St Romanos the Melodist

Romanos was born in Emesa in Syria, likely of Jewish ancestry, and served as a deacon in Beirut before coming to Constantinople during the reign of Emperor Anastasius. He served at the church of the Theotokos in the Kyrou quarter, where he was mocked for his poor voice and lack of skill in chanting. According to his Life, the Theotokos appeared to him in a dream on the eve of the Nativity, giving him a scroll to swallow. Awakening, he mounted the ambo and spontaneously sang his most famous hymn, 'Today the Virgin gives birth to Him who is above all being.' He went on to compose kontakia — long, chanted metrical sermons — traditionally numbered around a thousand, of which some eighty-five survive under his name. He is honored as the greatest of Byzantine hymnographers and a patron of church singers.