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I am reading a text for the Akathist Hymn. It has lines for the Priest. Is it required to have a Priest for the Akathist hymn, or can a layperson be substitute? I haven't read much of it.

Here's that site: http://www.cin.org/akathis.html

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Peter Edwards
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Glory to Jesus Christ!

The Akathist is a very ancient prayer. It was probably composed in the early sixth century. There are akathist to many people, but the most popular are the Akathist Hymn to our Lord Jesus Christ and the Akathist Hymn to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Akathist is a prayer to be said standing.

The Akathist to Christ is a prayer of hope and trust in Jesus' saving presence. It is an expansion of the Jesus Prayer. "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have mercy on me a sinner."

The Akathist to Mary is a prayer expressing love and veneration for Mary. It predates the Rosary and expresses all the ways that Mary is represented in Holy Scripture.

The Akathists can be said privately without a priest. It can also be said in the Church without a priest, However any blessings that are done by a priest must be adjusted. Even if a Deacon is present these changes must be made.

Father Deacon Paul

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Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory to Him Forever!

Thank you, Father Deacon. Do you know where I can find such an adjusted Akathist hymn to the Blessed Virgin Mary for use where there are only laypeople?

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Peter Edwards
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Peter,

I have been looking at the Akathist link and then pondered your question to Father Deacon and I realized that most of my daily prayers are in this format where it needs to adjusted for the layperson and I say them without thinking about it. I also realized that I do not know of any written adjustment for the layperson is in print. There are Typikas in print for when a priest is not present at Sunday Divine Liturgy but that is rather more important.

As I look at your Link though I thought I could tell you a bit how I go about saying such an Akathist. I won't go through the whole thing because it will get redundent.

At the begining the top line is said and insted of the priest saying "Blessed is Our God..."I start with the sign of the cross with the words

"Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, O or Jesus Christ, Our God, have mercy on us."

Unless it's During the Easter seaon and we sing three time "Christ is Risen From the dead, by death He conquered death and tho those in the graves He granted life."

Say everything else until you get down to the First Chant. Say all the lines but without the response.

At the Kontankions, say the prayers but not the responses.

This contnues down through all the Chants untill the dismissal. The only thing not said is "Glory to you O Christ..." I start the dismissal with the "Glory be to the Father.+.." but I don't say "Give the Blessing".

The end prayer is where I am the most unsure. I say the prayer which is the same dismissal for the office of the hours inwhich case I know who the saint of the day is. if I don't know I just say "...Illustrious Apostles and through the prayers of all the saints for He is gracious and he loves mankind!"

One more sign of the cross and a silent Amen and I am done.

I hope that helps. Remember it is prayer and it is really hard to mess it up.

In the Byzantine Catholic tradition think about getting some icons for your home. Place then on an eastern wall. This is the Icon corner of the Byzantine home and a place where we can go and pray in peace with all the saints and our Lord Jesus Christ. This is a good link for information about Icons.

Hope this helps a little bit.

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Patrick Mitchell

Hospody Isuse Khryste, synu zhyvogo Boga, pomylui mene grishnyka
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have Mercy on me, a sinner

Thanks Patrick and Father Deacon.

I live in a house of 8 Catholic students and we have a ~30 minute house prayer 4 nights a week. I want to find some way to introduce some kind of Eastern Christian prayer to them because I value Eastern Christianity.

The Akathist hymn might not be the best thing for this...unless it can be spoken instead of sung. What would you (or anyone who reads this) suggest as far as an Eastern Christian prayer for sharing with others to spark their curiosity?

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Peter Edwards
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All of the eastern Liturgy is sung and, in my house, we sing (or Chant) prayers when we do it as a family everynight. To really get a sense of what Eastern Catholic prayer is like, it should be done in the Icon corner. Icons are windows into heaven and we venerate them in observance of our adortion for the life of Christ and of the saints they represent.

Prayer is said standing and the sign of the cross is done many times. If you read the Akathist to Mary The sign is made during each "Holy God, Holy and Mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us" Then it is made during the "O Most Holy Trinity, Have Mercy on us! O Lord, Cleanse us of our sins! O Master, forgive our transgressions! O Holy One, come to us and heal our infirmities for your Name's sake!" and again each time you see the "+"

The begining of the Akathist down to the preamble is a common opening prayers for eastern prayers.

As for the singing, Eastern melodies are really hard unless you have sheet music and even then they'll tie a knot in your tounge. Tone 7 is the very basic for most prayer and really easy but I can't explain it through typing. It is just a chant. Don't hesitate to just say the prayers, I will remind you it it prayer. To hear the Akathist sung by a traditional eastern choir is absolutely spiritual.

I need to say at this point that everything that I have said is from my own experience praying in the eastern tradition. I have no formal training in this but I believe that I have given you no misinformation. If I have I apologize in advance. I think I ned a Nihil Obstat for this post.

Good Luck

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Patrick Mitchell

Hospody Isuse Khryste, synu zhyvogo Boga, pomylui mene grishnyka
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have Mercy on me, a sinner

Patrick-

What about the Chotki? Is it really just as simple as it sounds? It seems to me that it's "just" a string of 33, 50, or 100 Jesus Prayers. Is there anything else in it?

