Live Byzantine Chant from Aleppo: Psalm 102 Sung by Two Antiochian Cantors
What the video says
The transcript is a recitation of a psalm of lament (Psalm 102 in Arabic). The speaker describes being like a deserted owl and a lonely sparrow on a rooftop, keeping watch night after night. Tears have become his bread day and night, and he has become like a pelican of the wilderness, living in solitude.
Key moments
- The speaker says he is like a pelican (غتاب) of the wilderness, a bird of the wastes.
- He says he has become like a night owl (بومة) in the ruins, keeping watch through the night.
- He says he has become like a lone sparrow on the housetop, awake night after night.
- His tears have become his bread day and night, day after day.
A live recording from the Archdiocese of Aleppo (2026) presents the chant known as the Akolouthia of the Righteous, performed by Bishop Romanos the cantor and Metropolitan Ephrem Maalouli. The recording is shared under Byzantine chant tags associated with the See of Antioch. The sung text is Psalm 102 in Arabic, a psalm of lament. The chanters voice the words of a sufferer who describes himself through images of desert and ruin.
He says he has become like a pelican of the wilderness, a bird of the wastes. He compares himself to a night owl in the ruins, keeping watch through the night. He is like a lone sparrow on the housetop, awake night after night.
His tears have become his bread day and night, day after day. The performance keeps the Arabic text of the psalm within the Byzantine melodic tradition of the Antiochian church, and the live setting ties the singing to the Aleppo archdiocese in 2026.
Main points
- Bishop Romanos the cantor and Metropolitan Ephrem Maalouli perform a live recording for the Archdiocese of Aleppo, dated 2026.
- The chanted text is Psalm 102 in Arabic, a psalm of lament.
- The singer says he has become like a pelican of the wilderness, a bird of the wastes.
- He compares himself to a night owl in the ruins and to a lone sparrow on the housetop, awake night after night.
- His tears have become his bread day and night, day after day.