The First Canon of the Feast of Pentecost

The First Canon of the Feast of Pentecost

Composed by Kosmas the Jerusalemite, Bishop of Maiouma (†c. 794)

Πρῶτος Κανών, οὗ ἡ  Ἀκροστιχίς. Πεντηκοστὴν ἑορτάζομεν. Ποίημα Κοσμᾶ Μοναχοῦ. ᾨδὴ α' Ἦχος βαρὺς Ὁ Εἱρμὸς «Πόντῳ ἐκάλυψε Φαραὼ σὺν ἅρμασιν, ὁ συντρίβων πολέμους ἐν ὑψηλῷ βραχίονι, ᾄσωμεν αὐτῷ, ὅτι δεδόξασται». Ἔργῳ, ὡς πάλαι τοῖς Μαθηταῖς ἐπηγγείλω, τὸ Παράκλητον Πνεῦμα ἐξαποστείλας Χριστέ, ἔλαμψας τῷ κόσμῳ φῶς, φιλάνθρωπε. Νόμῳ τὸ πάλαι προκηρυχθὲν καὶ Προφήταις, ἐπληρώθη, τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος σήμερον· πᾶσι γὰρ πιστοῖς χάρις ἐκκέχυται. ᾨδὴ γ' Ὁ Εἱρμὸς «Τὴν ἐξ ὕψους δύναμιν τοῖς Μαθηταῖς, Χριστέ, ἕως ἂν ἐνδύσησθε ἔφης, καθίσατε ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ, ἐγὼ δὲ ὡς ἐμὲ Παράκλητον ἄλλον, Πνεῦμα τὸ ἐμόν τε καὶ Πατρός ἀποστελῶ, ἐν ᾧ στερεωθήσεσθε». Ἡ τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος ἐπιδημήσασα δύναμις, τὴν μερισθεῖσαν πάλαι φωνήν, κακῶς ὁμονοησάντων, εἰς μίαν ἁρμονίαν θείως συνῆψε, γνῶσιν συνετίζουσα πιστοὺς τῆς Τριάδος, ἐν ᾗ ἐστερεώθημεν.  ᾨδὴ δ' Ὁ Εἱρμὸς «Κατανοῶν ὁ Προφήτης, τὴν ἐπ' ἐσχάτων σου Χριστὲ ἔλευσιν, ἀνεβόα· τὴν σὴν εἰσακήκοα Κύριε δυναστείαν, ὅτι πάντας τοῦ σῶσαι, τοὺς χριστούς σου ἐλήλυθας». Ὁ ἐν Προφήταις λαλήσας, καὶ διὰ νόμου κηρυχθείς, πρῴην τοῖς ἀτελέσι, Θεὸς ἀληθὴς ὁ Παράκλητος, τοῖς τοῦ Λόγου ὑπηρέταις καὶ μάρτυσι, γνωρίζεται σήμερον. Σῆμα Θεότητος φέρον, τοῖς Ἀποστόλοις ἐν πυρί, Πνεῦμα κατεμερίσθη, καὶ ξέναις ἐν γλώσσαις ἐνέφηνεν, ὡς πατρόθεν θεῖον σθένος, ἐρχόμενον ἐστὶν αὐτοκέλευστον. ᾨδὴ ε' Ὁ Εἱρμὸς «Τὸ διὰ τὸν φόβον σου ληφθὲν Κύριε, ἐν γαστρὶ τῶν Προφητῶν, καὶ κυηθὲν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς πνεῦμα σωτηρίας, ἀποστολικὰς καρδίας κτίζει καθαράς, καὶ ἐν τοῖς πιστοῖς εὐθὲς ἐγκαινίζεται· φῶς γὰρ καὶ εἰρήνη, διότι τὰ σὰ προστάγματα». Ἡ ἐπιφοιτήσασα ἰσχὺς σήμερον, αὕτη Πνεῦμα ἀγαθόν, Πνεῦμα σοφίας Θεοῦ, Πνεῦμα ἐκ Πατρὸς ἐκπορευτόν, καὶ δι' Υἱοῦ πιστοῖς ἡμῖν πεφηνός, μεταδοτικόν, ἐν οἷς κατοικίζεται φύσει, τῆς ἐν ᾗ κατοπτεύεται ἁγιότητος. ᾨδὴ ς' Ὁ Εἱρμὸς «Ναυτιῶν τῷ σάλῳ, τῶν βιοτικῶν μελημάτων, συμπλόοις ποντούμενος ἁμαρτίαις, καὶ ψυχοφθόρῳ θηρὶ προσριπτούμενος, ὡς ὁ Ἰωνᾶς Χριστὲ βοῶ σοι· Ἐκ θανατηφόρου με βυθοῦ ἀνάγαγε». Ἐκ τοῦ Πνεύματός σου, σάρκα ἐπὶ πᾶσαν, ὡς εἶπας, πλουσίως ἐξέχεας, καὶ ἐπληρώθη τῆς σῆς ἡ σύμπασα γνώσεως Κύριε· ὅτι ἐκ Πατρὸς Υἱὸς ἀρρεύστως ἔφυς, καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα ἀμερίστως πρόεισιν. ᾨδὴ ζ' Ὁ Εἱρμὸς «Οἱ ἐν καμίνῳ τοῦ πυρὸς ἐμβληθέντες ὅσιοι Παῖδες, τὸ πῦρ εἰς δρόσον μετέβαλον, διὰ τῆς ὑμνῳδίας, οὕτω βοῶντες· Εὐλογητὸς εἶ Κύριε, ὁ Θεὸς τῶν Πατέρων ἡμῶν». Ῥητορευόντων τὰ θεῖα μεγαλεῖα τῶν Ἀποστόλων, τοῦ Πνεύματος ἡ ἐνέργεια, ἐνομίζετο μέθη τοῖς ἀπιστοῦσι, δι' ἧς Τριὰς γνωρίζεται, εἷς Θεὸς τῶν Πατέρων ἡμῶν. Τὴν ἀδιαίρετον φύσιν ὀρθοδόξως θεολογοῦμεν· Θεὸν Πατέρα τὸν ἄναρχον, τῆς αὐτῆς ἐξουσίας Λόγον καὶ Πνεῦμα· Εὐλογητὸς εἶ, κράζοντες, ὁ Θεὸς τῶν Πατέρων ἡμῶν. ᾨδὴ η' Ὁ Εἱρμὸς «Ἄφλεκτος πυρὶ ἐν Σινᾷ προσομιλοῦσα, βάτος Θεὸν ἐγνώρισε, τῷ βραδυγλώσσῳ καὶ δυσήχῳ Μωσεῖ καὶ Παῖδας ζῆλος Θεοῦ, τρεῖς ἀναλώτους τῷ πυρὶ ὑμνῳδοὺς ἔδειξε· Πάντα τὰ ἔργα τὸν Κύριον ὑμνεῖτε, καὶ ὑπερυψοῦτε εἰς πάντας τοὺς αἰῶνας». Ζωτικῆς ἐξ ὕψους βιαίας φερομένης, ἠχητικῶς τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ παναγίου, ἁλιεῦσι πνοῆς, πυρίνων εἴδει γλωσσῶν, τὰ μεγαλεῖα τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐρρητορεύοντο· Πάντα τὰ ἔργα τὸν Κύριον ὑμνεῖτε, καὶ ὑπερυψοῦτε εἰς πάντας τοὺς αἰῶνας. Οἱ μὴ θιγομένῳ προβαίνοντες ἐν ὄρει, μὴ πεφρικότες πῦρ δειματοῦν, δεῦτε καὶ στῶμεν ἐν τῷ ὄρει Σιών, ἐν πόλει ζῶντος Θεοῦ, πνευματοφόροις Μαθηταῖς νῦν συγχορεύοντες· Πάντα τὰ ἔργα τὸν Κύριον ὑμνεῖτε, καὶ ὑπερυψοῦτε εἰς πάντας τοὺς αἰῶνας.  ᾨδὴ θ' Ὁ Εἱρμὸς «Μὴ τῆς φθορᾶς διαπείρᾳ κυοφορήσασα, καὶ παντεχνήμονι Λόγῳ σάρκα δανείσασα, Μῆτερ ἀπείρανδρε, Παρθένε Θεοτόκε, δοχεῖον τοῦ ἀστέκτου, χωρίον τοῦ ἀπείρου πλαστουργοῦ σου, σὲ μεγαλύνομεν».  Ἐπιπαφλάζοντος πάλαι πυρίνου ἅρματος, ὁ ζηλωτὴς καὶ πυρίπνους χαίρων ὀχούμενος, τὴν νῦν ἐκλάμψασαν ἐπίπνοιαν ἐδήλου, ἐξ ὕψους Ἀποστόλοις, ὑφ' ἧς καταλαμφθέντες, τὴν Τριάδα πᾶσιν ἐγνώρισαν. Νόμου τῶν φύσεων δίχα ξένον ἠκούετο· τῶν Μαθητῶν τῆς μιᾶς γὰρ φωνῆς ἀπηχουμένης, Πνεύματος χάριτι, ποικίλως, ἐνηχοῦντο, λαοί, φυλαὶ καὶ γλῶσσαι, τὰ θεῖα μεγαλεῖα, τῆς Τριάδος γνῶσιν μυούμενοι.

First Canon, whose Acrostic is We celebrate Pentecost. A Poem by Kosmas the Monk. Ode One Tone 7 Heirmos “He Who quencheth wars with a lofty arm hath covered over Pharaoh and his chariots in the sea. Let us sing unto Him, for He is glorified.” As Thou didst formerly promise Thy disciples, Thou hast now actually sent forth the Comforting Spirit, O Christ, and hast shone light upon the world, O friend of man. That which was proclaimed in the Prophets and in the Law of old hath been fulfilled; for on this day the grace of the Divine Spirit is poured out on all the faithful. Ode Three Heirmos “Thou didst say unto Thy disciples, O Christ: Stay in Jerusalem until ye are clothed with power from on high, and I will send you another Comforter like unto Me, Who is My Spirit and the Spirit of the Father, in Whom ye shall be established.” When the power of the Divine Spirit came down, in a divine manner it united into one harmony the divided voice of them that of old had evilly agreed together; and it hath made wise the faithful with the knowledge of the Trinity, wherein we have been established. Ode Four Heirmos “When the Prophet perceived Thy coming in the last days, O Christ, he cried out: I have heard of Thy might, O Lord, that Thou hast come to save all Thine anointed ones.” He that spake in the Prophets and was proclaimed through the Law, even the very God, the Comforter, is made known today unto the servants and witnesses of the Word who formerly were imperfect. Bearing the evident signs of Divinity, the Spirit was divided among the Apostles by fire and inspired them with the power to speak in foreign tongues, for possessing divine power from the Father, He cometh of His own accord. Ode Five Heirmos “The Spirit of salvation, O Lord, Who was conceived in the loins of the Prophets because of their fear of Thee and was brought forth upon the earth, doth purify the hearts of the Apostles, and is renewed in an upright manner in the faithful; for Thy commandments are light and peace.” This power which cometh down today is the Good Spirit, God's Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit that proceedeth from the Father, and through the Son is made manifest unto us the faithful; He is bestowed by nature of his holiness to those in whom He dwelleth, wherein He is discerned. Ode Six Heirmos “Tossed by the tempest of the cares of life, and cast into the deep by the sins that sail with me, and being thrown to the soul-corrupting beast, like Jonas I cry to Thee, O Christ: Draw me up out of the depth that brings death.” Thou hast abundantly poured forth of Thy Spirit upon all flesh, even as Thou didst say, and all creation is filled with Thy knowledge, O Lord; for Thou, the Son, didst come forth unchanging from the Father; and the Spirit indivisibly proceedeth. Ode Seven Heirmos “When the holy Children were cast into the furnace of fire, they changed the fire into dew by their hymnody, as they cried out thus: Blessed are Thou, O Lord, the God of our Fathers.” When the Apostles spake eloquently concerning the divine and mighty deeds, the Spirit's power, whereby the Trinity is known as the one God of our Fathers, was thought to be drunkenness by them that believed not. In an Orthodox manner, let us proclaim with Divine authority the undivided Essence: God the beginningless Father, and the Word, and Spirit, Who are of equal authority, and let us sing: Blessed art Thou, the God of our Fathers. Ode Eight Heirmos “The bush that was unconsumed by fire on Sinai spake unto the tardiloquent and inarticulate Moses, and made God known unto him; and zeal for God showed forth to be unconsumed by fire the three Children who chanted hymns. O all ye His works, praise the Lord and exalt Him unto all the ages.” When the vivifying, violent wind of the All-holy Spirit came from on high, manifesting unto the fishermen in the form of fiery tongues, they spake eloquently concerning the mighty deeds of God. O all ye works, praise the Lord and exalt Him unto all the ages. Ye that ascend the untouchable mountain, not fearing the awesome fire; come, let us stand on Mount Sion, in the city of the living God, and form one choir with the Spirit-bearing disciples. O all ye works, praise the Lord, and exalt Him unto all the ages. Ode Nine Heirmos “O Thou who without corruption wast found to be with child, and didst lend flesh unto the Word Who devised all things, O thou Mother who hast not known wedlock, O Virgin Theotokos, vessel of the Uncontainable One, dwelling place of thy boundless Fashioner, thee do we magnify.” The fire-breathing zealot of old who was joyously borne upon the fiery chariot that blazed furiously, indicated the inspiration which hath now shone from on high upon the Apostles, wherewith they were enlightened and made the Trinity known unto all. A strange thing contrary to the law of nature is now heard, for when the one voice of the disciples resounded, through the grace of the Spirit, the peoples, tribes, and tongues heard diversely the great things of God, and were initiated into the knowledge of the Trinity.

This insert is a gift from our Byzantine School.  We invite you to join us on the last Thursday of each month at 6 pm, as we explore the selection of liturgy “specials” for each week, and other issues related to the liturgical services of our Church. Next mtg – 08/27/15. Please consult the Sunday Bulletin for our regular announcements, or contact Tasos Ioannides, ioanniam@uc.edu or (513)556-3137.  Translation Source:   http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/pente.htm (Bishop Alexander Mileant)

Dear Eugenia and Polychronius,

To add further to the discussion on St. Kassiana, I am contributing the
following translation and personal thoughts.

Here is an excerpt translated from *A Historical Survey of the Hymnographers
& Hymnography of the Greek Church*, by the renowned hagiologist and church
historian Archbishop Philaret (Gumilevsky) of Chernigov (St. Petersburg:
Tuzov Press, 1902), pp. 272-275:

Kassia, Kassiana, Eikasia. In manner of life a pious nun; by education, a
learned woman; by birth, a noble virgin. She lived at the beginning of the
9th century, during the reign of Emperor Theophilus and his successor.
Kodinus, describing the antiquities of Constantinople, mentions the
monastery of Eikasia, which was founded by this virgin nun. ³The Monastery
of Eikasia,² he writes, ³was built by the virgin Eikasia, a pious nun,
beautiful of face and of mind.² Zonaras describes the circumstances which
led to Cassia¹s forsaking the world and building the monastery.
³Theophilus,² he writes, ³intending to choose a consort for himself,
summoned eleven beautiful virgins, among whom was the virgin Kassia, who
surpassed the others in beauty, and was as learned as she was nobly born.
Theophilus examined them, holding in his hand a golden apple which he would
give to the one who pleased him most. When he came to Eikasia he said,
marveling at her beauty: ŒAll that is evil hath come from a woman.¹
Eikasia, meekly, her cheeks blushing red with chastity, replied: ŒBut from a
woman all that is more sublime hath come.¹ Defeated by the words of the
virgin, Theophilus walked away and gave the golden apple to Theodora, a
native of Paphlagonia. Not having gained a royal marriage, Eikasia
established the monastery which bears her name, in which she lived for
herself and for the Lord. Excelling in her education, she wrote letters in
which there is no trace of pedantry or pleasantry. Thus did she reach the
end of her life, having betrothed herself to the heavenly King instead of an
earthly king, and having inherited the heavenly kingdom instead of an
earthly kingdom.² Leo Grammaticus records the same incident in his history
of Theophilus.
Kodinus says that during the reigns of Theophilus and his son, Michael,
Kassia composed many canons, stichera and other works, which are quite
marvelous. The same is said by the early 11th century anonymous author who
describes events of the past.
In the services of the Church we no longer see canons ascribed to Kassia,
except for one canon only, that of Great Saturday, which, however, was
reworked by Mark, Bishop of Otranto. This is what Theodore Prodromos writes
of the latter circumstance in his explanation of the canon of Great
Saturday: ³Through Ode V, this canon is the work of Mark, Bishop of Otranto;
but Odes VI through IX are by the great hymnographer Cosmas [of Maiuma];
furthermore, as we know from unwritten tradition, long before [Mark of
Otranto] a certain wise and chaste virgin, Kassia, was the composer of these
hymns, i.e. Odes I through V, i.e. she completed the canon. Later men who
edited the canons, considering it improper to attach to the hymns of a woman
odes of that ascetic Cosmas, commissioned Mark to compose troparia, while
retaining the former irmoi. This tradition is quite plausible. For Mark
did not incorporate the initial letters of the irmoi in his acrostic,
although to do so would have been to his advantage. For the initial letter
Œkappa¹ of the irmos Œkymati thalasses¹ [ŒVolnoyu morskoyu¹] and the letter
Œsigma¹ of the next irmos, ŒSe ton epi ydatOn¹ [ŒTebe na vodakh¹] are taken
from the acrostic; but he, setting the irmoi aside as the work of another
and not of himself, wrote the troparia from Œkappa¹ ŒKyrie Thee mou¹
[ŒGospodi Bozhe moi¹], and from Œsigma¹ ŒSymbola tes taphes sou¹ [ŒThe
tokens of Thy burial¹].² It is hence evident that the canon (i.e, through
Ode V) and the irmoi are not the work of Mark. Moreover, one can see this
from the fact that the words ³but we like the maidens² are included in the
irmos of Ode I. That the subject of this verse is a maiden clearly
indicates that the ode belongs not to a man, but to a woman. Since there
were two choirs during the exodus of the Israelites who originally sang this
ode--one consisting of men, the other of women--she, leaving aside the choir
of men, since she is a woman, said, ³we sing like the maidens². Yea, and
the very acrostic of the canon is dual, and, so to say, like twin-peaked
Parnassus. For the canon of Great Saturday was once a tetradion [a four-ode
hymnic composition]: its acrostic was comprised of only part of an iamb,
i.e., ³prosabbaton the, sabbaton melpO mega²--²The pre-Saturday. I hymn the
Great Saturday.² Half of its iamb applies to Great Friday, i.e. the
pre-Saturday, and the rest applies to Saturday, i.e. I hymn the Great
Saturday. But when the canon was continued and a full canon was made out of
the tetradion, the acrostic was also extended, and instead of the incomplete
iamb a complete one was made, i.e. ³kai simeron de sabbaton melpO mega². In
the Slavonic Triodion, one reads in the superscription of the canon: ³The
canon of Great Saturday, from Ode I to Ode VI, is the work of Mark, Bishop
of Hydrous. The irmoi are the work of a certain woman named Cassia. The
Odes from VI to the end are the work of kyr Cosmas.² Thus, in our present
canon of the work of Cassia only the irmoi remain.
As regards other canons, following Prodromos we must admit that it is
probable that certain portions of them, as is the case with the canon of
Great Saturday, are retained in our present canons, undetected by later
readers.
Among the stichera of Cassia, we find the following in the divine services:
1) for the Nativity of Christ, ³When Augustus reigned alone upon the
earth...²; 2) on Great and Holy Wednesday, ³O Lord, the woman who had fallen
into many sins...²; 3) feast of the martyrs Gurius, Salmonas & Habib,
November 15th (not attributed in the Slavonic Menaion, but attributed in the
Greek) ³Edessa rejoiceth...²; feast of the Nativity of the Forerunner, June
24th (³Today is fulfilled the saying of Isaiah...²; and for the feast of the
martyrs Eustratius & companions, December 13th (Let us hymn and piously
praise the God-bearing martyrs...²).
Having said that Kassia composed many stichera, Kodinus adds: ³such are
those of the harlot and the ointment, for all of these belong to her.² The
words of Kodinus indicate that he knew of many stichera written by Kassia
for the penitent woman, and not merely the one which has come down to us.
As regards the worth of the stichera reliably attributed to Kassia, one
must admit that the first two [above] truly deserve our admiration: as much
as the former is solemn and triumphal, so much is the latter full of a
profound sense of contrition. In the latter, Kassia has quite faithfully
expressed the feelings which filled the soul of the penitent sinful woman
who washed the Savior¹s feet with tears; to express such feelings of one who
greatly loved the Lord, Who was rejected by others, Kassia had to sense in
her own soul the fullness of bitter contrition over the corruption of our
soul, she herself had to be filled with that trusting love for the Savior of
sinners, for which men condemned both the sinful woman and the Savior of
sinners. ³Accept my fountains of tears. O Thou Who pourest forth the
waters from the clouds of the sea, bend Thine ear to the sighs of my heart;
O Thou who bowed down the heavens in Thine ineffable abasement, permit me to
kiss and wipe with the hairs of my head Thine all-pure feet, the noise
whereof Eve heard at noonday, and hid herself in fear. My sins are
many...but who can fathom the depths of Thy judgments? O Savior of souls,
my Savior, Who hast infinite mercy, reject me not, thy handmaid.² One must
say that there are not many who are capable of such profound contrition.

