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The Church Fathers · 6th–7th century; authorship disputed
The Akathist Hymn
Anonymous
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What it is
Twenty-four stanzas in alphabetical order addressed to the Mother of God, built almost entirely of salutations beginning with Hail.
Why it lasted
The most beloved hymn of the Orthodox church, sung standing, and the model for Marian devotion in the East.
Scripture it works from
Where to read it
Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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