Of all the hymnographers whose works appear in the liturgical books of Byzantium, only one—Kassia—was a woman. Living in ninth-century Byzantium during a time of political, cultural and ecclesiastical change, Kassia embodied this spirit of innovation in her compositions. This paper will explore how her songs, including her famous hymn on the sinful woman, came to life in the liturgical world of Constantinople, reimagining the stories of Scripture and inviting the faithful to enter this sacred narrative.

Dr. Andrew Mellas is a Senior Lecturer (Liturgical Studies) at St Andrew's Theological College and an Honorary Associate at the University of Sydney (Medieval and Early Modern Centre).

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The “Global Approaches to Sacred Space” lectures are generously funded by the SGS Global Research Workshop series with further support from the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies, CESTA, CMEMS, CREEES, the Departments of Art & Art History, Classics, French & Italian, History, and Religious Studies.

Co-organized by Prof. Bissera V. Pentcheva and Andrei Dumitrescu.