Venerable Ephrem the Syrian

Ephrem was born around 306–308 in Nisibis, in Mesopotamia. He was taught by the city's bishop, Jacob, who ordained him deacon; Ephrem nonetheless refused any higher rank and embraced monastic life early, writing a great many works of spiritual instruction and hymns.

In 363, when Nisibis was ceded to the Persians, he left for Edessa, where he lived as an ascetic; he visited Basil the Great at Caesarea in 370 and later the desert fathers of Egypt. He died peacefully in 373, having become one of the most important writers of Syriac Christian literature.