St. Romanos the Melodist
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Romanos the Melodist (late 5th-century — after 555) was a Byzantine hymnographer and composer who is a central early figure in the history of Byzantine music. Called “the Pindar of rhythmic poetry”. He was born to a Jewish family in Damascus in Syria. He was baptized as a young boy (though whether or not his parents also converted is uncertain). Having moved to Berytus (Beirut), he was ordained a deacon in the Church of the Resurrection there. He later moved to Constantinople during the reign of the emperor Anastasius and served as sacristan (charged with care of the sacristy where priests don their vestments) in the “Great Church” (Hagia Sophia). He is said to have composed more than 1,000 hymns or kontakia celebrating various festivals of the ecclesiastical year, the lives of the saints and other sacred subjects, 60 to 80 of which survive . His Kontakion of the Nativity is still considered to be his masterpiece, and up until the twelfth century it was sung every year at the imperial banquet on that feast by the joint choirs of Hagia Sophia and of the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople. Romanos has been credited with composing the famous Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos, which is still sung during Great Lent (the most important fasting season for the Eastern Orthodox Church , Oriental Orthodox, and the Eastern Catholic Churches in preparation for Pascha / Easter).
Writings:
- The Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos
- The Nativity of Christ
- The Martyrdom of St Stephen
- The Death of a Monk
- The Last Judgment
- The Prodigal Son
- The Raising of Lazarus
- Adam’s Lament (for Palm Sunday)
- The Treachery of Judas
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Quotes and Excerpts:
“Cease your laments; I will make myself your advocate in my Son’s presence. Meanwhile, no more sadness, because I have brought joy to the world. For it is to destroy the kingdom of sorrow that I have come into the world: I, full of grace. Then curb your tears; accept me as your mediatrix in the presence of him who was born from me, because the author of joy is the God generated before all ages. Remain calm; be troubled no longer: I come from him, full of grace.” –On Christmas 2, IO-II.
“The prayers of Joachim and Anna and the weeping of sterility reached the ears of God and were well received. Thus they gave a life-giving fruit to the world. For while he [Joachim] was praying on the mountain, she [Anna] hid her mortification in the garden. But the barren woman then joyfully brings to light the Mother of God, the nourisher of our life.” –On the Birth of Mary I
“Come, let us all celebrate him who was crucified for us: for Mary looked on him upon the cross and said: ‘Though you endure crucifixion, yet you are my son, my God.’ Worn out with grief, Mary, the ewe, seeing her own lamb taken to the slaughter, followed with the other women and cried: “Where are you going, my child? For whose sake are you finishing this swift race? Is there yet another marriage in Cana, and are you hastening there now to change the water into wine for them? Shall I go with you, child, or shall I rather wait for you? Speak to me, O Word; do not pass me by in silence: for you kept me in my purity, my son, my God.” – Mary at the Cross (Written ca. 520 A.D.)
“Then the tribes of Israel heard that Anna had conceived the immaculate one. So everyone took part in the rejoicing. Joachim gave a banquet, and great was the merriment in the garden. He invited the priests and Levites to prayer; then he called Mary into the center of the crowd, that she might be magnified.” –On the Birth of Mary 4
“This mystery will be the object of contradicting ideas, so that doubt will arise in your mind. Yes, when you see your Son nailed to the Cross, Immaculate Virgin, and recall the words of the angel, his divine conception, and his ineffable miracles, at that moment you will doubt: for you, this hesitation will be a sword of pain. But later God will bring ready healing to your heart.” –On the Presentation I3
“Adam, sick through debauchery, through gluttony, was led down to deepest Hell, and there he weeps for the suffering of his soul; and Eve, who once taught him disobedience, grieves with him and languishes with him, that together they may learn to heed the Healer’s word. Now, do you see? Do you understand what I have said? Cry out again, mother: ‘If you forgive Adam, forgive also Eve, my son, my God.’” –Mary at the Cross. Written 520 A.D., trans. Constantino A. Trypanis, (Penguin Book of Greek Vesse, Penguin Books (tel, 1971)
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