Hymn of the 9th Ode of the Small Paraklesis to the Theotokos   Being created in the image and likeness of God, man was not originally made to feel pain, to be sick and to die. The Fathers agree on this: for example, St Maximus the Confessor says that "When God created human nature, he did not create sensible pleasure and pain along with it." 1 Sin darkened the minds of the first created, Adam and Eve, and their nature was inexorably changed. Since pain, suffering and ultimately death became part of their nature it was passed down in a [...]

Alleluia - Ἀλληλούϊα.   The use of the exclamation, "Alleluia"  was inherited by the first Christians from Hebrew worship. It means, "God be praised" or "Praise God". In the Orthodox Church it is in itself an exclamation as well as an exhortation to praise God. It is used throughout all the prayers and services of the Orthodox Church. However, it's deeper significance is derived from its use in the Holy Liturgy which is the pre-eminent service of worship in the Orthodox Church and the source for all the other Church Services. In the Holy Liturgy, it is sung as a [...]

Matins Hymn of the Resurrection The Orthodox Icon of the Feast of Pascha depicts Christ descending into Hades and liberating Adam from the bonds of death, while many luminaries of the Old Testament look on. Who then witnessed Christ's own Resurrection? We know that none of the four gospels describes the actual Resurrection Itself. So how can we sing and pray that we have seen the Resurrection of Christ? Has poetic license been liberally used in this Paschal hymn? St Symeon the New Theologian provides answers: "How then, does the Holy Spirit exhort us to say, “Having beheld the Resurrection [...]

The origins of the Akathist Hymn There are many varied stories as to the origins of the Standing Praises to the Theotokos, or Akathist Hymn, but the sources seem to agree that it began in the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, in 626 AD. The city of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire was unusually free of defence that year. The emperor had taken almost all the soldiers into the East where he was defending the empire from the unceasing attacks by Persian troops. This was a necessary strategic move, but it left Constantinople open to attack – [...]