“You say that Saint Romanos did not contribute with his hundreds of wonderful hymns to the timeless journey and evolution of our popular tradition? I turned back to our tradition and let its rhythm – the one that exists within all of us – free to guide me. Our ancient and Byzantine poetry expresses itself in its timeless evolution in the songs of the people, in what are called popular songs – why not in rembetika as well? This outcome, this conclusion, I felt should become my own beginning and guide. I picked up the thread from there, and what I ended up with I think is a fifteen-syllable verse with breaks and a style that refers to the popular, our folk tradition. I say I think, because I am not a philologist, and I do not know the technicalities. However, it seemed to me that with this approach, the words of Saint Romanos came alive!”

“So that was the path; but the parameters that had to be satisfied simultaneously were many. It was necessary: a) for the poetic rhythm to be present b) for the meaning, spirit, and emotional weight of the verses to be preserved intact, c) for the delicate, rich, patristic, most orthodox, God-breathed theological pedagogy and teaching of Saint Romanos to be preserved intact (God forbid, without slip-ups!), d) for the flavor of the literary forms to be rendered in some way – the contrasts, the characteristic ‘Romanic’ wordplays, the internal rhymes – and the liveliness of the dialogues e) for the flow of meaning and the connection of the penultimate verse with the last, which is the same in all the odes and is called the ephymnion, to be maintained. The difficulty was great. I was forced to take several liberties and to often seek permission from the lady-poetess – fortunately, she is easy-going and magnanimous on this issue.”

(Author's introductory note)