Akathist of Thanksgiving

[Andreas Moran]

Hello, everyone,

My wife and I have prepared a translation of the Akathist of Thanksgiving, sometimes attributed to Hieromartyr Grigori Petrov but actually by Metropolitan Tryphon. It is very faithful to the Russian original and is written in traditional liturgical English (KJV style). We will be happy to share this with members if there is any interest in it.

[Andreas Moran]

Dear Fr David,

Yes, this is an entirely new translation. We spent a long time on it. We felt that existing translations were not accurate, and the version on Tavener's CD is incomplete. (Tavener in any case seems to have apostasised.) We undertook the work with the blessing of Archimandrite Zacharias (Holy Monastery of St John the Baptist, Essex).

If you are interested, how do I put it on this site?

[Father David Moser]

We have a tradition of saying this akathist every year at thanksgiving in my parish. There are also a couple of CD's available - one by Sir John Tavener (which is a little hard to listen to - but then that's Tavener) and another by Sts Peter and Paul (Ben Lomond, CA) choir in the more traditional akathist melody. It's been around in english for a long long time and is available in a couple of places on the internet. Is this a new translation then?

Fr David Moser

[Paul Cowan]

Dear Fr David,

Yes, this is an entirely new translation. We spent a long time on it. We felt that existing translations were not accurate, and the version on Tavener's CD is incomplete. (Tavener in any case seems to have apostasised.) We undertook the work with the blessing of Archimandrite Zacharias (Holy Monastery of St John the Baptist, Essex).

If you are interested, how do I put it on this site?

Dear Andreas,

I would be very interested in seeing this if you still have access to it. As Olga is "into" icons, I am into Akathists. Yes, we all have our little pet interests. Thanks

Paul

[Kusanagi]

Andreas

Can you tell myself and others, is there much difference between your translation and the one i have seen on www.orthodox.net ?

[Effie Ganatsios]

Hello, everyone,

My wife and I have prepared a translation of the Akathist of Thanksgiving, sometimes attributed to Hieromartyr Grigori Petrov but actually by Metropolitan Tryphon. It is very faithful to the Russian original and is written in traditional liturgical English (KJV style). We will be happy to share this with members if there is any interest in it.

Yes, please Andreas.

I have two translations of this Akathist. I have printed the version that "speaks" to me. I have made a little book of it and read it frequently.

I would love to have your translation.

Effie

[Anna K.]

Thank you, Andreas, I would also be very happy to have the Akathist on the site!
Thank you Paul for finding this old thread!

In Christ
Anna K

[Andreas Moran]

Dear friends,

Our version of this Akathist has been in the Liturgics section of Monachos for some time; sorry, I don't know how to create a link to it.

I should mention what my wife says about this akathist. Metropolitan Tryphon (she has a big book about him and his writings) wrote a lot of poetry and sermons. This akathist does not always follow the normal form for an akathist, and is rather a free form of akathist. In the original Russian he uses a mixture of ordinary, literary and Church language. If the text seems a bit 'disjointed' in places that it how it is in Russian. He probably never meant it to be used liturgically. In any case, according to the scholarly journal from which my wife took the Russian text (as being the most reliable) what we have is a copy and so it cannot be known how accurate this is. What we strove to produce was an English version which combined accuracy to the Russian original with a style of English which creates a feeling for the English reader as close as possible to what a Russian feels on reading it in Russian. We spent a year on this and had it checked by a native English speaker fluent in Russian and a native Russian speaker fluent in English. Even so, we can't claim we were 100% successful.

[Kyrill Bolton]

This is a link to the Akathist http://www.monachos.net/content/liturgics/liturgical-texts/237-akathist-of-thanksgiving-in-praise-of-gods-creation

[Andreas Moran]

Thank you, Kyrill.

Here is an extract from the introduction we translated from a Russian edition:

