Tabra and Trabata

30 October

Tabra and Trabata, deacons and martyrs, with bishop Teonesto at Treviso (north of Venice), killed in 380. According to accounts in the 10th and 11th centuries, the three were stranded at sea on a defective ship. Finally disembarking in the Gulf of Venice, they were killed by Arians.

A Grave Affair

Isabelle and Kay (Nos. 3 and 5 from left) on the cemetery tour.

Kay and I and granddaughter Isabelle (age 14 and tall) drove out to Thibodaux yesterday for a fundraiser called "A Grave Affair," featuring tours in the cemetery of St John's Episcopal Church.

Each tour made a circuit in the cemetery, stopping by tombs to hear stories told by dead persons in period costumes. We were glad to meet our old friend Julie Green, playing a missionary to Japan named Georgianna Suthon, who had returned to be buried in the cemetery. The guy who played Governor Francis T. Nicholls told us he had lost an arm and a leg in the War (pronounced "Wawah"), although he appeared to possess both appendages. Isabelle said she liked him best because he was so pompous. Bishop-General Leonidas Polk (buried in the cathedral in New Orleans, but the original priest at St John's) claimed he was killed by a Yankee shell in 1863, when the actual date was June 14, 1864, at Pine Mountain, Georgia. Disembowelling probably disturbs the memory.

Afterward there was food and wine in the parish hall, while another tour set out. Isabelle would have preferred the ghosts scary. Kay liked everything. We didn't see Grandmère Mimi, so I guess she came later in the evening.

Charles Sapibuana of the Solomons

24 October

Charles Sapibuana (known as Sapi), deacon and evangelist in the Solomon Islands, Melanesia, died of influenza on 24 October 1885.

Sapibuana was born about 1854 in the village of Lango in Gaeta, on the south shore of Gela or Nggela (called Florida by Spanish explorers). He was a Christian teacher and evangelist among his own people, ordained as deacon in 1882. He died from influenza on Norfolk Island on 24 October 1885 while preparing for ordination to the priesthood. His story is told by Frances Awdry, In the Isles of the Sea: The Story of Fifty Years in Melanesia (London, 1902), 73-85.

Severus of Heraclea

22 October

Severus, deacon and martyr, with bishop Philip of Heraclea and presbyter Hermes of Constantinople, burned at the stake at Adrianopolis (present Edirne in northwestern Turkey), 304.

The aged bishop Philip, Severus, and Hermes were arrested under Diocletian. Philip was ordered by the governor, Bassus, to hand over the church’s sacred vessels and books. Philip agreed to the vessels, but not to the scriptures. The bishop and his deacon were then scourged and the wanted goods seized. Afterwards, they refused to make an act of worship of the emperors or of the goddess Fortune or of Heraclea’s name-deity, Hercules. Later there was a fruitless interrogation by Bassus’ successor, Justin, after which Philip was dragged back to jail by his feet. Together with Severus and Hermes, he was confined for seven months before all three were taken to Adrianopolis. Justin interviewed them twice again and had Philip beaten; he then sentenced them to death by fire at Adrianopolis. Philip had been so badly beaten that he had to be carried to the stake. Hermes, who was not much better, joked cheerfully and sent a last message to his son: “Tell them to pay back whatever I owe, and to work hard for his living as I have done, and to behave well to everybody.” When the fire was lit the martyrs praised and gave thanks to God until the smoke suffocated them. Severus followed them the next day.

Maximus of Aquila

20 October

Maximus of Aquila, deacon and martyr of Aquila in southern Italy, killed in 250. He was thrown from a cliff near his native city, by the Roman authorities for refusing to deny the faith. Maximus is the patron saint of Aquila.

Baldwin of Laon

16 October

Baldwin (also called Balduinus, Baldunus, or Baudoin), archdeacon and martyr at Laon in Gaul (northern France), killed c. 670-680.

Baldwin was son of Salaberga and brother of abbess Anstrude of Laon. He was murdered by personal enemies who were angered by the severity of his life—which they took as a rebuke to them.

Papylas of Pergamum

13 October

Papylas, deacon and martyr, with bishop Carpus, killed at Pergamum in Asia Minor (modern day Bergama in Turkey), 251.

Philip the Deacon

11 October

Philip the Deacon, one of the seven ordained by the apostles, died 1st c.

All we know of Philip is what we are told in Acts 6:5; 8:4‑8,26‑40. He is one of the seven chosen to assist the apostles. He was the first to preach in Samaria, where he converted Simon Magus and then a eunuch who was chief treasurer of the Queen of Ethiopia on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza. Philip preached in the coastal cities on the way to his home at Caesarea, and twenty-four years later, Paul stayed at his home in Caesarea, where he still lived with his four unmarried daughters. A Greek tradition has him become bishop of Tralles in Lydia. He was so successful in his preaching that he was sometimes surnamed “the Evangelist,” which has sometimes caused him to be confused with Philip the Apostle. [also observed 6 June]

Poplia of Antioch

9 October

Poplia of Antioch (or Publia), deacon and confessor, abbess, and music minister at Antioch, died c. 363.

Poplia was married and gave birth to a son, John, who became leader of the presbyters. After her husband died, she was ordained into the diaconate. After she had been ordained a short time, persecution broke out under the emperor Julian, and she was able to counsel many women and strengthen them in their faith. She was a gifted leader of women and the local church. During persecution she was tortured for refusing to relinquish her Christian beliefs.

Rusticus and Eleutherius

9 October

Rusticus and Eleutherius, deacons (or one of them was, see below) and martyrs, beheaded at Paris with bishop Denis, c. 258.

The first mention we have of these three martyrs comes in the sixth century in the writings of Gregory of Tours. Denis (or Dionysius as he is also called) is the most famous of the three. Born and raised in Italy, he was sent as a missionary to Gaul about 250 by Pope Clement, along with five other bishops. Denis made his base of missionary activity an island in the Seine near the city of Lutetia Parisorium—what would become Paris. For this reason he is know as the first bishop of Paris and the Apostle of France. There he was captured by the Parisians along with Rusticus and Eleutherius. Later writers have referred to these as Denis’ presbyter and deacon, or his deacon and subdeacon, but we have no further information on them. After a long imprisonment and several aborted executions, the three martyrs were beheaded with a sword and their bodies were thrown into the river. Denis’ body was retrieved from the Seine by his converts and buried. The chapel that was built over his tomb grew into the abbey of Saint-Denis.

COMMENT: A few years ago I heard Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger preach on these saints, at the ordination of deacons in Notre Dame Cathedral. From what I could gather, he regarded Rusticus as a presbyter and Eleutherius as a deacon. Maybe he just liked the post-Vatican symmetry of the three orders.

More on Fr. Bill (whose funeral was today)

From the Summer 1991 issue of Integrity, newsletter of Integrity USA (lgbt community in The Episcopal Church:

MORE ON THE CLOSETED GAY BISHOP

To the Editor:

Thank you for the Spring 1991 issue. It is excellent.

I have a some additional information for you concerning your article "Closeted Gay Bishop Dies of AIDS." In 1971 I attended a summer seminar at General Theological Seminary on "Homosexuality, Women's Liberation and Communal Living." I returned home to St. George's Church here in New Orleans where I was rector, determined to do all in my power to support lesbians and gay men.

The local Metropolitan Community Church met in our chapel for some months. Then they found their own small church. From time to time I attended their afternoon service, and I came to know their minister, Rev. Bill Larsen, quite well. He often came to see me regarding their scrambled liturgy and what to do about it.

The night of June 24, 1971 some 30 or more members of the MCC group and friends were at an upstairs bar. A man who was drunk fire-bombed the stairs. The windows had iron bars over them. As a result nearly all those there were burned to death. My phone rang at 3 a.m. telling me of this. I was grieved greatly, for included among those burned to death was Bill Larsen, my friend.

Next morning a member of the MCC called to ask if they could have a memorial service that evening at St. George's. I agreed, providing they would not make a big splash over it. The Rev. Troy Perry [Founder and Moderator of MCC] flew in that evening and assisted with the service. Some 80-90 persons attended. I warned the TV people not to take pictures, and asked the reporters to play it low-key. They did.

Bishop Iveson B. Noland, who was later killed in a plane crash in New York, phoned me early the next morning. He said, "Bill, this is the Bishop. Have you read the morning paper?" I said, "Yes, Bishop, I have." "Is it true that the service was at St. George's Episcopal Church?" "Yes, Bishop, it was." "Why didn't they have it in their own church?" he asked. I replied, "For the simple reason their own small church holds about 18 persons. Without any publicity we had over 80 present." "What am I to say when people call my office?" I replied, "You can say anything you wish, Bishop, but do you think Jesus would have kept these people out of His church?"

