In perhaps the first true resounding upset of Lent Madness 2019, Marina the Monk swept aside Dominic 62% to 38% to secure a spot in the Saintly Sixteen against Ignatius of Loyola.
In the last matchup of the first full week of the saintly season, it's Mellitus vs. Ephrem of Nisibis. Or Bishop vs. Deacon (not that we'd ever encourage the pitting of ecclesiastical orders against one another).
After a full, intense week of reading, learning, disagreeing, and hopefully being inspired, it's time for some respite from our little competition. From here on out, there will be no contests on Saturdays or Sundays. We occasionally share some weekend posts here on the website, and you can always check Facebook and Twitter for additional content, including some saintly recipes courtesy of the Lent Madness Celebrity Chef, Maria Virginia.
After today, the next vote will take place first thing Monday morning as the round of 32 continues with Tabitha vs. Dismas. In the meantime, get to it!
Mellitus
At the end of the sixth century, Augustine traveled to Britain to establish an official Christian presence in the region, although Christianity had been practiced in Britain for approximately 300 years. With the conversion and subsequent support of King Æthelberht in Kent, Augustine was consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury. Four years later, Augustine sent word to Pope Gregory I that he needed more clergy to join the mission of converting the kingdom.
Mellitus was part of this group traveling to Britain. A Roman and son of a noble family, Mellitus may have been an abbot at a monastery before he was commissioned for the trip. In 604 ce, Augustine consecrated him Bishop of London. Mellitus established the first of many churches that would be built on the site of the current St. Paul’s Cathedral. Mellitus and his fellow missionaries also brought with them books and other items needed for Christian worship. One of those books, St. Augustine’s Gospels, is still part of the Cambridge collections and is the oldest surviving Latin Gospel book.
After several years in England, Mellitus attended a council of bishops in 610 in Italy. The early church was in many ways still a loose confederacy of liturgies and practices. Mellitus supported the Roman date for Easter rather than the Celtic date (a controversy that would be decided at the Synod of Whitby some fifty years later).
When the kings who had welcomed Augustine and Mellitus died, their sons saw little political need for alliances with the Christian bishops. According to Bede, the sons wanted to taste the consecrated bread. When Mellitus refused, they exiled him to Gaul. Mellitus eventually returned to Canterbury after the death of Laurence, the second Archbishop of Canterbury, and was consecrated the third Archbishop of Canterbury.
Legend holds that a fire threatened Canterbury Cathedral, and Mellitus diverted the fire and saved the town and the cathedral with the rush of wind brought by his prayers. He died in 624. An icon honoring his ministry hangs near the American Chapel in St. Paul’s, keeping watch over a book inscribed with the names of Americans who died in World War II.
Collect for Mellitus
O God, you have brought us near to an innumerable company of angels, and to the spirits of just men made perfect: Grant us during our earthly pilgrimage to abide in their fellowship, and in our heavenly country to become partakers of their joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Ephrem of Nisibis
Ephrem, a deacon, doctor of the church, and saint greatly revered in the Syriac Christian tradition, was born around the year 300 ce in Nisibis, now part of modern-day Turkey. Most sources claim that Ephrem and his family were among the burgeoning Christian community in Nisibis, while some later traditions claim his father was a pagan priest. Regardless, Ephrem grew up in an incredibly diverse city linguistically, ethnically, and religiously—on the frontier of the Roman Empire.
Baptized as a youth, Ephrem was a part of a proto-monastic movement called “Sons and Daughters of the Covenant” (think Scouts + youth group, but way more intense). Members of the movement, both men and women, lived dedicated lives of celibacy, discipline, prayer, and service to the church from within their own homes. He would eventually be appointed a teacher and then ordained as a deacon by his bishop.
