An akathist is a long hymn of praise to Christ, the Mother of God, or a saint, sung standing.
Tagged: Community Praise Prayer
How It Is Practiced
The hymn consists of alternating long and short stanzas (kontakia and ikoi), each ikos ending with a chain of salutations — 'Rejoice…' — and each kontakion with 'Alleluia.' The best known, the Akathist to the Mother of God, is sung in parts through Great Lent and in full on the fifth Friday. Congregations stand throughout — akathist means 'not sitting' — and the chanting may last an hour, in church or at home before the icons.
Purpose and Meaning
The akathist is praise in abundance: its salutations pile image upon image (gate, ladder, star, harbor) because its subject exceeds any one description. It is the Church's poetry of gratitude and wonder, historically credited with Constantinople's deliverance in 626, when the hymn was sung through the night on the city walls.
References
- Akathist — Wikipedia Free / open access
Related Practices
- The Prayer Rule — A prayer rule is a fixed daily pattern of prayers, readings, and prostrations kept under a spiritual father's guidance.
- Veneration of Icons — Before the icons at home and in church, the faithful light lamps and candles, bow, and kiss the images of Christ and the saints.
- Prostrations and Bows — Orthodox prayer is prayed with the body: bows from the waist and full prostrations punctuate the daily rule and the services.
Related Across the Site
- Family Worship Devotion — Family worship gathers the household daily or weekly to read Scripture, sing, and pray together at home.
- Kīrtan and Bhajan — Devotional Song Devotion — The singing of God's names and deeds, in call and response, with drums and cymbals: the devotion of the bhakti movements that remade Hindu practice.
- Kīrtan in the Gurdwara Devotion — In the gurdwara the scripture is sung: professional and congregational singers (ragis) perform the hymns in their appointed ragas before the Guru Granth Sahib.
- Processions Devotion — A procession is the Church at prayer on the move, carrying an image, a cross, or the Eucharist through public streets.
- Glory Be (Gloria Patri) Prayer or Creed — A short doxology praising the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, used across Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant worship.
- Kaddish Prayer or Creed — An Aramaic prayer sanctifying God's name, best known in its form recited by mourners.
- Te Deum Prayer or Creed — An ancient Latin hymn of praise to God, sung on occasions of solemn thanksgiving in Catholic and Anglican worship.
- Trisagion Prayers Prayer or Creed — The opening prayers of Orthodox services and prayer rules, built around the thrice-holy hymn 'Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal.'