Akathist Hymn 1400 years

Ecumenical Patriarch marks 1,400 years since first chanting of Akathist Hymn at Blachernae

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I prayed last Friday at the Church of Blachernae in Constantinople, marking 1,400 years since the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God was first chanted. According to tradition, the hymn dedicated to the Mother of God was first chanted at the Church of Blachernae in Constantinople in 626, after the Byzantine…

Aug 12, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew says Akathist Hymn is ‘magnificent ode to freedom’ at Constantinople Conference

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I said the Akathist Hymn is “a magnificent ode to freedom” at the opening of a conference marking 1,400 years since its first chanting. The event took place on Thursday, March 26, at the Marasli Patriarchal Urban School in Istanbul, Turkey, and was attended by hierarchs of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, clergy, diplomatic…

Apr 2, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Orthodox Churches and EU Officials mark 1,400 years of Akathist Hymn at Brussels event

Representatives of the Orthodox sister Churches and European Union institutions on Wednesday marked the 1,400th anniversary of the first chanting of the Akathist Hymn of the Mother of God at an event in Brussels. The gathering was organised by the Committee of Representatives of the Orthodox Churches to the European Union (CROCEU) and took place…

Apr 1, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Virgin Mary honoured as ‘living icon of the Church, obedient to God in humility’, Patriarch Daniel says

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church said on Wednesday that the Mother of God holds a central place in the history of humanity’s salvation, describing her as “a living icon of the Church, obedient to God in humility”. He underlined that the Feast of the Annunciation marks “the beginning of our salvation…

Mar 26, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Ecumenical Patriarchate issues encyclical for 1,400-Year Jubilee of Akathist Hymn: The sweetest delight of Christians

The Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate has issued an encyclical marking the 1,400th anniversary of the Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos, regarded as the first such hymnographic composition in the history of the Church. The hierarchs described the Akathist as “the most beloved hymn of our liturgical life, the sweetest delight of…

Mar 26, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian pilgrims mark 1,400 years of Akathist Hymn at Blachernae Church in Constantinople

A group of Romanian pilgrims prayed on Wednesday at the Church of the Virgin Mary of Blachernae in Constantinople, marking 1,400 years since the first chanting of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God. The pilgrimage, organised by the Romanian Patriarchate’s Basilica Travel Agency, is taking place over four days and includes visits to…

Mar 26, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu