The Protection of Our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary On October 1, 911, during the reign of Emperor Leo the Wise, an
all-night vigil was being held at the Blachernae Church of the Mother of
God in Constantinople, with many of the faithful crowding the church.
St Andrew the Fool for Christ (commemorated tomorrow, October 2) was
standing at the back of the church with his disciple Epiphanius. At
around four in the morning, the most holy Theotokos appeared above the
people, clothed in resplendent garments, surrounded by indescribable
radiance, and holding a veil in her outstretched hands, as though to
protect all the people. St Andrew said to Epiphanius 'Do you see how the
Queen and Lady of all is praying for the whole world?' Epiphanius
replied 'Yes, Father, I see it and stand in dread.' This wonderful event
is recorded in Epiphanius' life of St Andrew. Because of it, the Church
keeps an annual feast on this date.
- St Romanos the Melodist of Constantinople (556)
- He was born in Emessa in Syria, probably of Jewish parents. He
served as a deacon in Beirut, then in Constantinople at the time of
Patriarch Euphemius (490-496). He was illiterate, had no musical
training, and was a poor singer; thus he was despised by many of the
more cultivated clergy. One night, after Romanos had prayed to the
Mother of God, she appeared to him in a dream, held out a piece of paper
and told him to swallow it. On the following day, the Nativity of
Christ, Romanos went to the ambon and, with an angelic voice, sang
'Today the Virgin...', which is still sung as the Kontakion of the
Feast. All present were amazed at the completely unexpected beauty of
the hymn and of Romanos' singing. St Romanos went on to compose more
than a thousand Kontakia (which were once long hymns, not the short
verses used in church today). He is almost certainly the author of the
sublime Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God, which has served as the
model for all other Akathists. He reposed in peace, while still a deacon
of the Great Church in Constantinople. Many of his hymns were inspired
by the hymns of St Ephraim of Syria.
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The influence of Middle Eastern music on the
hymnography of the Church is incalculable. Many of those who established
the form of the Church's music were Syrians: two noted examples are St
Romanos and St John of Damascus, who composed the Octoechos, the Pascha
service, and the Funeral Service. Their music was in turn modeled on the
music of the Hebrew temple. The Byzantine musical tradition has
descended without break from the music sung in Christ's time, and
presumably by Christ Himself.
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source: http://www.abbamoses.com
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