[Kontakion I][Ikos I] [Kontakion II][Ikos II] [Kontakion III][Ikos III] [Kontakion IV][Ikos IV] [Kontakion V][Ikos V] [Kontakion VI][Ikos VI] [Kontakion VII][Ikos VII] [Kontakion VIII][Ikos VIII] [Kontakion IX][Ikos IX] [Kontakion X][Ikos X]

An Akathist of Thankgiving
Archpriest Gregory Petrov, (English Translation; Mother Thekla)


Kontakion Iup


Immortal King of the ages,
Holding within your right hand all the paths of human life
Through the power of your saving providence,
We thank you for all your acts of goodness,
Manifest and hidden, for the life on earth,
And the heavenly joys of your kingdom to come.
Extend your mercy also into the future for us who sing:
Glory to you, O God, unto the ages.


Ikos Iup


A weak and helpelss infant I was born into the world,
But your Angel spread out his wings my cradle to guard;
Since then your love has shone on all my ways,
Marvellously steering me to the light of eternity.
From the very first day till now
Gloriously are manifest the generous gifts of your providence.
I give thanks and cry out with all who confess you:
Glory to you, who called me to life,
Glory to you, revealing for me the beauty of the universe.
Glory to you, spreading out before me,
As a book of eternal wisdom, the sky and the earth,
Glory to your eternity in the midst of a temporal world,
Glory to you for secret and evident mysteries,
Glory to you for each sign of my grief,
Glory to you for each step of my life, each instant of joy.
Glory to you, O God, unto the ages.
Amen.



Kontakion IIup


O Lord, how good it is to be your guest:
The wind scented mountains, erect into the sky,
Waters, as mirrors, unconfined, 
Reflecting rays of gold, light footed clouds.
All nature secretly whispers, all full of caresses,
And the birds and the beasts bear the stamp of your love.
Blessed is Mother Earth:
Her swift passing beauty, arousing the yearning
For the eternal native land,
Wherein beauty immortal there sounds:
Alleluia.


Ikos IIup


You led me into this life, as an enchanting paradise.
We saw the sky as a deep blue chalice
In who azure rings out the song of birds;
We heard the peace making noise of the forest,
And the sweet sounding music of waters;
We ate fragrant and sweet fruits and scented honey.
It is good in your home on earth, joyous to be your guests.
Glory to you for the feast day of life,
Glory to you for the scent of lilies of the valley and roses,
Glory to you for the sweet variety of berries and fruits,
Glory to you for the diamond sparkle of morning dew,
Glory to you for the smile of light awakening,
Glory to you for life unending, herald of heaven.
Glory to you, O God, unto to the ages.
Amen.



Kontakion IIIup


Through the power of the Holy Spirit,
Each little flower is fragrant,
Soft breathing of scent, delicate tint,
The beauty of the great within the small.
Praise and honour to God, Creator of life,
Who spreads out the meadows as a carpet in flower,
Crowning the feilds with golden sheaves,
And cornflowers deep blue,
As for souls' contemplation in joy.
Make merry and sing to Him: Alleluia.


Ikos IIIup


How Beautiful you are in the triumph of spring,
When all creation resurrects
And joyfully cries to you, in harmony thousandfold:
You are the welspring of life,
You are the conqueror of death.
In the light of the crescent moon and the nightgale's song,
The valleys and forests stand in their snow white bridal apparel.
The whole earth your bride, she awaits her immortal Bridegroom.
If you so clothe the gras, how then will you transfigure us 
In the age to come of resurrection,
How radiantwith light our bodies, how aglow our souls!
Glory to you who have drawn out of earth's darkness
Various colours, fragrance and taste.
Glory to you for the welcome and loving caress of all natur,
Glory to you for surrounding us with thousands of your creations,
Glory to you for the depth of your wisdom,
Imprinted throughout the world.  
Glory to you.
In reverance I kiss the traces of your footsteps unseen,
Glory to you, who have lit ahead the brilliant light of eternal life,
Glory to you for the hope of beauty,
Deathless, incorruptible ideal,
Glory to you, O God, unto the ages.
Amen.



Kontakion IVup


What sweet delight you give them who think of you,
How life creating is your holy word,
Softer than oil and sweeter than honeycombs
Is converse with you.
Prayer to you takes to wing and quickens;
With what dread is the heart the filled
And how all life and nature become the wise and magnificent!
Where you are not, there nothingness.
Where you are, there weakth of soul,
There the song pours forth in a living cascade: Alleluia.


Ikos IVup


When the sun sets on earth,
When reigns the calm of sleep unending
And the silence of the fading day,
I see your bridal chamber beneath the image of shining tents,
And the dawn of tabernacles in the clouds.
Fire and purple, gold and deep blue,
Prophetically they speak of the unspeakable beauty of your dwellings,
And in triumph may cry aloud: Let us go to the Father!
Glory to you in the quiet hour of evening.
Glory to you, outpouring great calm upon the world.
Glory to you for the farewell ray of the setting sun,
Glory to you for the rest of healing sleep,
Glory to you for your goodness in darkness,
When all the world is far away.
Glory to you for the tender emotion of a soul moved to prayer,
Glory to youfor the promised awakening to joy everlasting
Of the day without evening.
Glory to you, O God, unto the ages.
Amen.



Kontakion Vup


Life's tempests hold no dread
For him in whose heart shines the lamp of your fire.
All around, foul weather and gloom,
Horror and wailing of wind,
But, in his soul, serenity and light.
Christ is there! And the heart sings: Alleluia.


