„Mărgăritarul de mare preț”. Euharistia cosmologică a poetului sau botezul unui simbolism uitat în Imnurile Sfântului Efrem Sirul
Ephrem the Syrian; pearl; hymn; symbol; faith; baptism; immersion; Eucharist; light.

Summary/Abstract: The five hymns dedicated to the pearl make a distinct group among the most significant of St. Ephrem’s work. A symbol of the Kingdom of Heaven, and, in the New Testament, a symbol of the mystery of faith, the image of the pearl has a long history in Antiquity. Patristic literature records very few, brief reflections on the symbolism of the pearl, as expected – among early Christians interest for precious stones did not enjoy a good reputation, as they were the avatars of Greek and Roman paganism. In this context, the complexity of the symbolism of the pearl in the work of St. Ephrem appears even more intriguing. The Saint builds on the pre-existing symbolism of the pearl, as found in the New Testament, and develops new dimensions of the symbol, such as the Christological one, in a way that also relies on the cultural heritage of Antiquity. The “valorization” of Antiquity involves a thorough selection and purification of the former symbolism of the pearl, a process much similar to the fundamental mystery of Christianity, which is baptism. This is why I define this as “the baptism” of a forgotten symbol.Without a doubt, the genius and grace that were bestowed upon St. Ephrem translate as his unusual gift for symbolic thinking, and also as his skill of seeing even the most trivial aspects of life as “windows” open to the Kingdom of God. At the same time, his poetic gift is deeply connected to a special sense of the real, as noted by the researchers of his work. The set of poems dedicated to the pearl, a symbol of the Eucharist advances the idea that the poetic work itself becomes “the baptism” (of / into a symbol) that leads to the partaking of the Eucharist by the poet. The hymns dedicated to the symbolism of the pearls are not a kind of testament of St. Ephrem’s, but the expression of a subtle and unique ars poetica et theologica. This is what I aim to demonstrate in this study dedicated to an important but long-forgotten Christian symbol.

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