As I cannot be at the service of the Acathist tonight, I am posting here the best known hymn of the service. It is a glorious hymn, used in times of strain but also of thankfulness.
O Champion General,
I your City now inscribe to you
Triumphant anthems as the tokens of my gratitude,
Being rescued from the terrors, O Theotokos.
Inasmuch as you have power unassailable,
From all kinds of perils free me so that unto you I may cry aloud:
Rejoice, O unwedded Bride
Κοντάκιον τοῦ Ἀκαθίστου Ὕμνου.
Ἦχος πλ. δ´. Αὐτόμελον.
"Τῇ ὑπερμάχῳ στρατηγῷ τὰ νικητήρια,
Ὡς λυτρωθεῖσα τῶν δεινῶν εὐχαριστήρια,
Ἀναγράφω σοι ἡ Πόλις σου Θεοτόκε.
Ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ἔχουσα τὸ κράτος ἀπροσμάχητον,
Ἐκ παντοίων με κινδύνων ἐλευθέρωσον,
Ἵνα κράζω σοι· Χαῖρε, Νύμφη ἀνύμφευτε."
The "Ti ypermaho" hymn (above) is part of the service of THE AKATHIST HYMN, one of the most well-loved services of devotion in the Orthodox Church. The hymn was first sung after the city of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire was saved from an attack by the Avars. While the Emperor and his army were away, the people, led by the Patriarch, carried the icon of Panagia of Blahernae around and then spent all night standing in the Church; the Emperial army arrived on time, and they were vistorious, and thus, the Akathist Hymn was named.
Actually the word "akathistos" literally means "not sitting," i.e., standing; normally all participants stand while it is being prayed. The hymn is comprised of 24 stanzas, alternating long and short. Each short stanza (kontakion) ends with the singing of "Alleluia." Each longer stanza (ikos) ends with the refrain: "Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded."
The majority of the hymn is made up of praises directed to the Mother of God, always beginning with the salutation of the Archangel Gabriel: "Rejoice." In each of them, one after the other, all the events related to our Lord's incarnation pass before us for our contemplation. The Archangel Gabriel ( in Ikos 1) marvels at the Divine self-emptying and the renewal of creation which will occur when Christ comes to dwell in the Virgin's womb. The unborn John the Baptist (Ikos 3) prophetically rejoices. The shepherds (Ikos 4) recognize Christ as a blameless Lamb, and rejoice that in the Virgin "the things of earth join chorus with the heavens." The pagan Magi, (Kontakion 5) following the light of the star, praise Her for revealing the light of the world.
As the hymn progresses, various individuals and groups encounter Christ and His Mother. Each has his own need; each his own desire or expectation, and each finds his or her own particular spiritual need satisfied and fulfilled in Our Lord and in the Mother of God. So too, each generation of Orthodox, and each particular person who has prayed the Akathist, has found in this hymn an inspired means of expressing gratitude and praise to the Mother of God for what she has accomplished for their salvation.
May God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit with the prayers of people's champion, Virgin Mary, send us all good health, an alert mind and a loving heart, and may we all rejoice in the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
1 comment:
Bless you sweetie.
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