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03/27/20 • 2 min

Catholic Culture Audiobooks

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Previous Episode

St. Romanos the Melodist - The Akathist Hymn

"Rejoice, O Bride Ever-Virgin!"

The Akathist Hymn is one of the most well-loved services of devotion in the Eastern Church. Although there’s some debate concerning the particulars of its authorship, many scholars agree with the pious tradition that it was composed by St. Romanos the Melodist, c. 530 in Constantinople.St. Romanos was a deacon and noted hymnographer, whose hymns have been praised both for their beauty as well as for their profound theology. The Akathist Hymn—just one of the many hymns attributed to St. Romanos—was originally composed for liturgical use in the celebration of the great Feast of the Annunciation of the Theotokos, March 25.

After the great liberation of Constantinople in 626, it was chosen to be sung as the hymn of thanksgiving for the miraculous victory that had been achieved through the intercession of the Blessed Mother. The faithful prayed all through the night without sitting, hence the Greek meaning of the title, Akathistos—"not seated."

May we, too, be found upright in thanksgiving and supplication, invoking Mary’s invincible intercession.

Full text: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/prayers/view.cfm?id=899

Example of sung chant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2IYzQ2Ava4

Donate at: http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Next Episode

St. Cyril of Jerusalem - Catechesis II: Repentance, Strong Weapon of Salvation

“Would you know the power of repentance? Would you understand this strong weapon of salvation and the might of confession?”

With this second installment in St. Cyril’s Lenten series of catechetical lectures, Cyril offers a remarkable testament to the power of repentance.

Cyril exhorts his catechumens to sure confidence in God’s mercy, no matter how much one has sinned. God’s mercy, Cyril reminds, extends even to a whole people; a nation; a globe.

Translation courtesy of Catholic University of America Press: https://verbum.com/product/120469/the-works-of-saint-cyril-of-jerusalem-vol-1

Alternate Translation at CatholicCulture.org: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=2410

Donate: https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio