraim calls the Lord the heavenly roots of this hope. Speaking about the stewardship of salvation, the monk uses the image of condescension: the branch bowed (kenosis, of course) 2. The widespread patristic theme of temptation, testing (derivatives of the root [...]) is actively developed by St. Ephraim. The Lord tempts his children, and only those who have gone through the test can be called true workers of God, who are “sons of Truth” and “fruits worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven.” The theme of the challenge is related to the theme of heat. 3. Speaking about the Church, Rev. Ephraim does not directly use the very common image of the Ark of the Covenant among the fathers, but he hints at it clearly enough for those who remember the Scriptures. So in the third byte he says that God cut off the hands of the soldiers (...) so that they did not bend Him down. There are two stories: the first is about Dagon, who dared to touch the Ark of the Covenant (1 Samuel 5:1-5), for which his head, legs and arms were cut off, and the second - with the elders of the regiments of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul (from the Hebrew Ish-bosheth - a man of shame), Rechab and Bahana (2 Samuel 4:1-9), who killed Ish-bosheth, for which David ordered his servants to cut off their hands. The murder of Ishbosheth itself takes place “in the heat of the day” (2 Samuel 4:5), which clearly echoes the image of the heat in the hymn of Ephraim. Thus, cutting off hands is the punishment of a blasphemer who encroaches on the Church. 4. The next image is Elijah and the prophets, who symbolize the Church as the discovery of a hidden treasure: Elijah wandered, denounced Ahab and Jezebel, overthrew the worship of idols (that is, creatures), which is why 7,000 Israelites defeated, about which Ephraim says: “The crowns shone.” Here we mean the events of chapters 20 and 21 of 3 Books. Kingdoms, which speaks of Ben-Adad (in the Septuagint and Slavic Bible - the son of Ader) and his campaign against the city of Apheka, as well as the defeat of the Syrian army in the assurance of Ahab. The Church here is the victory of true faith, hidden, but manifested through the Man of God Elijah. The story of Daniel uses the rather classic image of the Three Youths as a symbol of the confessional steadfastness of the Church. The youths are loved by God, and through them He shows a miracle in His mercy. Like Jezebel and Ahab, Nebuchadnezzar is a victorious king, but his hands are also defeated for assurance and salvation. Soteriology is also connected in Ephraim with the classical theme of the New Adam, Who raises the old to incorruption and returns Eden to him. The power of the Son of God is hidden in His external powerlessness, for with His Passion Christ magnifies the Power of God and lifts up the true branch above the vine of Egypt. Generally speaking, the theme of “hidden” and “revealed” (kasyata/galyata) is very typical for the theology of St. Ephraim. So in “Hymns on Faith,” for example, he says that the Hidden One (that is, the One God) became “the Most Revealed of All” by taking on a body (“On Faith” 19.7). 5. An important topic is the topic of heliport and heligradars. It begins with the mention of a false grapevine that produces unripe grapes - Christians of little faith and selfishness. God rejects such a vineyard. In His helicopter city, the Lord is waiting for the true gardeners who cultivate it and in this way differ from the passing liars, who are ready to enjoy the shade of the helicopter city and the fruits of the vine, but in the “hour of oppression” they leave it. These are the enemies of the Church - those who neglect the work of the Church. The liars did not love the Lord, Who is the True Vertogradar, but their own womb. It is to “weed out” such liars that the Lord allows trials. The true workers of Christ's field must, like the True Vertogradar, be crucified on the Tree of the Cross, from which the old Adam ate. The new fruit of the New Tree is the Animal Bread, the Source of the Life. 6. Rev. Ephraim also introduces an eschatological theme, talking about two times, summer/heat (Sir. daqita) vs. winter/cold (Sir. sathwa). The hot summer (let us not forget that the monk wrote in hot Mesopotamia) - the time when an unfaithful Christian hurries into the shade provided by the Church, and, as if involuntarily, remains in a helicopter city - is the time of this life, passing in serene neglect of the work of the Church. Cold and winter are trials of the last times in which we live. At this time, all those who are not devoted to the Church retreat from it and abandon it. The monk prays only that he may remain in the winter cold, when false Christians do not care about the helicopter city, “outside,” but asks that he may remain inside, with the helicopter gardeners, even the few (...). Rev. Ephraim calls to adhere to God, while heretics seek to blaspheme Him. There is a historical context here, reminiscent of the time when the Arian heresy was rampant. Translation based on the publication: Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Hymnen de Paradiso und Contra Julianum. Herausgegeben von Dom Edmund Beck (Leuven, 1957) CSCO, vol. 174, Scriptores syri, vol. 78., pp. 67–70. 