Akathist

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The Akathist is a renowned Byzantine hymn of praise, traditionally chanted while standing, that honors the Virgin Mary (or, in some versions, Christ or a saint) through a series of poetic odes and litanies.

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Statements (40)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Byzantine hymn
Christian hymn
Marian devotion
liturgical hymn
alsoDedicatedTo Jesus Christ
saints
associatedFeast Annunciation
Saturdays of Great Lent
associatedWith Byzantine hymnography
devotionalFunction expression of veneration
supplication for protection
etymology Greek word meaning “not sitting” or “not seated”
genre kontakion-type hymn
hasForm refrain-based hymn
hasRefrain “Rejoice” invocations in many Marian versions
honorificTitleUsed Virgin Mary
surface form: Theotokos
influence inspired later Akathist hymns to various saints
languageOfOrigin Greek
liturgicalPosture chanted while standing
liturgicalRank major hymn in Byzantine tradition
liturgicalSetting church services
private devotion
liturgicalUse devotional prayer
hymn of praise
processional hymn
musicalTradition Byzantine chant
originPeriod Byzantine era
performancePractice chanted or sung
poeticStructure acrostic
alphabetic acrostic in Greek
primaryDedication Virgin Mary
recitationMode alternation of priest or chanter with choir or people
religiousTradition Byzantine Rite
Eastern Catholic Churches
Eastern Orthodox Christianity
surface form: Eastern Orthodox Church
textualForm litanies
series of odes
theologicalTheme incarnation of Christ
intercession of the Virgin Mary
praise of the Theotokos

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Byzantine Rite majorService Akathist