When and how are akathistos hymns prayed?

[Warren Bensinger]

Could someone tell me if/when & how an Akathistos Hymn to the Theotokos can be said or sung?

Is it part of Vespers or Matins and/or can it be said at anytime during the day?

Thanks in advance.
wlben
t.s.

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

The Akathist can be read (ie chanted) or sung by one or many persons at any time at home or at church. We use a normal chanting voice and read the Akathist exactly as it is printed in the book. There is also a special melody which if a person wishes can be used. It is sometimes found at the back of some editions of the Akathist books.

The only time to my knowledge that the Akathist is part of a larger service is on the 5th Saturday of Great Lent when it forms part of Matins. Also in the Byzantine tradition the Akathist is read on Friday nights at Compline during Great Lent.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Warren Bensinger]

Thank you Father.

Now. What is the push or incentive (not the words I want to use) Why do I chant this and do I always do the 13 or can I do 1 - 5 or 2, 6, 8 & 11?
I know, I'm picky but I want to know.

Also is there a site that has a number of these chants avalible? I have three small booklets but they are specific in the things that are being ask for.

Thanks again.
w. t.s.

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Dear Warren,

I am not sure what you mean when you say, "What is the push or incentive (not the words I want to use)."

Usually the Akathist is read in full. If for some reason it cannot all be done at once I suppose it could be broken up into equal parts. But I think these separate parts should be consecutive- eg Kondak 1 & Ikos 1- Kondak 4 & Ikos 4- for 3 different days. Plus on each day add Kondak 13 then Kondak 1. This would be better than going 2, 6, 8 since the Akathist has a thematic order to it that would otherwise be broken.

By 'chanting' I mean what some call 'reading'; ie chanting in a plain chant without a melody. If you chant the Akathist simply do this as you would chant anything in church; eg the Psalms, etc. If you are trying to find the melody for how to sing the Akathist I don't know where this can be found on-line (possibly someone else can help here). But in general I would advise beginners and those in simple settings to stick to simple chanting.

I don't know, maybe it's just the St Nilus of Sora streak in me- as they say "simpler is better." It's wonderful if we can not only use the standard prayers for morning & evening; and the Psalter; but also learn how to do the services alone without the priest. In fact every service if you have the proper books can be done- eg Vespers, Compline, Matins, Midnight Office, the Hours- except for the Divine Liturgy.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Olga]

Re "singing" the Akathist to the Mother of God: The Greek churches do use a simple melody when the Akathist is sung in church. Warren, I have on CD some excerpts of the hymn sung by a Byzantine choir which I can make available to you if you wish. Also your comment on "a site which has a number of these chants available", do you mean you are looking for the texts of akathists other than the standard one for the Mother of God?

[Warren Bensinger]

Olga:
Thanks for the info.
I would like to hear the hymn that you have. Can it be downloaded?
As far as a site, yes I have 3 diffent akathistos to Mary for 3 different things. One praise for her, another one for help with drugs ect. and another one for our children.
Is there not supposed to be more than one?
Oh, also I forgot to ask what is the meaning of the word akathistos? or akathist?
Thank again.
warren.
t.s.

[M.C. Steenberg]

Dear Warren and others,

There is a fairly standard, simple chant melody in the Russian tradition that can very easily be used when singing the hymn at home or in reader's services. It is based on the more complex, multi-part harmonisation used for the hymn during its full liturgical recitation during Great Lent, but simplified down to a single line that is brief and repeats throughout the text.

I don't know if it is available in any form on-line, but it is found in western-style musical notation at the back of the black 'Athathistos Hymns' book published, I believe, by SJKP.

INXC, Matthew

[Olga]

Dear Warren

There are a vast number of akathists written, not only dedicated to the Mother of God, but also to Christ, and many of the saints. I have some of these in English on file, and many more in Slavonic. Re sound files of the CD I mentioned in my earlier post, feel free to email me off-forum.

