Akathist To the Mother of God: The Burning Bush

An akathist composed by the confessor Daniil Tudor of Antim, translated by our brotherhood.

Kontakion 1

Who is this, as bright and pure as the dawn? It is the Queen of prayer - she who is the embodiment of prayer! O Mistress arrayed in golden robes, Lady of the radiant morning, Betrothed of the Comforter, and Renewal of Life, we who are parched and consumed with longing run to thee! Beneath thy pure covering, may we be made worthy partakers of the divine glory revealed on the holy Mountain Tabor! Be for us our cool shade and refreshing dew! O Thou herald of grace, renew our nature in thy fountain of grace; that prostrate in awe we may cry unto thee: Rejoice, thou holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer!

Ikos 1

Throughout the ages, the prophecy of the birth of God the Word from thy virginal womb nourished thy holy forefathers and ancestors with hope and faith! Abraham and David, together with the host of righteous ones, offered supplications in prostrations and tears, weaving from their imploring prayers, thy pure and virginal flesh – the mighty unburnt Bush! The Holy Fire, Whom thou didst bear without being consumed, has crowned thee with flowers of praise! All of nature’s groaning for salvation converges in thee, O desire of all the prophets of old! Thou art our Lady, the embodiment of supernatural praise! The ecstasy of Godly love shown forth in thee overwhelms our souls and trembling before this mystery, we cry out:

Rejoice, sweet harvest of the fruit of Mount Sinai!
Rejoice, thou who contained the Consuming Fire, unconsumed!
Rejoice, great entrance of the Divine Logos!
Rejoice, resounding harp of the Holy Spirit!
Rejoice, dawn of Eastern-rising redemption, divinely fashioned!
Rejoice, living wisdom, tabernacle of man’s true God-like transfiguration!
Rejoice, fire of Godly rapture, unlike any other!
Rejoice, complete fulfillment of former types and shadows!
Rejoice, perfect harmony, melody of the heavenly choirs!
Rejoice, holy temple, manifestation of boundless joy!
Rejoice, sublime rapture, defeating the vile gloom of sin!
Rejoice, thou holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer!

Kontakion 2

O All-consoling Virgin Mother, mercy seat of God Most-High, wondrous prothesis, holy altar, in whom the unrepeatable and incomprehensible mystery was revealed – our human nature hypostatically united to God the Word! What worthy hymns of reverence can we offer thee? We implore the loving intercessions of thy solicitous prayer, for with fearless wisdom and the power of thy heavenly virtue, thou hast broken the circle of enslavement, of death, and of slumber in the dark night of sin, which so tyrannized our race! Within the resplendent palace of thy womb, the Eternal Victor vanquished the curse of our fallen nature, therefore we ardently chant to Him Who gave us thee, Alleluia!

Ikos 2

Sweet Virgin of the eternal age, Holy Mother of light! Lend thine ear to us sinners, we wretched sons of clay! O, most kindhearted, good, and all-holy Lady, golden seat of our Lord Jesus, release us from the bonds that enslave us and open to us the path of Heaven! Thou art our sweet pledge from our much longed for Bridegroom. Grant us through enlightened revelation, to stand with the barefoot Moses on holy ground, faces illumined in the fiery glow of the Bush that burnt but was not consumed! Yet for now, we chant in the shadow of dusk:

Rejoice, stem of light, burning bush that was not consumed!
Rejoice, fountain of myrrh, bearer of the sweetest Lord Jesus!
Rejoice, ring of fire higher than the heavens!
Rejoice, tenderly warm consolation, melting our inner frost!
Rejoice, flowering rod, carrying us throughout our heart’s journey!
Rejoice, longed for shade, springing up within our inner desert!
Rejoice, blazing seal, permeating our souls!
Rejoice, renewal of the mind that no passion can reach!
Rejoice, highest measure of the kingdom within us!
Rejoice, wisdom, overflowing with eternal joy!
Rejoice, great wonder, kissed with spiritual reverence!
Rejoice, thou holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer!

Kontakion 3

All of time resounds with word of thee, O Most-pure Virgin! I hear of thee in the voice of the fiery prophet Isaiah, reverberating with all the resonance of grace, from the mystic Paradise of Scripture, “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: He hath the sign of the Lord on His shoulders and His Name is: Wonderful, Angel of great council, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” This is His Name, the five-fold Name, the holy Name of the Lord that our Lord Jesus bears! O, My soul, take heed, that we may cry out in awe, Alleluia!

Ikos 3

O Ever-Virgin Mother., in thee has been conceived the One Who preserved on Mount Sinai the bush unconsumed and unscathed by the divine fire. The Lord’s Name of Glory reveals Himself incarnate, manifest as the Logos in our flesh! The Face of Heavenly beauty, the boundless Image has bound Himself, with measure the Measureless One measured Himself, and the Great I AM appeared among us, as a meek victor riding on a donkey’s foal! The Unseen One is revealed to those hearts ablaze with divine love; walk, therefore, yourself – O, my soul! - on the path of the Light-filled Name, which is the ultimate and highest journey, and you shall pass from death to life with your nature sanctified while chanting purely and without temptation:

Rejoice, pledge of our nature’s deification!
Rejoice, power bearing us up with Jesus over the stormy waters!
Rejoice, portal of mercy, through which Christ gave Himself to us!
Rejoice, path guiding within us the ultimate consent – May it be so!
Rejoice, stillness wherein the Logos reverberates within us!
Rejoice, golden door of the inner chamber of the heart!
Rejoice, tenderness that makes us Emanuel’s brethren!
Rejoice, heart through which the Holy Spirit pulsates in our blood!
Rejoice, solitude through which Heaven springs forth in our souls!
Rejoice, clarity which refashions us as new creation!
Rejoice, purity through which the Name of glory entered the world!
Rejoice, thou holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer!

Kontakion 4

Where will we find respite from the turmoil of thoughts, if not in thee, O Theotokos, All-holy Virgin? How can we tear ourselves from the indolence of the passions and the boisterous temptations encircling us, but through thee? Be thou for us the coveted gentle breeze, the quite whisper, guiding us to the proper mastering of spiritual living! Be our aid; help us to rein in our weak and unruly nature and temper it in the crucible of ascetic forbearance! O our luminous dispassion and fortress of pure psalmody, grant that encompassed in thee we may offer our overflowing and wholehearted praise, Alleluia!

Ikos 4

O, Theotokos, thou kindled flower of the unconsumed flame! Thou art the image of peace perceived in the inviolate heart of the fire and we beseech thee – cover us now with thy protection, Most Kindhearted one! Under thy profuse and tender mercy, give unto us the grace to obtain the rare gift of a holy quiver full of the virtues. May we breathe of the profound breath from the bosom of the silvery Dove - gleaming with golden feathers - which the prophet King beheld soaring in restful flight over the height of God’s rich mountain. Transform our bodies into consecrated temples, habitations of the Holy Spirit, illumined by the very mercy of thy protection! Seal upon our tainted lips a measure of the sacred smoldering coal, that we may ardently chant to thee:

Rejoice, hesychastic leap and most blessed flight!
Rejoice, chaste breath of the serene quiver!
Rejoice, spear of the word, correcting our thoughts!
Rejoice, desired habitation of the Holy Dove of the Spirit!
Rejoice, glory surpassing the cherubim!
Rejoice, eternity contained within the stretch of a moment!
Rejoice, almighty sail, advancing those on the sea of life!
Rejoice, boundless drink of heavenly wisdom!
Rejoice, fountain, glistening with ripples of Living water!
Rejoice, astute warmth flowing from the Philokalia!
Rejoice, humble revelation found in heartfelt prostrations!
Rejoice, thou holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer!

Kontakion 5

“I have come to bring fire to the earth,” proclaimed the Lord Jesus with searing words. O Most-chaste One, may the fiery tempest of His love set us ablaze! May the pristine purifying flame fill us with inscrutable light, just as it did thee, O Virgin, who carried Him in thy womb! May His love be indispensable for us and His Name of glory be seared into our souls. May each humble intake of our breath, kindle within us the fervent calling of the Name. May we burn like pyres in God, engulfed in love of His sweet Name – Jesus! Thus, set afire with the praise of God, we may call out with the fervor of love: Alleluia!

Ikos 5

From thee, O Virgin, we perceive the incomprehensible value and power of the solemn whispering of the names of the departed in memorial, accompanied by silent and humble prayer. Yes, as the nature of water is soft and that of the rock is unspeakably hard, and yet a gentle flowing brook, trickling softly down, through its diligent drops of water can pierce the hardest rock. O Virgin, persist, therefore, over our hardened hearts and win us over with thy drops of grace! Thus, we may chant to thee these hymns of glory:

Rejoice, graceful boldness acquired through utterance of the Holy Name!
Rejoice, pure brook of fortitude, dropping grace on our souls!
Rejoice, divinely luminous white rock, firm foundation of the faithful!
Rejoice, sweetest honeycomb of Jesus, the Son of Man!
Rejoice, perch for lofty thoughts, contemplation of Christ our Lord!
Rejoice, chosen One of God, the ultimate offering of thanksgiving!
Rejoice, deluge of wondrous scent, given us by the Son!
Rejoice, ceaseless prostration of “God, have mercy on me a sinner!”
Rejoice, surging stream, raising us up on the waters of Life!
Rejoice, cooling flood, refreshing those remembered in memorial!
Rejoice, wondrous flow of prayerful contemplation!
Rejoice, thou holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer!

Kontakion 6

All the philosophers of worldly wisdom and their every earthly thought shall stand in muted shame before thee, Most-holy Virgin, forever unto eternity! For thou art the seal of unblemished living; the Heavenly gate, locked to the shrewd-minded of this world; thou are the living reflection of the transcendent experience and wonder of faith! In thee we clearly understand that life was not given us to be constantly reinterpreted. Rather, earthly life has a richer gain than merely to be lived. True life pertains to the nous, beyond thought and place, beyond the chain of only this transient moment - it is the revelation of the inner fiery heavens shining over the fountain of the heart and encompassing every movement of our deeds. The Logos, the light of the world, He alone is Life; He alone is the incarnate Path by which mankind ascends to the eternal, singing, Alleluia!

Ikos 6

O Most-pure Virgin Mother, thou art truly our wakefulness, steadfastness of mind, vessel of chrism, inner eye beholding every surrounding horizon, heart of purity soaring in the tranquil heavens, and clear thought of every pristine sentiment! Thou art the righteous unity of our attention – mighty perception beyond words – illumining our minds with light divine! O clarity of focused thought, forged in the burning surge of Life; O fervent warmth and soothing cool of the Cross, disclosing to us the highest Reason – the Logos! O wakefulness ever-flowing - childlike, clear, profound, and pure – gushing steadfast and resolute from thine immaculate soul, O Theotokos; such is thy might and holy modesty that never ceases to amaze us. Thus we, each according to our ability, offer our humble prostrations and hymns to thee:

Rejoice, cross of zeal, alertness of the chosen ones!
Rejoice, zenith of the heavens containing the morning star of wisdom!
Rejoice, disperser of the swirling swarm of vain thoughts!
Rejoice, incomprehensible image, transcending the fall!
Rejoice, translucent clarity of the inner man!
Rejoice, radiant daybreak, proclaiming God the Word!
Rejoice, harp of psalmody, bringing harmony to our minds!
Rejoice, cord of five strings, sounding in unified melody!
Rejoice, unspoken music of the second birth!
Rejoice, mystical height of plenary knowledge!
Rejoice, bride of the Name of Wisdom!
Rejoice, thou holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer!

