The life of St Gregory the Choirmaster
He learned the art of ecclesiastical chant from his fellow monk John Koukouzelis, the celebrated hymnographer, and out of respect for his teacher was sometimes called Gregory Koukouzelis in turn.
Church tradition holds that on the eve of Theophany, when custom had recently been restored to the older hymn "It Is Truly Meet" in the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great, Gregory instead sang the alternate hymn "All Creation Rejoices in Thee," and that the Mother of God herself appeared to him afterward in gratitude, much as a similar story is told of his teacher Koukouzelis. Whatever the truth of the vision, the practice of singing that hymn at the Liturgy of Saint Basil has continued in the Church ever since. Sources differ on the year of Gregory's repose, giving dates a half-century apart; he is remembered together with Saint John Koukouzelis on their shared feast day.
