Saint Who?
Saints Who Wrote Hymns
Saint Andrew of Crete
Bishop († 740) Feast: July 4
Andrew was born in Syria but traveled to Jerusalem to become a monk when he was fifteen years old. The patriarch of Jerusalem was impressed with the young man and later sent him to Constantinople on an assignment. Andrew decided to remain in the Byzantine capital, and he became a deacon, directed a hospice and an orphanage, and was named Archbishop of Gortyna, Crete.
Andrew opposed the heresy of Monothelitism, which denied that Christ had a human will. However, for some unclear reason—forces beyond his control, he later said—he capitulated to the Byzantine emperor’s demands and participated in a synod which approved certain Monothelite heretics. A year later, he publicly apologized.
Andrew became widely known as an excellent preacher and a gifted hymnographer. He wrote many hymns, now called canons, but his most famous composition was the 250-strophe-long Great Canon of Repentance. In the text of this hymn, the singer admits his sinfulness but also his desire to amend his life, and he frequently compares himself to figures from the Old Testament who also sinned against God. The Great Canon is still sung in some Eastern liturgies, but it is so long that it is often split into sections and chanted over successive days during Lent—the most fitting liturgical season to spend many days begging God’s forgiveness.
Lord God, our helper and protector,
we offer to you our tears of repentance.