Kontakion 7

O Holy Mother, we flee to thy sacred wisdom wherein we are renewed under the shelter of thy praise, for at the Great Bridegroom’s holy wedding feast, the guard of every talent of virtue is required. No impurity of the eyes or unworthiness of garments shall be permitted and thus not one of those unaccustomed with the mysteries may draw near to partake of the feast! For who would permit pigs to feed on pearls or dogs to lick the holy vessels? Purely spiritual are both the gift of invitation and the drive to enter within, these come only from thee our heavenly Mother! Come, O my soul, be humble, be cleansed and reconciled; rise up on the wings of zeal, upborne with complete and pure joy, crying, Alleluia!

Ikos 7

All-holy, all-praised, all-beautiful, transcendent Bride of life, model of every spiritual striving, Queen of all glory! Thou art our benevolent Mother and the giver of all that is holy; living dowry of the blessed gifts – those from the Mysteries, from the offerings, from the relics and icons, from the psalms and chanted word! Thou art the paragon of instruction, desirable and bright; thou art the guardian of every good gift, radiant as seven candles before God’s throne, wherefore all the angels and saints glorify thee:

Rejoice, paschal blessing of new fulfillment!
Rejoice, blessing of the Patriarchs, gently laid on our heads!
Rejoice, felicitous adoption of us all unto theosis!
Rejoice, priceless pearl, bestowed by the touch of cleansing grace!
Rejoice, anointing, enlightening meek minds!
Rejoice, tremendous gift of unspeakable strength for the soul!
Rejoice, daring and purpose given to righteous hearts!
Rejoice, principle of unity for the holy churches of God!
Rejoice, sapphire of precious truth, inlaid into our senses!
Rejoice, animate treasure, granting us the blessed sabbath rest!
Rejoice, word made eternal in wondrous silence!
Rejoice, thou holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer!

Kontakion 8

All-holy Lady, our Queen, Mother untempted by marriage, thou art the only human heart within which the Name of Glory pulsates ceaselessly, forever manifesting its living and pure purpose. Only in thee, as never before, the heart of man beats in complete unity and harmony with the heart of God, O thou crown of highest praise to our All-blameless Lord! Prayer flows within thee, thoughts interwoven with heaven, weaving itself into the immaculate praise of the mystery of God’s love! O thou abundance of pure Light, unfading and unsurpassed! Soften our hearts with thy gifts, O blessed one, so that well-equipped and worthily we may entrust ourselves to thee, our unassailable sanctuary, chanting, Alleluia!

Ikos 8

Mother of God, heart of light! Mother of God, heart of earth! Mother of God, heart without blame! Mother of God, heart of the Word! For thee do we yearn! Shamed and diminished, with spent souls and broken knees because of the overwhelming plague of sin, our hearts have become hard as the edge of a beaten flint rock, unspeakably bleak. The Lord has let us follow the wandering ways of our minds and our broken thoughts stray in the dark mist. Behold, now to thee we fall prostrate, Mother of Jesus, embrace us and make of us living stones, spiritual temples of the light, radiant with the eternal morning! Revive in us new and clean hearts, that we may sing to thee:

Rejoice, never-failing ally of our souls!
Rejoice, treasury sealed with the Name of God!
Rejoice, living ark, sailing over this world’s billows!
Rejoice, impregnable citadel of dispassion!
Rejoice, throne upon which life is founded!
Rejoice, talanton, resounding with prayer!
Rejoice, nave containing every service of grace!
Rejoice, sanctuary, uniting holy souls to God!
Rejoice, shrine of thought on the most spiritual altar!
Rejoice, heavenly feast-day, wherein the mind offers liturgy!
Rejoice, purifying flame, cleansing the inner man!
Rejoice, thou holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer!

Kontakion 9

Lord Jesus Christ, our hearts’ gentle Bridegroom! I am also part of the holy Virgin’s family, a recently adopted child. Before Thee I fall prostrate and like Thomas in awe I reach out my hand to touch Thee, the Holy One. Every muscle contracts in fearful wonder and standing speechless - I am but a blind man on the unfading luminous Path that radiates forth from the deep. Thy Kingdom which is within a man as an innermost sun, shining unblemished within the boundaries of being! But lo, as of yet, I cannot see Thee from the darkness – the thick twilight of my sin – yet still, I timidly feel Thee with the finger of hope, the finger of faith, the finger of longing, and even the finger of doubt and faintheartedness! My heart, despite its weakness, is pierced by the burning lightning of longing, painfully sweet, and with its breath whispers “come Lord Jesus.” My heartbeat of prayer runs towards the light, chanting, Alleluia!

