The Christological Mariology of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God

Foreword

Contemporary academic Christian theology is, in a sense, ‘indebted’ to ecclesiastical hymnography. The scarcity of systematic studies on hymnographic texts is due not so much to a lack of knowledge of these texts, but rather to the difficulties encountered in analysing and deciphering ecclesiastical hymnographic texts, often written by the Holy Fathers, which express the Church’s theology of prayer in verse. In Orthodox theology, moving beyond the scholastic model is associated with Father George Florovsky’s idea of a return to the theology of the Fathers through continuity in the Spirit. And this is found, first and foremost, in hymnographic texts, which contain and reveal the fundamental truths of the Church in poetic form, through the glorification of the Triune God and of those whom He has glorified. In other words, hymnography embodies within itself the experience of the ecclesial body, and it is upon this foundation that the works of the Holy Fathers, the theologians, are born. Often, the hymnographic texts themselves are linked to Holy Scripture and the writings of the Holy Fathers, or are the work of the Holy Fathers of the Church, so that hymnography is, in itself, this theology of the Fathers, but conveyed poetically, for the liturgical needs of the ecclesial body. The question posed by some academic researchers as to whether or not hymnography is theology can only be analysed in the context in which the truths of the Church are set forth in the hymnographic texts, to be lived out by the common and unified body of the Church and to glorify ‘God, who is marvellous in His saints’ (Psalm LXVII, 36).

In this sense, the topic I propose, ‘The Christological Mariology of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God’, is not merely intended to set out the relationship between Mariology and Christology and, building on this, the fundamental truths of the faith contained in this ancient Christian composition, but also to bear witness to the role of ‘theology in verse’ through which the truths of faith contained in the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God and, more generally, in ecclesiastical hymnography are lived out by the ecclesial body, through the glorification of God and the veneration of ‘she who gave birth to Him’.

1. The Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God: structure, author and date

The Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God is one of the few hymnographic texts known to a large number of believers and scholars, probably due to its use year after year during Great Lent, but also to its daily recitation by the faithful people of God. In terms of structure, the Akathist is a kondakion. These ancient ecclesiastical hymns originated in the 5th century in Syria. In the 8th century, these kondakia began to be used less and less, whilst the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God, as it is known today—this ancient hymn—began to be recited, in particular, on the feast of the Annunciation and during Great Lent. The kontakion is known as the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God, because through it the faithful address words of direct thanksgiving to the Mother of God. This prayer was first recited by the inhabitants of Constantinople, almost in its present form, during the siege of the city by the Avars in the year 626 1.

The Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God is one of the most famous kondakia to have emerged in ancient Byzantium, which has been preserved to the present day, and is the only one that the Church has retained in its liturgical use for over fourteen centuries.

1.1. The structure of the Akathist

The Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God is one of the most famous akathists to have emerged in ancient Byzantium, which has been preserved to the present day and is the only one that the Church has retained in its liturgical use for over fourteen centuries. The Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God, like the hymns of the fifth century, is composed in acrostic verse, with each of the twenty-four ikos of the hymn beginning with the next letter of the Greek alphabet, from alpha to omega. It consists of three prefaces (proimion), two of which are also contained in the Slavonic text ‘2’. Of the three prefaces, the oldest is the first, which conveys in a few stanzas the most important dogmatic truths contained in the Akathist, namely the Annunciation of the Virgin by the Archangel and the Incarnation of the Word. The fragmentary hymn ‘To the Chosen One among All Nations’ is better known today due to its liturgical use, but it was composed later and is linked to the history of the kondak’s subsequent development. It appears to be the work of Patriarch Sergius of Constantinople (†638), who composed it as a sign of gratitude and thanksgiving on behalf of the Orthodox faithful of Constantinople for the deliverance of the imperial city from the Avar siege, following the all-night prayer offered to the Mother of God.

The Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God differs, in its structure, from the other kondakia composed in Byzantium. Its stanzas do not all contain the same number of lines, and some of the ikos are longer than others. Another major difference between the Akathist to the Mother of God and the ancient kondakia is its refrain: the odd-numbered ikos, which are longer, repeat the refrain of the old preamble ‘Rejoice, Bride, Ever-Virgin!’, whilst the even ikos, which are shorter, repeat the refrain ‘Alleluia!’, which is uncharacteristic of the composition’s most likely author – Saint Romanos the Melodist. The odd-numbered ikos, following the fifth verse, develop into praises addressed to the Mother of God, which were probably written later and added to the old kondakion.

1.2. The author and date of composition of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God

There are several major hypotheses regarding the authorship of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God, but nothing definitive can be stated, as the earliest manuscripts of the composition are anonymous. The first clear evidence regarding the author of this composition dates only from the 8th century. In the Latin translation of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God by Bishop Ennetias Christophorus (800 AD), Saint Germanus of Constantinople (†740) is named as the author of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God 3. Apart from him, authorship of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God is also attributed to Apollinaris of Laodicea, Patriarch Sergius of Constantinople, George of Pisidia, George of Nicomedia, Saint Romanos the Melodist, and Saint Photius of Constantinople. P. Hristou is inclined to attribute authorship to the Monothelite Patriarch Sergius 4, whilst Tomadakys leans more towards Saint Germanus of Constantinople 5; however, the majority of scholars of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God, including Evstratiadys, K. Mitsakys, G. Marcelos, Dolger, P. Krypiakewics, H. Bech, E. Wollesz, P. Maas, Trypanis, Emioni and M. Huglo, accept Saint Romanos the Melodist 6 as the author of the composition.

Very often, determining the date of a text’s composition is a decisive factor in establishing the author of that work. The kondakion, as a hymnographic genre, was used as a sermon, being sung from the ambo during services dedicated to major feasts, following the singing of the canon. Saint Romanos the Melodist was the creator of the kondakion, and this is one of the reasons why he is also believed to be the author of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God. The second preamble of the kondakion (‘O Protectress, O Lady’), as its content suggests, was written on the occasion of the siege of Constantinople by the Avars in 626. Its author is Patriarch Sergius, but it was added to the kondakion at a later date. The main themes of the work are the Annunciation, the Incarnation of the Son of God, and the salvation of mankind and the world, which are linked to the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Mother of God. The explicit glorification of the Most Holy Mother of God, as the Mother of the Lord, is evidence that the work was written after the triumph of Mariological dogma at the Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431. According to E. Peltoma, this is why it expounds Alexandrian Christology and soteriology 7. The Synaxarion for the Saturday preceding the Fifth Sunday of Great Lent bears witness to the fact that the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God began to be chanted as a commemoration of the deliverance of Constantinople from the Avar siege (probably in the year 626), but its use is older and is associated with a specific liturgical feast, as is the practice with the emergence and use of kondaks. This probably refers to the period when the Annunciation was celebrated together with the Nativity of the Lord, which corresponds to the content of the composition. The Feast of the Annunciation of the Mother of God only began to be celebrated separately during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, who instituted the feast between 530 and 550. It is therefore highly likely that the Akathist was written between 431 and 550, that is, after the Third Ecumenical Council and before the establishment of the Feast of the Annunciation (530–550).

The content of the hymn reflects the dogmatic concerns of the era in which it was composed, relating to the act and dogma of the Incarnation.

Most scholars of the Akathist to the Mother of God attribute the composition to Saint Romanos the Melodist, who lived and composed during the period in which the Akathist is thought to have been written. The content of the hymn reflects the dogmatic debates of the era in which it was composed, concerning the act and dogma of the Incarnation. The work contains ideas and bears similarities to the Christological concepts and writings of Basil of Seleucia and Saint Romanos the Melodist, which has led some scholars to conclude that the author of the Akathist to the Mother of God is Saint Romanos the Melodist (†556). However, the structure, form and style of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God differ significantly from the surviving kondakia of Saint Romanos the Melodist 8. The kondaks and ikos of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God are much longer and asymmetrical, whereas those of Saint Romanos the Melodist are of equal length and symmetrical. Last but not least, nowhere in the manuscripts containing the text of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God that have come down to us does the name of Saint Romanos the Melodist appear. Its author is anonymous. The fact that there is a notable similarity between the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God and Homily XXXIX by Basil of Seleucia, on the one hand, and Homily XXXIX on the Annunciation by the same bishop, and the first and second kondaks for the Nativity of the Lord by Saint Romanos the Melodist, on the other, is not sufficient evidence to state with certainty that the author of the composition is Saint Romanos the Melodist.

In the era following the triumph of the dogma concerning the Mother of God, the Incarnation of the Lord and, in connection with this, the Nativity of the Lord from the Virgin is a common theme in ecclesiastical hymnography, with hymnographers also drawing on sermons by well-known authors and Church Fathers.

…the anonymity of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God and of other hymnographic texts which highlight the Orthodox spiritual life and correspond to the dogmatic teaching of the Church does not diminish their importance and place in the heritage of early Christian literature…

1.3. The Anonymity of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God. The Issue of Anonymity in Early Christian Literature

The anonymity of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God and the various hypotheses regarding its author are by no means unprecedented in early Christian literature. Many hymnographic texts, as well as other homilies and dogmatic and moral writings from the patristic era up to the eighth century, have suffered a similar fate. This is why certain famous writings, which we now know do not belong to the authors to whom they were attributed in antiquity, are called ‘pseudo’, and their authors ‘Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, Pseudo-Macarius the Egyptian, Pseudo-John Chrysostom’. This presents a challenge for modern scholars regarding the method of studying patristic texts and, more generally, the texts of early Christian literature. To examine merely the structure of a text, to carry out a philological and historical analysis to establish its authorship, without taking into account its theological ideas, its liturgical origin or the author’s personality, does not fit within the framework of patristic methodology or, more generally, of Orthodox theology. An early Christian text is important not only because it is attributed to a particular Holy Father, but also for its content and its ecumenical recognition by the Church. The works of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite and the homilies of Saint Macarius the Egyptian are important for Christian theology because they reveal authentic Orthodox teaching. The fact that we do not know precisely who the author of the work is does not diminish its importance for the Orthodox faith and life. Undoubtedly, the author’s personality and holiness influence the content of the work, as does the Church’s recognition of it, but the anonymity of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God and other hymnographic texts which highlight the Orthodox spiritual life and correspond to the Church’s dogmatic teaching does not diminish their importance and place within the heritage of early Christian literature. The value and significance of patristic texts lie in the fact that they define, in one way or another, the life of the Body of the Church. This also applies to the author of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God, who is a man ‘who lives in the Church’ and who, through his writing, has for centuries contributed to the spiritual growth of people in Christ, through the praise of God and of ‘she who gave birth to Him who brought our life into being’9

2. The Christological Mariology of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God

2.1. Christology

In his study on the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God, Kourembeles (who is one of those who support the hypothesis that the author is Saint Romanos the Melodist) states that, according to scholars, the composition is divided into two parts: the first, descriptive and narrative; the second – which contains the development of theological ideas concerning Christ, the Mother of God, and the salvation of humankind and the world 10. This division, however conditional its reception may be, is in fact the result of scholarly research by Western scholars, which, in its meaning and significance, is very close to the artificial division of Christology from Mariology.

The Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God forms a whole, and even the ‘narrative’ stanzas contain their own theological meaning and message, just like the events described in the New Testament. Father Blagoy Chiflianov also divides the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God into two parts: the ikos of the kondakion, which are Christological in character (1, 7–16, 20, 22) and Mariological in nature (2–6, 17, 19, 21, 23–24)11. Such a division of the ikos of the kondakion could only be accepted with reservations, as the person of the Mother of God is directly linked to Christ. The hymns to the Mother of God extol her virtues and her person, particularly because she is the mother of the Incarnate Word. The iconographic themes correspond to the hymnographic ones. The icon of the Mother of God together with the Divine Infant thus conveys a message about the Incarnation of God and the salvation of humankind. Depictions of the Mother of God alone are less common in the iconography of the early Church. In this context, the division of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God into two parts—Christological and Mariological—might be accepted to some extent for the purposes of its study, but this does not correspond to the message of the Akathist, in which Mariology is interwoven with Christology. In praising the Mother of God, we are in fact honouring her Son, the Incarnate Word of God. Each ikos of the kondakion concludes with ‘Alleluia’, ‘Glory’, in Hebrew, offered to the One God, Who is praised because through the person of the Mother of God the beginning of our salvation was established. The ancient rule that the law of prayer gives rise to the law of faith (lex orandi lex credendi est) applies, first and foremost, to hymnographic texts and holds true in full in the case of the Akathist to the Mother of God. Hymnographic texts not only reflect details of the theological truths and dogmatic disputes of the era, but they also bear witness to the dogmas of the faith, embody them and, often, create them themselves for use in prayer by the church community.

2.2. The Incarnation of the Son of God

The Incarnation of the Son of God is linked to the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Most Holy Mother, which is why they are presented together throughout the entire Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God. In glorifying ‘Thy wondrous birth’12), we also praise the Incarnate Word and the Unwedded Bride. The fundamental dogmatic truths contained in the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God relate to the Incarnation of the Word and the veneration of the Mother of God. The author recounts the events connected with the Incarnation of the Lord – the assumption of human nature by God the Word 13 and the Annunciation, with which the kontakion immediately begins. The Gospel events recounted in the first ikos of the Akathist, concerning the Archangel Gabriel’s blessing of the Virgin, serve as the basis for praising the Mother of God, because she gave birth to God: ‘The foremost angel in heaven was sent to say to you, Mother of God: Rejoice! And when he saw that You, O Lord, at that incorporeal voice had become incarnate, he stood speechless and cried out to her thus: ‘Rejoice!’14

Through the Incarnation of the Logos, proclaimed by the Archangel, ‘the curse is destroyed’, for ‘the call of the fallen Adam’ has been fulfilled, and ‘Eve has been delivered from tears’15 The author recounts the events of the Gospel which have already taken place and as a result of which mankind is saved, and therefore offers praise to the Mother of God. Time is two-dimensional – the events have already taken place, but now we relive them through the lens of several centuries – time is, in fact, transcended, for, through the praise of God, we become partakers of the eschaton, of the age to come, of the Kingdom of Glory.

The Incarnation of the Word from the virginal womb of Mary destroys sin and ‘has delivered us from its deception’16 The Incarnation of God can only be fully understood within the paradoxical context of the created and the uncreated. The incorporeal God becomes incarnate, taking human flesh from the Ever-Virgin: ‘The Lord, who loves mankind, wishing to save the world from eternal torment and unceasing suffering, dwelt in your womb’17. Revealing the truths about the Incarnation of the Son, the Akathist depicts the author’s transition from apophatic to cataphatic theological thought: ‘The Most High God appeared on earth as a humble Man, desiring to lift up those who sing to Him: Alleluia!’18

The kenosis of God the Word, who takes upon Himself human nature, makes possible the communion of created nature with the uncreated God, Who takes upon Himself human, material nature within Himself. The Unapproachable can be approached, the Unseen can be seen, the Incomprehensible can be comprehended, the Imperishable can be perishable, the Unspeakable can be expressed in speech, for the salvation and deification of humankind and the world.

The kenosis of God the Word, who takes upon Himself human nature, makes possible the communion of created nature with the uncreated God, Who takes upon Himself human, material nature within Himself. The Unapproachable can be approached, the Unseen can be seen, the Incomprehensible can be comprehended, the Indestructible becomes destructible, the Unspeakable is expressed in words, for the salvation and deification of humankind and the world. Thus, the apophatic language of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God becomes cataphatic: God diminishes Himself, humbles Himself, and lowers Himself, taking upon Himself corruptible human nature, and man receives the power of salvation and deification; and the first human being to achieve this is she who bore Him in her womb and gave birth to Him, that is, the Mother of God: ‘He was wholly among those below, yet in no way did the ineffable Word depart from those above… Rejoice, dwelling-place of the ineffable God!’19

The transition from apophatic to cataphatic thought is characteristic not only of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God, but also of the Church’s hymnographic texts in general, which form the foundation of patristic theology and stem from the fundamental distinction between the corporeal and the incorporeal, on the basis of which the Christological Mariology of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God can be correctly understood. In this way, through the apophatic and cataphatic approaches, the fundamental dogmatic truths are conveyed – the Word is incarnated through the Virgin for the salvation of humankind and the world. In the Akathist, Christology is linked to soteriology, with Mariology serving as the connecting link, for, through the Mother of God, ‘she through whom hell was emptied and through whom we have been clothed in glory’20; a distinctive feature of the Akathist to the Mother of God is its emphasis on Mariology, highlighted by the repeated invocations of ‘Rejoice!’, which convey the moral greatness of the Mother of God. This greeting of the Archangel is repeated several times in the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God, for although the hymnographer praises the Mother of God, he emphasises the Incarnation of Christ; Mariology does not replace Christology, but forms part of it – every time we honour the Virgin and praise her, it is because she becomes the Mother of God and the words spoken to her by Elizabeth are fulfilled: ‘From now on, all generations will call me blessed’ (Luke 1:48). We bless her because she gave birth to the God-Man, not merely to the man Christ, as Nestorius would say, but to ‘the Lord, who took on human form’21 ‘the Creator of all’, as the hymnographer says: ‘Wishing to save the world, the Adorner of all came to her as He had promised, and, being a Shepherd like God, He appeared to us as a man like us. For, calling the like to Himself in likeness, as God He is heard: Alleluia!”22

In his study on the theology of Saint Romanos the Melodist, Kourembeles asserts that the praises in the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God, directed at the person of the Mother of God, are only seemingly addressed to her; but, in essence, are founded on the act of the Incarnation, which brings about the unity of the two distinct natures in the single Person of God the Word. 23 This is, of course, only partly true; the basis for the praise bestowed upon the Mother of God is the event of the Incarnation, which is why she is the Mother of God, but this praise is not, in its essence, illusory. Rather, one might say that the praise addressed to her (which I believe is directed specifically to the one ‘who has not been tempted by a man’) is the fruit of the faithful’ love for the one who gave birth to God and who becomes the object of praise, piety and honour for having given flesh to the Word, for she is ‘the one through whom creation is renewed’, ‘the one through whom the Maker becomes a babe’21

This is why the people of God in seventh-century Constantinople prayed to the Mother of God for help in averting the danger of the conquest of the ‘imperial city’. Consequently, following this miraculous deliverance, “the city, O Virgin, offers you words of thanksgiving”. Today, all Christians are ‘your city, O Virgin’; for this reason, the ancient text has been adapted in translation, and ‘your city’ is replaced by ‘your servants’ in the 14th-century Slavonic version of the Akathist.

3. The natural and supernatural bond between the Mother of God and her divine Son, Jesus Christ

The Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God is one of the oldest liturgical hymns dedicated to the Mother of God, in which Christological Mariology is clearly expressed. We praise the Mother of God, but at the heart of this praise lies the ‘birth without seed’, the birth in the flesh of Christ, Who saves mankind; and therefore, the Mother of the God-Man is indirectly called the Saviour of the world, for through her ‘hell has been emptied’. This is why we praise the Mother of God, she ‘through whom creation is renewed’24: because she participates indirectly in the salvation of mankind by having given birth to the Lord Jesus Christ, giving flesh to the Word of God.

He who was born of the Virgin is both God and Man; He is neither a deified man nor a heavenly man, but the incarnate Word of God.

3.1. The hypostatic union of the two natures in the Lord Jesus Christ and their perichoresis in relation to the dogma concerning the Mother of God

The theology expressed in the verses of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God conveys, in a poetic manner, the Chalcedonian dogma of the union of the two natures in the One Person of the Incarnate Word and its implications: the interpenetration of the two natures in the divine-human Person of Jesus Christ and that the Virgin is the Mother of God. Thus, the text of the Akathist emphasises the hypostatic union of the two natures in Christ, and, without engaging in polemics with Nestorianism, professes the dogma concerning the Mother of God.

