Hymns of Repentance (Popular Patristics Series v61)

Hymns of Repentance: St Romanos the Melodist 

Saint Romanos the Melodist composed many hymns in Constantinople during the reign of Emperor Justinian, an age of political and cultural transformation, when the synthesis of Christian, Roman, and Greek elements gave birth to a new civilization. Saint Romanos the Melodist straddled the worlds of antiquity and Byzantium, and his hymns are a unique fusion of classical rhetoric, Syriac poetry, and the theology of the Cappadocian Fathers. Scripture comes to life in his hymns, inviting the faithful to encounter biblical events in their own liturgical experience, where the human-divine encounter was enriched with sacred music and holy ritual, amplifying moments of desire, sadness, and joy.

This volume brings together for the first time a selection of Saint Romanos the Melodist’s hymns about repentance, featuring the original Greek opposite a new English translation. These hymns, which were sung in church during the Lenten journey to Pascha, explore the story of the prodigal son, the crucifixion of Christ, and other important themes, evoking compunction and its purifying power, and praying to God for his great and abundant mercy.