Why Is St Ephrem Called the “Harp of the Holy Spirit”?

Today is the Feast of St Ephrem the Syrian, Confessor & Doctor of the Church. Mr Kosloski explains how he got the epithet, "Harp of the Holy Spirit".

From Aleteia

By Philip Kosloski

Ephrem, the "Harp of the Holy Spirit," wrote a number of hymns that are used by many Eastern Christians.

St. Ephrem, an influential saint from the 4th century, is known as the "Harp of the Holy Spirit."

He was born into a pagan family, but was instructed as a youth in the Christian faith, finally being baptized at the age of 18. Eventually it appears that he was ordained a deacon, on account of his ability to preach in public.

A VaticanNews biography of his life explains how St. Ephrem saw symbolism in everything:

Ephrem saw symbols, that is, connections, or things that open up to reveal deeper and greater things – ultimately, the Lord Jesus Christ – everywhere. He saw these symbols in the Scriptures, but also in the whole creation: “In every place you look, His symbol is there… For by Him were created all creatures and He imprinted His symbols upon His possessions when He created the world.” Elsewhere Ephrem exclaims, “This Jesus created so many symbols that I have fallen into them as into the sea!”

There are many legendary stories about St. Ephrem, but it is difficult to ascertain the historical truth about many of these stories that were written about his life.

Why is that?

St. Ephrem is called the "Harp of the Holy Spirit" primarily because of the number of hymns and poems that he wrote.

Even his homilies were written in verse, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia.

Most of Ephraem's sermons and exhortations are in verse, though a few sermons in prose have been preserved. If we put aside his exegetical writings, the rest of his works may be divided into homilies and hymns. The homilies are written in seven-syllable verse, often divided into two parts of three and four syllables respectively. He celebrates in them the feast of Our Lord and of the saints; sometimes he expounds a Scriptural narrative or takes up a spiritual or edifying theme.

As a result, "[i]n the East the Lessons for the ecclesiastical services were often taken from the homilies of Ephraem." He is known as a Syriac Doctor of the Church, and the greatest hymnographer of the Christian East.

Even today St. Ephrem's hymns and homilies are used extensively in various Eastern Christian liturgies.

St. Ephrem was clearly inspired by the Holy Spirit and let that inspiration form everything that he wrote.