(Novgorod icon, XV century)
The Sabbath of Akathist ; Praise to the Most Holy Theotokos - the name of the feast and order of the Orthodox Church , performed on Saturday of the fifth week of Lent .
The celebration was established in the 9th century for the repeated deliverance of Constantinople from the invasion of enemies ( Avars in 626 , Persians in 677 , Arabs in 717 ), committed, according to the church, thanks to the intercession of the Virgin .
(fresco in the Church of the Deposition of the Deposition in the Moscow Kremlin , 1644)
With the salvation of Constantinople in 626 from the invasion of the Persians and barbarians, including from the Scythians (by which the Slavs could also be implied), the origin of the kondak “ Climbed Voivode ”, which was originally part of the very first akathist written in honor of the Virgin, was also associated [1 ] . This akathist was first read at night in the Vlaherna Church after the miraculous deliverance of the city from the enemy fleet, besieging the city in 860 , which, according to legend, was destroyed by a storm that rose after the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos was lowered into the sea [2] .
Initially, the celebration took place only in Constantinople in the Vlaherna Church, where the miraculous Vlaherna icon of the Mother of God , written, according to legend, by the Evangelist Luke , and objects associated with her earthly life - a robe and belt were stored. Later, the holiday was included in the Studio Charter , and then in church liturgical books, becoming common for the Eastern Church [3] . The canon for this holiday was written in the 9th century by Joseph Studite .
Iconography
(icon, 14th century)
The main theme of the Icon of the Praise of the Virgin is the glorification of the Virgin Mary, who, according to the Old Testament prophecies, became the mother of the incarnate God. The iconography is based on the words of the song of the canon to the prophets, compiled in the 8th century by the Patriarch of Constantinople Herman : “ From above the prophets were the forerunners, Otrokovice: stamna, rod, tablet, nibble, priest, meal, mountain incorporeal, golden censer and tabernacle, the door is impassable and the ladder, and the throne of the Tsarev . " Based on this song, the icons of the following Old Testament prophets holding certain objects are depicted: Jacob with a ladder , Moses with the Burning Cupina , Balaam with a star, Gideon with a rune, Ezekiel with a gate, Jeremiah with a tablet, Isaiah with ticks and coal, Jesse and Aaron with prosperous wands, David and Solomon with models of the Jerusalem Temple , Daniel and Habakkuk with mountains . [four]
The most ancient icon of the Praise of the Mother of God in Russia is the icon " Praise of the Mother of God with Akathist " from the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow, created by the Greek master in the second half of the 14th century . [5]
Notes
- ↑ The picked governor is victorious . // Orthodox newspaper (Yekaterinburg). - 1999. - No. 5.
- ↑ Saturday of Akathist. Praise to the Blessed Virgin Mary
- ↑ Saturday of Akathist
- ↑ Gladysheva E., Nersesyan L. Dictionary-Index of Names and Concepts on Old Russian Art
- ↑ Praise of the Mother of God
Links
- Color Triode. Nicephorus Calliste Xanthus. Sinaksar on Saturday of the fifth week of Great Lent, Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Saturday, akathist)
- Wikimedia Commons has media related to Akathist Saturday
- Saturday Akathist. Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the website " Orthodoxy and Peace ."