According to the patristic scholar, Father Andrew Louth: “Saint Romanos (6th. c) is perhaps the most famous liturgical poet of the Orthodox Church, but his genius is such as to command a place among the highest ranks of poets, religious or secular, so that he has been called by Professor Trepanis ‘the greatest poet of the Greek middle ages.’” I begin with this as a brief introduction to a small portion of one of his famous kontakia (singular kontakion) that I would like to share in preparation for the Great Feast of the Nativity. What we hear today under this title is a mere echo of the original structure of a kontakion. Again, citing Father Louth, “The verse form that Romanos raised to the highest perfection was the kontakion, a kind of chanted verse sermon, consisting of brief stanzas (each called an ikos), all of which end with the same refrain.” In other words, the kontakion was something of a long and elaborate theological poem that was most likely chanted after the Gospel “with the choir (and doubtless the congregation) joining in the refrain.”
The most famous of the many kontakia composed by Saint Romanos, was the one now known as the Nativity Kontakion that we will hear when the feast is celebrated. A pious tradition relates that the Mother of God appeared to him in a dream and gave him a scroll to swallow (see Ezekiel 2:8-3:3; Revelation 9:10-11). This was on Christmas Eve, and when he awoke he went to the church and chanted his famous kontakion in honor of the feast. What we sing in church to this day for the Great Feast of the Nativity is merely the Prelude that introduces a poetically structured hymn of 24 stanzas! Yet, brief as it may be, this is truly one of the greatest “Christmas hymns” ever to be composed for its theological depth:
Today the Virgin gives birth the Transcendent One,
And the earth offers a cave to the unapproachable One!
Angels, with shepherds, glorify Him!
The wise men journey with the star!
Since for our sake the eternal God was born as a little Child!
It is also most likely that Saint Romanos composed the incomparable Akathistos Hymn to the Theotokos, perhaps his greatest masterpiece, and a hymn chanted to this day in the church and in personal devotion.
One of the chief characteristics of his kontakia is the endlessly creative use of typology as a way of reading the Scriptures. Typology allows us to uncover, through persons, places, and even sacred objects, their role as prefigurations for their fulfillment in Christ. (In Romans 5:14, Saint Paul tells us that Adam was a “type” [in Greek, typos] of Christ). Through typological exegesis (biblical interpretation), the Burning Bush of Exodus 3 is a “type” of the Theotokos, who will hold within her womb the fiery Word of God, but not be consumed in the process. This is one of Saint Romanos’ favorite types from the Old Testament. Therefore, just to pass on a “taste” of the rich poetic theology expressed by Saint Romanos in his kontakia, I am offering the Prelude and stanzas one and 13 of his kontakion on the Mother of God. We do not associate poetry and rich imagery with theology, but this is how some of the early Church Fathers expressed their deepest intuitions into the mystery of Christ. This is especially true of the Syriac tradition. (Saint Romanos was from Syria and journeyed eventually to make his home in Constantinople). Notice the refrain after each stanza. That must have made a strong impression on all of the worshippers present, when the choir or the entire congregation sang/chanted that repeatedly throughout the course of the hymn.
Prelude
At your conceiving without seed, O Mother of God,
Joseph was struck with wonder as he contemplated what was beyond nature.
And he brought to mind the rain on the fleece (Judges 6:3),
The bush unburned by fire (Exodus 3:2-4),
Aaron’s rod which blossomed (Numbers 17:23),
And your betrothed and guardian bore witness and cried to the priests,
Refrain
A Virgin gives birth, and after childbirth remains still a virgin.
- What I see I cannot understand, for it surpasses the human mind.
How is it that the grass carries fire and it not burned?
A lamb carries a lion, a swallow an eagle and the servant her Master (Isaiah 11:6-8).
In a mortal womb, in a manner uncircumscribed,
Mary carries my Savior as He wills,
So that everyone will say,
Refrain
A Virgin gives birth, and after childbirth remains still a virgin.
- So, Mary, sing the praise of Christ, Who is carried below in your bosom
And on high is seated with the Father.
He sucks at your breast and gives mortals divine food from above,
And below He is laid in a cave through love of mortals,
Refrain
A Virgin gives birth, and after childbirth remains still a virgin.
For anyone interested in pursuing these hymns further for their rich theology and use of the Scriptures, perhaps the best collection is in the book compiled and edited by the late Archimandrite Ephraim, considered an excellent translator during his lifetime, in which I believe there are 18 kontakia.