Ecumenical Patriarchate to celebrate 1,400 years since the first Akathist Hymn in 2026 Jubilee Year
Next year will mark 14 centuries since the composition of the first and most beautiful Akathist Hymn in history, most likely written by Saint Romanos the Melodist and sung during a critical moment in the history of the Church and the City of Constantinople.
This is the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God, which entered the liturgical and devotional life of the Church under the title Akathist of the Annunciation.
His Holiness Bartholomew I, who is also Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome, recently recalled in Bucharest that the hymn was first sung in the Church of Blachernae.
It happened in 626, after the First Siege of Constantinople was repelled, when the city was attacked by a coalition of Avars, Slavs, and Persians.
Following the victory, the faithful of Constantinople stood throughout the entire service, which was celebrated for the first time as a thanksgiving. From this event came the term akathistos — meaning “not seated” in Greek.
We have noted in our calendar the 1,400th anniversary of the composition of the Akathist Hymn,” announced Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. “We hope to organise a congress next year in honour of this event.”
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel thanked His Holiness Bartholomew I for annually inviting Father Sergiu Vlad, the priest of the Romanian Orthodox community in Constantinople, to celebrate the feast of the Protection of the Mother of God at the Church of Blachernae, noting that this was historically the church of the Vlachs (Romanian shepherds) of Constantinople.
“These Romanian shepherds, whom Charles Diehl mentions as having reached with their flocks as far as Mount Athos around 1234, had a church initially outside Constantinople. During Emperor Theodosius’s reign, when the defensive walls of Constantinople were expanded, it was incorporated within the city,” Patriarch Daniel explained.
The statements were made on Tuesday, during the Solemn Session of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, attended by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, to mark the 140th anniversary of the autocephaly of the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Centennial of its elevation to Patriarchate rank.
Photo: Pexels / Engin Bolat
H αναδημοσίευση του παραπάνω άρθρου ή μέρους του επιτρέπεται μόνο αν αναφέρεται ως πηγή το ORTHODOXIANEWSAGENCY.GR με ενεργό σύνδεσμο στην εν λόγω καταχώρηση.
Ακολούθησε το ORTHODOXIANEWSAGENCY.gr στο Google News και μάθε πρώτος όλες τις ειδήσεις.
