ADVENT TIP OF THE DAY 10: Akathist (standing) hymn and icon

MJ. Smith · 2024-12-09T22:48:53+00:00

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I am adding these posts to the previous tip list L/V 10 Tip of the Day

QUESTION: What is the Akathist Hymn and how is it used in Advent?

The Akathist Hymn holds profound historical significance in the Orthodox Church, rooted in both tradition and miraculous events. Its origins and continued use reflect the deep devotion to the Theotokos (Mother of God) within Orthodox Christianity.

Historical Origins

The Akathist Hymn's creation is traditionally linked to a miraculous event in 626 AD during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Heraclius. At this time, Constantinople faced a dire threat:

The emperor and most of the army were away fighting the Persians

The city was left vulnerable to attack

The Avars, along with other tribes, laid siege to Constantinople by land and sea

In this desperate situation, Patriarch Sergius led a procession along the city walls, carrying an icon of the Theotokos. Unexpectedly, a powerful storm arose in the Golden Horn, destroying the enemy fleet and forcing the attackers to flee[3]. The people of Constantinople, attributing this miraculous deliverance to the intervention of the Theotokos, gathered in the Church of Blachernae to offer thanks and praise throughout the night.

Composition and Structure

While the exact authorship is debated, many attribute the Akathist Hymn to Romanos the Melodist, a renowned 6th-century hymnographer. The hymn's structure is distinctive:

It consists of 24 stanzas, alternating between longer (oikoi) and shorter (kontakia) verses

Each of the 12 longer stanzas begins with a consecutive letter of the Greek alphabet

The refrain "Rejoice" is repeated, emphasizing joy and gratitude

Liturgical Significance

The Akathist Hymn became an integral part of Orthodox liturgical life:

It is typically chanted during the first five Fridays of Great Lent

The hymn is often divided into four parts, one for each Friday

On the fifth Friday, the entire hymn is chanted

Its inclusion in Lenten services is likely due to the Feast of the Annunciation, which always falls during Great Lent.

Theological Importance

The Akathist Hymn is not merely historical; it carries deep theological significance:

It beautifully expresses the mystery of the Incarnation

The hymn emphasizes the role of the Theotokos in salvation history

It connects Old Testament imagery to the Virgin Mary, demonstrating the fulfillment of prophecy

Enduring Legacy

The Akathist Hymn's popularity has led to the creation of many other akathists following its format, dedicated to Christ, the Cross, and various saints[6]. Its continued use and reverence in Orthodox worship underscore its lasting impact on the spiritual life of the faithful.

The Akathist Hymn, a profound devotional poem in Eastern Christian traditions, can be incorporated into Advent services to enhance spiritual preparation for the Nativity of Christ. While traditionally associated with Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Church, its themes and structure make it suitable for Advent as well.

Advent Adaptation

During Advent, the Akathist Hymn to the Nativity of Christ is particularly appropriate. This hymn, modeled after the original Akathist to the Theotokos, focuses on the events surrounding Christ's birth.

Structure and Content

The Akathist Hymn is divided into thirteen parts, each consisting of a kontakion and an ikos. For an Advent service, it can be structured as follows:

Opening prayers

Chanting of the Kontakion I, which introduces the theme of Christ's birth

Reading or chanting of selected oikoi, focusing on:

The Annunciation

Mary's visit to Elizabeth

Joseph's doubts

The journey to Bethlehem

The Nativity itself

Interspersing of Advent hymns or Scripture readings between sections

Liturgical Integration

To incorporate the Akathist into an Advent service:

Divide the hymn into four parts, one for each Sunday of Advent

Chant or read a portion after the sermon or before the Eucharist

Use it as a meditative element during a candlelight service

The refrain "Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded" can be a powerful congregational response throughout the service.

Theological Significance

The Akathist Hymn during Advent serves to:

Deepen contemplation on the Incarnation mystery

Highlight Mary's role in salvation history

Connect the Nativity to broader Christian theology

Its rich imagery and profound theology make it an excellent tool for spiritual preparation during the Advent season.

QUESTION: What resources does Logos/Verbum offer on the akathistos (standing) hymn.

ANSWER: from my library

Coleman, Heather J. Orthodox Christianity in Imperial Russia: A Source Book on Lived Religion. New York, NY: Indiana University Press, 2021.

Gambero, Luigi. Mary and the Fathers of the Church: The Blessed Virgin Mary in Patristic Thought. Translated by Thomas Buffer. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1999.

Hymn of the “Akathistos” Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

“Russian Day” Committee. The Orthodox Prayer Book: Slavonic/English. Third Edition. South Canaan, PA; Luzerne County, PA; Lackawanna County, PA: St. Tikhon’s Press; “Russian Day” Committee, 2010.

