Akathist to the Theotokos - Fourth Stanza

[GreekOrthodox]

Tonight, the fourth stanza of the Akathist is sung with the theme of Christ. This is a set of weekly services in the Orthodox church sung during the Fridays of Great Lent each with it's own theme.

On the first four Fridays of Great Lent during the service of the Small Compline the Akathist Hymn is observed in the following order:

• The chanting of the nine Odes or Canon.
• The chanting of the Kontakion with censing ("Ti Ipermacho" - "O Champion General...").
• The chanting by the priest of the first part of the stanzas on the first Friday, the second part on the second Friday, the third part on the third Friday and the fourth part on the fourth Friday.
• The chanting of the Kontakion with censing.
• Veneration of the Icon with the chanting of the Theotokion before the conclusion of the Compline Service.

This is what Ode 1 (there are 8 total) sounds like sung in the Byzantine tradition by Eikona, a group of three sisters.

The final Χαιρετισμοί or "Rejoicings" reads as follows.

Extolling your birth-giving, we all praise you as a living temple, O Theotokos. For the Lord whose hand sustains the world, having dwelt in your womb, sanctified and glorified you, and instructed all people to cry to you:

Rejoice, tabernacle of God the Logos;
Rejoice, holy one, holier than the holies.
Rejoice, ark that was gilt by the Spirit;
Rejoice, inexhaustible treasure of life.
Rejoice, precious diadem of godly kings;
Rejoice, honored pride of the pious priests.
Rejoice, the Church's unshakable tower;
Rejoice, the kingdom's unassailable fortress.
Rejoice, through whom trophies of victory are raised;
Rejoice, through whom enemies are defeated.
Rejoice, healing of my body;
Rejoice, my soul's salvation.
Rejoice, O Bride unwedded.


The final hymn is in honor of the salvation of the city of Constantinople when a storm broke up an attack by barbarians

O Champion General, we your faithful inscribe to you the prize of victory as 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.

 

[The Liturgist]

Tonight, the fourth stanza of the Akathist is sung with the theme of Christ. This is a set of weekly services in the Orthodox church sung during the Fridays of Great Lent each with it's own theme.

On the first four Fridays of Great Lent during the service of the Small Compline the Akathist Hymn is observed in the following order:

• The chanting of the nine Odes or Canon.
• The chanting of the Kontakion with censing ("Ti Ipermacho" - "O Champion General...").
• The chanting by the priest of the first part of the stanzas on the first Friday, the second part on the second Friday, the third part on the third Friday and the fourth part on the fourth Friday.
• The chanting of the Kontakion with censing.
• Veneration of the Icon with the chanting of the Theotokion before the conclusion of the Compline Service.

This is what Ode 1 (there are 8 total) sounds like sung in the Byzantine tradition by Eikona, a group of three sisters.

The final Χαιρετισμοί or "Rejoicings" reads as follows.

Extolling your birth-giving, we all praise you as a living temple, O Theotokos. For the Lord whose hand sustains the world, having dwelt in your womb, sanctified and glorified you, and instructed all people to cry to you:

Rejoice, tabernacle of God the Logos;
Rejoice, holy one, holier than the holies.
Rejoice, ark that was gilt by the Spirit;
Rejoice, inexhaustible treasure of life.
Rejoice, precious diadem of godly kings;
Rejoice, honored pride of the pious priests.
Rejoice, the Church's unshakable tower;
Rejoice, the kingdom's unassailable fortress.
Rejoice, through whom trophies of victory are raised;
Rejoice, through whom enemies are defeated.
Rejoice, healing of my body;
Rejoice, my soul's salvation.
Rejoice, O Bride unwedded.


The final hymn is in honor of the salvation of the city of Constantinople when a storm broke up an attack by barbarians

O Champion General, we your faithful inscribe to you the prize of victory as 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.

Thank you for this beautiful post. I have a fairly large collection of Orthodox prayer books with an even larger connection of akathists, but to me, this Akathist is “the Akathist” par excellence.

I do have to confess to preferring the commonly heard Russian/Slavonic melody to the Byzantine Chant.

It would be extremely interesting to hear the Georgians sing them in their unique triphonic chant system so perhaps one day I shall make the trip to one of their three churches in the US to seek it out or alternately board the next flight to Atlanta Tblisi* to experience it.

*Forgive the geographical pun, at the expense of those less familiar than we might be concerning Trans-Caucasian geography, but I would probably fly through Atlanta in any case. You may have heard the numerous quips about that legendary connecting hub airport having flights to the hereafter.

 

[The Liturgist]

Please share more hymns with us, especially those from the Menaion, for not all of us can afford its 12 volume splendor. Also explain if you can how to put the services together using the Typikon, because this eludes me.

 

[GreekOrthodox]

Please share more hymns with us, especially those from the Menaion, for not all of us can afford its 12 volume splendor. Also explain if you can how to put the services together using the Typikon, because this eludes me.

Here is a Byzantine Catholic website which explains the Typikon.
Metropolitan Cantor Institute

Basically, you calculate the number of weeks after Easter, which sets the musical Tone for that week (there are 8), and the saints of that particular day. So tomorrow, May 23, is the third week after Easter, so the musical Tone is 3. The theme of the third week, Sunday of the Paralytic, follows the Pentecostarion, which is the book containing the eight weeks after Pascha. Basically this book is based on the common Typikon but during the Paschal season, has its own rules. So for example, the Feast day of Sts. Constantine and Helen, May 21, falls during the Paschal season this year and has additional Paschal hymns that are not included otherwise.

This is the Apolytikion or Resurrectional hymn for Tone 3 with Byzantine notation.

 

[anna ~ grace]

Not sure where else to post this, but found this beautiful painting;

There is nothing wrong with honoring, adoring, loving, respecting, and being in personal awe of the Woman who bore God in flesh into the world, and who said a unique “yes” to the salvation of mankind. She deserves our respect, love, awe, and gratitude, and confidence.

 

[The Liturgist]

Not sure where else to post this, but found this beautiful painting;

There is nothing wrong with honoring, adoring, loving, respecting, and being in personal awe of the Woman who bore God in flesh into the world, and who said a unique “yes” to the salvation of mankind. She deserves our respect, love, awe, and gratitude, and confidence.

Beautiful. I myself love icons in the Byzantine and Coptic tradition of St. Mary, as well as Our Lady of Guadalupe, which is a stunningly beautiful icon in a distinctly Aztec style, arguably the last product of Aztec culture to have any importance, and the most meaningful, as the collapsed and conquered Aztec Empire was saved, united with its former tributary states, and transformed into the beautiful Mexican civilization through faith in Christ, just as the Roman Empire was transformed into the beautiful Byzantine, Cypriot, Italian, French, Spanish, Catalan, Corsican, Sardinian, Sicillian, Maltese and Portuguese civilizations by Christianity. And Our Lady of Guadalupe is what caused the mass conversion of Aztecs and other proto-Mexican peoples to Christianity, and was probably ethnically accurate.