He who was born of the Virgin is both God and Man; He is not a deified man, nor a heavenly man, but the incarnate Word of God: ‘He has revealed a new creation, revealing Himself, the Creator, to us, who are created by Him, springing from the blameless womb and preserving it whole as it was’25 God the Word Himself creates human nature within Himself, grafting it onto His Person through the virginal womb of Mary, which He sanctified, not because it is His temple, but because she became His mother. Every human person, through immersion in the waters of Baptism, becomes a ‘new creation’ (2 Corinthians 5:17), created anew in the image of their Creator. Through the Incarnation of the Word from the Virgin, ‘creatures are renewed’14), and the Mother of God is the first new creature.

The hypostatic union of the divine and human natures in the Lord Jesus Christ is the principal reason for praising the Mother of God, since it is thus that mankind is saved: the righteous Simeon accepted Christ as a Child, but He was ‘known to him also as the perfect God’26 The hymnographer conveys the devout exultation of the Christian soul, which, together with ‘the whole angelic host’, marvels at the great work of the Word’s incarnation, ‘that the One who was unapproachable as God was seen by all as a man close to everyone, living amongst us’27. Nestorius denied the birth of the God-Man by the Virgin; according to him, she gives birth to the man Christ, whilst the Word dwells in the Virgin as in a temple 28. Nevertheless, the author of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God expresses the fullness of the faith that was established following the Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431.

The Incarnation of the Word and His Birth of the Virgin represent ‘the meaning that is hard to fathom’29—a miracle for which we glorify 30 the Virgin as the Mother of God. The ceaseless hymn of praise offered to the Virgin in the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God as Θεοτόκος bears witness that, in all likelihood, the work was written after the Council of Ephesus, where the Christology of Saint Cyril of Alexandria was accepted, despite its well-known ambiguities 31. The Incarnation of the Word, which gives rise to the hypostatic union of the two natures in the Lord Jesus Christ and to their perichoresis, is a ‘door to the mystery of glory’32, which the Virgin Mary brings about. She ‘brings together things that are contrary into one’33 by giving birth to the one Person of the Incarnate Word, as the singular union between the incorruptible divine nature and the created human nature. Christ’s created human nature is united with the uncreated divine nature, without these two natures mixing or dissolving into one another, but rather interpenetrating, each retaining its own characteristics.

Orthodox believers pray to the Mother of God in the knowledge that she is the closest to Christ the Saviour in heaven, having a mother’s boldness towards her Son; and, through this, her prayers have the greatest access to God.

The hypostatic union and perichoresis of the two natures form the dogmatic foundation for both Orthodox teachings concerning the Nativity of the Lord and the Ever-Virginity of the Mother of God. The events recounted in the Gospel concerning the shepherds’ announcement of the Incarnation and their adoration of the divine Infant are conveyed by the author of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God in poetic form, revealing the perichoresis of the two natures in Christ and, at the same time, praising the Virgin who becomes ‘the Mother of the Lamb and the Shepherd’34. The shepherds, seeking the incarnate God, run to Him ‘as to a shepherd’, but ‘they saw Him as a blameless Lamb in Mary’s arms’35, ‘for it was a divine descent, not a change of place’36 says the hymnographer.

‘The whole angelic host marvelled at the great work of Christ’s Incarnation; for they saw Him who, as God, was unapproachable, as a Man approachable to all, dwelling amongst us!’37 The mystery of the perichoresis of the two natures in the Lord Jesus Christ and, in connection with this, the profession of the Theotokos dogma is not explained through logic, analysis or research, but through the contemplation of God, founded on faith and the praise offered to Him through prayer. In this way, the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God conveys Christological truths and, for this reason, they are expressed in poetic form, to sing of the mystery of the Lord’s Incarnation and the two principal Persons through whom it was accomplished: the beginningless and everlasting Word of God, and she through whom His Incarnation was made possible.

‘Blessed are you among women’ (Luke 1:28) is the Mother of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is ‘the Sower of our life’ and ‘the Worker of love for mankind’38). The hymnographer expresses, poetically and clearly, the Christocentric nature of the Theotokos dogma: ‘We see the eloquent orators, O Mother of God, standing before you like voiceless fish; for they cannot explain how you remained a virgin and yet were able to give birth. But we, marvelling at such a mystery, sing with faith’39’.

Orthodox believers pray to the Mother of God in the knowledge that she is the closest to Christ the Saviour in heaven, having a mother’s boldness before her Son; and, through this, her prayers have the greatest influence with God.

As a consequence of the hypostatic union of the two natures in Christ, and closely linked to the motherhood of the Most Holy Lady, is the dogma of her Ever-Virginity. The Creator of the world ‘emerging from the seedless womb and preserving it whole, as it was’40; therefore, the Mother of God ‘united virginity and childbirth’41 The Akathist contains elements linking it to one of the homilies of Basil of Seleucia, Saint Romanos the Melodist and Saint Proclus of Constantinople, which gives grounds for scholars such as G. Marcellus and Kourembeles to regard Saint Romanos the Melodist as the author of the Akathist to the Mother of God. In his study on the Mariology of Basil of Seleucia, G. Marcellus presents a well-founded argument in favour of the affinity between Saint Romanos the Melodist and Basil of Seleucia 42.

