The Apolytikion () or Dismissal Hymn is a

troparion A troparion (Greek , plural: , ; Georgian: , ; Church Slavonic: , ) in Byzantine music and in the religious music of Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a short hymn of one stanza, or organised in more complex forms as series of stanzas. The wi ...

(a short

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

of one

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian language, Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or Indentation (typesetting), indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme scheme, rhyme and ...

) said or sung at

Orthodox Christian Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churche ...

worship services. The apolytikion summarizes the

feast A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...

being celebrated that day. It is chanted at

Vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern), Lutheranism, Lutheran, and Anglican ...

Matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning. The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which was originally celebrated by ...

and the

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of C ...

; and it is

read Read Read may refer to: * Reading, human cognitive process of decoding symbols in order to construct or derive meaning * Read (automobile), an American car manufactured from 1913 to 1915 * Read (biology), an inferred sequence of base pairs of ...

at each of the

Little Hours In Christianity, the Little Hours or minor hours are the canonical hours other than the three major hours. In the Syriac Orthodox Church and the Indian Orthodox Church, two denominations in Oriental Orthodox Christianity, these fixed prayer time ...

. The name derives from the fact that it is chanted for the first time before the dismissal (Greek: ''

apolysis Apolysis ( grc, ἀπόλυσις "discharge, lit. absolution") is the separation of the cuticle from the epidermis in arthropods and related groups (Ecdysozoa). Since the cuticle of these animals is also the skeletal support of the body and is in ...

'') of the first service of the liturgical day, Vespers, the liturgical day beginning at sunset in the Orthodox Church. Although the term apolytikion is used in the Greek language, there is no equivalent word in

Church Slavonic Church Slavonic (, , literally "Church-Slavonic language"), also known as Church Slavic, New Church Slavonic or New Church Slavic, is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzeg ...

where variously are used such terms as "отпустительный тропарь" (dismissal troparion), "тропарь праздника" (troparion of the feast), "тропарь святого" (troparion of the saint), and so on. The apolytikion could be compared in the Western liturgy to the

collect The collect ( ) is a short general prayer of a particular structure used in Christian liturgy. Collects appear in the liturgies of Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran, and Presbyterian churches, among othe ...

post-communion Postcommunion (Latin: Postcommunio) is the text said or sung on a reciting tone following the Communion of the Mass. Form Every Postcommunion (and secret) corresponds to a collect. These are the three fundamental prayers of any given Proper Mass. ...

, inasmuch as it changes for each feast-day of the year and specifically commemorates the subject of the feast, although those Western equivalents are only used at Mass.

Examples

The apolytikion of the

Feast A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...

of the Nativity (December 25):

''Your birth, O Christ our God, dawned the light of knowledge upon the earth. For by Your birth those who adored stars were taught by a star to worship You, the Sun of Justice, and to know You, Orient from on High. O Lord, glory to You.''

The apolytikion for the Feast of the

Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...

(March 25):

''Today is the crowning of our salvation and the manifestation of the Mystery which is from eternity; the Son of God becometh the Son of the Virgin, and Gabriel announceth the glad tidings of grace: wherefore let us cry out with him to the Mother of God; Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee!''

The apolytikion of

Pascha Pascha (or other similar spellings) may refer to: * Passover, the Aramaic spelling of the Hebrew word ''Pesach'' **Pesach seder,_the_festive_meal_beginning_the_14th_and_ending_on_the_15th_of_Nisan *Easter.html" ;"title="san in the Hebrew c ..., t ...

(Easter):

''Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!''

There are also eight Resurrectional Apolytikia for the Lord's Day, Sunday The original Greek with translations into English of these eight (one for each tone) can be found in Robertson, J.N.W.B., ed., ''The Divine Liturgies of our Fathers among the Saints John Chrysostom and Basil the Great...'',David Nutt, London, 1894, pp.444-453, and in the ''Holy Cross Liturgical Hymnal'', Holy Cross Orthodox Press, Brookline, MA, 1988, pp. 88-98. written in each of the Eight Tones.

References

{{reflist

External links

Apolytikia for the Entire Year
in English set to Byzantine music Genres of Byzantine music Eastern Orthodox liturgical music Eastern Christian hymns Liturgy of the Hours Christian prayer

Examples

See also

References

External links