"Praise to the Blessed Virgin Mary" 1 March 2023 of the year
On Saturday in the fifth week of Great Lent, the holy Church solemnly proclaims the prayer singing of the akathist., or thanksgiving praise to the Blessed Virgin Mary. As a result, the holiday itself is called "Praise to the Most Holy Theotokos"; this name is already used in ancient Russian chronicles.
Considered, that the Akathist to the Theotokos appeared after 626 of the year, when Constantinople was besieged by the Persians. During the siege, the people sought protection in the temples of God., day and night begging the Diligent Intercessor to save her city, and Patriarch Sergius carried in his arms the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos on the city walls. After the miraculous deliverance of the city, this hymn was composed., glorifying the Theotokos.
At the same time, the main Akathist was the kontak of the Annunciation, which consisted of 24 ikos; Considered, that Patriarch Sergius of Constantinople added to each ikos after one po 12 heretisms in each (heretisms – proclamations "Rejoice..." (Greek. "hare"), which are a distinctive feature of the Akathist). The kontak itself appeared a century earlier and was, It's possible, compiled by prep. Roman Sladkopevets. After the addition of "heretisms", the kontak of the Annunciation turned into a chant of a new genre - the Akathist (the word "akathist" itself means "non-sedentary", i.e. prayer singing, done standing).
Subsequently, in the VIII century during the next salvation of Constantinople (It's possible, after the siege by the Arabs) there was a kontak "To the Voivode...", which was originally an independent chant, however, it later became part of the Akathist. In this way, in the VIII century, the Akathist acquired its modern appearance.
The Feast of the Praise of the Virgin on the 5th Saturday of Great Lent arose in the IX century and was first mentioned already in the Typicon of the Great Church.; in the statutes of the monastery (Stutia and its editions) on this feast the singing of the Akathist to the Theotokos is due. There is an explanation, that the assignment of the Akathist to the 5th Sabbath of Fasting occurred after that, how on Thursday they began to perform the service of the Great Canon. Both services are united by their historical connection with Constantinople.: the service of the Great Canon is associated with the memory of the earthquake, Akathist – getting rid of the Persians.
