There has been much scholarly interest in trinitarianism among evangelical scholars. Part of this interest is a renewed evangelical ressourcement of Nicene writers. To give a sample, non-exhaustive list of books on the Trinity in the last ten years which draw on Nicene writers: Barrett, On Classical Trinitarianism (2024); Butner, Trinitarian Dogmatics (2022); Letham, The Holy Trinity (2019); Sanders, The Triune God (2016). While these, and others have consistently resourced Nicene writers, all of them lack any reference to Ephrem the Syrian. This is a noticeable gap considering Ephrem’s significance as recognized by the Syriac, Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholic churches, as well as evangelicals like John Wesley (Wesley, Works). This paper therefore will fill the gap in literature of evangelicals engaging with Ephrem in his Trinitarian thinking by arguing that Ephrem represents a distinct Nicene Trinitarian hermeneutic compared with his peers. In addition, while the “anti-Arian” elements of the Hymns of Faith have been noted by scholars in the past (e.g. Botha, Shepardson), this paper will broaden the focus to the Nicene hermeneutic which underlies Ephrem’s undisputed works and so examine not just the “anti-Arian” hermeneutic in the context of polemical work but as a consistent “constructive” frame within his work, a Nicene hermeneutic not just an “anti-Arian” hermeneutic. This hermeneutic, while lacking some of the distinctives of the Nicene hermeneutic developed by Athanasius, the Cappadocians, and others, clearly interprets the biblical text from a Nicene framework, despite lacking the technical theological language of the Nicene Creed.
This paper will accomplish its thesis by identifying the major elements of Ephrem’s Nicene hermeneutic as drawn from his undisputed works, with a major focus on his hymns and poetry. While the focus is on Ephrem’s hermeneutic as a stand-alone subject of study, some comparative analysis with his contemporaries will be made in order to demonstrate his unique approach to Nicene hermeneutics. Finally, the paper will end with a very brief identification of possibilities for further research that would further integrate the contributions of Ephrem into the ongoing evangelical discussions on the Trinity.