History and meaning of the akathist
Andrew of Crete is a great hierarch, theologian and church poet. From birth the saint was mute. When he was 7 years old, during communion he received healing from dumbness. They pray to him that the Lord would grant him humility and the desire to pray, as well as for healing from dumbness.
The Great Canon includes 200 short prayer chants in all 9 cantos. Reverend Andrei did not know that the work would become generally recognized in the Orthodox world, so its content is not related to Great Lent. In Orthodoxy, it is believed that the canon was written by the author in his old age before his death.
The chants sound a call to repentance. The text can be found in Greek and Slavic manuscripts (triodion). The Church today maintains the tradition of performing this Orthodox hymnographic work on Thursday of the fifth week of Lent.
Akathist can be described as a cry of repentance before God. It reveals the immensity and abyss of a sinful thought or act, it shakes the soul with despair, repentance and hope for mercy. It is as if a conversation is being conducted with one’s own soul, to which the saint appeals to cleanse himself and live holy.
The work intertwines the images of the first man and woman, describing the Fall, the Flood, and the Promised Land. The events of Holy Scripture are considered as events of one's own life, concerning personal salvation and the tragedy of sin.
Gradually, personal sins are revealed as a severance of relationship with God. Over the course of four evenings, nine songs tell about the tragedy of the world and personal spiritual tragedy.
The meaning of the work is not only to point out sin, but also to lead to repentance. But sin is revealed through deep contemplation of the biblical narrative, which is the story of the Fall, repentance and forgiveness. Transgression is presented as a refusal to live for God. The work is filled with denunciations leading to repentance.
Description:
Audiobook by the author of Prayers, folk art.