In the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God, the Virgin is primarily referred to as Θεοτόκος, but the name Θεοδόχος also appears 43, a name with negative connotations due to its use by Nestorius and the Antiochene school, who used it to emphasise that the Virgin did not give birth to God, but merely conceived Him, carried Him and allowed Him to pass through her as through a channel (ark), as Nestorius states 44. The other term that reflects an ideological affinity with the Antiochians is ‘living church’45, sanctified after God took up residence in it 19, ‘the dwelling place of God the Word’46, ‘the ark gilded with the Spirit’47. These definitions are undoubtedly close to the theological terminology of the Antiochians, but they do not express their ideas or the meaning they attributed to them. Some passages from the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God bear a clear resemblance to Homily XXXIX by Basil of Seleucia, which influenced the hymnography of Saint Romanos the Melodist in certain respects during his early period. Perhaps this could explain the use of Antiochian terminology in the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God. During the controversy concerning the dogma of the Mother of God, the Fathers—and especially Saint Cyril of Alexandria—did not reject the terms ‘Mother of Christ’ or ‘Receiver of God’ (Θεοδόχος), but rather the meaning attributed to them by the Antiochians, who denied the possibility that the Virgin could give birth to the God-Man. Of course, the Most Holy Mother of God did indeed receive and carry God in her womb. Naturally, she is also the Mother of Christ because she gave birth to the Lord Jesus Christ, but she is also the Mother of God because she gave flesh to One of the Trinity. From her is born, not an ordinary man who attained deification, but Christ the God-Man, the Incarnate Word of God. The use of the terms Θεοτόκος and Θεοδόχος in the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God indicates that, although the Virgin gave birth to Christ, the God-Man, she nevertheless remains human.

4. The Glorification of the Mother of God in the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God

The composition of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God is shaped by the author’s aim not only to express the fundamental dogmatic truths of the faith concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, the Incarnation of the Son of God, the salvation of mankind and the world, and the Mother of God, but also to highlight her exalted honour within the Church. Each of the ‘Rejoice!’ salutations conveys veneration, not only on the part of the hymn’s author, but also on the part of every faithful soul, towards the person of the Mother of God, who gave birth to the Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom ‘hell was emptied, and we were clothed in glory’48. The Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God allows us to glimpse, in part, the mystery of the image of she who is ‘the Mother of the Unset Star’49; with her moral loftiness, majesty, purity and holiness as the ‘Bride, Ever-Virgin’ conveyed through numerous epithets, comparisons and literary devices. Because she carried in her womb ‘the Lord, Who holds all things in His hand’50 and gave birth to ‘the Sower of purity’51, the Holy Virgin is ‘the incense of the first prayer’52; ‘food and chalice of manna’53; ‘a pillar of fire guiding those in darkness’54; ‘a torch welcoming the light, kindling within herself the incorporeal Fire, she directs all towards the divine knowledge that illuminates the mind with its ray’55.

We glorify the Virgin because through her the Word was incarnate and mankind is saved. The veneration or exaltation of her through whom ‘we have been clothed with glory’ is expressed through prayer, which ‘kindles the incorporeal Fire’ in the hearts of the faithful and, through this, ‘she who gave birth to God’ leads all to ‘the divine knowledge that illuminates the mind with its ray’, becoming ‘the initiator of the meaningful transformation and the bestower of the divine gift’56. For this reason, the author of the composition praises her as being ‘greater than all the saints’57).

The Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God extols the greatness and moral virtues of the Mother of God, but the greatest praise and honour bestowed upon the Virgin is the fact that she became the Mother of the Saviour. She is ‘holy, unwedded, blessed’58, ‘the firm foundation of the faith’59, ‘the flower of incorruptibility, the crown of self-restraint’60, ‘the guide to the wisdom of the faithful’61, and many others; yet everything the hymnographer says centres on the fact that the Virgin gave birth to ‘He who is holier than all the saints’62.

The author of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God clearly expresses, first, the Virgin’s motherhood, then her holiness and, as a consequence, the sanctification of the faithful. She has been revealed as ‘the icon of the baptismal font’63 because human nature is renewed through faith in her divine Son, assumed through the threefold immersion of Baptism. She ‘shone forth the image of the Resurrection’64, for in Baptism man dies with Christ and rises to a new life, which she had already begun as the Mother of the Saviour. Saint Gregory Palamas and Saint Philotheos Kokinos, in the 14th century, speak of the glorification of the Mother of God, which is also expressed in her resurrection 65. Although this idea is based more on the apocrypha, all the Fathers who speak on the subject of the Virgin’s death and her raising—not her bodily ascension to heaven— do so with a view to a greater glorification of ‘she who gave birth to God’, without dogmatising on this point, as has happened in Catholicism.

