Back to the Library
The Church Fathers · c. 520–555
The Kontakia
Romanos the Melodist · c. 490–c. 556
Read elsewhere
What it is
Long sung sermons in stanzas with a repeated refrain, giving speeches to Mary, to Judas, to the woman at the well, and to Adam pleading at the gate of paradise.
Why it lasted
The summit of Byzantine hymnography, and dramatic writing of a quality the Greek church never matched again.
Scripture it works from
Where to read it
Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
Read next