Akathist to the Holy Archangel Michael
O Captain chosen on high of the hosts of the heavenly powers and helper of the race of men, behold, we who have been delivered by thee from trials offer a hymn of thanksgiving to thee who standest before the throne of the King of glory; free us from all afflictions, that beholding thee we may praise thee with faith and love: Rejoice, Michael, great Captain of all the heavenly powers!
We praise thee as the foremost of the fiery angels; it is fitting to praise thee, Michael, with the voices of angels, but until, inspired by thee, we learn the speech of the bodiless ones, hear from our lips thanksgiving thus:
Rejoice, star of the world, first in form; rejoice, golden radiant lamp of truth and righteousness; rejoice, ray of the uncreated Light, first heir among the angels who stand before God; rejoice, chief of the angels and archangels; rejoice, thou in whom the glory of the Creator’s right hand shineth most exceedingly; rejoice, thou by whom the assemblies of all the bodiless beings are made radiant; Rejoice, Michael, great Captain of all the heavenly powers!
Beholding beforehand with the eye of faith the spiritual beauty and the lightning-swift power of thy protection, O Archangel of God, we who are earthly and clothed in bodies, filled with wonder and joy, cry in thanksgiving to the Creator of all the heavenly powers: Alleluia.
Ask for us, O most wondrous Michael, captain of the heavenly ranks, an understanding pure and free from passions, that, lifted in mind from earth to heaven, we may sing to thee a hymn of praise:
Rejoice, thou who beholdest most nearly with thine eye the ineffable beauty and goodness of God; rejoice, most intimate initiate of the all-good counsels of the all-holy Trinity; rejoice, faithful executor of the judgements of the Trinity, righteous from before the ages; rejoice, thou at whom the hosts of heaven marvel with love; rejoice, thou whom the peoples of the earth magnify with faith and praise; rejoice, thou before whom the powers of hell tremble in their weakness; Rejoice, Michael, great Captain of all the heavenly powers!
The invincible power of zeal for the glory of God shone forth in thee; thou art the leader of the ranks of angels, Michael, in the battle against Satan, evil in his fury and pride, whom with the evil powers thou didst cast down from the height of heaven to the abyss; the powers of heaven, gloriously led by thee, cry with joy as with one mouth before the throne of the King: Alleluia.
Thou art a great and wondrous helper, O Archangel Michael, to all Christian peoples in battle against their adversaries; therefore, that we may be made worthy of thy wondrous protection, on the day of the remembrance of thy feast we cry:
Rejoice, thou who didst cast Satan down like lightning; rejoice, thou by whom the race of men, being guarded, ascendeth to heaven; rejoice, wondrous adornment of the all-radiant throne; rejoice, glorious helper of the fallen world; rejoice, thou who art never vanquished by the evil powers; rejoice, thou who with all the angels of the Lord art established by the grace of God in truth and righteousness; Rejoice, Michael, great Captain of all the heavenly powers!
Deliver us from storms, afflictions and trials, O first-enthroned of the angels, as we keep thine all-radiant feast with love and gladness; for thou art a great helper in afflictions and at the hour of death a protector from evil spirits, and a succour to the children who cry to thee and to our King and God: Alleluia.
At thy boldness against the host of Satan all the ranks of angels were moved with joy to follow thee and to fight them for the name and glory of their King, crying: Who is, who is like God? And we, seeing Satan fallen beneath thy feet as vanquished by thee, cry to thee thus:
Rejoice, thou by whom the evil spirits fell down even to hell; rejoice, thou who guidest the angels, hosts and powers of the invisible world to the destruction of evil Satan; rejoice, thou who invisibly stillest the tumults and disturbances of the elements of this visible world; rejoice, wondrous champion against the evil ones who war beneath the heavens; rejoice, mighty helper of those weakened by the afflictions and trials of this passing world; Rejoice, Michael, great Captain of all the heavenly powers!
A spring with divinely just flow didst thou reveal by a most glorious miracle in the church at Chonae; not only didst thou by thy power crush the great and dread serpent that dwelt in that place, but also the raging of the waters; and thou didst heal all bodily infirmities by thine appearing, that all who magnify thee may cry with faith to the King of the angels: Alleluia.
Hearing of thee and knowing thee as a great luminary shining among the choirs of angels, O most wondrous Michael, we flee to thee after God and the all-holy Mother of God: make us all radiant with the rays of thy light, as we cry to thee thus:
Rejoice, leader and protector in the wilderness of thy God-chosen people; rejoice, high overseer of the law given on Sinai by the hand of Moses; rejoice, thou from whom the judges and leaders of Israel obtained strength and shelter; rejoice, thou through whom the prophets and high priests of the Jews received from God, who knoweth the hearts, the knowledge of the offerings; rejoice, thou who fillest God-fearing lawgivers with mystical wisdom; rejoice, thou who plantest grace in the hearts of those who do judgement and righteousness; Rejoice, Michael, great Captain of all the heavenly powers!
