Praise to the Mother of God - a special day in the church calendar. It is always celebratedin the fifth week of Lent , on Saturday,
which distinguishes it from all the Lent Saturdays and is called the Commendable or Akathist.
Praise to the Mother of God - a day that has its own history. He is distinguished, first of all, by his worship.
On this day, on the eve of Friday evening (the day according to the church calendar begins in the evening), in all Orthodox churches a special hymn to the Mother of God is sung, called Aka fista
or non-sedated song, and Saturday was called "Praiseworthy" or "Aka fist. "
Non-sedated because Aka fist is listened to while standing, in contrast, for example, from the kathisma of the Psalms, which can be listened to while sitting. But due to the fact that it is generally not customary to sit in Orthodox churches, then in everyday life "non-sedation" has lost its relevance.
Unless in monasteries you can see special chairs with reclining seats, which allow monks to sit and stand up during divine services, because the monastic services are very long.
But first I want to say at allabout the fifth week ... It practically means the end of Great Lent, its completion. I think this is due to the peculiarities of the services in the fifth week, which, as it were, complete and put an end to it, although the sixth week is still ahead.
Fasting begins (in the first week) with the reading of the Cretan canon, in the fifth week - the canon is read again, but all at once, in contrast to the first week, in which it is read in four steps. So the second reading seems to loop the movement along the Lent road.
In addition, the life of Mary of Egypt is added to the canon. Therefore, due to the length of the Wednesday evening service, during which the entire Great Canon and the life of the saint are read for the second time, it received the name "St. Andrew's standing."
But on the fifth Saturday the people give praiseThe virgin not only in memory of the events in honor of which the non-sedating song was composed, but also as a token of gratitude to the Mother of God for helping to walk the difficult path of Lenten and asking Her to help her finish Lent with dignity.
Next,sixth week ends the Fast with the Lord's entry into Jerusalem or, in the popular way, with the Palm Sunday. In the sixth week, Lenten unction ends, in the sixth week churches, rooms and apartments are washed and cleaned, in the sixth week they are preparing to meet Holy Week, so that nothing distracts them with earthly affairs.
So, the fifth week is coming to an end, like the Great Lent itself. But a few words about the history of the emergence of the Akathist and the Akathist himself, who is sung on the day of Praise to the Theotokos. This must be said, because several hundred such songs have already been composed by the example and model of this Akathist.
So, the fifth week is coming to an end, like the Great Lent itself.
Icon "Praise to the Mother of God with Akathist"
Fresco of the Moscow Kremlin about the war of Constantinople in 860
In memory of the Zealous Intercessor, this holiday was established. Akathist to the Theotokos is the best of all the akathists created later. This is the Akathist of the Akathists.
Not all of them are successful and not all are filled with the same high spiritual and theological meaning as this one, the very first and exemplary one.
In tsarist Russia, even a special commission was created, which selected akathists as suitable or not suitable for worship and reading in churches, there were so many of them. But the first Akathist is truly a pearl of Orthodox poetry.
It consists of 24 verses, according to the number of letters in the Greek alphabet: each verse begins with a specific letter. Unfortunately, in the Russian translation, this feature of the Akathist is lost, as is the special rhythm of the song, which is perceptible only in the Greek version. But it is he who makes the Akathist a poetic work.
The second feature is the division of all verses-stanzas into two alternating groups: the first verse is konda k, the second -and braid. Conda k is a Byzantine hymn created byRoman Sladkopevets ... At first, the kontakis were long, combined into whole poems. They had their own refrain, repeated in every stanza. Later, due to their duration, the kontaks were replaced by canons.
The first kontakion of the Akathist to the Mother of God is a kind of introduction, which has a special meaning: due to its solemnity, the first kontakion is sung at almost all services, ending with itself the first hour. It is also the kontakion of the feast of the Annunciation. Almost all parishioners know this song and sing along with it during services in churches.
The first Akathist kontakion ends with a joyful greeting from the Archangel Gabriel
"Rejoice, Bride of the Unmarried."
But all subsequent kontakions end with the words from the Psalter "Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia." The thirteenth kontakion, the final one, is read three times. He kind of sums up the whole chant.