Ikos Vup


I see your sky, starlit.
O how rich you are, how manifold your worlds!
Eternity looks down upon me in the rays of stars afar;
I am so small, so worthless,
But the Lord is with me,
His loving right hand guards me everywhere.
Glory to you for your unceasing care for me,
Glory to you for providential meetings with people,
Glory to you for the love of relations, allegiance of friends,
Glory to you for the shyness of beasts which serve me,
Glory to youfor the moments of light in my life,
Glory to you for the manifest joys of the heart,
Glory to for the boon of life, to move and to think.
Glory to you, O God, unto the ages.
Amen.



Kontakion VIup


How great you are and near in the powerful motion of the storms,
How visible your mighty hand
In the twists and turns of blinding lightning flashes,
How wonderful your majesty!
Call of the Lord over the fields, in the rustle of forests,
Call of the Lord in the birth of thunder and rain,
Call of the Lord above many waters.
Praise to you in the roar of fire breathing mountains.
You shake the earth like a garment.
You raise the sky, the waves of the sea.
Praise to him who lays low the pride of mankind,
Who evokes the cry of repentance: Alleluia.


Ikos VIup


As when after lightning has lit up the banqueting chamber,
The lights seen faint from the lamps,
So you of a sudden blazed in my soul
At times of intense worldly pleasures.
And after the lightning flash of your light,
How colourless, dark, what illusions they seemed!
My soul pursued you.
Glory to you, boundary and limit to man's highest aspirations,
Glory to you for our thirst, unquenchable, to be in God's presence,
Glory to you, who have breathed into us dissatisfaction with the earth,
Glory to you, who have enfolded us in your finest rays,
Glory to you, who have shattered the power of the spirit of darkness,
Condemning all evil to destruction.
Glory to you for your revelations,
For the fortune of feeling your presence and living with you.
Glory to you, O God, unto the ages.
Amen.



Kontakion VIIup


What is shattered to dust may not be restored,
But you renew them in whom conscience has corrupted,
But you restore their pristine beauty
To souls who hopelessly have lost it.
With you there is nothing irreparable.
You are all love.  You, Creator, Restorer,
We praise you in the song: Alleluia.


Ikos VIIup


My God, having witnessed the fall
Of the proud angel of the morning star,
Save me by the power of grace,
Let me not fall away from you.
Permit me not to doubt in you.
Make my hearing acute
That I may give heed each moment of life
To your secret voice
And cry out to you, who are everywhere:
Glory to you for the porvidential coincidence of circumstances,
Glory to you for beneficial premonitions,
Glory to you for warnings of a secret voice,
Glory to you for revelations asleep and awake.
Glory to you, ruining our unprofitable plans,
Glory to you, through suffering, sobering us from the heat of passions,
Glory to you, for salvation humbling the haughty heart,
Glory to you, O God, unto the ages.
Amen.



Kontakion VIIIup


Across the frozen chain of centuries,
I sense the warmth of your breathe divine,
Hear the blood flowing.  Now you are near,
A part has cleared from the mists of time.
I see your Cross, your Cross for my sake.
My spirit in dust before the Cross:
Now is the triumph of love and salvation,
Here praise unto the ages does not cease: Alleluia.


Ikos VIIIup


Blessed is he who will eat of the supper in your kingdom,
But already on this earth
You have made me a partaker of this blessing
How many times have you in your divine right hand
Stretched out to me your body and your blood
And I, so full of sin, accepted the sacrament
And experienced your love, ineffable, beyond nature.
Glory to you for the incomprehensible,
Life giving glory of grace.
Glory to you who raised up your Church
As a quiet harbour for the tormented world,
Glory to you for renewing us
With the life giving waters of baptism.
Glory to you, you restore to the penitent
The purity of a lily unstained.
Glory to you, inexhaustable depths of forgiveness,
Glory to you for the cup if life, for the bread of eternal joy,
Glory to you who has led us out to heaven.
Glory to you, O God, unto the ages.
Amen.



Kontakion IXup


I have often seen your glory
Reflected on faces of the dead!
With what unearthly beauty and with what joy they shone,
How spiritual, thei features immaterial,
It was a triumph of gladness achieved, of peace;
In silence they called you.
At the hour of my end illumine my soul also,
As it cries: Alleluia, Alleluia.


Ikos IXup


What is my praise before you?
I have not heard the Cherubim singing,
That is the lot of souls sublime,
But i know how nautre praises you.
In winter I have thought about the whole earth
Praying quietly yo you in the silence of the moon,
Wrapped around in a mantle of white,
Sparkling with diamonds of snow.
I have seen how the rising sun rejoiced in you,
And choirs of birds sang forth glory.
I have heard how secretly the forest noises you abroad,
How the winds sing, the waters gurgle,
Who choirs of stars preach of you
In serried motion through unending space.
But what is my praise?  Nature obeys, while I 
No, as long as  I live, I see your love,
I want to thank, to pray, to cry out:
Glory to you, whohas shown us the light,
Glory to you, loving us with a love,
Deep, immeasurable, divine,
glory to you, enlightening us with light,
With the hosts of angels and saints,
Glory to you, all holy Father,
Who has given us charge of your kingdom,
Glory to you, Holy Spirit,
Life giving sun of the ages to come,
Glory to you for everything,
All gracious Trinity divine.
Glory to you, O God, unto the ages.
Amen.



Kontakion Xup


O all good and life giving Trinity 
Accept the gratitude for all your mercy
And show us worthy of your goodness that, 
Having increased the talents entrusted to us
We may enter into the everlasting joy of our Lord,
Singing the song of victory:
Alleluia! 
Alleluia! 
Alleluia!