By St. Romanos the Melodist
When the Most High came down and confused the tongues,
he parted the nations.
When he divided out the tongues of fire, he called all to unity;
and with one voice we glorify
the All-Holy Spirit.
Showing posts with label St. Romanos the Melodist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St. Romanos the Melodist. Show all posts
June 7, 2020
Kontakion on Pentecost (St. Romanos the Melodist)
When the Most High came down and confused the tongues,
he parted the nations.
When he divided out the tongues of fire, he called all to unity;
and with one voice we glorify
the All-Holy Spirit.
April 12, 2019
Who is the Author of the Akathist Hymn?
By John Sanidopoulos
The Akathist is a Kontakion, which is basically a homily set to poetry. This style of hymnography is mostly associated with Romanos the Melodist who lived at the end of the fifth to the mid-sixth century. We have no way of determining the exact date of its composition. When comparing the Akathist to the kontakia of the various hymnographers, it is most akin to that of Romanos the Melodist. For example, Romanos was interested in Christology, and the defense of the Orthodox view against the Monophysites, Nestorians, Arians, Docetists, Apollinarians and Manichaeans. The Akathist Hymn reflects this.
January 6, 2019
Kontakia on the Holy Theophany (St. Romanos the Melodist)
By St. Romanos the Melodist
Prelude. Today you have appeared to the whole world, and your light, O Lord, has made a sign upon us who, with knowledge, sing your praise, “You have come, you have appeared, the unapproachable Light.”
1. In Galilee of the nations, in the country of Zavulon and the land of Naphthalim, as the prophet said, a great light has shone-Christ. For the darkened, a shining beam has appeared, blazing out of Bethlehem, or rather, out of Mary-the Lord, the sun of justice, has made his rays dawn on the whole inhabited world. Therefore let us all, Adam’s naked children, put him on that we may be kept warm; for as a covering for the naked and a light for the darkened you have come, you have appeared, the unapproachable Light.
October 1, 2017
Synaxarion of Saint Romanos the Melodist
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| St. Romanos the Melodist (Feast Day - October 1) |
On this day we commemorate our Venerable Father Romanos, Poet of the Kontakia.
Verses
Before Romanos sang hymns to God the Word,
Now also he sings hymns, but together with the Angels.
Our Holy Father Romanos was from Syria, having as his homeland the city of Emesa, which today is called Homs in Turkish. He was anointed Deacon of the Church of Berytus, which is now called Beirut. From there he went to Constantinople during the reign of Emperor Anastasios in the year 496. There he employed himself at the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos, known as that of Kyrou, with every form of reverence and solemnity.
Saint Romanos the Melodist Resource Page
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| St. Romanos the Melodist (Feast Day - October 1) |
Verses
Before Romanos sang hymns to God the Word,
Now also he sings hymns, but together with the Angels.
About
Works
On the Nativity of the Theotokos - Various Church Fathers
The Christmas Kontakia of St. Romanos
Kontakia of St. Romanos the Melodist on the Raising of Lazarus
St. Romanos the Melodist on Palm Sunday
Kontakia on the Ten Virgins (St. Romanos the Melodist)
Kontakion on Pentecost (St. Romanos the Melodist)
On the Mission of the Apostles (Hymns by St. Romanos the Melodist)
Who is the Author of the Akathist Hymn?
The Holy Week Services of St. Demetrios the Myrrh-Gusher
May 5, 2017
The Consecration of the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos in Kyrou
According to the Synaxarion of Constantinople, on May 5th we commemorate the Consecration of the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Kyrou district of Constantinople. Today it is believed the Kalenderhane Mosque is the location of this church.
The fourteenth-century ecclesiastical historian Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos tells us about the history of this church and its association with the kontakia of Romanos the Melodist. He says that Saint Romanos the Melodist was appointed as a deacon in this church of the Kyrou district, though he was initially completely unrefined and unpleasant in his voice and in the singing of hymns. For this he was mocked by many, despite being esteemed for his virtues. Distressed by this, Romanos, after a Christmas Eve vigil at Blachernae, went to the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos in Kyrou, and begged the Theotokos before her miraculous icon to grant him the gift of melody. Falling asleep near the ambon, at around midnight he beheld the Theotokos holding a scroll, which she gave to him to eat. Having consumed it, he received his desired gift, and ascending the ambon, sang the kontakion "Today the Virgin". Later he went on and became the composer of over a thousand kontakia.
April 11, 2017
Kontakia on the Ten Virgins (St. Romanos the Melodist)
By St. Romanos the Melodist
Prooimion I: "O brothers, let us love the Bridegroom. Let us make ready our lamps, shining out with brightness and true faith; so that, like the wise virgins and the Lord's coming, we may arrive with him at the marriage. For He, the Merciful, since He is God, offers - as a gifts to all - the incorruptible crown."
Proomion II: "Thou, O God, the Bridegroom of salvation, the hope of those who hymn Thee, grant to us, who pray to Thee, that we find - without stain - in Thy marriage, just like the virgins, the incorruptible crown."