After Nisibis was conquered by the Persian Empire in the ongoing conflict between Persia and Rome, Ephrem and many of his fellow Christians settled in Edessa where they encountered even more religious and ethnical diversity. In the context of various pagan, Jewish, and Christian sects, Ephrem made an impassioned defense of Nicene orthodoxy, including writing a number of Trinitarian hymns. A prolific writer, he is known as “The Harp of the Holy Spirit,” and he supported the rise of hymns sung by choirs of women, including “From God Christ’s diety came forth” (The Hymnal 1982, #443). The female choirs gave women a role in the early Syriac church and encouraged Christian formation among women and families.
Lest we believe that Ephrem was all head and no heart in ministry, he died from exhaustion while ministering to the victims of a famine.
Collect for Ephrem of Nisibis
Pour out upon us, O Lord, that same Spirit by which your deacon Ephrem declared the mysteries of faith in sacred song, and so gladden our hearts that we, like him, might proclaim the riches of your glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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166 comments on “Mellitus vs. Ephrem of Nisibis”
This was a great line: (think Scouts + youth group, but way more intense)
I don't want to think about that.
As a female chorister, I cast my vote for Ephrem of Nisibis (who I’d never of before this!)
I have voted for the winner about 60% of the time. This is disturbing! Have I sold out? Am I running with the "in" crowd all of a sudden? Maybe the Rapture is here. Hmmmm....
I wanted to vote for Mellitus--England, sacred books,St. Paul's and all. But he messed with the Celts' Easter (why did they have to be on the same schedule as Rome anyway?), and wouldn't let the guys taste communion bread, and ....
Then along came Ephrem:
1. I'm a sucker for supporters of female choristers--in the 4th century, no less!
2. I've always been intrigued by Edessa...
3. How can you not vote for someone with the moniker "The Harp of the Holy Spirit"?
4. And I adore Hymn 443. It's not often we get to sing about Melchizedek!
I'm in with Ephrem's crowd!
Hymn 443 is a nice discovery for me. Unfortunately I’ve never sung it. The greater misfortune is that so many congregations avoid new hymns and especially new tunes.
The little New Hampshire congregation with whom I sometimes worship is absolutely fearless: they use all three authorized hymnals and will try anything!
No good choice today in the Lenten Madness vote . Both of these men were part of the Roman domination of Christianity-the beginnings of turning Jesus' gospel of love and acceptance into the rigid hierarchy that is strangling the Christianity of today. The early Celtic Christians blended the old with the new. Priests an nuns married, women were equal partners in worship. The had been peacefully practicing their faith for centuries until Mellitus and his henchmen dictated that there was one way to worship, and they knew it. The Council of Whitney sealed the deal.
And Ephraim's insistence on the orthodoxy of the Nicene Council effected the same end. He encouraged women to sing in the choir? Well that's a good thing, I suppose, but how about women in the priesthood or the ranks of bishop and archbishop?
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My immediate reaction to the two men matched up today. My Celtic sympathies are with you. What a loss that they were marginalized for centuries because of Roman insistence! (Curious that I am also a Barrett - no connection that I know).
We may not be related genetically, Suzanne, but we do share an attitude. If you are interested in the early Celtic church, I recommend the Sister Fidelma series of novels by Peter Tremayne. Under his real name, Peter Berresford Ellis, the author is a renowned Celtic scholar. The Sister Fidelma series begins at the Council of Whitby, and follows the sad story of the Romanization of Celtic Christianity in the 7th Century. Readers learn a great deal about the early Irish church, and the early culture of Ireland. The main character is a royal princess, a married nun, and a judge.
Sister Fidelma is terrific!
It's been fixed as of Sunday morning; Ephrem has ascended to the right place.
Yes for Ephrem writing hymns and allowing women opportunity.
Ephram for me, because I like it when LM raises up saints from other Christian traditions. An easy cop-out from an otherwise Lent-maddening decision.
Today's decision was easier than those of the past few days. A non-misogynistic writer of hymns for women? In the fourth century CE? Who dies while ministering to victims of a famine? Ephrem get my vote. And I'm not even a deacon.