The "original" akathist to the Mother of God, the one which is sung during the 5th week of Great Lent, was written in the 5th or 6th century (memory a bit rusty here) in gratitude to her protection of the city and people of Constantinople following their deliverance from the threat of invasion. The people of Constantinople always regarded the Mother of God as their patron. The Greek term Akathistos (Slavonic: Akathist) is the word for "standing", literally, "not sitting". It is said that this hymn of gratitude and thanksgiving, when first sung in the cathedral of Aghia Sophia in Constantinople, was sung standing throughout. Another instance of the patronage of the Mother of God to this city is the hymn to the Mother of God "Champion Leader", which is sung at various feasts of hers, and also (in Slavic usage) at the end of the First Hour following Matins. This hymn was also written under similar circumstances. The part of the hymn which refers to "your city" is a reference to Constantinople.

[Sunny]

Sorry,
I know this is an old thread, but I was looking for books that explain when to say different prayers and how often to say them. For example I have an Akathist book for our guardian angel and one for children. They are wonderful but quite long. Are there recommendations for when they are supposed to be read? How often? Also except for my husband, none of my children or family or friends are Orthodox. Can I use the Akathist for praying for children that are not Orthodox? Also I read in a book someone saying they were going to read a molieben (?) for someone or something. This is confusing to a convert. Does anyone have a book they could recommend that explains and includes these various types of prayers and when to pray them?
Thank you for your input.
Sunny

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Sorry,
I know this is an old thread, but I was looking for books that explain when to say different prayers and how often to say them. For example I have an Akathist book for our guardian angel and one for children. They are wonderful but quite long. Are there recommendations for when they are supposed to be read? How often? Also except for my husband, none of my children or family or friends are Orthodox. Can I use the Akathist for praying for children that are not Orthodox? Also I read in a book someone saying they were going to read a molieben (?) for someone or something. This is confusing to a convert. Does anyone have a book they could recommend that explains and includes these various types of prayers and when to pray them?
Thank you for your input.
Sunny


Akathist Hymns can be read (or sung) at any time. They come in many different formats and can be either read on their own or included in another service. For practicality's sake however it's probably best to do them in the format already indicated in whatever prayer book you are reading them from. This way you begin to get a sense of what an Akathist is.

The Akathist can be prayed for the non-Orthodox unless the specific theme of the Akathist rules this out; eg there are Akathists in preparation for Holy Communion.

Molebens are intercessory services found in the Book of Needs (in Slavic languages this book is known as the Trebnik). There are many different kinds of molebens according to particular need; eg for sickness, thanksgiving, for students studying, and even for clement weather. Because molebens always have special intercessory petitions & Gospel readings I would say they are only officiated by a priest. (Someone correct me if I am wrong) But those among the people of course can read the often accompanying psalms, tropars, reply to petitions, etc.

Orthodoxy is notoriously short on books which explain everything. At first this can look like a shortcoming. But in time one learns that this simply reflects the fact that in Orthodoxy there are so many variations to the rule that any one book would only cause confusion. Plus there's no better school than learning from experience. This though simply gets back to the point made above that a good way to learn is to purchase any trustworthy Orthodox Prayer Book and begin doing the Akathists or canons in exactly the way described.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Sunny]

Dear Father Raphael, bless,
Thank you very much for this helpful information. I have an Anthony Coniaris book of prayers. I also have St. Theophan's Spiritual Psalter. A few years ago I saw a little cloth black book I think that may have been from Jordanville? Is that what you mean? And are there others that I can look for? I don't remember seeing any in our church bookstore. Is this the same as the Book of Needs? We attend both a Greek church and an OCA church on alternating weeks due to my husbands work schedule. Would the different jurisdictions' books be pretty much the same in content?
Sorry, I'm sure others have asked these questions before, but I'm not sure where.
Thank you for your patience,
Sunny

