Akathist 2019

The Akathist Hymn is a many faceted service. It is a hymn praising the Incarnation of Our Lord, directing its force to Him through His Mother. The praises refer to her as the salvation of mortals, the ladder and bridge to heaven, the Bearer of the Universe. These salutations would be blasphemous if directed toward Mary for her own sake. However, it is taken for granted that the listener believes that she is really these things because she bore God in the Flesh. As such, the Akathist Hymn is also a vast poetic- dogmatic exposition of the Dogma of the Person and work of Christ and a melodic Anathema against those who confess the Nestorian heresy.

The Hymn is also a prayer of thanksgiving to Mary personally. Because she said, “behold the handmaid of the Lord”, and “let it be according to your word”: the Theotokos brought about the salvation of the human race. Her role as the New Eve is portrayed to its logical zenith in the Akathist Hymn. Through her accomplishment, “creation was renewed”, “the devil crushed”, and “Mankind was uplifted”. The population of the saved therefore, offers her this hymn of praise.