This is an Akathist litany by Saint Nektarios of Aegina who was a dedicated scholar, well versed in the ancient texts and in the liturgy of the early Byzantine Church. His hymn draws heavily on the liturgical traditions and musical forms of 6th century Byzantium and reflects the music of the early Eastern Orthodox Church at a time when it was borrowing heavily from the cultural and philosophical traditions of Hellenic and pre-Hellenic Greece. The verb "khaire" (meaning "hail !" in the sense of invocation) is most often "translated" as "rejoice" in the English versions of Akathist hymns. As in the pre-Christian hymns to the Goddess - the refrain "Khaire Nymphe" is repeated after each verse and forms the chorus. This is reminiscent of the invocation of the Shekinah ("the Holy Spirit") in the traditions of mystical Judaism in which the call "Bo-i Kallah, Shekinah !" ("Come, O Bride, Shekinah !") resounds with deep reverence and love. In this prayer, the Panaghia is invoked by Her sacred titles which have been part of a silver umbilical cord of continuity that is well-documented from inscriptions that stretches back to pre-Hellenic times : Despoina ("Mistress") Nymphe ("Bride") Meter ("Mother") Kore ("Daughter") Kuria ("Lady") Anassa ("Queen") Basilissa ("Queen") Pantanassa ("Queen of All Things") Panaghia ("All Holy One" cf. Ariadne / Ariagne ) One of the most compelling is "Kore Semnae Basilissa" - a ritual title which carries with it echoes of the Mysteries of Rhea, Demeter and Kore in Eleusis, Lykosoura, Phigalia, Mount Ida, Magna Graecia and the islands of the Mediterranean. Despoina has, in living memory, been one of the names by which the memories of the Goddess are retained in the land, This fact has been well documented since the 19th century - the very time that this inspired litany came into being. The mysterious traditions of the wonder-working Black icon of Despoina of Tsakonian Elonas (Despina a 'Eona) still manage to transmit a distant ancestral remembrance of the ancient Despoina, daughter of Black Demeter (Μέλαινα Δημήτηρ) of Arcadian Lykosoura (Λυκόσουρα) and Phigalia (Φιγαλεία) to this day. The musical arrangement is timeless, extraordinarily beautiful and evocative. _________________________________ The many titles which have been encoded in this hieratic aretalogy of the Panaghia are the same as those which were used to invoke the Great Goddess from the pre-Hellenic period onwards. Before the establishment of formal pantheons the Great Goddess was primarily known by Her sacred titles as is documented in the Linear B tablets and in the earliest inscriptions of Cyprus, Rhodes, Aegina and the Cyclades. Anassa, or the more ancient form : Wanassa (Wa-Na-Sa in Cypriotic : 𐠨 𐠙 𐠲 and Wa-Na-Sa in Linear B : 𐀷𐀙𐀭) and Basilissa - both mean "The Queen" and are well known titles for the Great Goddess in Minoan Crete and Cyprus and in the islands of the Mediterranean. Despoina - "The Mistress" is known from inscriptions in Her Pelasgian shrine in the hills of Arcadia and this title remained Hers in the mountain villages of Greece in living memory. ________________ The chorus of "Khaire Nymphe" is an invocation to "The Bride" and appears in Orphic hymns long before it was consciously appropriated by the Byzantine Church and given new meaning. St. Nektarios was a scholar and an expert in both Byzantine liturgy and the pre-Christian sacred texts and would have been well aware of the original context when he composed this hymn ... A pre-Christian version - upon which this hymn could haven been based - may have included the evocative chorus : .:. Khaire Nymphe .:. Io Nymphe Thea .:. .:. Χαίρε Νύμφη .:. Ιώ Νύμφη Θεά .:. __________________ Tags: Linear-B : (Wiktionary links) 𐀷𐀙𐀭 wa-na-sa ανασσα Queen, divine title 𐀡𐀴𐀛𐀊 po-ti-ni-ja Πότνια Lady, divine title 𐀂𐀋𐀩𐀊 i-je-re-ja ιέρεια priestess Πότνια Po-ti-ni-ja Potnia Despoina Panaghia Despoena Panagia Nymphe Anassa Basilissa Aphaia Britomartis Diktynna Meter Kore Kuria Aegina Eurynome Elonas Χαίρε Νύμφη Δέσποινα Παναγία Άνασσα Βασίλισσα Ἀφαία Βριτόμαρτις Δίκτυννα Αίγινα Εὐρυνόμη Κορή σεμνή

• published: 29 Dec 2009
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