Lo Spirito Santo e la Chiesa nella teologia simbolica di Efrem il Siro.

Ephrem the Syrian «The Harp of the Spirit», this was his surname, lived in the fourth century, in Nisibe. He is considered the greatest poet of the patristic age. His hymns at a distance of seventeen centuries are still sang in different churches. He is one of the few who represent Semitic Christianity; he wrote even before the period in which the Churches were subjected to a strong Hellenization. He wrote to dispute the heresies, spread in his period, that caused damage to the Christian faith and to teach the simple believers of his Church the right faith. He wrote midrasa and memra, homilies and poems written according to a certain rhyme, to memorize them easily. His theology is classified as a symbolic theology. A treatise of Ephrem on the Holy Spirit cannot be found. He did not write explaining who the Holy Spirit is, how he can have it and what he operates, but he sang hymns using metaphors that speak about him; in fact he almost said the Holy Spirit is the very symbol that transports us from the visible to the invisible, like the luminous eye, the garment of glory, the fire and the Spirit. St Efrem let the symbol cross borders and open a window to eternity, he deserved to be called «the harp of the Holy Spirit». Symbolic theology today could be an effective methodology for dialoguing with everyone and making them meet God. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]