Ikos 9

All-holy Virgin, our unfailing aid, thou art wiser than all the heavenly minds; truly, thou knowest the godly meaning and design of the redeeming Transfiguration. Thou art mastery, the art, and the industry of every blessed human craft that reflects in itself profound longing for salvation, shattering the chimera of our sins! Thus, we persist in glorifying thee:

Rejoice, exact image of the wisdom of sainthood!
Rejoice, heavenly acumen, unseen labor of the hidden man!
Rejoice, blessed sweetening of the Name, like unto flowing chrism!
Rejoice, monastic astuteness, fruit of tear-soaked chanting!
Rejoice, purity, surpassing the angels!
Rejoice, golden mat of ascesis, woven in the hidden desert!
Rejoice, crown of litanies, sparkling from the knots of the prayer rope!
Rejoice, stillness, gentle candle of truth!
Rejoice, stool of instruction for hesychastic prayer!
Rejoice, uplifted hands of prayerful rapture!
Rejoice, adornment of joy, soothing the aridness of our hearts!
Rejoice, O Holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer!

Kontakion 10

O unblemished grace-filled Lady and Virgin, endowed with the two wings of a great eagle, Apocalyptic sign of the blameless womb, temple and wilderness cultivating the inner man! Help me to nourish the mystical renewal of my nature by grace, while softly crying out to thee these hymns of praise. Grant unto me the luminous new birth, O champion leader, and that knowledge that flows from Resurrection, so that I may sing, Alleluia!

Ikos 10

O generous Mother, teacher of mystery, Lady of hope, endless expanse of azure heights, Mistress adorned with three stars on thy cloak, blessed balm for our infirmities! To thee again do I flee, exerting myself, for I am broken by the world and overcome by vain thoughts! Through thy holy guidance and blessing, make of me an active participant in my salvation; strengthen my resolve, by thy vivifying prayers, rightly to strive fervently and ceaselessly for prayer. Lo, the clay idol of my thoughts does not allow me respite, although my heart longs to offer contrite and sanctified prayer to God. Guide me, O my helper, give me tears - the salt of repentance - that with them I may vanquish the specter of powerlessness plaguing my soul, and become worthy to chant to thee:

Rejoice, pristine rose of God’s ineffable mystery!
Rejoice, tenderness of repentance, Mother clothed in light!
Rejoice, blessing of tears, opening our eyes to wisdom!
Rejoice, judicious discernment, song of a sighing heart!
Rejoice, radiant cloud, pouring on us the rain of salvation!
Rejoice, dew-laden fleece, revealed in the midst of the childlike faith!
Rejoice, royal porphyry, crown of blessed Amen!
Rejoice, diamond of grace, acquired through suffering of heart!
Rejoice, fountain of benevolence, strengthening the faithful!
Rejoice, steadfast helper, even in our fainthearted falls!
Rejoice, protecting veil, covering any weakness!
Rejoice, O Holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer!

Kontakion 11

I thank thee, all-merciful Mother, for delivering me from death yet again. Trials and temptations are the crucible for the refining of our faith. Through calling ceaselessly upon the light-filled Almighty Name, my senses and my heart’s will have passed over the threshold of silence – there they are renewed. Here I wait, yearning to be overwhelmed by godly hearing, seeing, and speech, yes, from now on, mayonly these be energizing within me! May my Beloved Himself, the heavenly Jesus, speak, see, and understand through my entire being – my seeing, my hearing, and my will! May Christ live in every manifestation of my vigor, so that He may call through me to the Father, like deep calls unto deep, Alleluia!