Prooimion III: "Now the time for virtues has appeared, and the Judge is at the doors. Let us not be dismayed, but let us go and fast; and let us offer tears, contrition and alms as we cry out: 'We have sinned more than the sands of the sea; but grant to all, O Creator of all, that we too may have the incorruptible crown.'"
February 14, 2010
On Adam's Lament (St. Romanos the Melodist)
INTRODUCTION
The anonymous Kontakion on Adam’s Lament is one of the earliest we possess and is probably of the fifth century and pre-dates those of St Romanos. It is still used in the office of Matins for the Sunday before Lent, where the Proemium is followed not, as is usual, by the first stanza of the hymn only, but by four, numbers 1 to 3 and 7. The text in the Triodion differs in places from that of the critical edition, notably in the refrain, which is in the first person, ’Have mercy on me who have fallen’. In the third line of stanza 7 the Triodion has, ’Implore God for the one who has fallen’, which does not scan.
The last four stanzas, which correspond to the word ADAM in the acrostic, are almost certainly spurious, though they occur in all but one of the MSS. Stanza 18, which begins, ’Now therefore, Saviour’ forms a concluding prayer, which is feature of the classic kontakion and the following stanzas are not really about Adam at all, but are simply a series of commonplaces of inferior quality.
The anonymous Kontakion on Adam’s Lament is one of the earliest we possess and is probably of the fifth century and pre-dates those of St Romanos. It is still used in the office of Matins for the Sunday before Lent, where the Proemium is followed not, as is usual, by the first stanza of the hymn only, but by four, numbers 1 to 3 and 7. The text in the Triodion differs in places from that of the critical edition, notably in the refrain, which is in the first person, ’Have mercy on me who have fallen’. In the third line of stanza 7 the Triodion has, ’Implore God for the one who has fallen’, which does not scan.
The last four stanzas, which correspond to the word ADAM in the acrostic, are almost certainly spurious, though they occur in all but one of the MSS. Stanza 18, which begins, ’Now therefore, Saviour’ forms a concluding prayer, which is feature of the classic kontakion and the following stanzas are not really about Adam at all, but are simply a series of commonplaces of inferior quality.
ON ADAM’S LAMENT
Acrostic: On The First-Formed, [Adam]
Proemium
Guide of wisdom, Giver of prudence,
Teacher of the foolish and Defender of the poor,
Establish, give understanding to my heart, Master;
Give me a word, Word of the Father;
For see, my lips I shall not restrain from crying to you:
O Merciful, have mercy on the fallen.
1
Then Adam sat and wept opposite[1]
The delight of Paradise beating his eyes with his hands
And he said:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
2
As Adam saw the Angel pushing and shutting
The door of God’s garden he groaned aloud
And said:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
3
Share in the pain, O Paradise, of your beggared master
And with the sound of your leaves implore the Creator
Not to shut you:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
4
Bend down your trees like living beings and fall before
Him who holds the key, that thus you may remain open
For one who cries:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
5
I breathe the fragrance of your beauty and I melt as I recall
How I delighted there from the sweet scent
Of the flowers:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
6
Now I have learnt what I suffered, now I have understood what God
Said to me in Paradise, ‘In taking Eve
You steal away from Me’:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
7
Paradise, all virtue, all holiness, all happiness,
Planted because of Adam, shut because of Eve,
How shall I lament for you?
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
8
I am polluted, I am ruined, I am enslaved to my slaves;
For reptiles and wild beasts, whom I subjected by fear,
Now make me tremble;
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
9
No longer do the flowers offer me pleasure,
But thorns and thistles[2] the earth raises for me,
Not produce:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
10
The table without toil I overthrew by my own will;
And now in the sweat of my brow I eat
My bread:[3]
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
11
My throat, which holy waters had made sweet,
Has become bitter from the multitude of my groans,
As I cry out:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
12
How have I fallen? Where have I arrived? From a pedestal to the ground;
From a divine admonition to a wretched existence
I have been reduced:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
13
Now Satan rejoices having stripped me of my glory;
But this gives him no joy; for see, my God
clothes me:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
14
God himself pitied me, clothes my nakedness;
By this He shows me that He too cares
For me, the transgressor:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
15
The clothing signifies for me the state that is to come,
For the One who has now clothed me in a little while wears me
And saves me:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
16
Swiftly Adam you have understood the wish of My compassion;
Therefore I do not deprive you of this your hope
As you cry:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
17
I do not wish nor do I will the death of the one I fashioned;
But having chastened him enough I will glorify eternally
The one who cries:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.’
18
Now therefore, Saviour, save me also who seek for you with longing;
I do not wish to take you in, but I wish to be taken in by you
And to cry to you:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.[4]
[19][5]
O incomparable, all-holy, all-immaculate, look down
From heaven as compassionate and save me as unworthily
I shout:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
[20]
Rouse my mind to praise, raise up
The one who lies sick in bed, who unworthily, Saviour,
Cries to you:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
[21]
Raise up, make firm, O Lover of mankind, the one who has now
Stumbled as a profligate in life; draw near me, Saviour,
As I cry:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
[22]
Unity, Trinity undivided unseparated, at the prayers
Of the Mother of God take pity on me and overlook the sins
Of those who cry:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.]
