Roman Melodul

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Cuviosul Roman Melodul

Sfântul şi Prea Cuviosul Părintele nostru Roman Melodul (cunoscut şi sub numele Romanos, de la grec. Ρομανοσ), un prolific scriitor de imnuri grec, s-a născut la Emesa (Hems), în Siria. Prăznuirea sa în Biserica Ortodoxă este pe 1 octombrie, în aceeaşi zi cu Acoperământul Maicii Domnului. Este supranumit şi Roman Melodul, făcătorul de condace, fiind considerat patronul cântăreţilor bisericeşti.

Viaţa

Cuviosul Roman Melodul s-a născut în Emesa Siriei, din părinţi necunoscuţi. Această incertitudine asupra identităţii parinţilor săi a dat naştere la mai multe ipoteze, potrivit cărora Roman ar fi fost fie iudeu, fie sirian, fie grec. A fost botezat încă de tânăr şi s-a remarcat printr-o mare dragoste pentru casa Domnului - Biserica. Ulterior, s-a mutat de la Emesa la Beirut (capitala de acum a Libanului), unde a fost hirotonit ca diacon la biserica Învierii. Se spune că avea o voce destul de mediocră, dar în timpul slujbelor din Biserică inima lui pur şi simplu se umplea cu dragoste pentru Dumnezeu şi pentru el aceasta era cea mai mare bucurie.

Pe vremea împăratului Anastasie I (491–518), tânarul diacon a venit la Constantinopol, unde s-a stabilit la Mănăstirea Născătoarei de Dumnezeu din cartierul Chir.

Roman ducea o viaţă de ascet, prin rugăciuni şi post, dar, plin de umilinţă, el credea despre sine ca fiind mai degrabă un om de lume. Avea o dragoste seosebită pentru Maica Domnului şi de multe ori mergea în timpul nopţii pentru a se ruga în Biserica din Blachernae, care găzduia preţiosul omofor al Maicii Domnului. Sfântul Patriarh Eftimie îl preţuia şi îl iubea pe Roman pentru virtuţile sale şi i-a plătit acelaşi salariu ca şi pentru ceilalţi cântăreţi de la patriarhie, care erau mai educaţi şi mai talentaţi. Aceştia din urmă erau nemulţumiţi de acest lucru şi încercau să-l ridiculizeze pe Roman pentru lipsurile lui în educaţia muzicală şi teologică. Roman însuşi era dureros de conştient de aceste defecte; îşi dorea o voce mai melodioasă pentru a aduce laudă lui Dumnezeu.

It was the day before the Feast of Our Lord's Nativity, and Saint Roman was assigned to lead the singing that evening at the All-Night Vigil. He was responsible not only for the singing but also for the text of the hymns. After everyone had left, he remained in the Blachernae Church and tearfully entreated the Mother of God to help him. Exhausted, he fell asleep with his sorrow. In answer to his prayer, the Mother of God appeared to him in a dream. She handed him a scroll and said to him gently, "Here, eat this." Roman did so and awoke, overcome with joy and the lingering presence of the heavenly visitor.

When it came time that night for him to sing, Saint Roman received the patriarch's blessing and, vested in a special garment reserved for the principal singer, he stepped onto the ambo. He began to sing: "Today the Virgin gives birth to Him Who is above all being . . ." The emperor, the patriarch, the clergy-the entire congregation listened in wonder at the profound theology and the clear, sonorous voice which issued forth. They all joined in the refrain, "A new-born Babe, the pre-eternal God." Later, Saint Roman told the patriarch about his vision, and the singers who had made fun of him prostrated themselves in repentance and humbly asked the Saint's forgiveness.

It should be noted that the kontakion as we know it today—a short hymn honoring and describing a particular feast or saint—is only the prologue or proomion of a full kontakion which, at the height of its development in the sixth century, 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 Roman' works were known simply as "psalms," "odes," or poems. It was only in the ninth century that the term kontakion—from the word kontos, the shaft on which the parchment was rolled—came into use.

With the Nativity Kontakion, which has been dated to the year 518, Saint Roman began a period of prolific creativity. Altogether, he wrote as many as one thousand kontakion, celebrating feasts and saints throughout the liturgical year. In the words of one scholar, Saint Roman' compositions successfully combined "the solemnity and dignity of the sermon with the delicacy and liveliness of lyric and dramatic poetry."

Because Saint Roman is commemorated on the same day as the feast of Protection, he commonly appears as a central figure in the icon of that feast, even though there is no historical connection (the event celebrated by the Protection icon occurred in the tenth century). Although in more recent icons Saint Roman is depicted as a deacon standing on the ambo, Russian church musicologist Johann von Gardner points out that in the oldest icons he is more accurately portrayed wearing the short red tunic of a singer and standing on a raised platform in the middle of the church.

Roman is said to have composed more than 8000 similar hymns or kontakia (Gr. κοντάκιον, "scroll") celebrating the feasts of the ecclesiastical year, the lives of the saints, and other sacred subjects. Some of the more famous are:

• on the death of a monk (extremely impressive)
• the Last Judgment
• the treachery of Judas
• the martyrdom of St Stephen

Imne

Kontakion (Tone 8)

You were adorned from childhood with the godly virtues of the Spirit;

you were a precious adornment of the Church of Christ, all-wise Roman,

for you made it lovely with beautiful hymnody.

Therefore, we entreat you, grant your divine gift to those who desire it,

that we may cry out to you: "Rejoice, all-blessed Father, beauty of the Church."

Troparion (Tone 4)

You gladdened Christ's Church by your melodies

like an inspired heavenly trumpet.

You were enlightened by the Mother of God

and shone on the world as God's poet.

We lovingly honor you, righteous Roman.

Ediţii

• JB Pitra, Analecta Sacra, i. (1876), containing 29 poems, and Sanctus Romanus Veterum Melodorum Princeps (1888), with three additional hymns from the monastery of St John in Patmos. See also Pitra's Hymnographie de l'église grecque (1867)
• Karl Krumbacher, Geschichte der byzantinischen Litteratur (1897).

Surse

Format:Note On the question whether Anastasius I (491-518) or II (713-716) is meant, see Krumbacher, who is in favour of the earlier date.

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "wikipedia:Romanos."

Legături externe

• Venerable Romanus the Melodist, "Sweet-Singer" - from OCA web site.
• Romanos the Melodist - from GOARCH web site.
• Icon of St. Romanus the Melodist
• Icon of St. Romanos the Hymnographer