“Rejoice, O Mother of the Never-setting Star! Rejoice, O Salvation of my soul! Rejoice, O Bride Ever-Virgin!” (Akathistos to the Mother of God)
On the fifth Saturday of Lent our Eastern Church has a special service in honor of the most Pure Virgin Mary. This service, which is celebrated only in the Eastern Church, is called akathistos, a Greek word meaning “not sitting”. Hence, the name Akathistos Saturday.
Akathistos Saturday, like the Sunday of Orthodoxy, bears no relation to the Great Fast. It occurs during that time because of historical tradition and practice of the Church. During the Matins service of this Saturday the entire akathistos of the Annunciation of the most Holy Mother of God is sung. This akathistos can be called the symbol and crown of the sublime cult of the Mother of God in the Eastern Church. For this reason, it deserves special attention.
The Institution of Akathistos Saturday
The church service of this Saturday was instituted in honor of the Mother of God in thanksgiving for her protection of the capital city of Byzantium – Constantinople against an enemy invasion on three separate occasions. The first invasion occurred during Emperor Heraclius (626), when the Persians launched an attack from the East and the Sketes or Avars from the West, and the city was in grave peril. Patriarch Sergius I (610-639) took the beautifully clothed icon of the most Pure Virgin Mary, called the Odigitria (Greek = a guide), or Our Lady Guide of Wayfarers, and her robe and went in procession around the city. As the procession drew near to the Church of the most Holy Mother of God, situated in the suburb of Blacherna, he soaked the robe of the Mother of God in the sea. Immediately a storm arose which sank the enemy’s ships. The city was saved. The people, acknowledged this as a miracle performed by the Mother of God assembled in the church at Blacherna, and passed the whole night in prayer, singing the hymn of praise, i.e., the akathistos, in honor of the Mother of God.
The second miraculous event took place some thirty years later, during the reign of Constantine II, Pogonatus (641-668), when the Mohammedans attacked the capital. The third miracle occurred under Emperor Leo the Isaurian (716-750), when the Mohammedans again laid siege to the city with a large naval fleet.
The Structure of the Akathistos
The grateful people after their first deliverance spent the whole night standing in church while they sang a hymn of thanksgiving to the Mother of God; for this reason the hymn is called akathistos and the service is carried out while standing. The synaxary of this Saturday calls the akathistos a hymn during which there is no sitting, or literally a “non-sitting” hymn.
The Akathistos has its own particular structure. Its thirteen kontakions and twelve ikoses are arranged in the sequence of the Greek alphabet. The shorter hymns of the Akathistos are called kontakions and the longer hymns, ikoses. A kontakion is a Greek word denoting a short hymn, or ode. An ikos is a longer hymn which extols the event and meaning of the feast or sings the praises of some Saint. The ikos always follows the kontakion and is never read without it.
Every kontakion of the Akathistos climaxes with a threefold “alleluia”. Every ikos consists of a short introduction followed by twelve short versicles, each of which begins with the word, “Hail” or “Rejoice”, and ends with the versicle, “Hail, Bride Ever-Virgin.”
The Akathistos to the most Pure Virgin Mary is distinguished for its singularly profound thought and sublime poetic expressions. It is regarded as a masterpiece of church poetry in the Eastern Church. Prince Maximilian of Saxony, Catholic priest and a great authority on the Eastern Church, says: “The akathistos hymn belongs to the most celebrated of poetry of the Greek world.”
With regard to its contents, the akathistos can be divided into two main parts. In the first part, that is, in the first six kontakions and ikoses, an historical aspect of the life of Jesus Christ and the Blessed Mother of God predominates, while in the second part the dogmatic and moral reflections provide the dominant theme. The kontakions extol the history of the Incarnation of the Son of God, whereas the ikoses extol the privileges and graces of the Mother of God.
To provide the reader with a better understanding of the profound content and the sublime poetry of the Akathistos, we reproduce here in their entirety the first kontakion and the first ikos:
Kontakion 1
“To You, Mother of God, victorious leader of triumphant hosts, we Your servants, delivered from calamity, offer hymns of thanksgiving. In Your invincible power, keep us free from every peril, that we may cry to You: Hail, Bride Ever-Virgin”.