Ikos 11

O you my heart, mind, and thought, wound yourself with longing by asking the right questions: which discernible signs, I wonder, do heavenly fruit have? And you shall hear the instructive voice of the holy Fathers say, if the image of the unseen revelation descends upon you through the golden breath of blessed visitation, then you must be most attentive to the Spirit’s radiance, in a manner like the Virgin’s pure spirit was when She entered the Temple. And you shall grow so highresounding and melodious like unto the praising trumpets that the angels sound! And your senses will be perceptive as the righteous seer Moses, who searched the horizon, eagerly beholding the sign of the bush that burnt and was not consumed. This is the sign we hunger for! May the holy Lady grant it to us, through her merciful intercessions, as we cry unto her:

Rejoice, divine ladder, whose foot rests in the heart of the faithful!
Rejoice, prayer of the heart, so pure and serene!
Rejoice, warmth of grace overwhelming our flesh!
Rejoice, celestial action, clothing us in garments of sanctification!
Rejoice, heavenly water, springing from the fountain of our eyes!
Rejoice, refreshing refuge from the barrenness of wandering thoughts!
Rejoice, boundless and pure ascent of a transfigured mind!
Rejoice, spiritual perception of the unfathomable mysteries!
Rejoice, mystic rungs, raising us from earth to heaven!
Rejoice, inexpressible enlightenment, shining in the heart!
Rejoice, boundless perfection, immaculate in body and soul!
Rejoice, O Holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer!

Kontakion 12

Thou art the mother and queen of my soul! Give me rest beneath the shelter of thine image! Under the ardent gaze of thine eyes, allow me as well to burn unconsumed in the mystic fountain of living prayer. O thou sealed garden, from the stream of thy perpetual grace and cool shelter of thy protection, let me, again and again, be renewed in the great peace of joyful rest. Ignite me with the living joy of victory, O Mother, that I may chant from a purified and healed conscience, all ablaze, Alleluia!

Ikos 12

Mother of God, loving helper of us who dwell on earth! Wellspring of the Word’s revelation of mystery! Thou art divinely gentle and meek and also, as the Song of Songs testifies, just and formidable as an army in full array! Thou are bright, serene, and sharp as a fearsome blade; thou hast the ready help of the host of saints in the heavenly Jerusalem. Nourished on thine endless chastity and compassion, thy eager sons of self-denial, all the hosts of hermits and anchorites, and the whole multitude of wise confessors impart infinite treasures of blessing. We are guided by their illumining grace, which is cleansing and salvific. All that is called virtuous knowledge – the legacy of the saints – thou hast imparted to us through the writings of the Fathers, vast labors of sacrifice and words of wisdom! We shall never be able to thank thee worthily for such innumerable good things; yet we raise our unworthy voices to sing thy praise and honor:

Rejoice, sword defending the hesychast legacy!
Rejoice, everlasting security of our transfiguration!
Rejoice, chalice overflowing with God’s blessing!
Rejoice, still haven, sheltering man’s holy birth from above!
Rejoice, tireless weaver of silent miracles!
Rejoice, unassailable tactician of invisible warfare!
Rejoice, watchful eye guarding us with sweet strictness!
Rejoice, clarion call, bestowing order with precise alertness!
Rejoice, shield guarding the land of the living!
Rejoice, fortified gate, protecting creation from every defilement!
Rejoice, threshing fork, throwing out the chaff of impurity!
Rejoice, O Holy Bride, wellspring of ceaseless prayer!

Kontakion 13

O ever-virtuous Mother of God and most-blessed Mother of of the Christian race, fair as the moon, clear as the sun! May this our prayerful prostration, running in ceaseless flow, burn as a sacrifice unconsumed; may it be a sweet-scented offering to the Holy Trinity, joyfully upborne in thy radiant hands to the Bridegroom Christ our Lord. May it find fruition in true worship, so that together with the heavenly hosts, and under the all-encompassing embrace of thy love, we may sing to God Most-High, Alleluia!
(Repeat 3x)