Dec. 19
Joyous Feast of St. Nicholas! (Old Calendar)
An akathist is a hymn/prayer of devotion, thanksgiving and petition, dedicated to a saint, holy event, or a person of the Trinity. It has thirteen parts, each with a kontakion (hymn in verse) and an ekos, an ernest request, ending, here, with “rejoice.” As the word Akathist means “standing,” the hymn is prayed standing. Akathists are chanted in Orthodox and other Eastern churches, though chanting is not necessary if prayed individually or in a small group.
Kontakion 1
O champion wonderworker and superb servant of Christ,
thou who pourest out for all the world
the most precious myrrh of mercy
and an inexhaustible sea of miracles,
I praise thee with love, O Saint Nicholas;
and as thou art one having boldness toward the Lord,
from all dangers do thou deliver us,
that we may cry to thee:
Rejoice, O Nicholas, Great Wonderworker!
Ekos 1
An angel in manner though earthly by nature
did the Creator reveal thee to be;
for, foreseeing the fruitful beauty of thy soul, O most blessed Nicholas,
He taught all to cry to thee thus:
Rejoice, thou who wast purified from thy mother’s womb!
Rejoice, thou who wast sanctified even unto the end!
Rejoice, thou who didst amaze thy parents by thy birth!
Rejoice, thou who didst manifest power of soul straightway after birth!
Rejoice, plant of the land of promise!
Rejoice, flower of divine planting!
Rejoice, virtuous vine of Christ’s vineyard!
Rejoice, wonderworking tree of the paradise of Jesus!
Rejoice, lily of paradisaical growth!
Rejoice, myrrh of the fragrance of Christ!
Rejoice, for through thee lamentation is banished!
Rejoice, for through thee rejoicing is brought to pass!
Rejoice, O Nicholas, Great Wonderworker!
Kontakion 2
Seeing the effusion of thy myrrh, O divinely wise one,
our souls and bodies are enlightened,
understanding thee to be a wonderful, living source of unction, O Nicholas;
for with miracles like waters poured out through the grace of God
thou fillest them that faithfully cry unto God:
Alleluia!
Ekos 2
Teaching incomprehensible knowledge about the Holy Trinity,
thou wast with the holy fathers in Nicea
a champion of the confession of the Orthodox Faith;
for thou didst confess the Son equal to the Father,
co-everlasting and co-enthroned,
and thou didst convict the foolish Arius.
Therefore the faithful have learned to sing to thee:
Rejoice, great pillar of piety!
Rejoice, city of refuge for the faithful!
Rejoice, firm stronghold of Orthodoxy!
Rejoice, venerable vessel and praise of the Holy Trinity!
Rejoice, thou who didst preach the Son of equal honour with the Father!
Rejoice, thou who didst expel the demonized Arius from the council of the saints!
Rejoice, father, glorious beauty of the fathers!
Rejoice, wise goodness of all the divinely wise!
Rejoice, thou who utterest fiery words!
Rejoice, thou who guidest so well thy flock!
Rejoice, for through thee faith is strengthened!
Rejoice, for through thee heresy is overthrown!
Rejoice, O Nicholas, Great Wonderworker!
The entire Akathist service can be read and printed at the St. Nicholas Center.
