Archdeacon Roman

Sunday morning, March 18, I went to my parents' church in the Fenway. My cousin had left a message a few weeks ago that Archdeacon Roman had died. At the time, I did not have the car running, so did not attend his funeral.

Fr. Deacon Roman had a resonant voice, ideal for the deacon's part in the Orthodox Liturgy. I can hear its exact timbre even now. He cut a very exotic figure, with long, stringy hair and somewhat scraggly beard (not unlike my own), and the purple velvet Kamilavka, the archdeacon's cylindrical hat. From my earliest memories, I have imprints of the sensory aspects of the Orthodox Liturgy: the brightness of the candles and icons and vestments, and the stately motions of the clergy; the smell of the Holy in the incense; and especially the voices of the choir and clergy in the singing of the ancient poem, in Old Slavonic. More recently, the singing is mostly in English, but still mythical. The Archdeacon voice wove through the magic of the ceremony, reigniting the sacred in those toddler's memories.

He had cancer, but it was a combination of blood clots in the legs and intestinal bleeding that did him in. I heard that he approached death with dignity and faith, as is appropriate for any deeply religious person.

May we all go so composedly, whatever our views.

http://holytrinityorthodox.org/articles_and_talks/In%20Memoriam.htm