I heard later the Bishop had a hundred calls, and I got hate calls and letters. Only one member of our vestry supported me. Later, I was stopped on the street by many persons thanking me for doing such a Christian thing.

Later that week, I was asked if we could have another memorial service the next Sunday afternoon at St. George's. I had to decline for I was just leaving for a month's trip to India to visit friends, and I knew I would have to be present for such a service. It was then that the late Bishop Finis Crutchfield offered the Rampart St. Methodist Church for that extra service.

I shall be grateful if you will insert this in your next issue. I am still very active in lesbian/gay affairs, though our Integrity group eventually folded. I have spoken several times before the City Council and before our Diocesan Convention regarding lesbian/gay issues, but to little avail. But I'm not giving up!

Cordially,

(The Rev.) William P. Richardson, Jr.
New Orleans, LA

COMMENT: Fr. Bill has the year wrong. The fire was in 1973.

Also, I was one of the pallbearers. The coffin must have been full of granite pavestones.

Demetrius

8 October

Demetrius (Dimitri), deacon and martyr, killed at Sirmium in Dalmatia, in the former Yugoslavia, early 4th c.

The Greeks called Demetrius a military martyr and “the Megalomartyr” (Great Martyr). Early legends about Demetrius credit him with a military career. He was popular in the Middle Ages, and with St George he was the patron of the crusades.

Ywe of Northumbria

6 October

Ywe (also called Iwi, Ywi, and Iwigius), deacon and monk of Northumbria, died 690.

Ywe was a spiritual student of Cuthbert at Lindisfarne, who ordained him deacon. Following the Irish ideal of an exile for Christ, he took ship without bothering to ask its destination, planning to evangelize where it landed. The destination turned out to be Brittany, where he lived as a hermit and followed a ministry of miraculous healing. About 250 years later a group of Breton monks carrying the relics of Ywe arrived at Wilton abbey in southwest England. When they were ready to leave they found they could not move the relics. The relics had found a home at the abbey altar, and the monks were forced to leave them behind.

Louisiana hayride

Only in Louisiana . . .

Today the funeral of Harry Lee, cowboy Chinese-American-Cajun sheriff of Jefferson Parish, featured a eulogy by former Governor Edwin Edwards, telephoned from the federal prison at Oakdale.

Firmatus

5 October

Firmatus, deacon and martyr, with his sister the virgin Flaviana, died together for their faith at Auxerre in the Bourgogne region of central France, date unknown. They are listed in Martyrologium Hieronymianum (martyrology of Jerome), compiled in the late sixth century.

RIP Bill Richardson

A saint has died.

The Rev. William P. Richardson, 98, rector of St George's, New Orleans, from 1953-1976, died peacefully last night at 10:48 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. George’s on Monday, Oct. 8, at noon.

Among the gay community in the United States, Bill Richardson is honored as a hero.

On June 24, 1973, fire broke out in a gay bar, the Upstairs Lounge, at Iberville and Chartres in the Vieux Carré. The patrons were trapped behind barred doors and windows of the second-story lounge. Thirty-two died, and many others were injured.

Against the orders of his bishop, Bill held a burial service at St George's for the victims, their families, and their friends. No other member of the clergy in New Orleans dared to do this.

Bill was already out as a gay male. He was small in size, enormous in stature. Year after year, in diocesan convention, Wee Willie (as he was affectionately called) introduced resolutions and spoke out in support of gays and lesbians. The resolutions always failed. Bill never failed.

Rejoice in his long life of faithful service and in his peaceful departure. May we strive to follow his splendid example.

Francis of Assisi

4 October

Francis of Assisi, deacon and founder of Order of Friars Minor, died 3 October 1226.

Francis was born in 1182 in Assisi, Italy. His father was the rich cloth merchant Pietro Bernardone, and his mother was Giovanna Pica. The boy was named Giovanni at baptism, but when his father returned from France, where he had been when the boy was born, he demanded that the name should be changed to Francesco (little Frenchman), since his mother was from Provence and he had been in France at the time of the birth. He had an easy life as a child and youth, spending money like a drunken sailor. He wanted to become a knight and a troubadour. At the age of 20, he took part in the 1202 war between Assisi and Perugia, and was captured after the battle of Collestrada. He spent a year as a prisoner in Perugia, before his father was able to ransom him. His health had suffered from the imprisonment, and he contracted a serious illness that would stay with him until his death. After spending most of the year 1204 in bed, he joined the campaign of Walter de Brienne, who was fighting in Puglia, in 1205. Planning to join the Fourth Crusade, he bought expensive equipment and rode off.

