This
Saturday we chant the Akathist Hymn during Matins. In our days however this
does not happen except in the holy monasteries, since in the parishes it is
chanted the evening before, on Friday during the Small Compline.
The
Akathist Hymn is a "Kontakion". In olden times a Kontakion was a
series of hymns, analogous with a "Canon". The name probably comes
from the short stick with which the parchment that contained the hymn was
unwrapped [kontakion means "short stick" in Greek]. The first
troparion is called a "prooimion" or "koukoulion" and those
after are called "oikoi", hence why the entire hymn is considered an
entire structure [oikos in Greek means "house"] dedicated to the
memory of a certain saint. Today the first troparion of such a hymn is usually
called a Kontakion.
The
Akathist Hymn contains a prooimion and 24 "oikoi". The prooimion in
the olden days was not where "O Champion General" is today, but after
("When he perceived what had secretly been ordered"). The
"acrostic" of the hymn is alphabetical, that is it follows the order
of the alphabet [in Greek] A, B, C, D, etc. An acrostic is a phrase that is
formed when the first letter of an eirmos and troparion continues in a certain
continuous order for a hymn. This phrase sometimes refers to the name of the
author of the hymn, or at other times to the subject of the feast, and so on.
Of course not all hymns have acrostics. There are also two "Ephymnia"
[Refrains] in the Akathist Hymn: "Rejoice, Bride unwedded" and
"Alleluia". The first is the response for the odd numbered
"oikoi" (1, 3, 5, 7, etc.) and the second is for the even numbered
"oikoi" (2, 4, 6, 8, etc.). An "ephymnion" is the last word
or phrase of a hymn which the people repeat, since the chanters of course
chanted the entire hymn.
The
Akathist Hymn begins with the Annunciation of the Virgin, and then refers to
the events thereafter. It speaks of the visitation of the Virgin to Elizabeth,
of the suspicions of Joseph the protector of the Virgin, of the veneration of
the Lord by the shepherds and magi, of the fleeing of Christ to Egypt and the
Presentation of Christ in the Temple. These are in the first half. In the
second half of the Hymn are words about the incarnation of Christ, the theosis
of mankind and the worthiness of the Panagia to be the Mother of God.
Who was
the author of the Akathist Hymn? To this question there has not been given an
answer till this day which would not be disputed. Despite all the research and
discussions the problem remains a problem. Some - and these are the majority -
theorize the Hymn was written by Romanos the Melodist. Others theorize it was
Patriarch Sergios of Constantinople. Others bring forward George Pisida, while
others bring forward others. What seems most likely is that the Hymn was
composed during the reign of Emperor Justinian, if not even a bit older.
The
reason the Hymn is called "Akathist" is the following, in accordance
with tradition:
About the
year 626 Constantinople was beseiged by the Persians and Avars for some months.
Emperor Heraclius at the time was in Asia Minor battling the Persians. When he
found out his city was beseiged he sent 12,000 men of his soldiers to the
patrician Bonos in Constantinople in order to defend, with the patrician, the capital
of the empire. Bonos along with Patriarch Sergios gathered as many citizens as
possible with weapons. They all swore to fight till the end. The Patriarch was
running around the city encouraging the people and the fighters. The entire
city placed their hopes in their Protectress, the "Champion Leader",
the Most Holy Theotokos. The seige was near and strong. Despite this the city
withstood the attacks of the seige, yet the seige persisted. Suddenly a
fearsome hurricane broke up all their ships, and they rushed throughout the
night from the 7th till the 8th of August to abandon their seige and leave
empty-handed. The kingdom was saved! The people of the city, celebrating their
salvation, which they ascribed to the Mother of God, assembled at the Blachernae
Church of the Theotokos, where they gathered for an all-night vigil of
thanksgiving, presided over by Patriarch Sergios. During this the entire crowd
chanted the Hymn while standing, and from this time on it became known as the
Akathist Hymn [akathist means "not sitting" in Greek]. Indeed the
Hymn existed before this time and was chanted to the Most Holy Theotokos, but
on that night it was established in a festive way for our Church. The troparion
"O Champion General" (which replaced the pre-existing "When he
perceived what had secretly been ordered") was unquestionably composed at
that time. For this reason the entire deliverance of the city from clamity
"ascribed the victory" to their Protectress the Theotokos.
The
Akathist Hymn begins with a particular Canon, which begins "I will open my
mouth". This is an even numbered Canon, which means that it has eight
Odes. The acrostic says: "Giver of joy, to you alone belongs rejoicing.
Joseph." The name Joseph refers to the author of the Canon. This is
probably Joseph the Hymnographer, who was from Sicily and lived during the
ninth century. The eirmoi do not belong to him, but were from the Canon of the
Dormition of the Theotokos. They probably belong to John the Damascene. Every
Ode in the Canon has an eirmon and four troparia. Thus the Canon has 8 eirmoi
and 32 troparia.
This
Canon is most beautiful and festive, and characterized as a poetic masterpiece.
It sings of the Ever-Virgin Daughter as "the living book of Christ",
as "the palace of the only King", as a "fiery throne of the
Almighty", as a "treasury of purity", as a "sweet smelling
lily", as a "dwelling place of light", as a "mercy seat for
the world", as "higher than the heavens", as
"incomprehensible depth", as "height unspeakable", as
"the bridal chamber full of light", as "the fiery chariot of God
the Logos", as the "living Paradise", as "the cause of all
the deified", as the "unconsumed bush", as the "mystical
rod", as the "pillar of fire", etc.
The
Akathist Hymn is also chanted in sections in our churches in the first four
Fridays of Great Lent. The entire Canon which accompanies the Akathist is also
chanted on these Fridays.
Well-known
and much-loved is the troparion which is chanted during the Service of the
Akathist Hymn:
O Champion General, we your City ascribe to
you the victory in gratitude for being rescued from calamity, O Theotokos. But
since you have invincible power, free us from all kinds of perils so that we
may cry out to you: Rejoice, O Bride unwedded!
Most
beautiful also is the apolytikion:
When he perceived what had secretly been
ordered, to the abode of Joseph urgently reported the bodiless one and said
unto the Unwedded: The Lord who has bowed the heavens in His descent, in you is
contained completely and without change; and beholding Him in your womb taking
the form of a slave, astounded I cry out to you: Rejoice, O Bride unwedded!
By Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos
Translated by John Sanidopoulos
Source: johnsanidopoulos.com/2011/04/saturday-of-akathist-hymn.html
CONVERSATION