The metric homily (memrā) entitled 'The Testament of *Ephrem' (poet and theologian of Edessa, ob. 373, S01238), speaking in the person of Ephrem, discourages his followers from burying his body under the altar inside a church, and/or next to the martyrs. Written, probably in Edessa, in the early 5th c.
E03510
Literary - Hagiographical - Other saint-related texts
Ephrem the Syrian
Testament of Ephrem 117-124, 151-156
ܡܢ ܕܣܐܡ ܠܝ ܬܚܬ ܡܕܒܚܐ ܠܐ ܢܚܙܐ ܡܕܒܚܐ ܕܫܡܝܐ
ܕܠܐ ܘܠܝܐܐ ܕܪܝܚܐ ܛܡܐܐ ܢܬܬܣܝܡ ܒܐܬܪܐ ܩܕܝܫܐ
ܡܢ ܕܣܐܡ ܠܝ ܒܓܘ ܗܝܟܠܐ ܠܐ ܢܚܙܐ ܗܝܟܠ ܡܠܟܘܬܐ
ܕܠܐ ܡܘܬܪ ܫܘܒܚܐ ܣܪܝܩܐ ܠܒܪܢܫܐ ܕܠܐ ܫܘܐ ܠܗ
...
ܠܐ ܬܣܝܡܘܢܢܝ ܥܡ ܣܗ̈ܕܐ ܕܚܛܝܐ ܐܢܐ ܘܒܨܝܪܐ
ܘܕܚܠ ܐܢܐ ܡܢ ܒܘܨܖ̈ܝ ܕܐܬܩܪܒ ܨܝܕ ܓܖ̈ܡܝܗܘܢ
ܕܐܢ ܩܪܒܐ ܚܒܬܐ ܠܢܘܪܐ ܚܒܐ ܒܗ̇ ܐܦ ܐܟܠܐ ܠܗ̇
'He, who would place me under the altar, will not see the heavenly altar,
For it is not appropriate that unclean odour should be placed in the holy place.
He, who would place me inside the church, will not see the royal palace,
For the vain glory is of no avail to the human, who is not worthy of it.
…
Do not place me with the martyrs, for I am a sinner and unworthy one,
And, conscious of my faults, I am afraid to draw near their bones,
For when the chaff approaches the fire, it kindles it and eats it.'
Text: Beck 1973, vol. 1, 46-47.
Translation: S. Minov.
Cult building - independent (church)
Non Liturgical ActivityBurial ad sanctos
RelicsBodily relic - entire body
Attempts to prevent the veneration of one's relics
Source
The Testament of Ephrem is a poetic presentation of the last will of Ephrem the Syrian, the famous fourth-century poet and theologian from Edessa. Addressed by the poet to his disciples, it is almost certainly not a genuine work of Ephrem. An original Syriac work, it was composed, most likely, in Edessa during the first decades of the 5th century. The Testament belongs to the literary genre of memrā, a narrative poem that employs couplets all in the same syllabic meter. Such poems, which appear to have been recited rather than sung, were presumably used in the liturgy, though there is no evidence from Late Antiquity of exactly how this happened.There are ancient translations of the Testament into Greek, Armenian, Georgian, and Arabic.
There is a critical edition of the Syriac text of the Testament, prepared by Edmund Beck on the basis of manuscript Vatican Syr. 117 (12th c.).
Syriac text: Duval 1901, pp. 243-283; Beck 1973, vol. 1, pp. 43-69; French translation: Duval 1901, pp. 284-310; German translation: Beck 1973, vol. 2, pp. 53-80; Russian translation: Гумилевскiй 1962. For general information on the work, see Duval 1901; Suh 2000, pp. 156-173.
Discussion
The Testament bears witness to the development of the cult of saints, beyond that of the martyrs, in early fifth-century Edessa. While employing the popular hagiographical topos of a holy man trying to prevent his post-mortem veneration, it demonstrates that by the time of its composition the practice of burying non-martyr saints inside the churches, next to the martyrs' relics, began to gain popularity.Bibliography
Main editions and translations:Beck, E., Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Sermones, IV. 2 vols (CSCO 334-335, Syr. 148-149; Louvain: Secrétariat du CorpusSCO, 1973).
Duval, R., “Le Testament de saint Éphrem,” Journal asiatique IX, 18 (1901), 234-319.
Гумилевскiй, Ф., “Завѣщанiе св. Ефрема,” Черниговскiя Епархiальныя Извѣстiя, Прибавленiя 1 Марта (1862), 155-161; 15 Марта (1862) 179-189.
Further reading:
Suh, W., From the Syriac Ephrem to the Greek Ephrem: A Case Study of the Influence of Ephrem’s Isosyllabic Sermons (memre) on Greek-Speaking Christianity (Ph.D. dissertation; Princeton Theological Seminary, 2000).
Sergey Minov
01/08/2017
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S01238 | Ephrem, poet and theologian of Edessa, ob. 373 | ܐܦܪܝܡ | Certain |
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