While on his way, he met a poor man, and being struck by pity he exchanged his expensive clothes for the man’s rags. At Spoleto, he fell ill again. While he was sick, he heard a voice ask, “Where are you going, Francis?” He explained where he was going, and the voice asked, “Tell me, who can take you the farthest, the Lord or the servant?” He answered “The Lord,” and was told to return to Assisi, where he would be told what to do. Back in Assisi, he lived more or less as before, but was not as joyful. Rather than spending time with his carefree friends, he started going to a grotto outside Assisi, where he spent hours in prayer.

He went on a pilgrimage to Rome, where he met a leper with horrifying disfigurements. At first he felt fear and revulsion, but he overcame it quickly, and when the leper stretched out his hand to beg for money, Francis not only gave him money but kissed his hand. Going to St Peter’s tomb, he exchanged clothes with a beggar, and spent the rest of that day begging. He was still unsure about what he was supposed to do, but visited the hospital and started caring for the lepers.

In the autumn of 1205, he was back in Assisi, and prayed in the church of San Damiano. It was a poor church, where the priest could not even afford oil for the lamp by the icon of Christ. While praying, he heard Christ speak to him three times, from the crucifix which is now in Santa Chiara in Assisi, telling him to set his house in order. He took this literally, and took several rolls of cloth from his father’s store and sold them. He tried to give the money to the priest at San Damiano, who refused to take them. He did however, accept that Francis could live there as an oblate.

His father was furious, and came for Francis, who had hidden. After praying and fasting for days, he showed himself, and people said he looked as if he had gone insane. His father came, beat him senseless, and dragged him home in chains. He was locked in the house, but his mother set him free when the father had left. His father again came for him at San Damiano and demanded that he either return home or renounce his heritage and pay back the money. Francis gladly renounced his heritage, but claimed that the money belonged to God and the poor. Being an oblate, he was under the authority of the bishop of Assisi.

His father brought the case to the bishop, Guido, and Francis was told to return the money and trust in God. Again showing that he had a tendency to take things literally, he said that the clothes he wore also belonged to his father, and in front of the bishop and a large crowd he took them off and gave them to his father. The bishop gave him a cloak that belonged to one of his workers, and Francis accepted it with gratitude, drawing a cross on it. He left the town to “marry Madam Poverty.” He wandered around, working at a monastery and in the leper colony at Gubbio.

In 1206 he returned to Assisi, where everyone thought he was mad. He begged for alms to repair San Damiano, and did some of the work on the church himself. After doing the same thing for the church San Pietro, he went to the small chapel Portiuncula, formally called Santa Maria degli Angeli, which belonged to the Benedictine monastery of Monte Subacio. He repaired it himself, and settled down there.

On the feast of St Matthew in 1208, he heard the gospel for that day, Matthew 10:7-19, in which the disciples are told to go into the world bringing only one tunic, no shoes or staff, no money in their belt, and no purse. It’s no surprise that he took the gospel literally; he gave away his shoes, belt, and staff, put on an undyed woolen cloak held together with a rope, and went into the world as a beggar. This was the origin of the Franciscan habit.

Francis had by now started to attract attention, and some chose to follow him. Bernardo da Quintavalle and Pietro Cattani were the first, and Francis gave them the habit on 16 April 1208. The third to join was Egidius, who was given the habit on 23 April 1208. In 1209 he had 11 companions, and he decided to write a brief rule. He was ordained as deacon around this time. He was never ordained to the priesthood; his humility prevented him from seeking that for himself. In 1210, he went to Rome to seek the Holy Father’s approval for the rule. Pope Innocent III at first thought it was too strict. But the night before the audience, he had a dream in which the Lateran Basilica was collapsing, and a single man came in and held it up. Recognizing Francis in his dream, he approved the rule.

This first rule, known was Regula Prima, is sadly lost to us. Francis and his followers were given the tonsure and formal permission to work as preachers. Francis gave his order the name Ordo Fratrum Minorum, or “Order of the Smallest Brothers.” The brothers lived in strict poverty, working and begging for alms. Any surplus was given to the poor. By 1212, there was more than 100 Franciscans. In 1212, he founded a female branch, named the Poor Clares after his friend Clare (Chiara) of Assisi. In 1221, the Third Order of Franciscans was founded to allow lay people, married and unmarried, to join the Order.

