The word "akathist" is sometimes used in colloquial speech in the same sense as praises. This is the name of a song praising something or someone. However, there is a significant difference between the two. To apply this definition to a place, one should know what akathists are.
All prayers are divided into three categories: prayer, thanksgiving and glorifying, the latter includes a hymn praising the Virgin. The Akathist of 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, in which the poetic genius of the creator of this masterpiece of spiritual culture was manifested . We will understand what akathists are in their poetic form. Kukuliy, that is, the initial stanza, covers the subsequent fungi, this happens twelve times. Hyretisms, that is, the salutations of the Mother of God, begin with the word “rejoice,” are contained in each of the ikos, which are similar in rhythm, have the same alternation of stressed syllables with unstressed ones. The sequence of initial letters of all lines forms the Greek alphabet.
Now about the name of this poetic form. The translation of this word speaks of what akathists are. Literally, it means not to sit. Both singers and those who listen to it must certainly stand, with the exception of those who, due to their malaise or old age, cannot observe this rule. This term also denotes a form of church versification similar to kondakas.
The first part is dedicated 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 teaching of the church. The text uses skillful antique rhetorical and poetic techniques, which gives it not only the highest sacred meaning, but also great artistic value. At the time of godlessness, declared as official state policy, philology students, when asked by the teacher about what akathists were, answered that these 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 by the first stanza in which the Mother of God is thanked for the miraculous deliverance of Constantinople during the siege of the city by Avar and Slavic pagan tribes in 626. Then Patriarch Sergius saved the Orthodox people, bypassing the fortress walls and overshadowing them with the icon of the Mother of God.
The use of akathist is regulated by the general procedure established for the church circle of worship. Theosophical historians claim that he was composed for the festive rejoices of the Cathedral of Our Lady and the Annunciation. Currently, it is performed on the Lenten Saturday of Akathist and on the morning service of the 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, holy saints and prophets. This happened already in the XIV century. In their form, a certain imitation of the unsurpassed masterpiece of ancient Orthodox poetics is guessed. To date, more than a hundred of them have been composed. Not all of them are of equal artistic and canonical qualities and are usually confined to the holidays of one or another miraculous image, such as, for example, the Akathist to the icon of the Mother of God “Inexhaustible Chalice”.