Categories: orthodox-life, feast-days
Date: 11 April 2008 03:20:34
Tonight, the fifth Friday of Great Lent, the complete Akathist Service is said. An akathist is a hymn dedicated to one of the Holy Trinity, a saint or a holy event. The akathist said during Great Lent is for Mary, the Mother of God. For each of the four previous weeks, a part of the akathist has been said: tonight, we hear the whole akathist. As can be seen from that page, it will be a rather long service.
Another long service was that held last night, and which I could not attend due to uni, was that of the complete Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete [again, there are four sections, one each of which was read during the first four days of Great Lent] together with the reading of the Life of St Mary of Egypt. The Life of St Mary is well worth the read: a truly miraculous account of God's saving work in the life of one of the most beloved saints.