The word "akathist" is sometimes used colloquially in the same sense as praises. This is the name of a song that praises something or someone. However, there is a significant difference between these two concepts. To apply this definition to a place, one should know what akathists are.
All prayers are divided into three categories: pleading, thanksgiving and glorifying, the latter include a hymn praising the Mother of God. Akathist to the Mother of God for a long time was the only and completely unique work, created presumably in the VI-VII centuries. Its dominant importance was emphasized by the size and phonetic structure, which manifested the poetic genius of the creator of this masterpiece of spiritual culture. Let's figure out what akathists are in their poetic form. Kukuliy, that is, the initial stanza, covers the subsequent ikos, this happens twelve times. Hayretisms, that is, greetings to the Mother of God, begin with the word "rejoice", are contained in each of the ikos, which are similar in rhythm, have the same alternationstressed syllables with unstressed ones. The sequence of initial letters of all strings forms the Greek alphabet.
Now about the name of this poetic form. The translation of this word speaks about what akathists are. It literally means "not to sit". Both those who perform the chant and those who listen to it must certainly stand, with the exception of those who, due to illness or due to advanced age, cannot observe this rule. This term also denotes a form of church versification, similar to kontakia.
The first part is devoted to the childhood of Jesus and the earthly fate of Mary, the second tells about the Holy Trinity and the incarnation of God the Father in the image of Christ according to the teachings of the church. The text uses skillful antique rhetorical and poetic devices, which gives it not only the highest sacred meaning, but also great artistic value. At the time of godlessness, declared as an official state policy, philology students, when asked by a teacher about what akathists were, answered that they were masterpieces of ancient Greek poetry. And this is true, however, with the caveat that their main significance is spiritual fulfillment.
The initial text was supplemented with the first stanza, in which the Mother of God is thanked for the miraculous deliverance of Constantinople during the siege of the city by the Avar and Slavic pagan tribes in 626. Then Patriarch Sergius saved the Orthodox people by going around the fortress walls and overshadowing them with the icon of the Mother of God.
The use of the akathist is regulated by the gener althe order established for the church circle of worship. Theosophical historians claim that it was composed for the festive celebrations of the Cathedral of Our Lady and the Annunciation. It is currently performed on the Lenten Saturday Akathist and at the Matins of Praise of the Most Holy Theotokos.
The first akathist became that mighty trunk, from which, like branches, others grew, dedicated to the Son of God, saints and prophets. This happened already in the XIV century. Some imitation of the unsurpassed masterpiece of ancient Orthodox poetics is guessed in their form. To date, over a hundred of them have been written. Not all of them are equal in artistic and canonical qualities and are usually timed to coincide with the holidays of one or another miraculous image, such as, for example, the akathist to the icon of the Mother of God "The Inexhaustible Chalice".
