The Akathist Hymn
To the Most Holy Theotokos
The Beginning
(Before beginning the Akathist, one says the Introductory Prayers:)
Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.
Glory to You, our God, glory to You.
O Heavenly King... Holy God... (The Trisagion Prayers through the Lord's Prayer are said.)
The Champion Leader
(Standing in reverence, we sing the prelude:)
People: To thee, the Champion Leader, do I, thy city, ascribe thank-offerings of victory, for thou hast delivered me from terrors, O Theotokos; but as thou hast invincible might, deliver us from all dangers, that we may cry unto thee: Rejoice, O Bride unwedded!
Oikos 1
(The Annunciation:)
Reader: An Archangel was sent from Heaven to say to the Theotokos: Rejoice! And beholding Thee, O Lord, taking bodily form, he was amazed and stood, crying aloud to her with such things as these:
People: Rejoice, through whom joy shall shine forth; Rejoice, through whom the curse shall vanish!
People: Rejoice, Restoration of the fallen Adam; Rejoice, Redemption of the tears of Eve!
People: Rejoice, Height hard to climb for human thought; Rejoice, Depth hard to scan even for the eyes of Angels!
People: Rejoice, for thou art the Throne of the King; Rejoice, for thou holdest Him Who upholdeth all!
People: Rejoice, Star that causest the Sun to appear; Rejoice, Womb of the Divine Incarnation!
People: Rejoice, through whom creation is renewed; Rejoice, through whom the Creator becomes a child!
People: Rejoice, O Bride unwedded!
The Flight and the Temple
(The Journey to Egypt and the Presentation in the Temple:)
Reader (Kontakion 6): The Shepherds heard the Angels glorifying Christ's coming in the flesh... and they ran to Him as to a Shepherd, and beheld Him as a spotless Lamb, pastured in Mary's womb...
Reader (Kontakion 7): Having shone in Egypt the Light of Truth, Thou didst dispel the darkness of falsehood... for their idols, O Savior, unable to endure Thy might, fell down!
Dogmatic Praise
(The Theology of the Virgin as the Bridge between God and Man - Oikos 2:)
Reader: The Holy Virgin, beholding herself in purity, said to Gabriel with boldness: "The strangeness of thy words is hard for my soul to accept; for how canst thou speak of a birth from a seedless conception, crying: Alleluia!"
People: Rejoice, Ladder of Heaven by which God descended; Rejoice, Bridge that conveyest those of earth to Heaven!
People: Rejoice, for thou art the Sanctified Temple; Rejoice, for thou art the Spiritual Paradise!
People: Rejoice, Pillar of fire, guiding those in darkness; Rejoice, Shelter of the world, wider than the cloud!
People: Rejoice, O Bride unwedded!
Final Intercession
(The closing prayer to the Mother of God - Kontakion 13:)
People: O all-praised Mother, who didst bear the Word, holiest of all the Saints! Accept now this our offering, and deliver us from all misfortune, and rescue from the coming judgment those who cry out to thee: Alleluia! (3x)
(Then the Champion Leader is repeated, followed by the Dismissal.)
Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.