Everyone who happened to attend an Orthodox service drew attention to the extraordinary beauty of church singing. Almost all services performed during the year are accompanied by its sounds. They delight the parishioners with special splendor during the holidays, directing all their thoughts to the heavenly world. One of those who dedicated their lives to the creation of these wonderful hymns was the Monk Roman the Melodist, whose memory is celebrated on October 14, the feast of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos.
Childhood and youth of the future saint
Saint Roman - a Greek by origin - was born in 490 in the small Syrian city of Emesa. From an early age, he felt his calling in the service of God and led a pious life, moving away from worldly temptations. Barely out of his teenage years, Roman got a job as a sexton in one of the churches of Berit - that was the name in those yearspresent-day Beirut, and when the pious emperor Anastasius I ascended the Byzantine throne, he moved to Constantinople and began to serve in the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos.
And here, in the capital of Orthodox Byzantium, the future Saint Roman the Melodist became famous for his exceptional piety. His life fully paints for us a picture of the constant spiritual feat performed by a young man. All his days were filled with fasting, prayers and contemplation. Such zeal to serve the Lord did not go unnoticed, and soon Roman the Melodist was accepted as a sacristan at the Church of St. Sophia, the world center of Orthodoxy in those years.
Intrigues of envious people
Not taught to read and write from childhood and deprived of the opportunity to read spiritual literature, Roman nevertheless surpassed many scribes with his charitable deeds. For this, he won the love of Patriarch Efimy, a man of high spiritual qualities, who became his mentor and patron. However, such an arrangement of the primate of the church aroused the envy of many clerics, who saw the patriarchal favorite in the young sexton.
It is known that envy often pushes people to mean deeds. This applies equally to the laity and to the clergy. So many of the clergy of Constantinople grumbled at the patriarch and tried to plot all sorts of intrigues for Roman in order to humiliate him in the eyes of the primate of the church. Once they succeeded.
Embarrassment during the holiday
Once, on the feast of the Nativity of Christ, the emperor himself and hisapproximate. The service was conducted very solemnly, and everything was filled with proper magnificence. Roman the Melodist, as he should have been in his modest position, was busy placing lamps in the temple. The cunning clerics forced him to go to the pulpit and sing a song of praise to God from it, which was not part of his duties at all.
They did it out of deceit: Roman, having neither the hearing nor the voice necessary for singing at that time, was bound to be disgraced. And so it happened. Having become a universal laughingstock and endured humiliation, the young man, falling before the image of the Most Holy Theotokos, prayed and wept bitterly from resentment and despair. Returning home and not even having tasted food, Roman fell asleep, and in a subtle dream the Queen of Heaven herself appeared to him and, holding out a small scroll, ordered him to open his mouth. When he did this, the Blessed Virgin placed a scroll in them and commanded them to eat it.
Great gift of the Mother of God
Swallowing the charter, the future saint woke up, but the Mother of God had already left him. Still not fully realizing what had happened, Roman suddenly felt in himself the understanding of the Teachings of God. This happened because the Blessed Virgin opened his mind to the knowledge of the wisdom contained in the Holy Scriptures, as Christ once did to his disciples. Until recently, tormented by resentment and humiliation, now in tears he thanked the Queen of Heaven for the knowledge that she bestowed on him in the blink of an eye.
Having waited for the hour when during the all-night vigil it was necessary to sing a festive hymn, Roman the Melodist already on his ownvoluntarily, he climbed to the pulpit and sang a kontakion composed by himself in such a marvelous voice that everyone in the temple froze in amazement, and when they came to their senses, they came to indescribable delight. It was a kontakion performed to this day in Orthodox churches in honor of the Great Feast of the Nativity of Christ.
Shaming the envious and mercy of the patriarch
Patriarch Anastassy I, who was present in the church, also marveled at this miracle. When asked how Roman knew this marvelous hymn and how he was able to suddenly acquire the gift of performing it, the sexton did not hide what had happened to him, but publicly told about the appearance of the Queen of Heaven to him and about the grace poured out on him.
Saint Roman the Melodist spoke about everything without concealment. The life of this saint of God tells that, having heard his words, all those who had recently plotted against him were ashamed of their deeds. They repented and asked for his forgiveness. The patriarch immediately elevated him to the rank of deacon, and since then Roman the Melodist has generously shared the wisdom of the book bestowed on him with everyone who came to the temple. It was Anastasius I who called Saint Roman the Melodist. With this name, he entered the history of the Christian church.
Pedagogical and composing activities of the saint
Surrounded by universal love, Deacon Roman began to teach singing to everyone, selecting especially gifted ones among them. Using the gift given to him from above, he was engaged in serious work on the organization of church choirs in Constantinople and was very successful in this field. Thanks to himThrough the efforts of church singing, it acquired unprecedented splendor and harmony.
Besides this, St. Roman the Melodist became famous as the author of many liturgical hymns. He owns more than a thousand hymns and prayers, sung for many centuries. Nowadays, not a single Orthodox holiday is complete without the performance of his works. The Akathist to the Annunciation of the Mother of God, written by him, gained particular fame. It is performed annually during Lent. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that it was a model on the basis of which akathists were written in all subsequent centuries.
The Poetic Gift of St. Roman
In addition to his composing activity, St. Roman the Melodist went down in history thanks to another side of his work - poetry. The texts of all his works were written in Greek and are known to us only in Slavic translation. Many researchers who have studied their originals and testify that they were written in a rare meter, known as tonic, agree that world literature is obliged to St. Roman for the preservation and dissemination of this unique poetic form.
The large and priceless musical and poetic heritage of Roman the Melodist is known to us largely thanks to the works of the German Byzantine historian Karl Krumbacher, who published a complete collection of his hymns at the end of the 19th century. According to the scientist, the creations of Roman in terms of poetic power, the depth of feelings embedded in them andspirituality in many ways surpass the works of other Greek authors.
End of Saint Roman
Roman the Melodist left earthly life in 556. Shortly before his blissful death, he took the monastic vows and became a monk of the monastery of Avassa, not far from Constantinople. There he spent his last days. The universal church appreciated his charitable life and the rich musical and poetic heritage that he left behind. By the decision of one of the Councils, he was canonized as a saint. An akathist was written to Roman the Melodist and one of the first editions of his life.
Church at the Conservatory
A peculiar monument to the famous poet and composer is the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin at the St. Petersburg State Conservatory. It is here that the memory of this saint and the Day of Roman the Melodist are honored with special warmth: October 14 is celebrated as a professional holiday. There is nothing surprising in this, because the people who gathered within the walls of the conservatory received from God the same musical gift that the author of hymns that came to us from the 6th century. For all students and teachers, the heavenly patron is Roman Sladkopevets. The icon, which shows his holy image, enjoys special honor here.
Throughout his life, the holy Reverend Roman the Melodist set an example of how the Eternal Creator sends down his gifts in response to pure and sincere love for him, how generously he pours out grace on those whowhose heart is open to him and who is ready to reject earthly vanity, embarking on the path of high service.