In 1212 Francis went east to preach to the Saracens in Syria. After shipwrecking, he landed at the coast of Dalmatia, and had to return as a stowaway to Ancona. He preached in Italy for some time, and in 1213 he again tried to reach the Sarascens. This time he tried to reach Morocco through Spain. He fell ill in Spain, and had to return. Others made the trip to Morocco, and the order had its first five martyrs there on 16 January 1220.

In 1217 what had begun more as a movement than an order held its first general chapter. The order was divided into provinces, and brethren were sent to other countries to preach. The lack of organization was taking its toll, and in 1219, Francis convened the second general chapter, at which 5,000 brethren were present.

In 1219 Francis joined the Fifth Crusade to preach to the Saracens. He sailed to Damietta in Egypt, which was under siege by the crusaders. His illusions were soon stripped away; the crusaders were not as holy as he had thought. He managed to get through the lines, and was presented to the sultan, Malek al-Kamel. Francis did not manage to convert the sultan, but secured better treatment of Christian prisoners and was given the privilege of his order being custodians of the Holy Sepulchre.

After a few months in the Holy Land, Francis returned to Italy. While had had been away, the order had started changing. While the Franciscans had so far lived in simple huts, they had now built a monastery of stone. Francis refused to enter and sought shelter with the Dominicans. He felt that he had been betrayed and went to Rome. The Holy Father, Pope Honorius III, appointed Cardinal Ugolino as Protector of the Order in 1220. The cardinal was a close friend of Francis and wanted the whole church to take advantage of Francis’ ideas. He also wanted some of the brethren to become bishops, to lead the work for reform in the church. Francis stepped down as General of the Order, and named Pietro Cattani as his Vicar.

In 1221 Francis made a revised rule, with the support of Cardinal Ugolino. It was more detailed than the first but similar in its insistence on poverty and humility. At the third general chapter in May 1221, he presented it to the brethren. Many of them supported the new trends, including the new Vicar, Elias of Cortona, who had governed the order since the recent death of Cattani. The chapter still accepted the rule, being reluctant to defy the founder. The new rule was, however, not approved by the Holy Father and is therefore known as Regula non bullata. Francis revised the rule again in 1223. Many of the brethren protested against the ban on communal property, which they felt that it was impossible to live with. Some changes were made to accommodate everyone, and Pope Honorius III approved this rule—it became the Regula bullata. Francis was not completely happy with it, but could not have his will without breaking up the order.

At Christmas 1223, Francis was at Grecchio in the Rieti Valley. There he made the first known Christmas crib, using real persons to play the parts. This was a way for him to emphasize the poverty of Christ. Farmers who came to midnight mass were impressed by him; he served as deacon during mass and sang the gospel with such inspiration that many cried openly. In 1224, he returned to solitude, this time in the Appennines in Tuscany. He preached to the animals, and the birds are said to have listened quietly to him.

By this time Francis was weakened by illness and the harsh life he had led. Only one brother, Leo, was allowed to visit him. Francis concentrated all his remaining strength on becoming ever more like Christ, and he especially meditated over Christ’s wounds. On or near the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross on 14 September 1224, he fell into ecstasy and received the stigmata, the wounds of Christ, from an angel. This is the first recorded case of stigmata. Because of his humble nature, he always tried to cover the wounds.

In the winter of 1224-1225, he managed to preach in Umbria and Marche. He gradually weakened more, in large part because of the stigmata. He was also going blind at this time. In the spring of 1225, Cardinal Ugolino made him see the Pope’s physicians in Rieti. On his way there, he visited Clare for the last time. While there, almost crazed by pain, he wrote the famous Canticum fratris solis, “The Canticle of Brother Sun,” which he set music to and taught to the brethren. (Incidentally, the well-known prayer “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,” was not written by Francis; it appeared around the time of the First World War.)

An operation for his eyes was a failure, and he weakened even more. In the spring of 1226, he was sent to Siena for treatment. But he no longer had any will to live and longed more and more for death’s release. One night, suffering terrible pain and being certain that he was dying, he dictated the document known as the Siena Testament. He was moved to a hermit’s hut, and there he dictated his last testament to Brother Elias. In the summer of 1226, he was at Bagnara, and it was decided to carry him back to Assisi on a stretcher.