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Peter Edwards
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That's all it is, though you have to be careful about praying the Jesus Prayer. It is a continuous invocation of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and cannot be taken lightly. There is a lot of contrversy about the Jesus prayer and how one says it. However, the Jesus prayer is very previlent in my life and holds a dear place in my heart. I would tell you to say the prayer only under the guidence of you spiritual leader or at least one that understands the prayer.

When I first started the prayer on the Chotki I would say only one (50) on my way to work and then another on my way home. It has progressed to a great deal more but I believe tht I am still sayig it with the vigor that I began with without my mind wandering or the spirit dispersing in exterior things. My mind focuses on the prayer.

St. Ignatius in his Exercises advises "Rhythmic prayer from one breath to another. Each respiratory movement can emit a prayer.

Get a book on the Jesus prayer. Most of them have a lot of information and can be quite helpful. I have "The Prayer of Jesus or La Priere de Jesus in French.

A bit of a warning though and I think that is not without cause. To put it mildly, early in history when this tradition started there were monks that believed that they saw visions of God and of heaven. It takes the patience and devotion of a saint (literally) to have a vision. These visions, however, are more commonly known to us as possesions. People being possesed by the devil hearing and seeing things and eventually loosing their minds. This form of prayer can not be looked at as a pathway to see God. IF you encounter anything of this nature stop immediately and seek out a priest.

That is a little harsh but I have heard many people tell me about such things and they are insistant that I stop because I am probably praying wrong. But that is their problem. Since I started saying this prayer about 8 yers ago I now say it somewhere between 500-750 times a day and no more and not all at the same time. It is the time I give to Christ Jesus and his name passing my lips in prayer.

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Patrick Mitchell

Hospody Isuse Khryste, synu zhyvogo Boga, pomylui mene grishnyka
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have Mercy on me, a sinner

I just remembered that this thread is posted in the Orthodox section. I am a Catholic. Byzantine Ruthinian rite. What I have said in my previous posts is said from the mouth (keyboard) of an Eastern Catholic in full Union with Rome.

Hope there is no confusion.

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Patrick Mitchell

Hospody Isuse Khryste, synu zhyvogo Boga, pomylui mene grishnyka
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have Mercy on me, a sinner

On the topic of the Jesus Prayer and hesychasm, I'd like to re-emphasize the importance of a spiritual father. A famous work on the Jesus Prayer, The Way of a Pilgrim, says this: "it is difficult and futile to live an inner spiritual life properly with the guidance of a spiritual director."

I'd also recommend this essay, written by a professor at St. Vladimir's Seminary.

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Jason R.

Patrick, are you saying it is more common for people to be demonically possessed through this prayer than to have true visions? I just can't make sense of it, I've heard people say it before.

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Peter Edwards
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Peter,

Demonic possesion is a very harsh term, however, it is as close as it gets to the truth.

Where people get int trouble is when they look for something to come out of the prayer. This is not an intercessory prayer this is a prayer to open up you heart your mind and your soul to Christ. Nothing more.

I read your post this morning and I have thought and prayed about this thread all day. I need to go to bed for I have had horribly long days and too short of nights.

However...

There have been monks who sought heavenly gifts from God. They would ball themselves up in a meditation position as the buddhists do and close their eyes halfway with them crossed saying the prayer. They would sit for hours in hopes that God would reviel himself to them in a visual or audible form. Then they would stop, eat sleep and do it all over again. This is wrong this is not what the prayer is useed for.

The Orthodox have a very structured way in which to pray this invocation. Rules of sorts. Catholics are not that stringent. It is a wonderful prayer for all.

If you can not find a spiritual father to lead you through this then I would say to read as much as you can and start slowly. Remember there is no rushing prayer so don't rush into this. Say a Chotki in the AM before rising. This will be the best time of day and the rest of the day will go great. Then practice your regualr prayeres and do not say the jesus prayer until the next morning. It will be hard because of the simplicity and the power the prayer has. Keep your Chotki in your pocket so you will not forget to pray throughout the day but don't say the prayer as you did in the morning save that for your time alone with God. The next morning rise and say another Chotki. And continue on.

I wear my Chotki around my neck. Nobody knows what it is (well a very few, less than one a month) and it is always there for me and reminds me of to pray throughout the day.

I am going to bed but let me talk some more to our priest who has wonderful things to say about this prayer. I didn't get a chance today after liturgy.

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Patrick Mitchell

Hospody Isuse Khryste, synu zhyvogo Boga, pomylui mene grishnyka
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have Mercy on me, a sinner

You keep saying "a spiritual father". Do you think a Roman rite Priest would be open-minded enough? I suspect that one might just say "stick to the Divine Mercy Chaplet, it's pretty similar".

Is it appropriate to just pray the chotki on a rosary? Skipping the decade beads, it would be exactly 50. Sure there's no tassel to dry the tears, but the rosary is already used to pray both the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Is there any true reason to not do this?

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Peter Edwards
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You would have to ask some priests how much they know about it. I do know a couple who understand what the Jeuss prayer is all about.

As for the rosery. Of course it is ok to use it. Even say a payer on the decade beads. The point of the Chotki is not to keep track but to keep you focused.

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Patrick Mitchell

Hospody Isuse Khryste, synu zhyvogo Boga, pomylui mene grishnyka
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have Mercy on me, a sinner

Patrick-

Just wanted to let you know that I responded to your email, in case you haven't checked it yet. Thanks-

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Peter Edwards
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