Stars of the morning, so gloriously bright. St. Joseph the Hymnographer. [St. Michael & All Angels.] In the Paracletic there are several Canons of the Bodiless Ones, and all are of an ornate character. In Dr. Neale's Hymns of the Eastern Church, 1862, these stanzas appeared with the following title and note:—“Stars of the Morning. A cento from the Canon of the 'Bodiless Ones.' Tuesday in the Week of the Fourth Tone." 'In omitting the opening line of the Greek, Dr. Neale, doubtless, intended it to be understood, that he had followed the spirit rather than the letter of the original. In fact, there is no attempt to reproduce the sequence of thought as set forth in the Canon, although the ornate character of the original is imitated. Since the adoption of Dr. Neale's translation for congregational use, in H. J. Palmer's Supplemental Hymnal, 1866, the People's, 1867, Hymns Ancient & Modern, 1868, and others, it has become most popular, and is found in a large number of hymnbooks. The texts in use, however, vary considerably. Dr. Neale's authorized text is in the third edition of the Hymns of the Eastern Church, 1866. The original Greek Canon is found in modern editions of the Octoechus.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
John M. Neale's life is a study in contrasts: born into an evangelical home, he had sympathies toward Rome; in perpetual ill health, he was incredibly productive; of scholarly temperament, he devoted much time to improving social conditions in his area; often ignored or despised by his contemporaries, he is lauded today for his contributions to the church and hymnody. Neale's gifts came to expression early–he won the Seatonian prize for religious poetry eleven times while a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, England. He was ordained in the Church of England in 1842, but ill health and his strong support of the Oxford Movement kept him from ordinary parish ministry. So Neale spent the years between 1846 and 1866 as a warden of Sackvi… Go to person page >
Joseph, St., the Hymnographer. A native of Sicily, and of the Sicilian school of poets is called by Dr. Neale (in his Hymns of the Eastern Church), Joseph of the Studium, in error. He left Sicily in 830 for a monastic life at Thessalonica. Thence he went to Constantinople; but left it, during the Iconoclastic persecution, for Rome. He was for many years a slave in Crete, having been captured by pirates. After regaining his liberty, he returned to Constantinople. He established there a monastery, in connection with the Church of St. John Chrysostom, which was filled with inmates by his eloquence. He was banished to the Chersonese for defence of the Icons, but was recalled by the empress Theodora, and made Sceuophylax (keeper of the sacred… Go to person page >
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