Question first
appeared on April 1, 2001
What
is the Little Compline/Akathist Hymn that is held on Friday evenings of Great
Lent?
The
Compline service (Great and Little) is an evening service that is said before
bedtime. The Little Compline is
merely a reduced and shorter version of Great Compline.
The
Canon of the Akathist Hymn is inserted into the middle of the Little Compline.
AAkathiston@ means Anot
to sit.@ It is proper to stand when
the verses of the Akathist Hymn are chanted.
Tradition holds that this hymn was composed in the year 626 and recited
as petition to the Blessed Virgin Mary to save Constantinople from an invasion
of Avars and Persians.
It
has been a tradition of the Orthodox Church to chant this service on the first
five Friday evenings of Great Lent.
İVery
Rev. Fr. Olof Scott, Sunday Bulletin, April 1, 2001
|
Back to Keyword/Topic Index |
Home |
|