Herald of the divine dispensations, when Manoah saw thee, filled with the fear of ignorance, he took thee for one not dwelling on earth; but learning from his wife, meek and good, the revelation of thy words, and rejoicing according to thy word at the birth of his son Samson, he cried to the Lord in thanksgiving: Alleluia.
Thou didst shine forth with most wondrous glory, Michael, when in the form of a man thou didst stand before Joshua the son of Nun and say to him: Loose thy shoe from off thy foot, for I am captain of the host of the Lord; for thus wondrous an appearing we sing to thee with love:
Rejoice, sleepless protector of God-crowned heads; rejoice, swift overthrower of hostile powers as of those who fight against the command of God; rejoice, calmer of the tumults of the people; rejoice, invisible deliverer from the customs of the unbelieving; rejoice, for thou enlightenest to see the truth those who doubt in the time of evil ignorance; rejoice, for thou deliverest from ruinous temptations those who stumble; Rejoice, Michael, great Captain of all the heavenly powers!
The King of all willed to show that the lots of the sons of men are not by chance of their own, but He ever holdeth them in His right hand; therefore He gave thee dominion as helper and protector of those on earth, that thou mightest prepare tribes and nations for the eternal kingdom of God; wherefore all of us who know thy great ministry for the life of men cry to God in thanksgiving: Alleluia.
The Creator and King of all hath shown us a new and wondrous miracle through thee, O Archangel, on earth, when thou didst wondrously rescue the church built in thy name from the flood of waters and didst by thy command send the overwhelming waves down into the heart of the earth; beholding this, the blessed Archippus with his spiritual children crieth to thee:
Rejoice, unbreakable wall of the holy churches of God; rejoice, invincible fortress against the enemies of the faith of Christ; rejoice, thou whose commands the elements obey; rejoice, thou by whom all evil designs are broken; rejoice, thou who bringest joy to the faithful from the throne of the Almighty; rejoice, thou who leadest the unbelieving onto the paths of righteousness and truth; Rejoice, Michael, great Captain of all the heavenly powers!
Habakkuk saw above his head a strange wonder of thy might, O angel of God, when in the twinkling of an eye by God’s will thou didst carry him swiftly, snatched away, from Judaea to Babylon, to give food to Daniel cast into the lions’ den; wherefore, amazed at the works of thy glorious might over all, we cry with faith: Alleluia.
Thou art all-honoured in the heights, Michael, standing before the throne of the King of glory, yet thou art not far from those on earth, for thou fightest ever against the enemies for the life of men; therefore all of us who long to reach that most beloved homeland of heaven cry to thee with one voice:
Rejoice, Archangel of those who sing to the thrice-holy Being; rejoice, thou who art ever ready as intercessor and protector of the peoples of the earth; rejoice, thou who by a miracle didst drown the all-proud Pharaoh and the unbelieving Egyptians; rejoice, glorious leader of the Hebrews in the wilderness; rejoice, thou by whom the flame of the Babylonian furnace was quenched; Rejoice, Michael, great Captain of all the heavenly powers!
All the monks of the holy Mount Athos came with joy and trembling when thou didst save a God-fearing youth, cast with a stone into the depth of the sea by lovers of gold in the madness of lawlessness; therefore his monastery, received under thy name, rejoiceth, crying in thanksgiving to the Lord: Alleluia.
The voices of orators and the understanding of lovers of wisdom cannot declare thy mighty works, Michael, how in one night thou didst slay a hundred and eighty-five thousand of the soldiers of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, punishing them that they might not blaspheme the name of the Lord. We therefore honour that holy zeal of thine for the true glory, and with gladness cry to thee thus:
Rejoice, thou who castest down and terrifiest the warfare of those who bear false witness; rejoice, planter of the right faith and of the honouring of God; rejoice, uprooter of soul-destroying heresies and apostasies; rejoice, thou who many times didst strengthen the pious Maccabees on the field of battle; rejoice, thou who didst smite Heliodorus himself, the commander of the godless Antiochus, in the temple; Rejoice, Michael, great Captain of all the heavenly powers!
Thou art a firm helper to us who desire life, O Archangel of God; thou deliverest and shelterest us from our afflictions and trials, and above all from our evil habits and sins, that, advancing in faith, hope and the love of Christ, and gladdened by thy wondrous help, we may cry in thanksgiving to the King of angels and men: Alleluia.
Thou art a wall of faithful men, O Archangel of God, and a firm tower in battles with enemies visible and invisible; therefore we who are delivered by thee from the snares of the devil cry to thee with thanksgiving of heart and lips thus:
Rejoice, invincible opponent of the enemies of the faith and adversaries of the holy Church; rejoice, tireless guide of the humble preachers of the Gospel; rejoice, thou who enlightenest with the light of the faith of Christ those who sit in the darkness of false belief; rejoice, thou who leadest onto the path of truth and repentance those maddened by false wisdom; rejoice, stern avenger of the name of God sworn falsely in vain; rejoice, thou who castest the lightning of wrath to punish those who foolishly revile the mysteries of the faith; Rejoice, Michael, great Captain of all the heavenly powers!