Ikos 1
“A chief angel was sent out from Heaven To say to the Mother of God, “Hail”. As he beheld You, Lord, assuming flesh, he was amazed and stood still, and with an incorporeal voice exclaimed to Her:
“Hail, You from whom grace will shine forth, Hail, You through whom the curse will disappear; Hail, You who are the resurrection of fallen Adam, Hail, You who are the deliverance of Eve’s tears; Hail, summit inaccessible for mortal man, Hail, depth difficult to behold even for angels. Hail, since You are the throne of the King; Hail, You who bear the One who bears all; Hail, star showing forth the sun, Hail, womb of divine incarnation, Hail, You through whom creation is renewed; Hail, You through whom the creator is worshipped. Hail, Bride Ever-Virgin”.
The Author of the Akathistos to the Mother of God
Church history does not record the name of the author of the Akathistos to the Mother of God, so its authorship remains a disputable question even today. Authorship of this akathistos has been ascribed to various persons. Some assert that the author was the venerable Roman the Melodist (tc. 540). Roman was the first to compose kontakions and ikoses for the various feast days. From him we have the celebrated kontakion of the Nativity of our Lord: “Today the Virgin gives birth to the inconceivable One,” and the kontakion of the Resurrection: “Although you descended into the grave, O Immortal One…”
The ancient menaions, that is, the Monthly Books containing the service of each Saint, contains those kontakions and ikoses, which today form the akathistos to the Mother of God, after the sixth ode of the canon, in the service of the Annunciation on March 25. The authorship of these kontakions and ikoses has been ascribed to the venerable George Pisides (7c), a deacon at St. Sophia in Constantinople. He described the war between Byzantium and the Avars, during which the most Pure Virgin Mary miraculously protected the capital. Others are of the opinion that the kontakions and ikoses of the akathistos were originally composed for the feast of the Annunciation and that it was not until later that the akathistos was composed as a separate hymn of thanksgiving to the Mother of God for her special intervention against the enemy. This is evident in the first kontakion which alludes to the intervention of the Mother of God, and refers to a battle, as well as to danger and deliverance.
Still others suggest as the author of the Akathistos to the Mother of God, the Patriarchs Sergius or Germanus (8c) or even the Patriarch Photius (9c).
The Spiritual Meaning of the Akathistos
The melody and profound content of the Akathistos to the Annunciation of the Mother of God is a very powerful means of fostering devotion to the Mother of God, for it incorporates the whole teaching of the Eastern Church concerning Mary. It extols all the principal dogmas relating to the most Pure Virgin Mary, above all, Her Divine Maternity:
“Rejoice, for you are the throne of the Lord and King. Rejoice, for you carry Him who carries the universe. Rejoice, you who gave life to Him who gives life to us.” (Ikoses, 1,3)
Mary’s immaculate and perpetual Virginity are praised:
“Rejoice, O Flower of Incorruption. Rejoice, O Crown of chastity.” (Ikos, 7) “Rejoice, for you have reconciled virginity with maternity.” (Ikos, 8)
All her virtues are extolled and the most beautiful praises are sung in her honor:
“Rejoice, O perpetual glory of the Apostles. Rejoice, unconquerable Strength of ascetics. Rejoice, O unshakeable foundation of the faith.” (Ikos, 4) “Rejoice, O Holiest One among the Saints. Rejoice, Tabernacle gilded by the Holy Spirit.” (Ikos, 12)
In the Akathistos we find expressed the constant faith of the Church in Mary’s protection and her intercession in heaven:
“Rejoice, O Bridge which leads from earth to heaven.” (Ikos, 3). “Rejoice, Reconciler of the whole world.” (Ikos, 3). “Rejoice, O Shelter of the world, wider than the heavens.” (Ikos, 6). “Rejoice, O Placator of the just Judge.” (Ikos, 8). “Rejoice, for you are our Guarantee of victory. Rejoice, O Salvation of my soul.” (Ikos, 12).
In meditating upon the sublime privileges, graces, and role of the Mother of God in our salvation, there naturally arises in our hearts great trust in her intercession and protection, as well as hope of salvation through her. All these sentiments are expressed very beautifully in the concluding kontakion:
“O ever-praised Mother, who gave birth to the Word, holiest of all the Saints, accept our present supplication and deliver us from every affliction, and from everlasting punishment save us, who sing to you: “Alleluia”.
