The term "akathist" in translation means "a chant during the performance of which it is forbidden to sit."
What is akathist?
In the old days it was called the non-sedating anthem. Kathisma is the opposite of akathists. During their execution is allowed to sit. Akathist is a genre version of the church anthem. It appeared during the time of early Byzantium and was often found in Greek literature of the Middle Ages. Akathist is widespread. From Greece, he migrated to the literature of Eastern Europe.
Kontakion and Ikos
There are only 24 stanzas in this chant: 50% it consists of kondakas and 50% of ikos. Many today do not even imagine what it is. At the end of the chant, the first icos and kondak are re-sung. But what do these words mean? "Kondak" used to be called a roll of paper on which something is written on both sides. In the old days, this word was quite famous. It should always be remembered that the akathist is a chant consisting of several sections. This is a very important point. Kondakas in akathist contain concise information about the life of the saint or the meaning of triumph.
They end with words that are then sung at the end of all the icos following them. And again, many thought about the meaning of an unfamiliar word. The term ikos reminds Christians of Syrian traditions. In this country, this word had two meanings at once - “poetic stanza” and “dwelling”. Syrian Christians often sang hymns at home of one of the believers. Modern Orthodox often go to a prayer service with an akathist.
What it is? This is a service in which Christians ask God, the Virgin or saints for a blessing, or thank the Lord. Of course, this worship includes an akathist.
Read more about kontakion and icos
But back to icos and kondakas. They are arranged in alphabetical order. It is, of course, about the Greek language. But there is an exception - this is the first kondak. We can say that he is out of order. The work traditionally reflects both dogmatic and historical issues. At the same time, only the rudiments of the topic are presented in small kondakas, and in extensive icos it is described in detail. The latter consist of two sections: one contains a story about something, and the other contains worship. It always happens.
In the glorification section there are certainly highretisms - verses beginning with the obligatory word "Chaere", which translates as "rejoice." Vespers are often held in churches with an akathist. What it is? This is essentially a regular service. It's just that an akathist is performed on it. Every Orthodox person should know about this.
Russian and Greek tradition
In the old days, the word "akathist" meant only one liturgical hymn, which was distributed in Byzantium, namely the eulogy of a dogma dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos. It is still considered the best example of akathistografiya. This word means writing hymns. Akathistograph is a person who invents chants. So called Christian poets. After some time, when other chants similar to akathists appeared, this term began to mean all such hymns. So a new genre was born.
Akathist is a hymn that was immediately loved by believers. He is very beautiful, therefore, this is not surprising. Soon, the Akathist to the Blessed Virgin received a different name. He became known as the "Great Akathist." Under this name, many still know it. Greek tradition considers only this hymn akathist, and other non-sedating chants that resemble it in their form are called "similar" in this country. Where does this name come from? It arose because these ikos are like an akathist. They really look like him. But in our country there are many types of akathists. Still, we have a lot of differences with Greece. Including we have akathists to saints. These are chants in which there is information about their life.
Great akathist
The great akathist today has a promiscuity (from the Greek this word translates as “introduction”) or a conception, which is often called “kukuliy” (this term means “hood”). He literally envelops 24 stanzas following him: 12 lengthy and 12 squeezed ikos, following in a checkerboard pattern. What else can be said about them? Each icos begins with a Greek letter. Spaces are composed of two sections. In this case, the initial repeats the metric of squeezed icos. And the second section consists of 12 appeals to the Virgin Mary-hairetisms. Currently, the overwhelming majority of hymnologists and specialists in Byzantium are inclined to believe that the Great Akathist appeared in 431-634. More precisely, in between. Researchers believe that several hymnographers worked on this akathist. Most likely, it was so. It is good that the Akathist prayers have reached our country: now they are an integral part of Orthodox life.
Akathists in our country
In the Russian church tradition, this hymn could have arisen around the year 916, since during this period the translation into Slavic of the book “Lenten Triode”, in which it was already included, was completed. There are over 30 editions of this chant, however, in our country, not the Athos version of the beginning of the XIV century (an old man named John) gained fame, but the Kiev version of 1627, which was composed by Archimandrite Pletenetsky, who called himself Elisha. It should be noted that this person translated the “Lenten Triode”, and in 1656, based on his work, the Moscow edition of this church book was published. Greek hymns at the dawn of the 15th century became widespread among Slavic monks. This is evidenced by a book entitled "Canon" by Cyril Belozersky, published in 1407. Akathist is a solemn chant, therefore, the attitude towards him should be appropriate.