The Akathist Hymn to the Most Holy Theotokos

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America ^

[Kolokotronis]

"Rejoice, unfading rose. Rejoice, the only one who budded forth the unfading apple. Rejoice, birth-giver of the aromatic balm of the King of all. Rejoice, 0 Bride unwedded, the world's salvation."

The Akathist Hymn is a profound, devotional poem, which sings the praises of the Holy Mother and Ever-Virgin Mary. It is one of the most beloved services in the Orthodox Church. It was composed in the imperial city of Constantinople, "the city of the Virgin," by St. Romanos the Melodist, who reposed in the year 556. The Akathist Hymn has proven so popular in the liturgical life of the Church that many other hymns have been written following its format. These include Akathists to Our Lord Jesus Christ, to the Cross, and to many Saints.

The Akathist hymn consists of praises directed to the Mother of God, beginning with the salutation of the Archangel Gabriel: "Rejoice." As the hymn is chanted all of the events related to our Lord's Incarnation pass before us for our contemplation. The Archangel Gabriel 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 prophetically rejoices. The shepherds recognize Christ as a blameless Lamb, and rejoice that in the Virgin "the things of earth join chorus with the heavens." The pagan Magi following the light of the star, praise Her for revealing the light of the world.

The word "akathistos" means "not sitting," i.e., standing; normally all participants stand while it is being prayed. The hymn is comprised of 24 stanzas, arranged in an acrostic following the Greek alphabet. The stanzas alternate between long and short. Each short stanza is written in prose and ends with the singing of "Alleluia." Each longer stanza ends with the refrain: "Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded."

The first part of the hymn is about the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary by the Angel. It describes Mary’s surprise at the news, her visit to her mother and Joseph’s doubts as to her innocence. The second part is about the birth of Christ, the worship of the Shepherds and Magi, the flight to Egypt and the visit to Saint Simeon in the Temple. In the third part the hymn directs our attention to the renewal of the world by Christ’s coming, and the amazement of the Angels and the wise men at the sight of the Incarnation of God’s Son. The fourth and the last part is once more a lyric and rhetorical appraisal of Virgin Mary, whom the poet adorns with the most beautiful of adjectives asking her to accept his poetical offering and to intercede for the salvation of human race from the earthly sin.

[Kolokotronis]

"The Greek letters "XC IC" floating above the halo are an additional clue. They stand for "Xristos Iesous", Christ Jesus." Yup. And just in case the viewer is a real dummy, the iconographer has inserted the words "Ο ωΝ" within the halo, meaning "The Being Who is the Source of Being", or words to that effect; GOD! Its unlikely anyone could misunderstand this, especially those who believe that the HS leads them to a personal and inerrant understanding of scripture. I mean, if they have that grace, what's a few Greek words, right? BTW, Iscool, are there many Protestants who believe God is a midget? Is this a commonly held concept?

[Kolokotronis]

You are very welcome. The women chanting the Akathist are sisters and all the wives of Greek Orthodox priests.

[FormerLib]

...so even the dull and ignorant would be able to figure it out.

Proving once again that no system is foolproof when you underestimate the ignorance of the fools!

[Tax-chick]

What do the rest of the Greek characters represent? I don’t recognize any of the words we’ve learned - no second-person singular verbs :-).

[Kolokotronis]

“What do the rest of the Greek characters represent?”

At the top left and right are abbreviations for “Mother of God”. Underneath that are the words “The Unfading Rose”.

[Kolokotronis]

“Proving once again that no system is foolproof when you underestimate the ignorance of the fools!”

Except YOPIS; YOPIS is inerrant! :)

[redgolum]

I will check out the hymn after quick time loads.

When does the EO Lent start?

[Tax-chick]

Thanks. We haven’t learned any of those words yet :-), let alone the abbreviations. But we can say, “The brother reads the words of an apostle,” which is worth something. Maybe more useful than saying, “Please give me three red pens and four blue pencils,” in Japanese.

[Kolokotronis]

“When does the EO Lent start?”

March 10.

[Kolokotronis]

“But we can say, “The brother reads the words of an apostle,” which is worth something. Maybe more useful than saying, “Please give me three red pens and four blue pencils,” in Japanese.”

In Greek school about 100 years ago, the Papas taught us the Our Father in Greek (actually our mothers did but we let the priest think he did. He also taught us “Give me one piece of chocolate cake, please.” I was a miserable sinner even at 8 and preferred the latter to the former

[Tax-chick]

The only sentences I remember from Japanese class are, “Where is the bathroom?” and “Shut up and die!” My father, the Captain, recommends, “Please give me two beers!” as the most useful sentence in any language :-).

I’m past the part about your namesake in the History of Modern Greek, but haven’t reached the part about Crete after World War I. Anoreth was stuned to find that “modern” Greece started in the 4th Century!