He was given a large escort—people already thought of him as a saint, and there was a real danger that he would be held back to secure relics. In Assisi he was taken to the bishop’s residence. Bishop Guido was away at the time. He asked the doctors to tell him the truth, and was given no more than two weeks to live. Hearing this, he exclaimed: “Welcome, Sister Death!” He asked to be taken to his old home in the chapel at Portiuncula. At a hill outside Assisi, he gave his blessing to the town and to his brethren, and then he was carried to Portiuncula.

Francis asked the brethren to fetch Giacoma di Settesoli, a close friend, who was to bring candles and a cloak for his funeral, and a cake that he loved. She came by herself before the messenger could go. He then dictated a few lines for Clare and the sisters and asked the brethren to sing the verse of the Canticle of Brother Sun that praises death. He then asked for a loaf of bread, which he broke and passed out as a sign of love and peace. According to his own wish, he was placed in the floor of the small hut and covered by a cloak lent to him by the guardian. He gave his admonitions to the brethren and gave instructions for the treatment of his mortal remains. The Passion of Our Lord from the gospel of John was read aloud, and Psalm 141 was sung. At sunrise on 3 October 1226, at the age of 45, he closed his eyes for the last time.

Francis had asked to be buried with the criminals at Colle d’Inferno, but on Sunday, 4 October, his body was carried to San Giorgio in Assisi and he was buried there. The funeral cortege stopped outside San Damiano, so that St Clare and the sisters could say their farewells. Twenty-one months later, he was canonized by Pope Gregory IX, the former Cardinal Ugolino. His relics were hidden from grave robbers, and they were not rediscovered before 1818, in a subterranean crypt in the church San Francesco in Assisi. A richly decorated monument was erected over his tomb, but in 1932, in recognition of what he would have wanted, it was removed and a simple monument was placed there. The chapel Portiuncula has also been preserved; the church Santa Maria degli Angeli has been built around it.

NOTE: The painting is a detail from a fresco by Cimabue in the late 13th century, in the lower church of San Francesco, Assisi. It is the earliest known painting of Francis.

Alert! The Geek Squad is coming!

"Alert! Chipset Heat Sink Not Detected. System halted."

This message greeted me on starting my computer Saturday morning. After a trip to the Geek Squad (repair guys), I learned that the chipset (plastic glob), which governs the heat sink (fan motor), had broken away from the motherboard (computer brain). Motherboard kaput. Instead of replacing the motherboard, which was no longer under warranty, I bought a new computer. The outfit that backs up my data online said they don't restore data to Vista computers. Soooo . . . The Geek Squad transfered my data from the old hard disk to the new computer. When I got home and started the new computer, it threw a fit and did a system restore, going back someplace before the data was transfered. So I downloaded the data from the online backup outfit, to a laptop, to a flash drive, and into the new computer. Meanwhile, just to make sure I've got everything, I have the Geek Squad burning my data onto a DVD.

Is there a patron saint for computers? I need to start asking for intercessions.

Romanos Melodos

1 October
Romanos Melodos, deacon, hymn-writer in Syria and then Constantinople, died c. 556.

Romanos, also known as Romanos the Melodist, was a hymn-writer in Greek, known as "the Pindar of rhythmic poetry." From the scanty records of his life we know that he was born to a Jewish family about 490 in Emesa (Hems) or Damascus in Syria and lived in Constantinople during the reign of the emperor Anastasius. He converted from Judaism to Orthodox Christianity and was ordained deacon. Having officiated as a deacon in the church of the Resurrection at Beirut, he moved to Constantinople, where he was attached to the churches of Blachernae and Cyrus.

According to legend, when he was asleep in the church of Cyrus, the Virgin appeared to him and commanded him to eat a scroll. On awaking (it was Christmas Day), he immediately mounted the pulpit and gave forth his famous hymn on the Nativity. Romanos is said to have composed more than 8,000 similar hymns or kontakia (from Greek κοντάκιον or scroll) celebrating the festivals of the ecclesiastical year, the lives of the saints, and other sacred subjects: on the death of a monk, the last judgment, the treachery of Judas, and the martyrdom of St Stephen. In the Russian Orthodox Church, Romanos is the patron saint of church singers.

Here is the prelude to his long (24-stanza) kontakion on the Nativity of Christ:

Today the Virgin gives birth to One who transcends all being,
and to One we cannot approach the earth offers a cave.
Angels and shepherds sing his glory,
for to us is born a child,
God in all eternity.