The Mother of God is the ‘tower of virginity’ and, moreover, she is the ‘guide to the wisdom of the faithful’ and ‘the only nourisher of infants amongst virgins’66 Those who believe in God also strive to practise His virtues; the virtue of purity adorns those who firmly believe in the Word of God and allow themselves to be guided towards the knowledge of divine truth. The Incarnate Word, from Mary’s womb, sanctifies her, enlightens her, and Himself teaches everyone to praise her and sing to her: ‘Rejoice!’67

Concluding Remarks

In the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God, Christological Mariology is expressed in close connection with the Incarnation of the Son of God and emphasises the Virgin’s motherhood. Furthermore, the anonymous author of the work conveys, in poetic form, fundamental truths of the Christian spiritual life. He guides Christians to grow in the contemplation of God through the glorification of the Virgin. From the glorification, veneration and praise of the Mother of God spring Christian virtues in human life. Over the last 50 years, but especially since the height of the ecumenical movement, a so-called ‘Eucharistic ecclesiology’ has developed in many Orthodox countries, a teaching which is undoubtedly of great importance for Orthodox theology. No less important, however, is Christian asceticism, working in synergy with the Holy Eucharist, and together the two express the Christian ecclesial ethos. Within this framework, we also find the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God, which expresses worship, veneration and glorification of the Mother of God – the first deified human being in whom ‘the image of the Resurrection shone forth’68, ‘the initiator of the transformation full of meaning’, through whom ‘creation is renewed’69.

• 1

  Chiflyanov 1973, 4; Tomadakis 1962, 1147.

• 2

  The proimion, or preamble, is a concise summary of the main ideas and messages of the kondakion.

• 3

  This refers to Codex 78 at the Zentralbibliothek Zürich (Huglo, Trypanis). For further details, see Τωμαδάκης 1962, 1150.

• 4

  Christou 1992, pp. 22–38.

• 5

  Tomadakis 1962, 1150.

• 6

  Vourlis 2000, 130.

• 7

  Peltomaa 2004, p. 706.

• 8

  See Maas and Trypanis 1963.

• 9

  Trypanis 1968, 32: ‘Hail, you who nurture the life within us’.

• 10

  Kourembele 2006, pp. 153–154; Peltomaa 2004, p. 709.

• 11

  Chiflyanov 1973, p. 5.

• 12

  Trypanis 1968, p. 35: ‘Ξένον τόκον’.

• 13

  The hymnographer says: ‘The Lord truly took on human form’ Trypanis 1968, 33 ‘εἰ καὶ δούλου ἔλαβεε μορφήν’; St Paul the Apostle interprets the Incarnation of the Word in the same way: ‘he took the form of a servant’ (Philippians 2:7).

• 14a14b

  Trypanis 1968, p. 30.

• 15

  There, ‘Χαῖρε, τοῦ πεσόντος Ἀδὰμ ἡ ἀνάκλησις – χαῖρε, τῶν δακρύων τῆς Εὔας ἡ λύτρωσις’. In fact, the hymnographer emphasises here that the Virgin becomes ‘the deliverance from Eve’s tears’.

• 16

  Trypanis 1968, 33 “Hail, thou who hast cast out the inhuman tyrant from the throne”. Throughout the hymnographer’s address to the Virgin, her role in the Incarnation of God is highlighted. In this instance, through her, the devil is cast out of power.

• 17

  Trypanis 1968, 37 “Wishing to save the world, the Creator of all things, came of his own accord to it.”

• 18

  Trypanis 1968, 35: “For this reason, the Most High appeared on earth as a humble man.”

• 19a19b

  Ibid.

• 20

  Trypanis 1968, 33: ‘Hail, through whom Hades was stripped bare; hail, through whom we have been clothed in glory’.

• 21a21b

  Trypanis 1968, p. 33.

• 22

  Trypanis 1968, p. 37.

• 23

  Kourembele 2006, p. 173.

• 24

  Trypanis 1968, 30: ‘Χαῖρε, δι᾿ ἧς νεουργεῖται ἡ κτίσις’ (creation is being renewed).

• 25

  Trypanis 1968, 35: “The Creator revealed creation to us, who were made by Him.”

• 26

  Trypanis 1968, 34: “You were given to him as an infant, but you were recognised by him as the perfect God.”

• 27

  Trypanis 1968, 36: “For he regarded Him—who is as inaccessible as God—as a man accessible to all, walking alongside us, yet hearing ‘Alleluia’ from all.”

• 28

  Koev 1968, 102. Nestorius denies the hypostatic union in the Lord Jesus Christ and, consequently, cannot accept that the Virgin is the Mother of God. Christ is merely human, not God, because God cannot be born or suffer Garib. G., Toniolo M., 2001, p. 544. Whilst the Man-Christ is born and reaches perfection Garib. G., Toniolo M., 2001, p. 546.

• 29

  Trypanis 1968, 31: ‘To know the unknown’

• 30

  Trypanis 1968, 35: “ἵνα τὸ θαῦμα βλέποντες, ὑμνήσωμεν αὐτήν”

• 31

  I am referring to the incorrect use of Saint Cyril’s theological terminology with regard to nature and person, and first and foremost: the use of the Apollinarian formula ‘μία φύσις τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγου σεσαρκωμένη’.

