[5] In 522, Ephraim was appointed comes Orientis by Emperor Justin and undertook stern measures against the Blues, a chariot racing faction,[6] who had rioted earlier that year.
[7] Rioting within the city ceased as a result of Ephraim's actions,[7] and, in 524/525, he was bestowed the honorary title of comes sacrarum largitionum, thus granting him admission to the senate.
[8] Ephraim's efforts to rebuild the city earned him the affinity of the people of Antioch and many called for him to succeed Euphrasius as patriarch, as he had died in the earthquake of 526.
[12] Antioch continued to suffer earthquakes and many fled the city, however, Ephraim commanded the people to write "May Christ be with us" over the doors of their houses.
[14] Ephraim wrote to Anthimus, Archbishop of Trebizond, prior to his consecration as patriarch of Constantinople on the natures of Christ and the heresy of Eutychianism, and reminded him of the importance of the Council of Chalcedon.
[17] After Emperor Justinian I issued an edict banning the writings of Severus of Antioch in August 536,[18][19] the saint undertook a tour of Syria and Mesopotamia alongside a contingent of soldiers to enforce the Council of Chalcedon and persecute its opponents, and travelled to Chalcis, Beroea, Hierapolis, Batnae, Edessa, Sura, Callinicum, Theodosioupolis, Constantina, and Amida.
[20] Ephraim had non-Chalcedonian monks driven out from their monasteries in the middle of winter, imprisoned those who refused to accept the council, and erected pyres in some cases.
[26] In an attempt to heal the rift between supporters and opponents of the council of Chalcedon, Emperor Justinian I issued an edict in late 543 or early 544 that condemned the so-called Three Chapters, thus beginning the Three-Chapter Controversy.