On Saturday 23rd June, at the Pisani chapel in Cromford, Derbyshire, there will be an Akathist of Thanksgiving.
The Pisani Chapel is an Orthodox chapel built within the grounds of a stone-cutting business, Pisani Ltd., off the A6 near Cromford, Derbyshire. For address and contact details, see here.
The chapel is a converted barn, beautifully decorated with marble and stone sold by the company. A few pictures are shown below.
What is an Akathist?
An akathist is a hymn comprises 24 stanzas. The stanzas alternate between short, ending with the refrain Alleluia, and long. The first Akathist Hymn was written in honour of the Mother of God in the 6th century A.D by St Roman the Melodist. Later, a massive besieging army of Persians and Scythians were miraculously turned away from the walls of Constantinople. The relieved citizens believed their deliverance had come through the intercessions of the Mother of God, and so sang St Roman’s praises to her all night without sitting down – and so the hymn became known as the Akathist (Gr. meaning “without sitting”).
Since then, many other Akathists have been written, addressed to God, Jesus Christ, or a particular Saint: the words in each are different, but they all follow the same structure as the original Akathist Hymn.
The Akathist of Thanksgiving was composed by Metropolitan Tryphon (Turkestanov) +1934 – but frequently attributed to Father Gregory Petrov, who died in a Soviet prison camp. It is a song of praise from amidst the most terrible sufferings. With each day, some news of one thing or another arrives that is cause either for distress or anxiety – yet it is far better to meet such problems with prayer and thanksgiving. Everyone is welcome to join us in giving thanks to God!
The Pisani Chapel:
(NB: the translation we use may differ from this)
Orthodox Parish of St Cuthbert 