THE AKATHIST HYMN

 

The God-bearing holy Fathers of our Church, who settled everything in the best manner, arranged  the way that we glorify and thank God in our worship. They set the holy services, and their Typical disposition, during the weekly, monthly and annual circle.  They arranged and wrote down the order, the Typicon. Through the Typicon we enter into the essence, into the true meaning and we come into the….spiritual website of the Holy Fathers to glorify along with them both God and His MOTHER ...

   So, let’s say that Typicon is like a canal, in which the water flows. Or like a pipe, through which the water is channeled and transferred, without getting lost in the way..

 

   Any kind of interference with our Fathers’ Typical orders and with all that they have handed down to us, seems like we are ...spoiling the canal, and the water flowing in it gets lost in the way.

 

 We can say also that it is like a cable with circuit, which not only doesn’t bring the light, but even worse, it causes death.

 

  But there are also some impulsive acts of the people, of our faithful people, who many times become the guardians of our faith, and many times they may rightly tend the word of Truth, while that is being...beheaded by others. So, our faithful people many times act spontaneously, heavenly, simply, divinely, sincerely, impulsively. And these acts are timeless, and although they are not dogmatic, they remain unchangeable troughout the ages.

 

   This happened with the Akathist Hymn

 

   In the Ecclesiastical and Hymnological terms, the phrase ‘Akathist Hymn’ is defining every Orthodox hymn which is being sung while the faithful congregation is standing.

 

 But mainly, a Hymn dedicated to MOTHER OF GOD, LADY THEOTOKOS hes been predominated to be called Akathist Hymn, known also as the “National Anthem” of PANAGIA, the : 

 

           To You my Champion and Commander….

 

 which is chanted every Friday of the Great and Holy Lent. On the first four Fridays only a part of it is chanted, but on the fifth Friday, which is to say the Friday of the fifth week of the Lent, the whole hymn is sung.  

 

  About that fifth time, the rules of the Typicon, give two options : 

The first one says that Akathist Hymn, can be included in the Friday evening’s Small Compline, and the second option/choice is for the Akathist to be sung in the service of the Saturday’s  Matins. That is why we say, ...Saturday of the Akathist....

 

   Usually in the parishes the Akathist is conducted on Friday evening along with the Small Compline, so as to become easier for the faithful to come and attend ...

 

  In the Holy Monasteries though, usually the Akathist is conducted in the Orthros (Matins) service, ….early in the morning before dawn…

 

   The Aakathist Hymn is composed of the preamble, and 24 stanzas,  each of them called ...Ikos , with acrostic in Alphabetical order, which means that each Ikos begins with one of the  24 letters of the Greek Alphabet, from Α , to Ω (Z)....

 

   It is te quintessence, the masterpiece of the Byzantine Hymnology. It follows the grammatical and syntactic rules of the Ancient Greek language, with parisyllabic verses and rhyme.

 

  It’s language is sacred, noble and poetical, using many adjectives, and many antithesis, which colour and extol the hymn, and depict the magnitude, the hight and the depth and the wealth of it’s noble meanings· the hymn also contains doctrinal expressions and definitions.

 

  The hymn reveals the splendor of God’s love, the hight of humbleness, the depth of the dogmatics, the exaltation of  THEOTOKOS, God’s mercy, the divine Economy, the Incarnation of the Word.

 

   It is named Akathist, because of the standing position in which the faithful are attending it, while it was being sung. (Akathist in Greek means literally: Without sitting.)  

 

  The first time it was chanted, the congregation were standing piously and with great love towards THEOTOKOS, while they were celebrating the annual feast of Her Annunciation. That is why the Akathist is related to that Great Feast…

 

  The story of the Hymn goes like this :......

 

   In the year of 626AD , Emperor Heraclius,  had marched out against Persians. Abars knew his movement, and they attacked Constantinople,  since the army was absent in the war far away. The Abars rejected Emperor’s proposals for reconciliation and on 6^th August, they occupied the Church of PANAGIA in Vlahernes. (in Constantinople )

 

   In cooperation with the enemies of the City, during that night of 7^th,  to 8^th August,  they were preparing for the final attack. Patriarch Sergios was walking all around the walls of the City, holding the Icon of PANAGIA of Vlahernes and was encouraging the faithful to resist and fight back.