The entry on Kassia in *The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium* also includes
the information that Kassiane is identical to Kassia and Eikasia: ³KASSIA,
also Kassiane, Eikasia, and other forms of the name, poet....² The entry
cites an article by E. Catafygiotu Topping, which appeared in the "Greek
Orthodox Theological Review", Vol. 26 (1981), pp. 201-209, which someone may
have easy access to, and may contain more information of interest to our
group.

The only Greek-language Church calendar of the saints I have in my library,
the *Agioreitikos Epitrapezios Imerodeiktis, Etous 1977*, by the Monk
Dorotheos of the Skete of Xenophontos (published for Mount Athos in
Thessalonica), confirms the date of commemoration for St. Kassiane as 7
September (O.S.): ³Kassianes tes poietrias,...osia.² (The commemoration of
Kassiana the poetess,...monastic saint.)

Some years ago, I was able to consult St. Justin (Popovich¹s) Lives of the
Saints (in Serbian) concerning this saint. When I am able, I will do so
again. If memory serves, he also confirms the sanctity of St. Kassiana and
the date of her commemoration.

As to the variable forms of the name, it is my opinion the Kassia (a name
quite possibly derived from a plant mentioned in the Old Testament--Ex. 30:
24; Ps. 44: 8; Eze. 27: 19) was the saint¹s lay name, under which she earned
her reputation for erudition and as a poetess. Since it is a common
practice in convents to give nuns male names with female endings (e.g., the
abbess of our Mount of Olives Convent is named Moisea), it may well have
been that at her tonsure Cassia was given a female form of Cassian (i.e.,
Cassiana), after St. John Cassian.

I hope to contribute more on this topic as time and access to sources
permit.

Sincerely,

Isaac Lambertsen. Dear Eugenia and Polychronius,

To add further to the discussion on St. Kassiana, I am contributing the
following translation and personal thoughts.

Here is an excerpt translated from *A Historical Survey of the Hymnographers
& Hymnography of the Greek Church*, by the renowned hagiologist and church
historian Archbishop Philaret (Gumilevsky) of Chernigov (St. Petersburg:
Tuzov Press, 1902), pp. 272-275:

Kassia, Kassiana, Eikasia. In manner of life a pious nun; by education, a
learned woman; by birth, a noble virgin. She lived at the beginning of the
9th century, during the reign of Emperor Theophilus and his successor.
Kodinus, describing the antiquities of Constantinople, mentions the
monastery of Eikasia, which was founded by this virgin nun. ³The Monastery
of Eikasia,² he writes, ³was built by the virgin Eikasia, a pious nun,
beautiful of face and of mind.² Zonaras describes the circumstances which
led to Cassia¹s forsaking the world and building the monastery.
³Theophilus,² he writes, ³intending to choose a consort for himself,
summoned eleven beautiful virgins, among whom was the virgin Kassia, who
surpassed the others in beauty, and was as learned as she was nobly born.
Theophilus examined them, holding in his hand a golden apple which he would
give to the one who pleased him most. When he came to Eikasia he said,
marveling at her beauty: ŒAll that is evil hath come from a woman.¹
Eikasia, meekly, her cheeks blushing red with chastity, replied: ŒBut from a
woman all that is more sublime hath come.¹ Defeated by the words of the
virgin, Theophilus walked away and gave the golden apple to Theodora, a
native of Paphlagonia. Not having gained a royal marriage, Eikasia
established the monastery which bears her name, in which she lived for
herself and for the Lord. Excelling in her education, she wrote letters in
which there is no trace of pedantry or pleasantry. Thus did she reach the
end of her life, having betrothed herself to the heavenly King instead of an
earthly king, and having inherited the heavenly kingdom instead of an
earthly kingdom.² Leo Grammaticus records the same incident in his history
of Theophilus.
Kodinus says that during the reigns of Theophilus and his son, Michael,
Kassia composed many canons, stichera and other works, which are quite
marvelous. The same is said by the early 11th century anonymous author who
describes events of the past.
In the services of the Church we no longer see canons ascribed to Kassia,
except for one canon only, that of Great Saturday, which, however, was
reworked by Mark, Bishop of Otranto. This is what Theodore Prodromos writes
of the latter circumstance in his explanation of the canon of Great
Saturday: ³Through Ode V, this canon is the work of Mark, Bishop of Otranto;
but Odes VI through IX are by the great hymnographer Cosmas [of Maiuma];
furthermore, as we know from unwritten tradition, long before [Mark of
Otranto] a certain wise and chaste virgin, Kassia, was the composer of these
hymns, i.e. Odes I through V, i.e. she completed the canon. Later men who
edited the canons, considering it improper to attach to the hymns of a woman
odes of that ascetic Cosmas, commissioned Mark to compose troparia, while
retaining the former irmoi. This tradition is quite plausible. For Mark
did not incorporate the initial letters of the irmoi in his acrostic,
although to do so would have been to his advantage. For the initial letter
Œkappa¹ of the irmos Œkymati thalasses¹ [ŒVolnoyu morskoyu¹] and the letter
Œsigma¹ of the next irmos, ŒSe ton epi ydatOn¹ [ŒTebe na vodakh¹] are taken
from the acrostic; but he, setting the irmoi aside as the work of another
and not of himself, wrote the troparia from Œkappa¹ ŒKyrie Thee mou¹
[ŒGospodi Bozhe moi¹], and from Œsigma¹ ŒSymbola tes taphes sou¹ [ŒThe
tokens of Thy burial¹].² It is hence evident that the canon (i.e, through
Ode V) and the irmoi are not the work of Mark. Moreover, one can see this
from the fact that the words ³but we like the maidens² are included in the
irmos of Ode I. That the subject of this verse is a maiden clearly
indicates that the ode belongs not to a man, but to a woman. Since there
were two choirs during the exodus of the Israelites who originally sang this
ode--one consisting of men, the other of women--she, leaving aside the choir
of men, since she is a woman, said, ³we sing like the maidens². Yea, and
the very acrostic of the canon is dual, and, so to say, like twin-peaked
Parnassus. For the canon of Great Saturday was once a tetradion [a four-ode
hymnic composition]: its acrostic was comprised of only part of an iamb,
i.e., ³prosabbaton the, sabbaton melpO mega²--²The pre-Saturday. I hymn the
Great Saturday.² Half of its iamb applies to Great Friday, i.e. the
pre-Saturday, and the rest applies to Saturday, i.e. I hymn the Great
Saturday. But when the canon was continued and a full canon was made out of
the tetradion, the acrostic was also extended, and instead of the incomplete
iamb a complete one was made, i.e. ³kai simeron de sabbaton melpO mega². In
the Slavonic Triodion, one reads in the superscription of the canon: ³The
canon of Great Saturday, from Ode I to Ode VI, is the work of Mark, Bishop
of Hydrous. The irmoi are the work of a certain woman named Cassia. The
Odes from VI to the end are the work of kyr Cosmas.² Thus, in our present
canon of the work of Cassia only the irmoi remain.
As regards other canons, following Prodromos we must admit that it is
probable that certain portions of them, as is the case with the canon of
Great Saturday, are retained in our present canons, undetected by later
readers.
Among the stichera of Cassia, we find the following in the divine services:
1) for the Nativity of Christ, ³When Augustus reigned alone upon the
earth...²; 2) on Great and Holy Wednesday, ³O Lord, the woman who had fallen
into many sins...²; 3) feast of the martyrs Gurius, Salmonas & Habib,
November 15th (not attributed in the Slavonic Menaion, but attributed in the
Greek) ³Edessa rejoiceth...²; feast of the Nativity of the Forerunner, June
24th (³Today is fulfilled the saying of Isaiah...²; and for the feast of the
martyrs Eustratius & companions, December 13th (Let us hymn and piously
praise the God-bearing martyrs...²).
Having said that Kassia composed many stichera, Kodinus adds: ³such are
those of the harlot and the ointment, for all of these belong to her.² The
words of Kodinus indicate that he knew of many stichera written by Kassia
for the penitent woman, and not merely the one which has come down to us.
As regards the worth of the stichera reliably attributed to Kassia, one
must admit that the first two [above] truly deserve our admiration: as much
as the former is solemn and triumphal, so much is the latter full of a
profound sense of contrition. In the latter, Kassia has quite faithfully
expressed the feelings which filled the soul of the penitent sinful woman
who washed the Savior¹s feet with tears; to express such feelings of one who
greatly loved the Lord, Who was rejected by others, Kassia had to sense in
her own soul the fullness of bitter contrition over the corruption of our
soul, she herself had to be filled with that trusting love for the Savior of
sinners, for which men condemned both the sinful woman and the Savior of
sinners. ³Accept my fountains of tears. O Thou Who pourest forth the
waters from the clouds of the sea, bend Thine ear to the sighs of my heart;
O Thou who bowed down the heavens in Thine ineffable abasement, permit me to
kiss and wipe with the hairs of my head Thine all-pure feet, the noise
whereof Eve heard at noonday, and hid herself in fear. My sins are
many...but who can fathom the depths of Thy judgments? O Savior of souls,
my Savior, Who hast infinite mercy, reject me not, thy handmaid.² One must
say that there are not many who are capable of such profound contrition.