1. Trust in the truth 3 and do not be afraid, brothers! For our Lord is not weak, even though He left us in temptations. He is the Power from which creation lives and its inhabitants. In Him is the hope of His Church. Whoever is able to cut off his heavenly roots [i.e. hope]? Blessed 4, Whose power descended and filled His churches! 2. Be rich, my brethren, in the treasure of consolation. From the word of our Lord, what He said about His Church: “The gates of hell 5 will not be able to overcome her!” 6 And if she is stronger even than hell, Which mortal can shake her?! Blessed is He who exalted her And again the Tempter, may she again ascend! 3. Stretch out your hands 7 to the Branch 8 of truth! She cut off the hands of the warriors 9, so that they would not break Her. She Herself bowed Her summit and descended to the competition. He tested the righteous 10 who loved Him, And those who loved Him in doubt fell away 11. Blessed is he who bowed her down, may he again rise victoriously! 4. Elijah was drunk out of love for the Truth 12, And he wandered barren, and denounced the worshipers of Ahab, Those who despised the Creator and worshiped the creature. Jezebel sent her followers down to hell. And the crowns of seven thousand men shone 13. Blessed be His servant who reveals the hidden treasure! 5. Many are the sons of Truth 14 in this true Branch, And they ripened and became fruits worthy of the Kingdom. Although the branch is alive, there are also dead fruits on it, Blooming just for a glance. The wind tested them 15 and the barren flowers fell. Blessed is He whose crown is established in Him! 6. The All-Life-Giver tested Daniel in His love, Condition 16, which the cunning people invented, May they put an end to His blessed power, which rejected their prayer 17. They dishonored their idols and did not understand. He destroyed their veneration, so that One will be venerated by all. Blessed be He that the true ones have overcome the false ones! 7. [The branch] bowed down and laid down His beloved ones into the flames 18, But there was dew on its leaves 19 , and it cooled the heat 20 . The hands of the 21 victorious king were overcome 22, he decided Greatness 23 [of God] to bow down before your idols. His loved ones who did not forsake Him were not abandoned by Him. Blessed art thou, who is not in statues 24, But He will be praised in His servants! 8. Jesus, bow 25 Your mercy to us, so that we may acquire it! Behold the Branch that bowed its shoots 26 to the ungrateful, And they ate, and were filled, and turned aside, and blasphemed Him. On the contrary, he condescended even to Adam in hell, He brought him out by the sunrise and returned him to Eden. Blessed be He who commanded us to bow before her, Yes, we too will embrace and ascend through Her! 9 . And who will not cry! Although the 27th Branch is strong, The one who does not want to accept Her power He errs in his weakness, for [although] this Branch is weak, But she defeated all the kings and granted canopy To the whole world. Through His passions His power was increased 28. Blessed is He who exalted Her above this vine of Egypt 29! 10. And whoever does not grab hold of this true Branch, that he brings true [Christians] and rejects false ones. And not at all because they were so hard on Her strength, She rejected them. For our sake He tested them with a gust of wind, Who threw down the withered [fruits], but gives birth to the true ones. Blessed is the one who rejected the helix 30, which gives birth to unripe [fruits] 31! 11. How the liars [acted] with this Branch of life: at the hour of Her blossoming they sat under Her shadow, in the hour of Her oppression they were ungrateful to Her, They became like people passing by and idle 32. They came and gathered the fruits, And they neglected the helicopter city and abandoned it. Blessed is this one, whose heli-graders abide in heli-grad! 12. How the summer heat with its fruits forced Gluttonous, but they will be friends with the Vertogradar, Maybe winter will make it clear to the liars, That they did not love Him, but their own belly. In the heat they hurried to Him, but in the cold they fled from Him. Blessed are you, the one who established the furnace and tested the wallpaper! 