Ephrem the Syrian
Syriac deacon and hymnographer whose Lenten Prayer is central to Orthodox devotion.
Ephrem the Syrian was a deacon, theologian, and hymnographer who lived and worked in Edessa and Nisibis, in what is now southeastern Turkey. He wrote hundreds of hymns, biblical commentaries, and spiritual treatises in Syriac, the dialect of Aramaic that became the literary language of Eastern Christianity. His Lenten Prayer ("O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of laziness, despair, lust for power, and idle talk...") remains the central prayer of Orthodox Great Lent and is recited at every weekday Lenten service, traditionally accompanied by full prostrations. Ephrem is honored as a Father of the Church across Catholic, Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox traditions, and was named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XV in 1920. His prayers and hymns have shaped Eastern Christian worship for sixteen hundred years.