By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas
Saint Romanos the Melodist lived in the sixth, or according to others the eighth, century. He was preordained a Deacon in Beirut and as a result went to Constantinople, everyplace he served in the Hallowed Cathedral of the Theotokos in Kyros, but participated in all-night vigils which were regularly done in the Hallowed Cathedral of the Panagia of Blachernae. He persistently supplicated the Panagia for the gift to fountain pen hymns, being he really wanted to do this work but was unable. Popular the overnight service on the eve of Christmas, at the corollary when the Canons of the f?te are read, he slice having a lie-down for a bit and saw the Panagia in his dream who, in the wake of appreciation him, gave him a scroll of paper and told him to eat it. Later he woke up he felt entire delectableness in his gossip and atrocious joy, being he realized he was set the gift to fountain pen hymns. Accordingly, full of divine ingenuity, he began to extract the Kontakion which he unruffled at that corollary for the f?te of Christmas, the common "At the moment the Virgin". He served with zeal the work of hymnography and chiefly unruffled Kontakia. The Kontakion of every f?te is read before the Synaxarion.
Saint Romanos the Melodist was "perfected in armistice". His life and time submit us the be in breach of to add force to the following:
Real thing, Saint Romanos, as of course all the Saints, was a devotee of services. That is, he prized to be included in the services of the Cathedral, both in vogue the day and at night, and principally the Wonderful Liturgy, which is the foot of all the Mysteries, in the same way as all the Mysteries cast place in order for us to be included in the Wonderful Eucharist. At Hill Athos, as well as several other Straight away Monasteries, the Wonderful Liturgy is performed weekly and all-night services cast place regularly, predominantly in vogue revelry and entire feasts.
The readings, hymns and collective sympathy bent with the performance of Hallowed Air force, and predominantly in vogue the Wonderful Liturgy, creates keenness and a petitioning attachment. Correspondence to each ones awareness, the Rub of God acts in their existence, secondary in the pacification of the being, which repels murk and despondency within and showers us with divine palliative. "The palliative from hymns produces a gain of waifs and strays that is joyful and free of sorrow" (Basil the Supreme).
A hand over Greater believed, roughly our impart in the respect of the Cathedral, in the midst of other tackle the following:
"An Straight away Christian need inevitably conduct church, to be included in the Wonderful Liturgy by later the priest and chanters, and to pray predominantly at the time when the officiator says: 'Thine own of Thine support. At that corollary the manner open and the Sacred Individual comes and changes the currency and wine in the field of the Convention and Blood of Christ. It is the most crucial corollary of the Wonderful Liturgy. Besides, when the priest emerges holding the Sacred Baggage, in vogue the supposed Supreme Way in, and he commemorates the living and dead, we have to as well pray at that corollary.... By leave-taking to church we grotesque the steadiness to unite our yank in vogue the new week. Suited as the spirit has grab for rest, so as well the waifs and strays needs to restore her steadiness. This renewal can simply be found award God. How can we heave our waifs and strays if we don't go to church?"
Flash, Saint Romanos, as we saw more, established by route of a dream the gift of hymnography. "A dream," according to Saint John of Sinai, the writing implement of "The Ladder", "is a dispute of the awareness moment in time the spirit is at rest." Dreams sent from God were seen by other Saints, but in treaty with the tradition of the Straight away Cathedral we need not need in thoughts, being the devil, by route of thoughts, led several intimate in the field of false impression and imperil, in the same way as several time he transforms himself in the field of "an angel of light", in order to fraud, if achievable, even the opt. Saint John Climacus stresses that "he who believes in thoughts is the same as a man shipshape in the wake of his own shadow and irritating to welcome it."
Saints brandish the space to discover, according to their spiritual get, when a dream comes from God and when it comes from the devil, but they so far do not submit worth to thoughts, but they part it to the judgement of illumined spiritual fathers and ask their sentiment for their bear. Later one is normal they are not in accord to decide on their thoughts come from God, being they need they are not good enough of this, and no matter what they take a crack at the tinge of their spiritual begin.
But introduce are as well thoughts which, according to Basil the Supreme, are coexistent with the cares of the day, and he from now advises: "Let not night herself be all, as it were, the special and original cargo of sleep. Let not lacking your life be outdated before the stupidity of take a nap. Department the time of night in the company of sleep and prayer. Yes, let your slumbers be themselves experiences in piety; for it is simply natural that our numb thoughts have to be for the most part echoes of the anxieties of the day. As brandish been our clasp and pursuits, so ghost inevitably be our thoughts."
Answer in the respect of the Cathedral draws the waifs and strays to uncreated Wonderful Rub, which empowers the zealot in their weekly struggle; and docility to a spiritual begin, in addition, shields us from error.
Source: "Ekklesiastiki Paremvasi", , October 2009. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
