Together with the Dominican brothers, we invite you to sing Akathist together in honor of the Mother of God. The prayer will take place in the Holy Trinity Basilica in Krakow on the eve of the celebration of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, on Wednesday, December 7, at 8:15 pm.
The akathist in honor of the Mother of God in its content refers to the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God, so it would seem most appropriate to sing it on the occasion of the Annunciation, i.e. on March 25, but this celebration falls during Lent, so it would be inappropriate to sing the joyful Alleluia many times.
Therefore, we propose to sing this beautiful prayer near the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, due to the fact that Mary’s preservation from the stain of original sin is inseparable from the Incarnation of her Son. In her life, Mary was especially likened to her Son. He, as the new Adam, obeyed the Father by correcting the mistake of the old Adam. Likewise, Mary is the new Eve who, although she could have turned her back on God in some way, did not and remained the faithful Handmaid of the Lord.
In addition, the akathist, which belongs to the common heritage of Eastern and Western Christianity, is a form of prayer similar to the more popular litanies in Poland, and yet no one wonders whether it is appropriate to recite even the Litany of Loreto outside the May service. That would be absurd. So we don’t really need to discuss when and how many times to sing the akathist. The more often the better. In short: any time is good for a joyful akathist in honor of the Mother of God (maybe with the exception of Lent). That is why we want to solemnly praise Mary and sing her “welcome” also in Advent. We want to entrust ourselves to her and experience this time of waiting for Christmas with her.
More information can be found in the Facebook event. Our recording of Akathist from a few years ago is also available on YouTube:
