The Nativity of Christ: Homily 6: On the Words of the Kontakion of the Feast of the Nativity of Christ (Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko)

1. The Feasts of the Lord

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko 

I. The Nativity of Christ

Homily No. 6: On the Words of the Kontakion of the Feast of the Nativity of Christ

Today the Virgin gives birth to Him who is above all being,
and the earth offers a cave to Him whom no one can approach.
Angels with shepherds give glory,
and magi journey with a star,
for to us there has been born
a little Child, God before the ages.

I

Here is one of the church hymns for the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, composed by the divinely enlightened Reader of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, Saint Romanos. It briefly yet clearly presents the story of Christ's Nativity — stating who is born today and from whom, where He is born and for what purpose, and how the newborn was greeted by heaven and earth, by angels and humans.

October: Day 1: Teaching 6: Venerable Romanos the Melodist

October: Day 1: Teaching 6:
Venerable Romanos the Melodist
 
(Where Does True Enlightenment Come From?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Remembered today by the Church, Venerable Romanos was a clergyman of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople and lived in the 5th century. Distinguished by his deep piety, Romanos observed strict fasts, prayed often, and led a most austere life. Romanos's ascetic life and obedience endeared him to Patriarch Euthymios; but other clergymen did not like the Patriarch's love and affection for Romanos and envied him. Moreover, Romanos was not as skilled in reading and singing as the other clergy of Hagia Sophia. Once, on the eve of the Nativity of Christ, Emperor Anastasios was listening to the service in Hagia Sophia; the clergy, wanting to mock Romanos, forced him to go out onto the pulpit and sing in the presence of the emperor, which Romanos could not do. After the service, the Venerable One wept for a long time and prayed before the icon of the Mother of God. That same night the Mother of God appeared to him in a vision and gave him a scroll with the command to eat it; having done so, he received the gift of skillful reading and singing. The next time he came to the temple, he went up to the ambo and, when it was his turn, he chanted the hymn: “Today, the Virgin bears Him who is transcendent, and the earth presents the cave to Him who is beyond reach. Angels, along with shepherds glorify Him. The Magi make their way to Him by a star. For a new child has been born for us, the God before all ages.” All those present in the temple listened to Romanos’s singing with amazement, and the Patriarch asked him where he had learned this wondrous hymn. Romanos related how the Mother of God had appeared to him in a miraculous vision and imparted to him the gift of singing. Then the clergy were ashamed of their previous behavior toward the Venerable One and asked his forgiveness for all the offenses and insults they had caused him.