All skill in praise is overcome by the multitude of thy miracles, O Archangel of God, wrought by thee not only in heaven and on earth but also in the darkness of the shadows of the underworld, where by the wondrous power of the Lord thou didst bind the serpent in the abyss; and we who are delivered from his malice bless the King of heaven and earth, crying thus: Alleluia.
Thou didst appear, O Archangel, clothed in light, as a servant of the truth and of the pure honouring of God, when, seeing beforehand the guile of that dark spirit, thou didst forbid him in the name of God to dare to reveal the hidden body of the departed Moses, leader of the people of Israel, lest the sons of Israel, apt to deify, should worship it; wherefore we now honour thy divinely radiant synaxis and cry to thee in thanksgiving:
Rejoice, thou who in the days of the Old Covenant kept in purity the knowledge of God among Israel; rejoice, thou who in the days of the New and higher Covenant hast many times uprooted the tares of error; rejoice, overthrower of the shrines, oracles and temples of the heathen; rejoice, strengthener of Christians who struggle and endure sufferings; rejoice, thou who fillest weak souls with the power of God; rejoice, thou who clothest those weakened in the flesh with all the armour of faith; Rejoice, Michael, great Captain of all the heavenly powers!
Ask grace for us from God in heaven, Michael, we who sing for the glory of thine all-honourable name, that under the cool shade of thy help we may live in all piety and purity until death looseth us from the bonds of the flesh, and, made worthy to stand before the fiery thrones of the King of glory, may sing with the choirs of angels and cry: Alleluia.
Singing of the manifold miracles wrought by thee for our salvation, Michael, we entreat the Lord and King of all that, for the glory of God which is in thee, He may never deprive us of the spirit of zeal, as we cry to thee thus:
Rejoice, thou who in due time raisest the faithful servants of God to the height of most wondrous dominion; rejoice, thou who invisibly castest down from grace, power and glory the proud and unworthy; rejoice, thou who on the last day wilt gather the elect from the four corners of the earth; rejoice, thou by whom sinners, as tares, by God’s command will be given over to the eternal fire; rejoice, thou by whom Satan and his angels will be cast for ever into the lake of fire; rejoice, thou through whom the righteous will inherit the all-glorious dwelling of the Father in heaven; Rejoice, Michael, great Captain of all the heavenly powers!
O most wondrous Captain of archangels and angels, for thy most amazing ministry for the salvation of the race of men, accept from us the voice of praise and thanksgiving now offered to thee, and as one filled with the power of God, shelter us with thine immaterial wing from all enemies visible and invisible, that we may ever cry to the Lord who is glorified through thee and who glorifieth thee: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
O holy great Archangel Michael, first attendant among the angels of the incomprehensible Trinity of three lights, protector and guardian of the race of men, who didst crush in heaven the all-proud chief of the morning stars with all his host, and ever puttest to shame his malice and guile on earth: we flee to thee with love and entreat thee with faith: be an unbreakable shield and a firm wall for the holy churches and our Orthodox fatherland, and guard them with thy lightning sword from all enemies visible and invisible. Be a guardian angel, an all-knowing counsellor and helper to our pious people; pour upon it from the throne of the King of kings light and strength, peace, joy and comfort. Be the leader of our Christ-loving armies and the invincible vanquisher of those who war against them, and crown them with glorious victory over their enemies.
O Archangel of God, leave not without thy help and protection us who today glorify thy holy name; for behold, though we have sinned much, yet will not that we perish in our iniquities, but turn us to the Lord and quicken us by Him for good works. Illumine our minds with the light of the face of God, which ever shineth like lightning upon thy brow, that we may understand what is the good and perfect will of God for us, and know all that we ought to do and what, being contemptible, we ought to forsake. Strengthen by the grace of the Lord our feeble will and weak desire, that, established in the law of the Lord, we may cease to be tossed by earthly cares and drawn by fleshly lusts, like foolish children, to the swiftly fading beauties of this world, forgetting through earthly corruption and folly the eternal and heavenly. Above all these things ask for us from on high the spirit of true repentance, sincere sorrow towards God and contrition for our sins, that we may pass the remaining number of the days of this temporal life not in obedience to our senses and in bondage to our passions, but in blotting out and destroying our evil deeds with tears of faith and the cleansing works of mercy. When the hour of our soul’s departure draweth near and of its release from the bonds of this body of clay, then forsake us not, O holy great Archangel of God, without help against the evil spirits beneath the heavens, the adversaries who judge and hinder the souls of men from ascending to heaven, that, guarded by thee, we may reach unhindered the all-glorious dwellings of paradise, where there is neither sorrow nor sighing but joy and life without end, and may be made worthy to behold the all-radiant face of our all-good Lord and King, and falling down at His feet with tears, joy and compunction cry: Glory to Thee, our most precious Redeemer, who through Thy great love wast pleased to send Thine angels to minister to us unworthy for our salvation. Amen!
