Part 2 — Chapter IX THE GREEK HYMNODY
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I. EARLY GREEK HYMNS
The reaction of the Greek Church to the hymnic attack of Arians interests us because of its influence on the general development of the Christian hymn.
Of the earliest hymn writers we know little, and their work has not come down to us. We have a hymn of Methodius (311) based on the parable of the ten virgins, of considerable vigor and merit.
The most prominent figure that greets us is that of Gregory of Nazianzus (327-389). He was called to Constantinople by the Emperor Theodosius to lead the orthodox forces against the Arian enemy. He was appointed court preacher, Patriarch of the Eastern Church, and president of the Ecumenical Council of Constantinople; but the pious, gentle monk, while a great preacher and a fertile hymn writer (it is said that he wrote thirty thousand hymns), was not fitted for the strife and intrigue rampant in the Capital; within a few years he returned to his cell at Nazianzus in Cappadocia. His hymns are ranked very high. Dr. Brownlee has given an excellent version of his “Evening Hymn”:
“O word of truth! In devious paths My wayward feet have trod; I have not kept the day serene I gave at morn to God.
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And now ’tis night, and night within, O God, the light hath fled! I have not kept the vow I made When morn its glories shed.
For clouds of gloom from nether world Obscured my upward way; O Christ, the Light, thy light bestow, And turn my night to day!”
Synesius (375-430), Bishop of Cyrene, was a brilliant man, a friend of Hypatia, whom most general readers know as the heroine of Charles Kingsley’s great historical romance. He wrote some very tender hymns and poems that have been widely appreciated. He is best known by his hymn, “Lord Jesus, think on me,” a free paraphrase of which (by Allen W. Chatfield) is found in some of our hymnals.
Anatolius (d. 458) is known to us, not as the able and noble Byzantine pontiff, but as the original writer of two quite different hymns, translated by Dr. Mason Neale: the evening hymn, “The day is past and over,” and the descriptive hymn, “Fierce was the wild billow.” He was one of the first to forsake the classical forms and to put his thoughts into harmonious prose. He wrote few hymns, but all of great excellence.
II. THE LATER GREEK HYMNS
The earlier Greek hymn writers wrote in the classical measures and evinced an admirable sense of form; but the later hymnists, following the example of Anatolius, wrote in rhythmical prose and not by any means as felicitously. Moreover, the later Greek language greatly degenerated, losing its lucidity and subtlety of expression.[1]
The later Greek hymns had many ecclesiastical and theological phrases difficult to render. They were filled with grotesque figures; the worship of Mary, and even of the saints, 116 is offensive. Being mostly in rhythmical prose, they were not intended to be sung—at most only to be chanted. Really they were not hymns in the ordinary sense of the word; rather they were the raw materials of hymns. As Dr. Brownlie says, “The writers are not poets, in the true sense, and their language is not Greek as we have known it.”
The more conspicuous of these later Greek devotional writers do not appear until the eighth century.
Andrew of Crete (660-732), an archbishop, was a very voluminous devotional writer. Among his more important works are the “Great Canon,”[2] the “Triodion,” and the “Pentecostarion.” The “Great Canon” has more than three hundred stanzas, illustrating by Scripture examples the feelings of a penitent confessing his sins. He is represented in some of our hymnals by the hymn, “Christian, dost thou see them?” translated by Dr. John Mason Neale and said to be taken from the “Great Canon.”
The other hymnists of this century are John of Damascus (d.780), his foster-brother Cosmas, the Melodist (d.760), and Stephen the Sabaite, his nephew (725-794).
John of Damascus wrote the best Greek of his generation and was most poetical in spirit and style. Gibbon calls him the “last of the Greek Fathers.” His verse is characterized by being written in iambics (the most common measure in modern hymns). His best-known hymn is “’Tis the day of resurrection,” taken from his great Easter canon, styled the “Queen of Canons” and the “Golden Canon” by the Greek Church.
John’s foster-brother, Cosmas, survives in the Christmas hymn, “Christ is born! exalt his name.” Although his canons are very thoughtful, his style is often turgid and difficult to follow.
Stephen the Sabaite, the nephew of John of Damascus, the third of this “nest of singing birds” (to use Dr. Gillman’s phrase), came to Mar Saba as a boy and remained there all his 117 life. Dr. Neale found the inspiration of his hymn “Art thou weary, art thou languid?” in some lines of Stephen.
These three Greek hymn writers were monks in the monastery of San Saba, to be seen to the north from the highway between Jerusalem and Jericho, on the rugged heights overlooking the Jordan valley.
Another group of Greek hymn writers appears a little later, headed by Theodore (759-826), abbot of the Studium, a great monastery at Constantinople. The group was quite controversial, the occasion being not the Deity of Christ, but the enforced destruction of ikons, or images. The hymns of this group were not all controversial. Theoctistus (c.890), an obscure and later member of it, when the heat of strife had presumably subsided, could write this devout hymn of praise to Christ:
“Jesu, name all names above, Jesu, best and dearest. Jesu, fount of perfect love, Holiest, tend’rest, nearest.
Jesu, source of grace completest, Jesu purest, Jesu sweetest. Jesu, well of power divine, Make me, keep me, seal me thine.”
Joseph of the Studium (c.840), because of his many hymns, was called the Hymnographer. He wrote too much to write well. His work is characterized as tautological, tawdry, tedious. Three of his hymns, however, had enough suggestiveness to inspire Dr. Neale to write “Let our choir new anthems raise,” “O happy band of pilgrims,” and “Safe home, safe home in port.” Dr. Neale’s pump seems to have needed but slight priming to bring up stirring lyrics from the deepest spiritual experiences and emotions!
The most striking characteristic of the Greek hymnody is its sheer objectivity. It is self-forgetful in its rapt, ecstatic contemplation 118 of the doctrines and facts of the Christian faith. It is never experiential or self-analytical except when it confesses sin and unworthiness. The sustained dignity and elevation of its praise and adoration are other admirable traits. Its consciousness of God, its unflawed acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, its assurance of the indwelling Spirit, give it a liturgical value beyond that of any other ancient hymnody.
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