<<To you my Champion and Commander, I Your City, saved from disasters dedicate,

O Mother of God, Hymns of Victory and thanksgiving; but as You have unassailable might,from every kind of danger now deliver me, that I may cry ti You: Hail, Unwedded Bride! >>

The Akathist Hymn is a profound devotional poem to Our Lady. It is a composite work by more than one of the fine Hymnographers of our Ecclesiastical tradition dedicated to the Theotokos. It was first recited or rather prayed in the Church of St. Mary of Vlachernae in Constantinople (now Istanbul) on the occasion of deliverance of "The City" from the siege of Barbarians in 626 AD.

Whilst the emperor of Byzantium, Herakleios, was on expedition to fight the aggression in Persia, barbaric hordes appeared outside the walls terrorising the Queen City. The siege lasted for seven months and it was apparent that the situation of the outnumbered troops was desperate. However, as history records, the faith of people worked the impossible. The venerable Patriarch Sergios, together with clergy, high officials and citizens having the Icon of the Theotokos as a guide, marched endlessly along the great walls of the City, hoping for a miracle, bolstering the spirit and the faith of the defenders. The miracle came! Unexpectedly as the chronicle narrates, a great storm with huge tidal waves appeared destroying most of the fleet of the enemy. A full retreat ensued.

The faithful of the City of Constantine spontaneously filled the Church of the Theotokos at Vlachernae area of the Golden Horn to pray offering thanks, with Patriarch Sergios officiating. It was then that The Kontakion, "To You, my Champion & Commander" was added to the Service. Out of devotion and thanksgiving, the pious people prayed standing upright without sitting, hence the word Akathist(os) -without sitting-.

The Akathist Hymn is a very important part of our Religious & Ecclesiastical life and tradition, It is sung in all our Churches throughout the world during the 5th Friday of the Lent. It is divided in four parts -Stanzas- each part is recited on the first four Fridays of Lent, following the letters of the Hellenic Alphabet from Alpha, <<The Archangel was sent....>> to Ωmega, <<Ω Holy Mother Mother...>>These devotional verses existed from the very beginning of Christian tradition but the Byzantine Empire from its inception, closely allied itself to the Virgin Mary and always sought Her protection.