The entry on Kassia in *The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium* also includes
the information that Kassiane is identical to Kassia and Eikasia: ³KASSIA,
also Kassiane, Eikasia, and other forms of the name, poet....² The entry
cites an article by E. Catafygiotu Topping, which appeared in the "Greek
Orthodox Theological Review", Vol. 26 (1981), pp. 201-209, which someone may
have easy access to, and may contain more information of interest to our
group.

The only Greek-language Church calendar of the saints I have in my library,
the *Agioreitikos Epitrapezios Imerodeiktis, Etous 1977*, by the Monk
Dorotheos of the Skete of Xenophontos (published for Mount Athos in
Thessalonica), confirms the date of commemoration for St. Kassiane as 7
September (O.S.): ³Kassianes tes poietrias,...osia.² (The commemoration of
Kassiana the poetess,...monastic saint.)

Some years ago, I was able to consult St. Justin (Popovich¹s) Lives of the
Saints (in Serbian) concerning this saint. When I am able, I will do so
again. If memory serves, he also confirms the sanctity of St. Kassiana and
the date of her commemoration.

As to the variable forms of the name, it is my opinion the Kassia (a name
quite possibly derived from a plant mentioned in the Old Testament--Ex. 30:
24; Ps. 44: 8; Eze. 27: 19) was the saint¹s lay name, under which she earned
her reputation for erudition and as a poetess. Since it is a common
practice in convents to give nuns male names with female endings (e.g., the
abbess of our Mount of Olives Convent is named Moisea), it may well have
been that at her tonsure Cassia was given a female form of Cassian (i.e.,
Cassiana), after St. John Cassian.

I hope to contribute more on this topic as time and access to sources
permit.

Sincerely,

Isaac Lambertsen.