AND A braid is a stanza that praises an event or a saint and carries the main content. Endsand braid with multiple greetings addressed to the glorified person. Each of them begins with the word "Rejoice", and the last greeting
"Rejoice, Bride of the Unmarried"
repeated in all ikos. The Mother of God and her feat of the Incarnation are substantively exalted in the ikos. The kontakion and the first part of the ikos, before the welcoming words, are read by the priest or canonarch, the second - by the choir.
For example, take the firstand braid of the Akathist to the Mother of God and show a video recording of the performance of the first part of the Akathist in the temple:
“The representative angel from heaven was sent quickly to the Mother of God: Rejoice, and with a disembodied voice You are incarnate in vain, O Lord, terrified and standing, this is the call to Her: Rejoice, Her joy will shine; Rejoice, Her oath will disappear. Rejoice, proclamation of the fallen Adam; Rejoice, deliverance of Eve's tears. Rejoice, the height of human thoughts that cannot be reached; Rejoice, deeply unseen and angelic eyes. Rejoice, for thou art the Tsare's seat; Rejoice, for wear the Whole Wearer. Rejoice, Star that reveals the Sun; rejoice, womb of the Divine incarnation. Rejoice, the creature is renewing itself; Rejoice, we also worship the Creator. Rejoice, Bride of the Unmarried. "
The entire Akathist ends with a repetition of the first Ikos and the first Kontakiona but read in reverse order. The last part is a prayer to the saint to whom the Akathist is dedicated. In this case, a prayer to the Mother of God.
The peculiarity of the service on the Sabbath of Praise is that the Akathist is not read all at once, as, for example, it happens at prayer services, but in parts, each of which begins with the first kontakion to the "Climbed Voevoda." There are four parts in total. With the beginning of each part, all the priests leave the altar in the middle of the temple, and the most pious parishioners kneel down.
And now to the history of the holiday. The akathist dates back to the 7th century and was written by the deacon of the Great Church, George of Pisidia, according to most. Then a canon and thanksgiving prayers to the Mother of God were written in honor of the holiday.
The holiday was approved only in the 9th century in honor of the repeated intercession of the Most Pure One for Constantinople. First, from the Persians and Scythians (666), united to conquer the Byzantine capital,
then, 36 years later - from the Saracens-Hagarians, who besieged Constantinople for seven years, and finally, for the third time - from the same Hagarians under Leo the Isaurian.
All three times the people prayed vigorously inabout the Blachernae Church of the Mother of God where Her robe and belt were. Patriarchs with icons of the Theotokos walked around the city walls and applied the Robe of the Virgin to the sea. It responded with a storm and the death of enemies.
Tina Guy
Sermons
- Hegumen Nektariy (Morozov).
- Archpriest Alexander Shargunov.
- Hierodeacon Nikon (Parimanchuk).
Interpretation of the Gospel
- Archpriest Alexander Shargunov.
Questions to the priest
- Hieromonk Job (Gumerov).
- Hieromonk Job (Gumerov).
Worship records
From now on, all generations will bless Me.
These words of the Mother of God are read during the Divine Liturgy on the days of the Mother of God. They are also heard during our evening services. They have a deep prophetic meaning.
At the dawn of Christian times, from the small city of Nazareth, a poor, ignorant Virgin goes to another little-known city in the mountainous region of Judea to greet her relative Elizabeth. And when she entered the house and greeted her, as the holy Evangelist Luke narrates, “When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and cried out with a loud voice and said: blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And where did it come from to me that the Mother of my Lord came to me? " (Luke 1, 41-43). Filled with the same prophetic spirit, the Most Holy Virgin said about herself: "For from now on, all generations will bless Me."
Nothing natural could affirm Her in the hope that not only would they know about Her, but would also glorify “all generations”! Nothing earthly could move Her to such a prophecy! The Spirit of God Himself, whose deed She blessed in prayer, enlightened Her mind, opened Her heart and moved Her lips to utter what was predestinated in Heaven about Her and what, according to this predestination, the holy Universal Church accepted with joy.
