Akathistos Saturday

On the Saturday of the fifth week of Lent, the Eastern Church sings the majestic "Akathist Hymn" in honor of the Mother of God and most pure Virgin Mary. During Matins service of this Saturday the entire Akathistos (Akathist Hymn) of the Annunciation of the most Holy Mother of God is sung. This hymn can be called the symbol and crown of the sublime cult of the Mother of God in the Eastern Church. By these endless hymns the Blessed Virgin is thanked for her ever-present protection, in memory of the attacks on Constantinople at the time of Heraclius. At that time, Sassanian king Chosroes II, with the help of Persia's Avar allies, raided Constantinople from the west, crying out blasphemies against God. The sea was covered with ships, the countryside filled with infantry and horsemen. The Patriarch of Constantinople urged the people not to be discouraged, but to trust wholeheartedly in God and His divine and All-Immaculate Mother. The Patriarch and the people carried the icon of the Mother of God in procession, on the ramparts of the city, to ask for the strength to resist, along with the icon of Christ not-painted-by-a-human-hand, the precious, vivifying Cross, and the tunic of the Mother of God. Boats full of soldiers were heading towards the Church of Our Lady of Blacherna, when a violent storm suddenly stirred up the sea, wrecking the fleet and destroying the enemy. From the shore of Blacherna, the Mother of God repelled the attackers. The Greeks fought the Scythians one against ten, with great courage and exultant joy, led by their invincible general; they opened the gates of the city and fought against their enemies, using only the small number of soldiers that were positioned near a temple called the Source. They wiped out their multitude and the city was saved. Full of gratitude, the people of Constantinople gave thanks to the Mother of God, singing hymns all night long without sitting down (Akathistos, a Greek word meaning not sitting), since she herself had not stopped watching over them for one moment and she had won the victory over their enemies with a supernatural power. Since then, the Eastern Church traditionally devotes this Saturday to the Mother of God in memory of the great miracle performed by her.