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:''"Romanos" redirects here. See Romanus for the Latin form of the same name.''
'Romanos' (or 'Romanus'), also known as 'Saint Romanos the Melodist', was one of the greatest of Greek hymnographers, called "the Pindar of rhythmic poetry". He flourished during the sixth century, which is considered to be the "Golden Age" of Byznatine hymnography.

Contents

Life

Legend

Works

Iconographic depiction

Published translations

References

Bibliography

See also

External links

Life

The main source of information about the life of Romanos comes from the Menaion for October. Beyond this, his name is mentioned by only two other antient sources. One in the eighth-century poet St. Germanos, and once in Suidas (s. v. ''anaklomenon''), who calls him "Romanos the melode". From this scanty evidence we learn that he was born to a Jewish family in either Emesa (modern-day Homs) or Damascus in Syria. He was baptised 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—on the question whether Anastasius I (491-518) or Anastasius II (713-716) is meant, the renowed byzantinologist, Prof. Karl Krumbacher favours the earlier date.^[1] There he served as sacristan in the "Great Church" (Hagia Sophia), residing to the end of his life at the Monastery of Kyros, where he was buried along with his disciple St. Ananias.
If those scholars who believe that he lived during the reign of the earlier Anastasius are correct, then he may have continued writing during the reign of Emperor Justinian (527-65), who was himself a hymn-writer; this would make him a contemporary of two other famous Byzantine hymnographers, Anastasios and Kyriakos.

Legend

According to the legend, Romanus was not at first considered to be either a talented reader or singer. He was, however, loved by the Patriarch of Constantinople because of his great humility. Once, around the year 518, while serving in the Church of the Panagia at Blachernae, at the All-Night Vigil for the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, he was assigned to read the kathisma verses from the Psalter. He read so poorly that another reader had to take his place. Some of the lesser clergy ridiculed Romanus for this, and being humilitated he sat down in one of the choir stalls. Overcome by weariness and sorrow, he soon fell asleep. As he slept, the Theotokos appeared to him with a scroll in her hand. She commanded him to eat the scroll, and as soon as he did so, he awoke. He immediately received a blessing from the Patriarch, mounted the ambo (pulpit), and chanted extemporaneously his famous Kontakion of the Nativity, "Today the Virgin gives birth to Him Who is above all being…." The emperor, the patriarch, the clergy, and the entire congregation were amazed at both the profound theology of the hymn and Romanos' clear, sonorous voice as he sang. According to tradition, this was the very first kontakion ever sung. The Greek word "kontakion" (κοντάκιον) refers to the shaft on which a scroll is wound, hence the significance of the Theotokos' command for him to swallow the scroll, indicating that his compositions were by divine inspiration.

Works

Romanos wrote in an Atticized literary koine— i.e., he had a popular, but elevated style— and abundant Semiticisms support the view that he was of Jewish origin. Arresting imagery, sharp metaphors and similes, bold comparisons, antitheses, coining of successful maxims, and vivid dramatization characterize his style.
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, on 60 - 80 of which survive (though not all those attributed to him may be genuine). Today, usually only the first strophe of each kontakion is chanted during the divine services, the full hymn having been replaced by the canon. A full kontakion was a poetic sermon composed of from 18 - 30 verses or ''ikoi'', each with a refrain, and united by an acrostic. When it was sung to an original melody, it was called an ''idiomelon''. Originally, Saint Romanos' works were known simply as "psalms", "odes", or poems. It was only in the ninth century that the term kontakion came into use.
Among his known works are kontakia on:

★ The Nativity of Christ

★ The Martyrdom of St Stephen

★ The Death of a Monk

★ The Last Judgment

★ The Prodigal Son

★ The Raising of Lazarus (for Lazarus Saturday, the day before Palm Sunday)

★ Adam's Lament (for Palm Sunday)

★ The Treachery of Judas
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. Most of the poem takes the form of a dialogue between the Mother of God and the Magi, whose visit to the newborn Child is celebrated in the Byzantine rite on 25th of December, rather than on the 6th of January, when Western Christians celebrate the visit (January 6, the Feast of the Theophany, celebrates the Baptism of Christ in the Orthodox Church).
Of his other Kontakia, one of the most well-known is the hymn, "My soul, my souls, why sleepest thou..." which is chanted as part of the service of the "Great Canon" of St. Andrew of Crete on the fifth Thursday of Great Lent.
Romanus is one of many persons who have been credited with composing the famous Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos which is chanted so often as a devotion by Orthodox Christians.
Prof Krumbacher published in Munich several previously unpublished chants of Romanos and other hymnographers, from manuscripts discovered in the library of the Monastery of St John the Theologian in Patmos. There exists in the library of Moscow a Greek manuscript which contains kontakia and oikoi for the whole year, but does not include all compositions of Romanos.
Professor Krumbacher says of his work, "In poetic talent, fire of inspiration, depth of feeling, and elevation of language, he far surpasses all the other melodes. The literary history of the future will perhaps acclaim Romanos for the greatest ecclesiastical poet of all ages."

Iconographic depiction

:''For further information, see the Attributes section of the infobox at the top of this page.''
Although in more recent icons Saint Romanos is depicted standing on the ambo (directly in front of the iconostasis) and wearing a deacon's sticharion, the famous Russian church musicologist, Johann von Gardner, points out that in the oldest icons he is portrayed wearing the shorter red tunic of a singer and standing on a raised platform in the middle of the church.
In the Russian Orthodox Church, Saint Romanos is the patron saint of church singers.

Published translations

★ J. B. Pitra, ''Analecta Sacra'', i. (1876), containing 29 poems, and ''Sanctus Romanus Veterum Melodorum Princeps'' (1888), with three additional hymns from the Monastery at Patmos. See also Pitra's ''Hymnographie de l'église grecque'' (1867)

★ Karl Krumbacher, ''Geschichte der byzantinischen Litteratur'' (Munich, 1897)

★ —''Studien zu Romanos'' (Munich, 1899)

★ —''Umarbeitungen bei Romanos'' (Munich, 1899)

References

1. Krumbacher, ''Gesch. d. byz. Literatur'', (Munich, 1897), pp. 312-18.

Bibliography

★ ''Penguin Dictionary of Saints''

★ Romanos the Melodist article from the ''Catholic Encyclopedia''

★ St. Romanos (Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia)

See also

★ Akathist

External links

★ The Kontakia of Romanos 71 selections