13. When the heat adorns the summer [people], It’s as if they were processing a helipad, Behold winter, let him convict them of what they plundered and dragged away with them. The One who was the true Vetogradar remained there. He is crucified with the tree of the cross, from the fruit of which He ate 33. Come, let us be crucified on the Cross, who gave us the bread of life! 14. Lord, even to me you have given enjoy this: sowing fruits and canopy to all the branches 35, may I be with the heli-graders, despised, in the cold of winter, Yes, the Imam does not have two times: in the summer - inside, in the winter - outside! Grant us, O Lord, according to Your goodness 36, 15. The kings who overshadowed 37 plunged us into hot days. We ate their fruits and remained ungrateful for their branches. Our soul has become pampered among blessings and canopy, But our lips were quick to attack our Creator38??? 38, He took away the canopy from us so that we would remember the heat. Blessed are you, who show us immeasurable mercy! It remains to add perhaps one last thing. Our translation can only partially convey the rhythmic pattern of the rich poetry of St. Ephraim. The Syriac hymn (madrash) consists of bytes (stanzas), with each byte combining a number of lines, each of which, in turn, consists of two parts. Each line contains a certain number of syllables, so the principle of versification is quantitative-metric. It sounds something like this: Estméku al-kushto wa la terehlun ahe la guerre mahel maran de nedfen benacione Thus, our translation is only a weak attempt to approach the transmission of the legacy of the holy father. Reverend Father Ephraim, pray to God for us! See about Rev. Ephraim's preface to his works, published in the pre-revolutionary series “Creations of St. fathers in Russian translations,” although it is far behind modern pathological science. In English language There is a useful book by Sebastian Brock: S. Brock, The Luminous Eye. The Spiritual World Vision of Saint Ephrem the Syrian (Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1992). With this Greek term we translate sir. madrāšā, which is actually a rhythmic syllabic genre of Syriac literature, determined by a biblical theme, of which Rev. Ephraim was one of the founders and legislators. Qūštā is a regular epithet for a deity. In Ephraim, God is often called by his Names, that is, by his properties. This refrain brih-ū... is a feature of liturgical poetry. Here and further the word šēol, sheol is used. Sire. dar'ē d-gībrē, another word for hand is used here, ¡sJ, meaning “hand” in ex. from the less specific 'yad. Here is another root with the meaning. “right, true” – ŠRR. That is, “only externally,” “with reservation,” according to the sire. b-'elltā. Sire. rahmanūtha d-šarīrā, lit. "devotion to Truth", the root RHM is usually translated into Slavic by words related to the root MIL-, "mercy", "mercy", "tenderness". Sire. bnay qūštā, "those who are involved in the truth." The same word as “spirit” – rūhā. Apparently, the order to honor idols is Dan 3ff. Dan 2:18. Sire. We translated êlðîeh as “prayer” in contrast to Dom Bek, which translated as Verehrung (veneration, service). This byte continues the theme of Daniel, and talks about the Three Jewish Youths in the Cave. Sire. dr'ūhay, pl. from der'a, see note 8. That is, Nebuchadnezzar, cf. Dan 3:14. Sire. rūmā – lit. “height”, of course greatness, glory. In sir. units – ê almā, idol, statue. gaftā d-men mi ê rā, bunch from Egypt, cf. Ps. 80:9. A reference to the parable of the heli-graders; “vertograd” – sire. karmā, “heli-grader” – pel Ð ā, that is, in Sir. These words are not the same root. Wed. Isa 5:2. The word ÐðrábhË actually means “empty, useless.” We accept E. Beck's interpretation as “unripe fruits” (Herrlinge). Literally, “To those who passed by to gaze” (“to those who were curious”). This contains a well-known interpretation of the midrash type: Christ is the New Adam; the old Adam ate from the tree of knowledge, from which the Tree of the Cross was made (cf. his “Tales on the Church” 51:8). sūkthā d-kūlā (lit. branch of everything) – poetic trope. Sire. maybðîÂ, rather “kindness”, from the root Ð b-, with the meaning. “good, kind.” In the immediate sense, the Christian kings of St. Constantine and Constantius. The latter was inclined towards Arianism, but traditionally he was somewhat whitewashed by the Christian tradition, apparently in contrast with Julian, who came after him. See eg. words of accusatory words against Julian St. Gregory. Wed. my article: A. Muravyov, Invective of Gregory the Theologian against Julian as a source on early Byzantine political theory // Byzantine Essays (M., 1996) 76–87.