The akathist
The akathist is a hymn of praise. It is called “daujdomeli,” or akathist, because during this prayer the clergy and the flock must not sit down but must stand on their feet or kneel (in Greek “a” means not, and “kathisto” means I sit).
By the teaching of the Orthodox Church, the first akathist was composed in Greek and dedicated to the most holy Mother of God, in thanksgiving for her threefold saving of Constantinople from destruction by its enemies in the 7th–8th centuries. The Orthodox Church appointed it so that a hymn of praise dedicated to the Mother of God might be sung everywhere each year, on the Saturday of the fifth week of Great Lent. It was at about that time that the first deliverance of Constantinople from its enemies by the Mother of God took place. This Saturday is called the Saturday of the Akathist, and the akathist to the most holy Mother of God is included in Matins.
In the course of time the Orthodox Churches of the world composed other akathists after the model of this first one: in the name of especially honoured saints, and also to the life-giving passion of the Saviour, and others. All akathists are written after the pattern of the first akathist. The first akathist consists of 12 kontakia and 12 oikoi, and equals the number of letters of the Greek alphabet. So it is written in the “Lenten Triodion,” in the Matins of the Saturday of the Akathist: “And these kontakia and oikoi are according to the alpha-beta, that is, 24.” The first kontakion, “To thee, the Champion Leader,” does not enter into the number of those 12 kontakia, and in it the short content, the theme, of the whole akathist is set out. By its content the akathist is divided into two parts. Into the first part historical content is woven, where the incarnation of Jesus Christ and the first years of His life are told. Into the second part dogmatic and moral teaching is woven. In the kontakia, moreover, the mystery of the incarnation of the Word of God and the abundance of the grace granted by Him are told, while in the oikoi are told the glory of the most holy Mother of God, her greatest perfection, her glory before God and the many mercies which she works toward the faithful.
Into every akathist composed in the name of this or that saint is woven what has been said above, and also the good service to God and to the people rendered by the saints, their self-sacrifice for the Church, and other things.
In all akathists, as in the prayers, we glorify God, the most holy Mother of God and the saints, we thank them and entreat them. The same content is woven into the akathist to St Nino, and with the same meaning it is used.
It is true that the Church has appointed that the first-composed akathist be read at the service in church in the fifth week of Great Lent at the Matins of Saturday, that is, on the Saturday of the Akathist; but this does not mean that it may not be read at other times. Both clergy and lay people may — and it will be good if they often pray — both the akathist to the Mother of God and others.
Everyone has the right to read an akathist, both clergy and laymen. It may be prayed in church, that is, in the temple, and in the homes of the faithful, and elsewhere. Each may pray it by themselves alone, and it may be prayed in a group as well. One may read and the others listen, and the readings may be divided among them and read in turn.
There are two basic ways of reading an akathist: when the akathist is read in church before or after the service, in the church or outside it; and when it is read as part of a service performed in church.
In the first case the reader will stand before an icon, usually before the icon of the saint whose akathist is being read, if the icon of that saint is there, and will read in the order and by the rule written in each akathist. It is customary to begin the reading of an akathist with the beginning prayers. In that case, if a priest is praying, he will first say the exclamation: “Blessed is our God…”. Then “Amen” is said, the beginning prayers and the text. If a layman is praying, instead of the exclamation he will say: “Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us, amen,” and then the beginning prayers. Then the text of the akathist.
We begin the reading of an akathist either with the introduction or without it, directly with the text.
Some clergy, after the prayer said on their knees, say the short litany “Have mercy on us, O God,” in which they commemorate by name the Catholicos-Patriarch and those for whose health and for the forgiveness of whose prayers they pray, which is permissible and good. Laymen too may pray in the same way, commemorating the names of the living and asking the Lord, the most holy Mother of God and the saints that they (the faithful) may be forgiven their sins, granted health, the fulfilment of good petitions and intentions, and the rest. After this the priest will say the small dismissal with the commemoration of the saint whose akathist he has read; laymen will say: “Through the prayers of our holy mother Nino, the enlightener of the Georgians (or the name of whatever saint they are praying to), Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us, amen.” After this they venerate the icon and are sprinkled with holy water by the priest; and if they were praying without a priest, they sprinkle themselves with holy water and go away, thankful to God and to His saints.