QUESTION: Analyze the icon The Laudations of Our Lady of the Akathist, 16th Century Icon.

ANSWER: from icon reader

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MJ. Smith

At the centre of the Icon is the Mother of God to whom the Akathist is dedicated. She is surrounded by a number of people, usually between 11 and 15, who hold appear to be bowing down before her, holding scrolls and other objects. These men are various Old Testament Prophets, and the scrolls they hold are their prophecies relating to the Mother of God. The objects they hold are prefigurations of Mary found in the Old Testament Scriptures, but are also some of the titles given to Mary in the Akathist Hymn.

Despite the honour given to her, Mary sits at the centre of the icon directing us to her Son, our God, sitting in her lap.

As in the Icon at the top of the page, where Mary is not holding the infant Christ (Immanuel), then she is sat amid the praise with her hands held deferentially, palms outward, imploring us to give all honour and glory to God. Surrounding Mary’s seat is a mandorla-shaped wreath representing the Tree of Jesse, which climbs up over the Mother of God’s head to blossom forth an image of Christ Immanuel: God Incarnate. (The use of a “mandorla-wreath” to represent the Tree of Jesse is seen in this painted wall of the Sucevita Monastery, built in the 16th century in Romania).

Thus the Theotokos is the subject of the Icon, just as the Akathist is dedicated to her; however, just as the Akathist glorifies God, the focus of the Icon always leads us back to Jesus Christ. In the Akathist, Mary is not just called “All-glorious temple” but “All-glorious temple of Him Who is above the Seraphim” (from Oikos 8, i.e. the 16th Stanza of the Akathist). The praises of Mary are devoid of meaning without Jesus Christ, the Word of God, Who was incarnate within her. Likewise in the Icon inspired by the Akathist, Mary cannot be separated from her Son, shown either seated upon her, or blossoming above her.

In my last post about the Akathist Hymn in Icons, I mentioned the Old Testament Saints who surround the Mother of God, offering her praises. It is Old Testament Saints who surround the Mother of God, rather than St Roman the Melodist or other authors of hymns to her, because their praises are also prophecies concerning the Mary and her Son.

here are numerous examples of this design of icon, especially in Russia, but I will be using the icon above, which is 16th century, and probably painted by Greek iconographers. Starting at the top right and moving clockwise, surrounding the Theotokos are:

The Prophet Ezekiel, holding an “impassable gate”. Ezekiel’s vision of the temple gate through which the Lord passed and was ever-after sealed (Ez. 44:2) has always been recognized by Christians as a clear reference to Mary’s ever-virginity. In the Akathist Hymn, the Theotokos is described as the “Door of Holy Mystery” (Oikos 8) and “Gate of Salvation” (Oikos 10)

Jacob, holding the ladder of his dream (Gen. 28:12) upon which angels were seen dancing up and down from earth to Heaven. The ladder is associated with the Mother of God, through whom the glory of God descended from Heaven to earth and was incarnate as Jesus Christ. In the second oikos (3rd stanza) of the Akathist Hymn we sing: “Hail, Heavenly Ladder by which God came down; Hail, bridge that conveys us from earth unto Heaven!”

Gideon, holding a fleece. In the book of Judges dew appeared miraculously on Gideon’s fleece (Jud 6:11-16; 6:33-40). So too, the Dew Christ, appeared miraculously on the Living Fleece the Theotokos. One prayer to the Mother of God reads: From you has dripped the refreshing dew that quenched the flame of idolatry. We therefore cry aloud to you: Rejoice, O Virgin, fleece cover with dew which Gideon foresaw. In the Akathist Hymn we sing: “Hail, you who quenched the worship of fire” (Oikos 5), making the same allusion.

The Prophet Daniel saw a mountain, from which was cut a stone, not by the hand of man (Dan. 2:34, 45). This is a reference to the miraculous Virgin Birth which was accomplished without the hand of man, and so Daniel is shown holding that same mountain, the foreshadowing of the Mother of God. In a longer service of the Akathist Hymn sung in Lent, the line is sung: “Hail, O unquarried mountain and unfathomable depth.”

Prophet Isaiah is shown holding a hot coal and tongs (Is. 6:7). Though burning with fire, the hot coal cleansed the lips of the prophet just as Christ inside of the Virgin cleansed her. In the 3rd Oikos, we hear: “Hail, acceptable incense of intercession”, linking the hot cleansing coal (Who is Christ) with the censor that holds it (who is the Theotokos).