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Dear Father Raphael, bless,
Thank you very much for this helpful information. I have an Anthony Coniaris book of prayers. I also have St. Theophan's Spiritual Psalter. A few years ago I saw a little cloth black book I think that may have been from Jordanville? Is that what you mean? And are there others that I can look for? I don't remember seeing any in our church bookstore. Is this the same as the Book of Needs? We attend both a Greek church and an OCA church on alternating weeks due to my husbands work schedule. Would the different jurisdictions' books be pretty much the same in content?
Sorry, I'm sure others have asked these questions before, but I'm not sure where.
Thank you for your patience,
Sunny

Dear Sunny,

It sounds like you saw one of the many editions of the Jordanville Prayer Book which have been published over the years. These are good examples of a prayer book one can trust to just follow along and read exactly what is printed.

Other Prayer Books are also available from the different jurisdictions. I'm not sure what the Greek Archdiocese puts out but from the OCA there's the Prayer Book from St Tikhon's. Most prayer books have similarly structured Morning & Evening Prayers. Usually they also contain the prayers before and after Communion. Along with this they also usually have different canons and akathists. But it is this last part which really differs from one Prayer Book to the next. So you would want to check the exact content before purchasing.

Also Jordanville prints a Book of Akathists which contains a very good basic collection of akathists. I don't know what other editions are available in English besides this one.

The Book of Needs would not be something you need to get. Normally this is purchased by a parish for the kinds of prayers explained in my last post about molebens.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Father David Moser]

Fr Raphael mentioned the "Book of Akathists" published by Holy Trinity, Jordanville. Another good source of particular Akathists in English is St John of Kronstadt Press, where individual Akathist hymns can be purchased separately. At this time I don't think that they have all been collected into a single volume (and that would be a large volume btw, since there are quite a few services in print) but by searching the online catalogue you should be able to find most of them quite easily.

Let me also mention that Archbishop Anthony (+2000) of San Franciso and Western America held the opinion that the only "real" akathists were the primary akathist to the Savior and to the Mother of God (both contained in the Holy Trinity, Jordanville prayerbook) and that all others were of a lesser stature.

Fr David Moser

[Trudy]

For example I have an Akathist book for our guardian angel and one for children. They are wonderful but quite long. Are there recommendations for when they are supposed to be read? How often?

Dear Sunny,

When I was newly received into Orthodoxy, I asked this very same question to a Matushka who mentored me through the entry stages into Orthodoxy.

Her response was such: An Akathist can be prayed all in one sitting, or broken into parts over a period of days. For example, if the Akathist has 12 parts, a person can pray 1 part per day over 12 days, or 3 parts per day over 4 days, or 4 parts per day over 3 days.

I have done both praying the full Akathist during one time of prayer and have prayed over a week.

But in all things, following the guidance of your spiritual father.

In Christ, Athanasia

[Sunny]

Thank you all so much for this information. It is just what I needed!
Sunny

[Bob Kovacs]

Is the "Book of Akathists" by Jordanville a good supplement to have to the Jordanville Prayer book, which I already have. Or would the "Spiritual Psalter" be better. Been thinking about getting one or the other for now.

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Is the "Book of Akathists" by Jordanville a good supplement to have to the Jordanville Prayer book, which I already have. Or would the "Spiritual Psalter" be better. Been thinking about getting one or the other for now.

They all complement each other.

The Jordanville Prayerbook is a standard Orthodox prayerbook for daily prayers & other basic prayerful needs.

The Book of Akathists is a very good addition to use along with this.

And the Spiritual Psalter is a spiritual contemplation on the Psalter, what we would call spiritual reading.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Bob Kovacs]

So which book do you think I may get more use for now. Getting both now for me is kind of pricey.

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

So which book do you think I may get more use for now. Getting both now for me is kind of pricey.

A basic Orthodox prayer book is the most important. But right along with this we need also to be constantly reading spiritual literature- the Frs whether Patristic or Monastic, lives of saints, commentaries on Scripture: these are all suitable according to disposition and inclination.

In Christ- Fr Raphael