I voted for Ephrem, mostly because of the Sons and Daughters of the Covenant. Except for the celibacy, the following description would also be true of my own religious order; TSSF (Third Order of the Society of Saint Francis) "Members of the movement, both men and women, lived dedicated lives of [celibacy,] discipline, prayer, and service to the church from within their own homes.
Had to go with Mellitus here on account of a family connection: my oldest first cousin, Billy Farnsworth, volunteered to join the fight against the Fascists in World War II and died during the conflict, not in combat but at a base for test pilots outside Southampton. Billy was in a new type of fighter plane, one whose controls responded more sluggishly to its controls than he expected, and he took a vertical dive into the runway, killing him instantly. Oddly, the base was named the HMS Icarus! How British to give that name to a base for test pilots, eh? So by the American Chapel in St. Paul’s Cathedral St. Mellitus stands guard, watching over the Book of Remembrance where Billy’s name may be found. So yes, Mellitus for me!
Hymns for female choirs gets my vote today. But this was a challenge.
PLEASE VOTE FOR MELLITIUS
Anna I, that line struck me, too! . . . ministering from their homes (as we all should!) Yep! It's Ephram for me, today. (How in the world did the pseudo-monk get all those votes last week??! Methinks there's a conspiracy afloat!)
Mellitus for me.
I voted for Ephrem because his story strongly spoke to my feminist self to support women as whole persons, etc., etc., etc... But my heart follows Mellitus and the eternal symbolism standing guard over the names of the American dead who gave their lives during WWII. The allegory of turning the fire by distant winds is not lost on me; it just took my morning brain a little extra time to "get it".
Had to go with Mellitus, the saint whose statue overlooks the book of the American dead who gave their lives during WWII at St. Paul’s. My uncle’s name is included in that book.
I voted for Ephrem because he made it possible for my mom to serve in the church.
That is certainly an excellent reason, Pailet. I really liked that he wrote hymns for women choirs to sing.
Ephrem gets my vote for his hymns and women's choirs. Upset because Mellitus did not like the date of the Celtic Easter.
Especially for those whose first Lent Madness this is: you are about to be subject to the dread condition known as LMW (Lent Madness Withdrawal). No saintly smack-up for two whole days. How to survive until Monday? You can drive your family crazy by wandering around the house singing all the wonderful songs composed for this year's contest (not omitting, of course, the Official Hymn). You can seek out everything purple in your environment, maybe make a centerpiece or other work of purple art. You can try to figure out what the heck to do now that your bracket has been smashed to bits. Or, as Tim and Scott would recommend, binge watch Monday Madness. Deep breaths -- Monday will finally be here.
I voted about Epham. To tell the truth I wasn't excited about either of these saints, but when I saw that Ephram died taking care of famine victims my little caretaker heart softened!
Another difficult choice. I voted for Ephrem because I was ordained as a Deacon on his feast day. I knew he wrote hymns, but the detail about women's choirs was new to me.
This was such a hard choice, but I finally went with Mellitus. His prayers moved God to save Canterbury, so that was pretty important.
Where is Oliver?
I thought that I would vote for Mellitus, because the opportunity to connect to the first archbishop of Canterbury was so powerful (and I too want to taste the consecrated bread, and I thought of the icon above the American servicemen's names). But I feel a strong pull to support any Christian church in Syria. I love the idea of the women's choirs. The Roman Catholic church suppressed women's choirs. (James Joyce writes of the women's anguish at being excluded in favor of boys' choirs.) Boys and castrated men were allowed to sing in church, which is a sort of offering to the lord, even though Leviticus 22 states: "You must not offer to the LORD an animal whose testicles are bruised, crushed, torn or cut." And Deuteronomy 23 says: "If a man's testicles are crushed or his penis is cut off, he may not be admitted to the assembly of the LORD." So the western, Roman church really really did not want women. So for the glorious choir of women's voices and for support for Syrian refugees today, I vote for Ephrem. May the darkness that enshrouds our country's immigration policies be lifted and we be granted grace to admit refugees of diverse ethnicities and religion to this backward and racially ignorant nation.
http://www.womenpriests.org/tradition/women-and-girls-were-not-allowed-to-be-singers-in-church/
Amen, St. Celia! And thank you for your post.