On the Akathist,
Glory to God for all things,
and its author

The Akathist, Glory to God for all things, was written in the post-Revolutionary years by Metropolitan Tryphon (in the world, Boris Petrovich Turkestanov). He was born on 29 November 1861 in Moscow. His father, Prince Peter Nikolaievich Turkestanov (1830-1891) was the direct descendant of an ancient princely family from Georgia. His great-grandfather, Prince Boris Pankratevich Turkestanishvili, in memory of whom Metropolitan Tryphon was named, moved to Russia at the time of Peter the Great. The mother of the future cleric was Varvara Alexandrovna (born Princess Naryshkina and niece of the Decembrist Mikhail Mikhailovich Naryshkin).
When, in infancy, her son had a serious disease and the doctors had lost any hope, she would go to the church of Martyr Tryphon in Moscow to pray for his recovery, promising that, if he were cured, she would dedicate him to God, and that, if he were deemed worthy of the monastic order, he should be given the name Tryphon. The infant recovered, and soon, Varvara Alexandrovna made a pilgrimage to Optina Pustin to see the celebrated Elder Amvrosy who was known throughout all Russia. In meeting them, the Elder addressed the crowd saying, ‘make way – the archpriest is coming’. The people made way but were surprised to see not an archpriest but a woman with a child.
In 1887, Boris obtained his parents’ blessing to enter Optina Pustin as a novice under the instruction of Elder Amvrosy who blessed him to enter monasticism. In 1891, Boris received the monastic tonsure with the name Tryphon – thus fulfilling the vow given by his mother. Soon after, Father Tryphon was ordained Deacon and then priest. Elder Amvrosy blessed him to study in the Moscow Theological Academy. During this period of study, Hieromonk Tryphon chose to serve in a transit prison. In 1895, Father Tryphon graduated from the Theological Academy with a PhD in Theology, defending his thesis, ‘Ancient Christian Elders and the Elders of Optina’. He knew Greek, Latin, French, German, and English.
From 1895 to 1901, Father Tryphon was inspector of the Moscow Theological College and Rector of first Viphanskoy and then Moscow theological seminaries. On 18 July 1901, he was ordained Bishop of Dmitrov, vicar of the Moscow Eparchy, a post he held for almost fifteen years. Bishop Tryphon officiated frequently at the Divine Liturgy and was greatly loved by the citizens of Moscow. He preached a great deal and was involved in much Church work yet without abandoning his own researches. For his rare gift for words, the faithful called him ‘the Muscovite Chrysostom’. Vladyka was spiritually close to many ascetics of the Russian Church such as Elder Varnava of Gephsimania and Elder Zakhari of Holy Trinity St Sergius Lavra, and to the Optina elders Anatoly and Varnuphy (whom he ordained Archimandrite). After the start of the First World War, Bishop Tryphon saw active service in the army on the Yulyn front where he suffered shell-shock. He had to return to Moscow, his health shattered. In 1916, Bishop Tryphon retired to the New Jerusalem Resurrection Monastery outside Moscow. He again visited the front but returned to the same monastery in 1917.
From 1918, Bishop Tryphon lived in Moscow and did not take part in the administrative affairs of the Church. A constant flow of visitors came to him for spiritual and practical advice. The faithful already recognized him as a great archpriest, remarkable preacher, and ascetic, spirit-bearing elder. His advice and opinions were frequently decisive not only for the destinies of his numerous spiritual children but also for those who had to take decisions bound up with the destiny of the Russian Orthodox Church after the Revolution. The Patriarch, St Tikhon, loved Vladyka; he frequently concelebrated with him and, in 1923, raised him to the dignity of Archbishop. They were two great spiritual pillars who upheld the Holy Russian Church in those cruel and sorrowful times in Russia.
After the repose of St Tikhon in 1925, the role played by Archbishop Tryphon increased. Though being formally retired, he was one of the main spiritual guides of Russian Orthodoxy. In 1931, on the thirtieth anniversary of his elevation to the episcopate, Archbishop Tryphon was created Metropolitan. During the 1920s and 30s, Vladyka’s word was law for those who kept the true faith and spiritual wisdom amid the horrors of life in Russia at that time. People believed that by his lips, God Himself spoke. The artist, Pavel Korin, who painted Vladyka’s portrait from life, recalled that the majority of the portraits of spiritual persons he painted for his monumental canvas, ‘Disappearing Russia’ (Tretyakov Gallery) he was only able to paint thanks to Vladyka: those whom the artist had invited to his studio agreed to pose only after they learned of the blessing of the all-revered Metropolitan.
Shortly before his falling asleep in the Lord, Metropolitan Tryphon wrote his astonishing Akathist which became his spiritual testament. ‘Thanks be to God for all things!’ – in these words, the sum total of the spiritual experience of the Russian Orthodox Church in the times of the most cruel persecution which ever existed in the history of the Church of Christ. In 1924, the Metropolitan of Petrograd, Veniamin (Kazansky), who had been falsely charged with misappropriation of Church valuables, used these same words at the end of his speech in his trial. He was then sentenced to be shot. Christ Himself says, ‘be of good cheer; I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33). That is why, however hard and sorrowful the events of history, the power of God always triumphs.
The Resurrection was only possible after Golgotha. Similarly, the defeat of millions dying for their faith and the truth was turned into victory, being the way to eternal life, joyful and never-ending. Of this sings the inspired great son of Russia, Metropolitan Tryphon, thanking God ‘for all Thy good things both manifest and hid’; that is, having multiplied the talents entrusted to us, we will enter into the eternal joy of our Lord: Alleluia! Metropolitan Tryphon entered into his rest on 14 June 1934 and was buried in Nemetsokoye cemetery in Moscow. His grave is the object of veneration for countless Orthodox Russians.