The Most Holy Virgin herself, during her earthly life, shunned glory and avoided it. Even at the moment when She glorified God for the fact that He chose Her to become the Mother of the Lord, She sees Herself, considers Herself a humble slave. And then, when the people admired the Divine words of Her Son, when they glorified Him for the miracles He performed, when they solemnly greeted Him, the Mother of God was on the sidelines in these days of glory. She did not come to share the glory with Her Divine Son. But when they mocked Him, when they crucified Him, they dishonored Him, then the Mother of God was next to Him. The glory of the Lady of the world was manifested by Divine grace itself. The Holy Gospel tells us about one exciting event. The Savior, surrounded by the people, taught the acquisition of the Kingdom of God. The people listening to Him eagerly absorbed the verbs of life, as the dried earth absorbs the life-giving moisture falling on it. And now, like lightning from a cloud, from the lips of a well-known woman suddenly in those minutes there was an exclamation: "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that nourished you!" (Luke 11:27). The unknown woman, of course, did not know anything about what more than thirty years ago the Blessed Virgin said to only Elizabeth: "All generations will bless Me," when Elizabeth announced: "Blessed are you in women and blessed is the fruit of your womb." But how accurately this woman expressed and confirmed the fulfilling prophecy, and expressed not only in thought, but even in the word: "Blessed is the womb." The unknown woman blessed the Mother of God, blessed the womb that bore the Divine Teacher, and the breasts that nourished Him. And look what happened next. The Lord not only did not reject the praise of His Mother, but with the words spoken after that he confirmed the correctness of the deed of a sincere heart. He only pointed out that everyone can achieve blessedness if they listen to the word of God and keep it: "Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" (Luke 11, 28). This was the first pleasing of the Mother of God open to the people, the first praise in the presence of many of the One Who became the Mother in the flesh of an extraordinary Teacher and Wonderworker.
After the glorious ascension of the Lord to heaven, the Mother of God appears as the chosen sun among the holy Apostles. “All of them, - we read in the book of the Acts of the Holy Apostles, - were unanimously in prayer and supplication, with some wives and Mary, the Matter of Jesus” (1, 14). As you can see, the descriptor singles out Mary, calling only Her from the mentioned wives by name. The Mother of God becomes the center where the holy Apostles went both before giving a sermon and where they returned after evangelistic travels. From Her they received blessings for their apostolic labors and shared with Her the joys and sorrows they experienced. She who carefully laid down and preserved in her heart everything that happened in the earthly life of the Savior (Luke 2:19). The preachers of the Gospel received both a reminder of the divine commandments, and reinforcement in exploit, and consolation in sorrow. As the vessel containing the fragrant myrrh continues to scent afterwards, so, and even more so, Made a vessel of the Divine, Anointed with the scent of Divine grace, brings to people by Her presence, prayer, the grace-filled and saving presence and action of the One who once dwelt in Her bodily, but now and always dwells in Her, dwells in Her, dwells with Her spiritually.
Already at the dawn of the history of the Christian Church, believers understood the closeness of the Blessed Virgin to God, saw and experienced the power of Her intercession in heaven, and therefore from the first times they glorified Her honorable name, called on Her in prayers, and asked for help. And since then Her divine glory shone, shines and will shine. No heretical wisdom could eclipse Her glory and will never be able to do this, because the glory of the Mother of God is the work of God, this is what was established by Divine providence itself. Today we will not find a single Orthodox church, we will not meet a single Orthodox soul for which the Mother of God would not be dear and dear. She is our faith, our hope and joy, our prayer book and intercessor.
But, dear fathers, brothers and sisters, pleasing the Mother of God and asking Her mercies, we need to think carefully and ask ourselves: are we worthy to glorify Her, are we worthy of Her love? Pleasing the Ever-Virgin, do we keep virginity, chastity, purity? Glorifying the deep in humility, will we not remain in pride, will not a worm of conceit, vanity, envy honor us? Pleasing the Mother of God and our Heavenly Mother in this holy temple, are we not acting disgusting at home? Do children offend the sacred names of their parents with disrespect for them, inattention, or, God forbid, insolence, rudeness? Do parents themselves properly fulfill their responsibilities to children, to other people? Does not the wave of passion in our heart drown out the praises of our lips? According to the great father of the 6th century Church, Saint Gregory the Theologian, just as a cloud obscures the radiance of the sun's rays, so a sinner who does not want to acknowledge his sins and renounce them, closes for himself the rays of the love of God and the mercy of the Mother of God.
Let us try to be always true Orthodox Christians, worthy children of the Heavenly Mother, and the Mother of God will always be our faithful Helper and warm Prayer for us.
"Rejoice ... Mother Devo ... worldwide miracle and hearing."