  During that night, a really severe and  terrible whirlwind blew through the saving intervention of PANAGIA , and through her divine aid, and destroyed the entire hostile navy. When the citizens heard of that, and having been encouraged by their Patriarch, they fought back powerfully. In revenge, they caused serious damages and great losses to the enemies. Eventually,  they were forced to lift the siege, and leave empty-handed, and humiliated.

 

   The next day, 8^th August, the City was delivered from the greatest danger by that time. The people, the faithful ones longing to thank PANAGIA,  to WHOM they attributed their rescue, they gathered in Her Temple, in Vlahernes. Throughout the night, all of them were standing and singining the Hymn, rendering the thanksgivings to their Champion and Commander.

 

…. To You my Champion and Commander,

I your City saved from disasters  dedicate,

O Mother of God,  hymns of victory and thanksgiving;

But as you have unassailable might

from every kind of danger now deliver me,

That I  may cry to you: Rejoice, Bride unwedded.

 

   They continued the Hymn all night long, throughout the night.....

   The researchers of History and certainly Ecclesiastical History, have not yet verified if that wonderful Hymn was composed at that night. Neither they have identified it’s author· They consider probable that it had been composed earlier, years ago, and that it was being chanted during vigils, especially during the vigil of 15^th  August. In addition they say that during that all-night long vigil the Hymn was being chanted in a standing position.

 

  In that vigil, the introductory:….”When the bodiless one learned…”, was replaced with the:…” To you my Champion and Commander….”

 

  This Hymn is as well related to other occasions,  when the “Queen of cities” was rescued from enemies.

 

The Hymn starts as a thanksgiving hymn to THEOTOKOS, as a glorifying and exalting hymn, and it ends as a poetic and doctrinal one.

 

   In the Synaxarion it is mentioned as a hymn of an unknown writer, but it comprises doctrinaire views of the third Ecumenical Council. It is also exalting the incident of Annunciation, and that of the Natinity of our Savior. These two feasts were being celebrated together, until Emperor Justinian divided them in two different ones.

 

  These facts make it even harder for the researchers to arrive at a final conclusion concerning the authorship of the hymn, although the tradition mentions Saint Romanos the Melodist as the Composer of it.

 

  So, the Hymn was initially chanted in the vigil of the Dormition of THEOTOKOS, in that great feast. Later on, some Monks who were among the defenders of the holy icons,  transferred it to be sung during the period of the Holy and great Lent.

 

  Other researchers cosider Saint Cosmas the Poet to be one who wrote.

  

    Definitely the good thing is that our Church owns that excellent hymn.

 

  The Hymn consists of 24 stanzas, and each of them is called Ikos .

             The odd ones conclude with the verse:

                     Rejoice, Bride Unwedded

                 and the even ones with the verse:

                                 Alleluia 

 

  It includes 12×13 times the word “rejoice”, which equals to 156, and other 13 of them are added, for the first stanza is repeated at the end of the hymn once more.

 

  The faith of the faithful ones saved Cnonsantinople, the Queen of cities, because through faith and braveness divine grace activated. God’s grace, which always heals that which is infirm and completes that which is wanting, as well as the unassailable might of MOTHER  OF GOD, Her protection and Shelter, and Her intermeddling.

 

   Let us approach,  and let us always approach, with the faith that David had, when he stood against Goliath, with the faith of our Fathers, that faith of our ancestors, of our Saints. This is the faith which has established the Church and justified us. And once more, now that we are again in danger to flee away from faith, we beseech for the intervention of the undefeatable CHAMPION AND COMMANDER, so as to see the victory, and dedicate to Her the thanksgiving hymns once more. And may we all enjoy that, through the intercessions of our MOST HOLY LADY THEOTOKOS and EVER VIRGIN MARY, who is officiating us. AMEN.

 in the Mission  2021 April 12^th .

Fifth week of the Fast.

 

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