Romanos the Melodist

Saint Romanos
Icon of Romanus the Melodist (1649)
The Melodist
Born	c. 490 Syria
Died	c. 556 Constantinople
Venerated in	Eastern Orthodox Church Roman Catholic Church
Feast	October 1 (October 14 N.S.)
Attributes	Young man vested as a deacon, standing on a raised platform in the middle of a church, holding a scroll with his Kontakion of the Nativity written on it. He is surrounded by the Patriarch, the Emperor, and members of the congregation. His icon is often a combined with that of The Protection of the Mother of God, which falls on the same day. Sometimes he is depicted as a deacon holding a censer in his right hand and a small model of a church in his left.
Patronage	church singers

Young man vested as a deacon, standing on a raised platform in the middle of a church, holding a scroll with his Kontakion of the Nativity written on it. He is surrounded by the Patriarch, the Emperor, and members of the congregation. His icon is often a combined with that of The Protection of the Mother of God, which falls on the same day.

Saint Romanos the Melodist or the Hymnographer (Greek: Ῥωμανὸς ὁ Μελωδός, often Latinized as Romanus or Anglicized as Roman), was one of the greatest of Syrio-Greek hymnographers, called "the Pindar of rhythmic poetry". He flourished during the sixth century, which is considered to be the "Golden Age" of Byzantine hymnography.

The main source of information about the life of Romanos comes from the Menaion for October. Beyond this, his name is mentioned by only two other ancient sources. One in the eighth-century poet St. Germanos, and once in the Souda (s. v. anaklomenon), where he is called "Romanos the melodist". From this scanty evidence we learn that he was born to a Jewish family in either Emesa (modern-day Homs) or Damascus in Syria. He was baptized as a young boy (though whether or not his parents also converted is uncertain). Having moved to Berytus (Beirut), he was ordained a deacon in the Church of the Resurrection there.

He later moved to Constantinople during the reign of the emperor Anastasius—on the question whether Anastasius I (491-518) or Anastasius II (713-716) is meant, the renowned Byzantinologist, Prof. Karl Krumbacher favours the earlier date. There he served as sacristan in the "Great Church" (Hagia Sophia), residing to the end of his life at the Monastery of Kyros, where he was buried along with his disciple St. Ananias.