Вестник Екатеринбургской духовной семинарии (Jul 2023)
The Kontakion of St. Romanos the Melodist “My Soul, o My Soul, Rise up! Why Are You Sleeping?” (CPG 7570): Content and Translation into Russian with Commentary
Abstract
This publication offers the first Russian translation of the kontakion of St. Romanos the Melodist “My soul, O my soul, rise up! Why are you sleeping?”, accompanied by an introductory article. The Kontakion itself consists of one prooemoeon and twenty-three oecoi. It is dedicated to the events of the last days of the life of the Savior through the eyes of the devil and his minions. The devil enlists his servants’ help in his intrigues against Christ, but the Jews have anticipated his plans, bringing Christ to judgment and death. The delighted devil boasts of this in his dialog with Death, but Death does not share his joy, remembering the miracles and resurrections performed by Christ during His lifetime. The devil then learns from the Jews about the death of the Righteous One, but loses confidence in his power after they tell him that the thief hanging on the cross addressed Christ, Who, in this way, acquires a new disciple for Himself even on the Cross. As can be seen from this description, the Kontakion does not have a penitential character, so the existing opinion about its function is incorrect. The introductory article provides a brief overview of the editions and translations of this Kontakion into different languages, and lists the main titles under which various publishers issued the Kontakion. The history of the monologue and dialogue between the infernal forces is described in some detail in the context of the plot of the Savior’s Descent into the Hell according to Christian writing: the Gospel of Nicodemus, the works of the Persian sage Aphrahat, St. Ephraim the Syrian, Eusebius of Alexandria, as well as other kontakia of St. Romanos the Melodist, where monologues and dialogues of the forces of evil are also used. The prooemoeon and oecos of the Kontakion are used in the worship of the Orthodox Church as part of the Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete. The appendix contains the text of the translation into Russian with comments explaining the biblical passages that inspired St. Romanos, as well as clarifying the meaning of certain words and expressions. The translation is based on the edition of the Greek text by Grosdidier de Matons in the Sources Chrétiennes series.
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