The Prophet Balaam is almost always shown in a state of near-confusion at the bottom of the icon, pointing upwards towards a star. The princes of Moab invited the prophet Balaam to curse the Hebrew nation, their enemies, hoping that this curse by the prophet would help defeat the Hebrews. The prophet Balaam, looking on the approaching Hebrew people from a hill, in a prophetic vision also saw afar the distant Descendant of this people. In spiritual ecstasy, instead of a curse, Balaam exclaimed: “I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth” (Numbers 24:17). This is a prefiguration of Christ and led to the belief His coming would be prefaced by a star (which it was). In the Akathist Hymn Mary is described as “Mother of Star that never sets” (Oikos 5), as well as “Ray of the Spiritual Sun” (Oikos 11).

King David, King Solomon, or occasionally both together, are holding the Temple which they helped build, whose East gate remains sealed, through which only the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered. This clearly prophesies the Virgin Birth of the Theotokos (Ez. 44:1-2). From the Akathist Hymn: “Hail, all-holy chariot of Him Who sits upon the cherubim; Hail, all-glorious temple of Him Who is above the Seraphim!” (Oikos 8)

Moses is shown holding the burning bush, which is dealt with in much detail in Discovering the Unburnt Bush Icon.

Above Moses is Aaron, the High-Priest of the Israelites, holding the rod which miraculously blossomed forth almond flowers (Num. 17:1-11). This was believed by the Church Fathers to be a prefiguration of the Mother of God, who miraculously blossomed forth “the flower of Immortality”, Jesus Christ. In Oikos 3, we sing “Hail, rod whence springs a never-withering branch”.

Jeremiah, holding the Tablets of the Law. It might not be immediately apparent why Jeremiah would be holding these tablets, but it is related to the prophecy read on Christmas Eve:

This is our God; no other can be compared to him!He found the whole way to knowledge, and gave her to Jacob his servant and to Israel whom He loved. Afterward she appeared on earth and lived among men. She is the book of the commandments of God, and the law that endures for ever. All who hold fast will live, and those who forsake her will die. Turn, O Jacob, and take her; walk toward the shining of her light. Do not give your glory to another, or your advantage to an alien people.Happy we are, O Israel, for we know what is pleasing to God.(Baruch 3:36-4:4)

Baruch has always been considered part of the Book of Jeremiah in Orthodoxy, and so the prophecy is attributed to him rather than Baruch, who was Jeremiah’s scribe. From the 12th Oikos: “Hail, Tabernacle of God the Word… Hail, Ark gilded by the Spirit”; Mary is the Ark which contained the Stone Tablets of the 10 commandments, which in turn are a foreshadowing of the Word of God, Christ Himself.

Finally at the top is the Prophet Habakkuk who in a prayer spoke of God coming forth from a mountain overshadowed by God’s glory (Hab 3:3). The “overshadowed mountain” refers to the Mary, who was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit at the Annunciation (described in Kontakion 3 of the Akathist), and from whom came forth God.

The blue orbs in the centre of some of the objects contain a faint image of either the Mother of God with the Infant Christ in her womb or, more likely, Christ alone. This emphasizes that these prophetical objects do indeed foreshadow the Incarnation.

The Old Testament Saints in the Icon put in context the “Praises” in the “The Praises of Our Lady of the Akathist Icon” (in Russian: ПОХВАЛА БОГОМАТЕРИ, С АКАФИСТОМ). Yes indeed they are praises of the Mother of God: “Ark gilded by the Holy Spirit”, is clearly not meant as an insult. However, these praises are in fact prefigured in the Old Testament writings and prophesy of the coming of the Word of God. Like all good “praises” of the Mother of God, they focus on Jesus Christ, through whom and because of whom, His mother Mary receives such praise.

The Power of the Most High then overshadowed the Virgin for conception, and showed her fruitful womb as a sweet meadow to all who wish to reap the harvest of Salvation, singing: Allelulia!

(Kontakion 3 of the Akathist)

From Gemini re: the outer narrative icons:

a general overview of the types of scenes typically depicted in Akathist icons:

Old Testament Prophecies: Scenes depicting Old Testament prophets who foretold the coming of the Messiah, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and David.
Events from the Life of the Virgin Mary: Scenes such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity of Christ, and the Presentation of Christ in the Temple.
Miracles and Apparitions of the Virgin Mary: Scenes depicting various miraculous events attributed to the intercession of the Virgin Mary.
Theological Concepts: Scenes illustrating theological concepts related to the Virgin Mary, such as her role as the Mother of God and her perpetual virginity.

It's important to note that the specific scenes depicted in an Akathist icon can vary depending on the iconographer's artistic interpretation and the particular focus of the hymn. However, the overall theme is always the glorification of the Virgin Mary and her role in salvation history.