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'' d ...

of one

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'', ; ) is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have either. ...

) said or sung at Orthodox Christian worship services. The apolytikion summarizes the feast being celebrated that day. It is

chant A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of no ...

ed at

Vespers Vespers /ˈvɛspərz/ () is a Christian liturgy, liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic liturgy, Eastern Catholic liturgical rites), Eastern Orthodox, Oriental O ...

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

and the

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy () or Holy Liturgy is the usual name used in most Eastern Christian rites for the Eucharistic service. The Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Lutheranism, Eastern Lutheran Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe the Divi ...

; and it is read 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 tim ...

. The name derives from the fact that it is chanted for the first time before the dismissal (Greek: ''apolysis'') 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 is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia. The ...

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.

Examples

The apolytikion of the Feast 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 (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

(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 (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