Romanos the Melodist, St

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Romanos the Melodist, St. (d. ?556). The greatest of Greek hymn-writers (although only a few—80 out of 1,000—of his hymns survive). A Syrian by birth, after a time as deacon at Berytus, he found his way to Constantinople under Patriarch Anastasius I (d. 518). Hardly any of his hymns are still used in the liturgy, though the famous Akathistos hymn is widely regarded as his. Feast day, 1 Oct.