Ukrainian Orthodoxy		Orthodoxie ukrainienne

Akathists For All Occasions:
 Praying from East to West

Dr. Alexander Roman alex@unicorne.org

The Akathist hymn is perhaps the most beautiful single liturgical service the Byzantine Christian East has ever produced. Originally referring to only the service of the Akathist to the Mother of God, it later became a standardized service to OLGS Jesus Christ, and to many Saints.

“Akathistos” or “Nesidalen” is a liturgical prayer that is served while standing. It contains, ideally, over 144 praises that usually begin with “Rejoice.” As such it is a mini-psalter that also constitutes a thematic reflection on the subject that is the focus of the service.

Among East Slavic Orthodox peoples, the akathists became so varied and so numerous that the Church began to insist that any akathist to be used for liturgical purposes be reviewed and ratified by the appropriate ecclesial authorities beforehand.

This didn’t prevent lay Christians from composing their own akathists to their much-loved miracle-working Icons or Saints that they used in private prayer. The Ukrainian Kozak Saint Theodosius Uhlitsky of Chernihiv had a total of seven akathists that were most popular among the Kozaks who honoured him as one of their own patrons and protectors – and often memorized them and the psalms. Should they ever be taken as prisoners of war and sold into slavery, the Kozaks would have sufficient material for prayer to give them solace during their ordeals . . .

However, when the Church examined the akathists to St Theodosius, it rejected them completely and later composed another one for liturgical use.

The book of akathists was a most popular book of worship in Ukrainian homes, along with the Psalter and one could often find it in icon corners.

Soon, the Kyivan Church developed the tradition of the “akathist vigil service.” This was an all-night reading of akathists until morning!

St Jonah of Odessa, a married Ukrainian Orthodox priest who reposed in 1924, had the habit of getting up at midnight for Nocturns and then reading akathists until daybreak. He prayed in this way over the bed of a girl born blind for nine nights until, on the morning of the tenth day, she could see!

Akathists were also arranged to reflect the day by day spiritual themes of the week. Thus, the akathists to the Most Holy Trinity and to the Resurrection of OLGS Jesus Christ were prescribed for Sunda; akathists to St Michael and the Bodiless Powers, as well as to the Guardian Angel, for Monday; to Saint John the Baptist, Prophet and Forerunner of the Lord for Tuesday; to the Precious and Life-Giving Cross and to the Most Holy Mother of God for Wednesdays and Fridays; to the Holy Apostles and to St Nicholas (representing bishops, the successors of the Apostles), for Thursday, and to All Saints and for All Souls on Saturday.

The daily Rule of Prayer for monastics and laity would include daily Canons to the Lord Jesus, the Mother of God, the Guardian Angel and then as many Akathists (or other Canons) as one’s devotion would have it.

Recently, Roman Catholics have taken an interest in the Akathist hymn, especially since their well-known litanies are ultimately derived from it. I’ve seen a Latin version of the Akathist hymn on the internet as well.

I’ve also taken to writing some of my own akathists on more Western-focused themes that are familiar to Roman Catholics and to Western-Rite Orthodox that I would like to share with readers of “Ukrainian Orthodoxy.”

My akathist to Our Lady of Fatima was actually inspired by an Orthodox priest who believes in the apparitions at Fatima and that the prophecies there have been fulfilled already in Russia with the flowering of Orthodoxy there after so many years of atheist communist rule. This akathist has been, as I am informed, translated into Spanish and has received local approval for liturgical use in some parts of the United States.

The akathist to Our Lady of Lourdes reflects the personal devotion of certain Russian Orthodox émigrés to France. The akathist to Our Lady of Mount Carmel is an effort to underscore the essentially Eastern monastic character of the earliest hermits who lived on Mount Carmel and who brought their Eastern icon to Naples, Italy where it is venerated to this day. There is also an Orthodox miraculous icon of Our Lady of Mt Carmel called “of the Scapular” in Horodyschenske in Ukraine as mentioned by Professor Poselianin in his monumental work on Marian Orthodox icons, “Bogomater.” This akathist is used, as I have learned, among prayer groups in the Philippines.

The akathist to Our Lady, the “Heavenly Ladder of Mystical Height” is a reflection on the Rule of the Mother of God that was popularized by St Seraphim of Sarov and the form that in the West has come to be referred to as the “Rosary.”

The akathist to Jesus the All Merciful reflects the theme of the Wounded Side of our Lord and speaks for itself.

I’ve also done my own akathists to St Francis of Assisi, who needs no introduction and to the Roman Catholic martyrs of New France, as well as to the Ruthenian Catholic hieromartyr, Theodore Romzha, who was done to death by the Soviets and who was glorified by Pope John Paul II during the latter’s visit to Ukraine.

Also included is an akathist to the great Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitan, Andrew Sheptytsky. My great-grandfather was the administrator for the Metropolitan’s summer residence in the Carpathians and my family had close connections to the generous and holy hierarch. This is my tribute to him and all that he means to me and to the Ukrainian Catholic Church. The akathist is now on the website of the Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitan of Canada.

I’ve also written an akathist for Anglicans to their saint, King Charles the Martyr, that has been published under a separate title and is available from the American Branch of the Society of King Charles the Martyr. My akathist to the Czech reformer, Jan Hus, has been translated into German and is used, in part, by certain Lutheran parishes in Germany. St Nikolai Velimirovich wrote a book on Hus entitled “Saint John Hus” (sic) and this was published recently, as I understand, by the Czech Orthodox Church.

In case anyone is interested, the akathists I’ve written are listed on this webpage: http://www.byzcath.org/sites/alex/web/

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