Sfântul ierarh Nectarie Kefalas şi poezia imnografică contemporană
Saint Nectarios Kefalas and Contemporary Hymnographic Poetry

Summary/Abstract: The personality of Saint Hierarch Nectarios Kefalas is characterized, first of all, by his care for those in need. Although the saint is well known for his healing miracles, he is not limited only to charitable actions, but he sought the perfection of himself and those around him in the theological intellectual field. Thus, as a testimony of his catechetical and pastoral work, in addition to his theological and church history studies there remained the four original volumes of hymnographic poetry that the saint puts before all those who want to elevate the soul in prayer and contemplation. The fruit of personal prayer, the hymns dedicated to the Mother of God and to the Holy Trinity respond to the requests and needs of his peers, Saint Nectarius recommending the reading and singing of his hymns when the souls of his disciples are pressed by hard trials. Moreover, his volumes of hymnographic poetry facilitate a deeper understanding of the liturgical text, because they are not just simple chants useful for the soul, but, above all, show the ability to adapt the hymnographic text to new aesthetic patterns of its era. In accordance with the spirit of the great Byzantine hymnographers, the holy hierarch understood the condition of hymnographer as a care that unites both the theologian and the melodist. His hymns, far from claiming to be simple spiritual readings, reveal the saint’s conviction that, through both their form and the way they are sung in the specifics of Orthodox ecclesiastical music, they present themselves as genuine hymnographic products, which can be used like any other form of consecrated liturgical poetry.

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