Though I often like to vote for the under dog (or saint, as the case may be), today I'm joining the crowd of Ephrem admirers.
And that was???
Both great saints. For me I voted for Saint Ephrem/Ephraim because it is Lent. The Orthodox during this time daily pray his Great Lenten Pray:
Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despondency, lust for power and idle talk. But grant unto me, Thy servant, a spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love. Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see mine own faults and not to judge my brothers and sisters. For blessed ar Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen.
For this prayer, and the gift of music (my lifelong pursuit, even after I was ordained), and all his gifts to his contemporaries and to us, I vote for Ephrem.
Oh, St. C, I love your digressions. I remember giggling as a teenager over “He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD.”
A fourth-century supporter of women's involvement in sacred rites who died of exhaustion after tending the sick during a famine versus a missionary who seems to have been more engaged in ecclesiastical politics than in actually spreading the gospel? Well, that was easy!
I voted for Ephrem because he supported women choristers and wrote hymns.
Gosh, I drifted to sleep reading about Mellitus, but loved learning about Augustine in England. I did not know that.
Loved that Ephram!
Ephrem for me. He supported women’s choirs! I like that he was part of a movement that encouraged intense spiritual practices and service to the church in the context of people’s daily life. I found a couple of lines on Wikipedia that further appeal, showing that he both absorbed and appreciated the multicultural milieu in which he lived: “Ephrem combines in his writing a threefold heritage: he draws on the models and methods of early Rabbinic Judaism, he engages skillfully with Greek science and philosophy, and he delights in the Mesopotamian/Persian tradition of mystery symbolism.” And he was a hands-on helper, too, even at the cost of his life. He’s the whole package!
While I can't say Ephrem's poetry speaks my language, it clearly DID speak to the people of his day. A Christian whose creativity with words and music carried the gospel to those who might not otherwise have listened - love it!
I am truly shocked that the founder of the Dominican Order did not win yesterday's match up. I hope there is no anti-Roman bias at work in our group, as we were all good Roman Catholics until Henry VIII cast the Pope aside.
I was surprised by Dominic's loss as well, but hardly suppose it due to anti-Roman bias: Marina was Roman Catholic, too. Not surprisingly, since of our thirty-two saintly challengers this Lent, there are:
1 Eastern Orthodox (Tikhon)
3 early Christians (pre-Constantine) (Apollonia, Tabitha, Zenaida)
5 Protestants (Allen, Brooks, Grier, Ramabai, Wilberforce)
7 contemporaries of Jesus (Ananias, Dismas, James, Martha, Mary, Nicodemus, Photini)
16 Roman Catholics (Damien, Dominic, Ephrem, Gobnait, Hrotsvitha, Loyola, Chrysostom, Marcella, Margaret, Marina, Mellitus, Nicholas, Paula, Rudolph, d'Youville, Zhao)
I do not perceive any anti-Roman bias here, either.
Next, I would say that prior to Henry VIII" we were all good Roman Catholics", with the exception of:
a) bad Roman Catholics
b) good and bad Eastern Orthodox (after 1054 or so)
c) good and bad Lutherans, Calvinists, and other Protestants (after 1521)
d) good and bad Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and other faithful
e) good and bad "heathens", heretics and others who weren't deemed Roman Catholic enough (e.g. Cathars)
f) good and bad followers of Jesus' teachings who lived before the fourth century CE, when Constantine I and the Edicts of Milan and Thessalonica made the Church "Roman"
g) anyone else I may have forgotten
Mellitus sounded pretty good until we got to the part where he sided with the Roman date against the Celtic date for Easter. Boo Hiss. And Ephrem like women singers Yay!