• 32

  Trypanis 1968, 35, 36. The Virgin becomes ‘the door (of this) most honourable mystery’ (σεπτοῦ μυστηρίου θύρα) and then, having partaken of it, remains a virgin – another mystery incomprehensible to the human mind (‘You remain a virgin, yet you have the power to give birth—and we, marvelling at the mystery, cry out in faith’).

• 33

  Trypanis 1968, 36: ‘ἡ τἀναντία εἰς ταὐτὸ ἀγαγοῦσα’.

• 34

  Trypanis 1968, 32: ‘ἀμνοῦ καὶ ποιμένος Μήτηρ’.

• 35

  Ibid., “And running as though towards a shepherd, they regard him as a spotless lamb, nourished in Mary’s womb”.

• 36

  Trypanis 1968, 35: “He was wholly in the lower realms, and there was not the slightest trace of Him in the upper realms, the indescribable Logos”:

• 37

  Trypanis 1968, p. 36.

• 38

  f. Trypanis 1968, p. 32.

• 39

  Idem, ‘We behold you, O Mother of God, as an eloquent orator, like voiceless fish; for they are at a loss to say how you remain a Virgin, yet were able to give birth; But we, marvelling at this mystery, cry out in faith”.

• 40

  Trypanis 1968, 35: ‘Having sprung from the womb without seed, and having preserved it, just as it was, uncorrupted’.

• 41

  Trypanis 1968, 36: ‘ἡ παρθενίαν καὶ λοχείαν ζευγνῦσα’.

• 42

  Marzelou 2015, 11; Marzelou 1990, 200 ff.

• 43

  Trypanis 1968, 31: “Having a womb that receives God, the Virgin.”

• 44

  Kotter 1973, p. 134.

• 45

  Trypanis 1968, 39: ‘ἔμψυχον ναὸν’.

• 46

  Ibid., ‘σκηνὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Λόγου’ (the dwelling place of God the Word).

• 47

  Ibid., “Κιβωτὲ χρυσωθεῖσα τῷ Πνεύματι”.

• 48

  Trypanis 1968, 33: “Hail, through whom Hades was stripped bare—hail, through whom we have been clothed in glory”. ‘Bride, Ever-Virgin’ is also used by Saint Romanos the Melodist in his 36th hymn (kontakion) for the Feast of the Annunciation (Maas, Trypanis, 1963, 281–288), probably based on the Archangel’s greeting: ‘Hail, full of grace!’ (Luke 1:28).

• 49

  Trypanis 1968, 33: “ἀστέρος ἀδύτου Μήτηρ”.

• 50

  Trypanis 1968, 39: ‘ὁ συνέχων πάντα τῇ χειρὶ Κύριος’.

• 51

  Trypanis 1968, 37: ‘Hail, thou who bore the sower of purity’.

• 52

  Trypanis 1968, 32: ‘δεκτόν πρεσβείας θυμίαμα’.

• 53

  Trypanis 1968, 34: ‘τροφὴ τοῦ μάννα διάδοχε’.

• 54

  Ibid.: ‘O fiery pillar, guiding those in darkness’.

• 55

  Trypanis 1968, 38: ‘A light-bearing lamp, which has shone upon those in darkness, we behold the Holy Virgin; for, touching the incorporeal light, she guides all towards divine knowledge, illuminating the mind with her radiance”.

• 56

  Trypanis 1968, 36: “Hail, leader of intellectual renewal; hail, bestower of divine goodness”.

• 57

  Trypanis 1968, 39: ‘Ἁγία Ἁγίων μείζων’.

• 58

  The author of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God clearly emphasises, first, the Virgin’s motherhood, then her holiness and, as a consequence, the sanctification of the faithful. She has been revealed as the ‘icon of the baptismal font’, for human nature is renewed through faith in her divine Son.

• 59

  Trypanis 1968, 32: ‘στεῤῥὸν τῆς Πίστεως ἔρεισμα’.

• 60

  Trypanis 1968, 35: ‘Hail, flower of incorruptibility; hail, wreath of self-control’.

• 61

  Trypanis 1968, 33: “Hail, guide of the faithful to wisdom”

• 62

  Trypanis 1968, 39: ‘she who gave birth to the most holy Word of all the Saints’.

• 63

  Trypanis 1968, 38: ‘Hail, thou who paintest the image of the bath’.

• 64

  Trypanis 1968, 35: “Hail, shining symbol of the Resurrection”.

• 65

  Migne 1865, PG 151, 465–467: Philotheus, Most Holy Patriarch of Constantinople, 64–66.

• 66

  Trypanis 1968, 37: ‘Hail, fair nurturer of virgins’.

• 67

  Cf. Trypanis 1968, 39: …for having dwelt within your womb, the Lord, who holds all things in his hand, has sanctified, glorified and taught them all to cry out to you: ‘Hail’.”

• 68

  Trypanis 1968, p. 35.

• 69

  Trypanis 1968, p. 36; Trypanis 1968, p. 30.