From the book "Go and Teach"
Professor K.E Skurat
On March 24, the Orthodox Church celebrates an event that is very popular among believers, and is called the Sabbath of the Akathist. It is worth noting that the people also call the holiday the Praise of the Most Holy Theotokos, and it brings people grace, kindness and love. The event is celebrated shortly before the onset of Easter, and at the end of Lent.
Annual celebration of the Sabbath of the Akathist
Parishioners often ask the clergy a question - what is the meaning of this holiday? The fact is that with the coming of the Akathist Sabbath, people celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, who first gave His life in order to atone for the sins of all mankind. People all over the world rejoice today, because when the Savior was raised from the dead, Christians realized the true power of faith in God, and its triumph over the evil deeds of the pagans. Saturday Akathist is also notable for the fact that during the celebration not only the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is remembered, but also the merits of the Most Holy Theotokos, who protect all believers to this day.
Establishment of the feast of the Praise of the Mother of God
The history of the establishment of the celebration is very interesting, since it is saturated with a large number of blessed events, and therefore every believer should know about it. Many years ago, the rich and fertile Constantinople was attacked by a large number of robbers who tried with all their might to take the territory for selfish purposes. In the church chronicles there is information that the approximate period of the establishment of the Praise of the Most Holy Theotokos falls on the 6-9 centuries AD. During that period, Christians were under great pressure from the authorities, who tried to humiliate believers in every possible way. They could not persecute Christians only for the reason that the war was going on, and the human sacrifice was already large enough. But what was the surprise of the pagans when, during the attack of the enemy flotilla, Christians went to the seashore and began to pray to God. A few minutes later, a storm broke out in a calm sea, and almost all the ships of the robbers went into the abyss. After that, almost all the pagans who witnessed this miracle believed in the Lord, and the persecution of Christians ended.
The meaning of the term "Akathist" and features of the holiday
Every believer is simply obliged to know what the concept of "Akathist" means. This word has been widely used for a long time, and is known among believers as Praise to the Mother of God. In other words, this is a praiseworthy song sung by priests and believers in every Orthodox church every year. It is noteworthy that on the Sabbath of the Akathist, people should only stand during the praise. When other holidays dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos take place, you can sit, today is considered an exception. In Akathist there are 24 hymns with songs (12 kontakion, 12 ikos, arranged according to the Greek alphabet). Priests, during the service, dress in blue clothes, demonstrating the special status of the holiday, and its special significance for every believer.
Ahead is Saturday of the fifth week of Great Lent. This is a special Saturday. On Friday, the day before, on the festive morning of the Saturday church day, the Great Akathist of the Mother of God is read. This day occurs only once in a Church year. This is the feast of the Praise of the Mother of God or, as this day is also called, the Sabbath of the Akathist. The National Assembly tells about what kind of holiday it is.
The miraculous salvation of Constantinople from the invasion of the enemy. Fresco from the Church of the Deposition of the Robe in the Moscow Kremlin. 1644 g.
Akathist, is translated from Greek as a non-sedating song, that is, "a song that is sung without sitting down, standing up." In ancient times, the art of church poetry was very developed, and the kontakion of the present Akathist was an independent and large poetic work. So well-known kontakion (The very word "kontakion" in Greek. was also a song praising the Mother of God, sounded differently, and consisted of many stanzas and expressing gratitude for the repeated salvation from the enemies of the barbarians who had attempted on Constantinople since 626. Then the Avars and Slavs stood at the walls of Constantinople, and only the intercession of the Mother of God saved the city.
The words of the kontakion known to us "To the chosen Voevoda Victorious, as if removed from the evil ..." appeared at the same time, in 626, and their author was presumably the holy novel The Sweet Songwriter. Kontakion turned into a victory song of thanks, addressed to the Mother of God on behalf of “Her city”, that is, Constantinople, delivered from the “evil”. In the modern (at least from the 15th century) Church Slavonic translation, the words "Your city" are replaced by "Your Rabbi". The text of "The Climbed Voevoda ..." became the beginning, as it were, the preface of the song-poem that already existed by that time, glorifying the Most Holy Theotokos. This initiation became the first kontakion in the text of the modern Great Akathist, read at the Feast of the Praise of the Most Holy Theotokos. 
