W. L. Petersen on the Dependence of St. Romanus the Melodist on St. Ephraim the Syrian

The author considers a seminal work of the American scholar W. L. Petersen, which seeks to identify the literary and textual dependence of St. Romanus the Melodist upon the works of St. Ephraim the Syrian. Examples of this dependence are offered. The work of this scholar allows us to confirm the previously expressed hypotheses about the Syrian origins of the Kontakion.