AKATHISTOS HYMN

Akathistos Hymn: translation

FamousByzantinekontakion, its anonymous text, containing twoprooimiafollowed by 24 strophes in honor of the Virgin Mary, dates from as early as the sixth century, but the earliest known melodic setting, highlymelismatic, dates from a 13th-centurypsaltikon. Its text remained unabbreviated even after the singing of completekontakiawas suppressed in the eighth century. Originally for the Feast of the Annunciation, thehymnis now sung on the vigil of the fifth Sunday in Lent.