As a genre of
Christian hymnography, an akathist is special not only because of its structure
but also because of its joyful mood. It can be explained by the real circumstances
under which the first akathist was written. It was written in honor to the
Mother of God after the victory over the Persians and Avars besieged
Constantinople in 626 under the command of shah Khosrau. The akathist was
supposed to be sung for the whole night on Saturday of the fifth week of the
Great Lent.
The capital was
surrounded both from the sea and land. The position was desperate. The Mother of God
revealed Her miraculous power and saved the city ("To Thee, the Champion Leader, we Thy servants dedicate a feast of victory and of thanksgiving as ones rescued out of sufferings"). In gratitude for that protection the feast of
the Laudation of the Most Pure Mother of God (Saturday of the Akathist) was instituted.
The word “rejoice”
repeated many times is taken from Gospel. With that word Archangel Gabriel
greeted the Mother of God when he brought the message about the further birth
of Messiah: “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you
among women!” (Luke 1:28). In akathists devoted to saints, which were modelled
on the example of the first akathist, there is also repeating appeal “rejoice”.
The reason for this can also be found in Gospel. With their feats of faith and
life, the saints became honored with the reward about which the Savior said: “Rejoice
and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they
persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:12).
Gregory of
Pisidia, the deacon of the great Church of Constantinople, is the one who is
considered to be the author of the akathist to the Mother of God. At first, the
service was served only in the Church of St. Mary of Blachernae in
Constantinople, where the miraculous image of the Mother of God Odigitria, the
robe and the belt of the Mother of God were kept at that time. In the 9th
century, the feast of the Praising of the Mother of God was included into the
tipicons of the Monastery of Stuodios and St. Sabbas the Sanctified Monastery, and
later into the Triodion. This is how this special feast became universal for
the whole Orthodox Church.
Besides the Saturday on the fifth week of the Great Lent, the akathists to the Savior,
the Mother of God and saints are usually read outside of fasts, during which
Christians should pray much for forgiveness of their sins. Most commonly, we read
akathists in the moments of special joy and grateful mood, or when we need to
ask the Lord or the Mother of God for help in certain difficult circumstances.
Source: http://dishupravoslaviem.ru/pochemu-v-akafistax-postoyanno-povtoryaetsya-radujsya
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