On the Nativity of Christ

St. Romanos was born in the late 5th century, and was a deacon in the church of the Resurrection in Beruit, before coming to Constantinope during the reign of Anastasius I (491-518 A.D.). There he served as sacristan of the great Hagia Sophia, and residing to the end of his life at the Monastery of Kyros, where he was buried along with his disciple St. Ananias.

He was miraculously gifted with the writing of the Byzantine 'kontakion', a poetic sermon in verse accompanied by music. His are the oldest known of these works.

The Virgin appeared to him in a dream on Christmas eve, and gave him a scroll which he swallowed.

"After a religious retreat at Blachernae he returned to his church, and one night in his sleep saw a vision of the Most Holy Theotokos, who gave him a volume of paper, saying, 'Take the paper and eat it'." The saint, in his dream, opened his mouth and swallowed the paper. It was Christmas Day, and immediately he awakened and marvelled and glorified God. Then, mounting the ambo, he began the strains of

he parthenos semeron ton hyperousion tiktei.

Before the miracle his voice was weak. After it was melodic.

He wrote also about one thousand kontakia for other feasts before he died.

An excerpt of the beginning of this kontakion in translation now follows.

'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.

Bethlehem has opened Eden, come, let us see;
we have found delight in secret, come, let us receive
the joys of Paradise within the cave.
There the unwatered root whose blossom is forgiveness has appeared.
There has been found the undug well
from which David once longed to drink.

There a virgin has borne a babe
and has quenched at once Adam’s and David’s thirst.
For this, let us hasten to this place where there has been born

a little Child, God before the ages.'

- various sources