[Andreas Moran]

Kusanagi


Andreas
Can you tell myself and others, is there much difference between your translation and the one i have seen on www.orthodox.net ?

I think you'd have to read them side by side to see all the differences but I'll pull out a few points at random. In the version you mention, the use of English is inconsistent: sometimes KJV-style is used and sometimes not. In particular, both early modern English verb endings ('-est' in the second person singular form) and modern English ones are used arbitrarily. Sometimes tenses do not match those of the Russian original. Metropolitan Tryphon sometimes mixes number (as in Ikos 2) but these are forced into uniformity in the version you mention. In Ikos 1, we have 'resplendent wings', not 'shiny wings' because the Russian word denotes a quality of brilliance which we thought was better expressed by the word 'resplendent' which we thought also was more poetic. There are omissions in the version you cite: in Ikos 2, it does not mention 'deep blue chalice' which is certainly in the Russian original; and in Ikos 11, the version you mention has the line, 'Glory to Thee Who hast founded Thy Church to be for us a quiet harbor' which misses the last few words we have, 'for a spent world' ('spent' meaning 'exhausted', 'used up').

To be honest, I don't want to get into a discussion about the text. We did our best to be faithful to the original Russian. It was our first attempt at translating and neither of us is a translator. Anyone who has tried to do translation knows what a nightmare it can be. We agonised for sometimes a whole day over just one word. My wife actually did the 'working model' translation (since I know almost no Russian) and then both of us scoured dictionaries, thesauruses and the KJV Bible for accurate (as far as possible) and poetic English equivalents. I then tried to put the literary finishing touches to it, phrase by phrase. When we settled on the English my wife went back to the Russian to check it had not only the right meaning but the nearest possible resonance. Of course, we compared what we did with other translations, and so often my wife would say, 'but that's not what the word means at all - how could they come up with that?' And most other versions have omissions. Translation is inevitably sometimes a matter of impression and even compromise (though we tried to minimise compromise). Some may like it while others may not. It was our 'thank offering' to Metropolitan Tryphon. If any Russian reader spots a clear inaccuracy, we'd like to be told.

[Paul Cowan]

It was our 'thank offering' to Metropolitan Tryphon.

Andreas,

I have scoured over dozens of akathists. Most have not taken any care at all for grammar or structure let alone comprehendable translations into another language. This is a wonderful product of Lydia and your love for his emminence. Job well done!

Paul

[Andreas Moran]

Bless you for kindness, Paul. We really did 'sweat' over this! I mean, take the phrase, 'the silence of the moon' in Ikos 12. The Russian is literally, 'lunar voicelessness'! And do you always copy the verb forms of the original? Normally, verb forms in main and subordinate clauses are made to agree but some flexibility may be stylistically desirable. For example, even though the text uses the past simple tense in both main and subordinate clauses, using that tense in the main clause in English can give a rather flat and finite quality, whereas using the perfect simple can create a sense of rhythm, while the past simple in the subordinate clause provides a feeling of closure to the sentence. That's why we have 'Many a time I have seen . . .' in Kontakion 12, and 'I have perceived . . . ' in Ikos 12; the version Kusanagi mentioned has, 'I saw' and 'I saw'. Furthermore, in this second instance, the Russian word is not 'saw' but a word which denotes 'attentive viewing' or 'contemplation' which we felt was expressed by the verb, 'perceive'. We could have put, 'I have contemplated' but two syllables seemed more felicitous than four. Some may disagree. I'll say one thing - I couldn't be a translator!

[Effie Ganatsios]

I just quickly glanced at Lydia's and your translation, Andreas.

Wonderful!


I have compared only the first ikos with the version I have - both are beautiful. (I am waiting for my husband to get ready for an outing and had a few minutes to look in on the forum....).

I was born into the world a weak and helpless child; but Thine angel extended his resplendent wings over my cradle to defend it. Thenceforth, Thy love hath shone upon all my ways and marvellously hath guided me unto the Light of eternity. Gloriously, the plenteous gifts of Thy providence were shown from the first day of my life even unto this time. I thank Thee, and cry unto Thee, with all them that have come to know Thee:

I was born on earth as a feeble and helpless child, but Thy Angel, spreading his shiny wings, has sheltered my cradle. From that moment Thy love shines in all my ways and miraculously guides me into the light of eternity. For that my soul lauds Thee and hails Thee with all who know Thee.

The following sentence is missing in the translation that I have. "Gloriously, the plenteous gifts of Thy providence were shown from the first day of my life even unto this time."

I am looking forward to comparing the two translations.

What a wonderful job you and your wife have done. I can only imagine the happiness you felt while you were engaged in this work.

Thank you so much.

Effie