Akathists may be read at any time of the day or night. They may also be read on every day of the year; but it usually happens that the one who performs the prayer rule appointed in church has neither the time nor the strength left to read some akathist in addition — in the days of Great Lent, for instance, and at other times. Besides this, if we read an akathist at Pascha and on certain other days, the rule for praying it changes a little. For example, there are days when one may not kneel, when one may not say “O Heavenly King” from the beginning prayers. We must sing “Christ is risen from the dead…” and so on. Therefore every praying layman who does not know the rule of these changes should ask their spiritual father beforehand and find out what changes are to be observed in this or that part of the year, and so on.
When a priest or a hierarch wishes to read an akathist in the church of God during Matins, then he must be guided by the typikon of the Matins of the Saturday of the Akathist. It is done thus:
After “God is the Lord,” the troparion of the saint whose akathist we are praying is sung.
After the first psalms the small litany is said. Here the Royal Doors are opened and the first kontakion is sung, drawn out, in a sweet tone. It is better that the clergy and the people sing it; during the singing the deacon performs the great censing. He begins the censing from the sanctuary.
When the first kontakion is finished, the readings that follow it, up to and including the fourth kontakion, are read before the holy table. After each kontakion is read, the singers or the flock sing “Alleluia” once; and after an oikos, the “Rejoice” read at the end of the oikos. After the fourth kontakion is read, the first kontakion is sung again, and at the end of the singing the Royal Doors are closed.
After the second psalm and the small litany, the Royal Doors are opened again and the first kontakion is sung again. The deacon, during this singing, performs the small censing. After this the priest will read before the holy table the fourth oikos, up to and including the seventh kontakion, and the worshippers sing at the end of each kontakion and oikos as said above. At the end the first kontakion is sung again and the Royal Doors are closed.
The Matins prayers are read in the usual way, and after the third heirmos the small litany is said. The Royal Doors are opened again and the first kontakion is sung again. The deacon performs the small censing. The priest will again read the seventh oikos, up to and including the tenth kontakion; the first kontakion is sung and the Royal Doors are closed. After the sixth heirmos and the troparia the small litany is said again, the Royal Doors are opened again and the first kontakion is sung; the priest will read the tenth oikos and all the rest. The singers, that is, the worshippers, sing after each kontakion and oikos as said above, while the deacon performs the great censing. The thirteenth kontakion the priest will read three times, and after each reading the singers, that is, the worshippers, sing “Alleluia” three times. The typikon does not show it, but it is customary that the clergy read this last kontakion kneeling and that the worshippers listen to it kneeling too. After this the priest will read the first oikos again, and then the first kontakion — or else the first kontakion is sung again, if the thirteenth kontakion and what followed it were read kneeling. At this place the clergy and the people rise. After this the synaxarion is read and the rest of Matins is prayed. In the Lenten Triodion the kneeling prayer to be said at the end of the akathist at the Matins of the Saturday of the Akathist is not shown, but in practice it is customary — and fits well — that before the reading of the synaxarion the priest, or the senior of the clergy, read the kneeling prayer before the holy table, after the first kontakion has been read or sung.
In this way the akathist to the most holy Mother of God is included in Matins on the Saturday of the fifth week of Great Lent; and in like manner the akathist of another saint may be included in Matins, both on the feast of this or that saint and on other, ordinary days, when the priest wishes it or a believing layman asks for it. It will be very good if, before a Liturgy celebrated at the request (that is, at the order) of the faithful, the akathist of the saint toward whom the believer has a particular desire to pray is included in Matins as well.
When an akathist is included in Matins, the priest, as we have already noted, reads the akathist in the sanctuary, before the holy table, and during the reading the Royal Doors are open; but the priest may read the akathist in the middle of the church as well. Even in that case the priest opens the Royal Doors, comes out, stands in the middle of the church before the icon of the saint and reads the akathist there. At the end of each reading he goes back into the sanctuary through the Royal Doors and closes them. The deacon, as we noted above, usually censes; but in that case he begins the censing not from the sanctuary but from the middle of the church, and when the censing is finished he stands before the analogion, a little to the side, and during the reading of the akathist censes the icon of the saint continually, gravely and quietly. During the reading of the akathist, large candlestands are also set on both sides of the analogion.
Like every prayer, the akathist has great power, and we who pray diligently shall receive great grace and the good fulfilment of our petitions.