Acrostic: On The First-Formed, [Adam]
Proemium
Guide of wisdom, Giver of prudence,
Teacher of the foolish and Defender of the poor,
Establish, give understanding to my heart, Master;
Give me a word, Word of the Father;
For see, my lips I shall not restrain from crying to you:
O Merciful, have mercy on the fallen.
1
Then Adam sat and wept opposite[1]
The delight of Paradise beating his eyes with his hands
And he said:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
2
As Adam saw the Angel pushing and shutting
The door of God’s garden he groaned aloud
And said:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
3
Share in the pain, O Paradise, of your beggared master
And with the sound of your leaves implore the Creator
Not to shut you:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
4
Bend down your trees like living beings and fall before
Him who holds the key, that thus you may remain open
For one who cries:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
5
I breathe the fragrance of your beauty and I melt as I recall
How I delighted there from the sweet scent
Of the flowers:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
6
Now I have learnt what I suffered, now I have understood what God
Said to me in Paradise, ‘In taking Eve
You steal away from Me’:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
7
Paradise, all virtue, all holiness, all happiness,
Planted because of Adam, shut because of Eve,
How shall I lament for you?
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
8
I am polluted, I am ruined, I am enslaved to my slaves;
For reptiles and wild beasts, whom I subjected by fear,
Now make me tremble;
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
9
No longer do the flowers offer me pleasure,
But thorns and thistles[2] the earth raises for me,
Not produce:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
10
The table without toil I overthrew by my own will;
And now in the sweat of my brow I eat
My bread:[3]
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
11
My throat, which holy waters had made sweet,
Has become bitter from the multitude of my groans,
As I cry out:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
12
How have I fallen? Where have I arrived? From a pedestal to the ground;
From a divine admonition to a wretched existence
I have been reduced:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
13
Now Satan rejoices having stripped me of my glory;
But this gives him no joy; for see, my God
clothes me:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
14
God himself pitied me, clothes my nakedness;
By this He shows me that He too cares
For me, the transgressor:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
15
The clothing signifies for me the state that is to come,
For the One who has now clothed me in a little while wears me
And saves me:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
16
Swiftly Adam you have understood the wish of My compassion;
Therefore I do not deprive you of this your hope
As you cry:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
17
I do not wish nor do I will the death of the one I fashioned;
But having chastened him enough I will glorify eternally
The one who cries:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.’
18
Now therefore, Saviour, save me also who seek for you with longing;
I do not wish to take you in, but I wish to be taken in by you
And to cry to you:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.[4]
[19][5]
O incomparable, all-holy, all-immaculate, look down
From heaven as compassionate and save me as unworthily
I shout:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
[20]
Rouse my mind to praise, raise up
The one who lies sick in bed, who unworthily, Saviour,
Cries to you:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
[21]
Raise up, make firm, O Lover of mankind, the one who has now
Stumbled as a profligate in life; draw near me, Saviour,
As I cry:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.
[22]
Unity, Trinity undivided unseparated, at the prayers
Of the Mother of God take pity on me and overlook the sins
Of those who cry:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.]
Notes
[1] Cf. Gen. 3:25 (LXX). The first line of Stanza 1 echoes the LXX text of Genesis 3:24, which reads ’And [God] settled Adam opposite the Paradise of pleasure and set in place the Cherubim’. This rendering has influenced both the liturgical and the iconographic traditions. The Hebrew has only one verb, 'And [God] settled east of the garden of Eden the Cherubim’. The Catholic New American Bible has adopted the LXX reading as the correct one.
[2] Cf. Gen. 3:18.
[3] Cf. Gen. 3:20.
[4] The trope in the second line of Stanza 18 is almost impossible to translate. The verb I have translated ’take in’ in both clauses is the same, and means both ’cheat’ and ’steal’.
[5] These stanzas, 19-22, are considered spurious by the editor, though they are present in all but one ms. 18 forms a final prayer, which is feature of the classic kontakion, and the final stanzas, which form the word ADAM in the acrostic seem to be an unnecessary addition. They are not really about Adam at all and greatly inferior in quality, being simply a collection of commonplaces.
[2] Cf. Gen. 3:18.
[3] Cf. Gen. 3:20.
[4] The trope in the second line of Stanza 18 is almost impossible to translate. The verb I have translated ’take in’ in both clauses is the same, and means both ’cheat’ and ’steal’.
[5] These stanzas, 19-22, are considered spurious by the editor, though they are present in all but one ms. 18 forms a final prayer, which is feature of the classic kontakion, and the final stanzas, which form the word ADAM in the acrostic seem to be an unnecessary addition. They are not really about Adam at all and greatly inferior in quality, being simply a collection of commonplaces.
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