Salute the Everlasting Day: John Donne and Romanos the Melodist in Dialogue

An imaginative dialogue between the sixth-century Byzantine poet and hymnwriter and the sixteenth-century English poet and dean of St Paul's.

In Salute the Everlasting Day Chrysostom Koutloumousianos transcends time, location and culture to bring two great minds together. Preeminent sixth century hymnographer of the Greek-speaking East, Romanos the Melodist, and the most enthralling poet and preacher of early modern England, John Donne, meet in passionate dialogue. The poets' similarities and divergences are explored, their poetic and theological brilliance demonstrated in a comparative context, and unravelled are the mysteries of human existence, along with the connection between the eschatological Kingdom and the transfiguration of the human being in this present life.

Using direct quotations from their literary corpus, as well as tailoring to the needs of a living dialogue, and elaborating on their teachings, Koutloumousianos presents the first comparative study of Romanos the Melodist and John Donne in all its sensitivity and beauty, capturing their shared vision for contemporary society.