TO THE READER.

...however much they differed among themselves, the Church of God was being ruined by a conspiracy: or those whom the decrees of the Council of Nicaea and the piety of the great Constantine had suppressed while he lived, regained their strength with the favor of his successors and began to mix and disturb everything again. But with the strength of mind and sharpness of intellect he possessed, he [Ephrem] most fiercely opposed them. Having drawn light from the lamp of the Divine Spirit, as In the Encomium [Praise]. Saint Gregory of Nyssa Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335–395 AD) wrote a famous sermon in praise of Ephrem, emphasizing his divine inspiration. speaks of him, and being illuminated by it, he wrote extensively against all the heretics of his time. Many of these works he intentionally composed in metrical rhythms and the brilliance and elegance of a poetic style, because, as Book 3, chapter 16. Sozomen writes, he saw that the Syrians, charmed by the beauty of the melody and the grace of the speech, were freely reading the books of Harmonius, and by that means were gradually led to feel the same as he did. Harmonius was the son of the philosopher Bardaisan; both were known for their hymns that spread heterodox ideas. Ephrem famously adopted their musical meters to teach orthodox theology through song. Therefore, I believe Photius’s statement—that he had heard from the Syrians about the elegance of Ephrem's style—refers especially to this part of Saint Ephrem's labors.

Come then, and reread all of this Author's writings of this kind; they either refute the errors of the Gentiles—an argument no more familiar to the ancient Fathers of the Church, and most appropriate to Ephrem's times, since the vain religion of idols still flourished and profane temples still stood. For not long after the Holy Doctor’s death, the fight against the madness of idolatry began to be waged not so much with pens as with laws and arms; by the edicts of the great Theodosius, the most famous shrines of the Gentiles were destroyed, and the public cult of idols was outlawed. Or else they fight against heresies, and you will find none mentioned that are more recent than the age of the Holy Doctor, or which do not predate the time of the Council of Nicaea—at which Blessed Ephrem was present with his Holy Master, Jacob, Bishop of Nisibis, as the acts of both testify. Jacob of Nisibis was Ephrem's spiritual mentor and one of the signatories of the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD.

For this reason, there is deep silence regarding the Nestorians and Eutychians; although these two should have been the first and foremost mentioned, since they both shook all of Syria—indeed, all the peoples of the Syriac rite—and continue to disturb them today. On the contrary, he constantly attacks the sects of the Marcionites, Chuchites, and Eunomians; these, of course, were throwing the whole East into confusion in Ephrem’s time. If he very frequently inveighs against the Manichaeans, it is no wonder, for having been born not long before in neighboring Persia, they had poured into Mesopotamia around the same time the Holy Doctor was writing. Therefore, I have no doubt that he is criticizing the Manichaeans (without naming them) in those passages found in the Commentary on Genesis on page 13. As for Origen or Philo the Hebrew, they appear immediately at the beginning of the same Commentary, where he criticizes the license of the Alexandrian school in interpreting the Divine Scriptures. The Alexandrian school, led by figures like Origen and influenced by Philo Judaeus, favored allegorical interpretations of the Bible, which Ephrem often tempered with more literal or historical readings.

From this, another conjecture similar to the previous one is drawn: since the Author of these works praises writers older than Ephrem when the occasion arises, yet mentions no one more recent than his age, even though it would have been quite worthwhile to do so. For what? In those Meters where the two natures of Christ and the single person were discussed, were Nestorius and Eutyches to be passed over? Or were the decrees of the two general councils to be suppressed? Indeed, by this indicator, many writings of the ancients have been vindicated and asserted for their true Authors.

To these is added another conjecture which, as I hinted above, is usually taken from a constant and perpetual agreement in opinions and doctrine. For it should not be easily presumed that a man who is not entirely foolish—let alone a most serious Doctor of the Church, such as we proclaim the Author of these works to be—would disagree with himself and speak contradictory things. Thus, if such a disagreement is detected anywhere, it will be permitted to suspect that one or the other offspring is spurious and illegitimate.

Here, then, you will immediately object to the famous interpretation of that passage: "And the Spirit of the Lord was moved over the waters." Genesis 1:2. The Latin text uses "ferebatur" (was carried/moved). This was praised by Saint Basil and attributed to Ephrem (as many learned men believe), yet in the first Commentary on Genesis, Ephrem seems to reject it and affirm that in that place, the discussion is not about the Holy Spirit as Basil interprets it, but rather, according to the historical sense—after indicating the creation of the earth and the waters—it signifies that the air was likewise made by God. Furthermore, Gregory, Bishop of Tagrit Gregory of Tagrit (7th century) was a prominent West Syrian theologian., who was very well-versed in the writings of Blessed Ephrem, specifically attributes this interpretation of the place to him while praising the same Commentaries on Genesis.

But here it must be noted, following the explanation in Genesis page 16, that the Catena A "catena" (Latin for "chain") is a form of biblical commentary made up of a string of excerpts from earlier Church Fathers woven together into a continuous text. was woven together by Severus the Monk from the commentaries of Saint Ephrem and Jacob of Edessa, as the title itself teaches. Therefore, I think that interpretation concerning the Holy Spirit should be restored to Jacob of Edessa, even if his name was not attached by Severus, or if Ephrem’s name was substituted in its place. Learned men have noted that this flaw is very frequent in such catenas. Consequently, it must be said that Saint Ephrem only explained to Saint Basil the force of the Hebrew word מרחפת (merachepet), The Hebrew root implies fluttering, hovering, or incubating. "was incubating," original: "incubabat" which was common to his fellow Syrians; he did not declare his own opinion on the sense of that passage, but rather the opinion of his Syrians. Indeed, those words of Basil prove nothing else: original Greek: "τὸ ἐπεφέρετο , φησὶν , ἐξηγῶνται , τῷ συνέθαλπε" — "The phrase 'was moved,' he says, they explain by 'it cherished with warmth' [or 'incubated']." "The phrase 'was moved,' he says, they explain by 'it cherished with warmth' [or 'incubated']." Moreover, no one is ignorant that...