Temple in Blachernae on the site of the temple where the Akathist was read to the Most Holy Theotokos for the first time
Our veneration for this holiday is symbolic. For the first time in the history of the Church, as a church hymn, the Great Akathist was read in the Blachernae Church, at night, by the Patriarch Photius of Constantinople, after the miraculous deliverance of the city from the enemy fleet of the Ross, our ancestors, who besieged the city in 860. Emperor Michael III hastily returned from the border army to the capital and, together with Photius, plunged the Robe of the Virgin into the sea. Suddenly a strong storm arose and scattered the ships of the Rus, after which they fled. This is how this miracle is described in the "Tale of Bygone Years": "... and they carried out with songs the divine robe of the Holy Mother of God, and moistened its floor in the sea. There was silence at that time and the sea was calm, but then a storm with wind suddenly arose, and huge waves arose again, scattered the ships of the godless Russians, and washed them ashore, and broke them, so that few of them managed to avoid this trouble and return home . "
Then, in 860, the warlike dew, our ancestors, attacked Constantinople.
“Then the raid of the dews (this is a Scythian tribe, unbridled and cruel), which devastated the Romans' lands, set Pontus Euxinsky himself on fire and cordoned off the city (Michael at that time was at war with the Ismailis). However, satiated with the wrath of God, they returned home - Photius, who then ruled the church, prayed to God about this, - and soon an embassy arrived from them in the royal city, asking them to be baptized by God. This is exactly what happened ”(Theoph. Cont. 196.6-15; cited from: Theophan's successor. P.84).
Since then, the Christian faith began to spread among the Russians. In 988, that is, 128 years after this event, Russia was baptized. We, the descendants of the Russians, to save from the invasion of which, asked the Mother of God, Patriarch Photius: "Victory to the chosen voivode!" a holiday called Praise to the Most Holy Theotokos was established in honor of the miraculous deliverance from enemies by Her intercession. The day of the holiday was set for the fifth Saturday of Great Lent. Gradually, the rite of reading the Great Akathist on the day of the holiday took shape. This Great Akathist is one of a kind, since all the other akathists were written in imitation of him, the first. At a special service, which happens only once a year on the feast of the Praise of the Most Holy Theotokos, we will pray and ask the Mother of God to free us from all evil. After all, now She is our intercessor. 
Icon of the Praise of the Mother of God with the Akathist in the stamps. XIV century.
The National Assembly asked the patrologist to comment on this event Priest Michael Asmus:
- Why exactly this day, Saturday of the fifth week of Great Lent, was appointed to celebrate the holiday?- The miracle itself happened on this day - Saturday of the fifth week of Great Lent. But since the Church also lives according to the Easter calendar, the holiday on the day associated with Easter will be rolling.
- Is it possible to find this akathist in ordinary prayer books and akathist books and read it at home?- This akathist is in every prayer book. It is called that - Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos. He is the most famous and popular akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos. As a matter of fact, this is the first akathist and all the others arose in imitation of him.
- If you can read it at home, then why does the Church attach such importance to this holiday?- Everyone loves the Akathists of the Mother of God. Especially the Russians, who have many imitations. The theme of the miraculous intervention of the Mother of God in the military affairs of the state was fixed in the church consciousness for this day. And what in history and in divine services was attributed to Constantinople, every Orthodox city tries to attribute to itself. Of course, one can read this akathist at home, but public worship expresses the conciliarity of the Church. And such a public reading of the Great Akathist reminds of Orthodox statehood, because such miracles were possible only thanks to Orthodoxy as a state religion. The great Akathist consists of Kondaks interspersed with Ikos. Ikos, in contrast to the kontakion, contains the text of joyful glorification (“Rejoice, her joy will shine: rejoice, her oath will disappear ...”, etc.) and a special, repeated at the end of each ikos, the same ending-refrain (“Rejoice, unbelieving bride "). Kontakion and ikos constitute, as it were, one block of the akathist. There are 12 such blocks in total. All akathists now have this structure.
The reading of the Great Akathist on Friday evening is inscribed in the service of the all-night vigil before Saturday. The whole akathist is not read at once, but in parts four times: after the six psalms (six psalms read at the beginning of Matins, when all the candles are extinguished), during Polyeleos (part of the festive Matins, beginning with the words "Praise the Name of the Lord ..." and before the canons are sung) , after the 3rd and 6th canon songs.