Paraklesis

A Paraklesis or Supplicatory Canon in the Orthodox Christian Church and Eastern Catholic Churches, is a service of supplication for the welfare of the living. It is addressed to a specific Saint or to the Most Holy Theotokos whose intercessions are sought through the chanting of the supplicatory canon together with psalms, hymns, and ekteniae (litanies).

The most popular Paraklesis is that in which the supplicatory canon and other hymns are addressed to the Most Holy Theotokos (the Mother of God). There are two forms of this service: the "Small Paraklesis" (composed by Theosterictus the Monk in the 9th Century), and the "Great Paraklesis" (composed by Emperor Theodore I Ducas Lascaris in the 13th century). During the majority of the year, only the Small Paraklesis to the Theotokos is chanted. However, during the Dormition Fast (August 1—14, inclusive), the Typikon prescribes that the Small and Great Paraklesis be chanted on alternate evenings, according to the following regulations:
*If August 1st falls on a Monday through Friday, the cycle begins with the Small Paraklesis. If August 1st falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the cycle begins with the Great Paraklesis.
*On the eves of Sundays (i.e., Saturday nights) and on the eve of the Transfiguration (the night of August 5) the Paraklesis is omitted.
*On Sunday nights, the Great Paraklesis is always used unless it is the eve of Transfiguration.

In the Russian Orthodox Church, the equivalent of a Paraklesis is the Moleben, which is similar in structure, except that the canon is omitted, retaining only the refrains and Irmoi of the third, sixth and ninth odes. When the full service itself is performed, it is called the "Supplicatory Canon" ("Molebnyj Kanon").

ee also

*Dormition of the Theotokos
*Akathist

External links

* [http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/learntochant/paraklesis.asp_ The Service of the Small Paraklesis] (text of the service) from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Website
* [http://home.it.net.au/~jgrapsas/pages/megapara.htm The Service of the Great Paraklesis] (text of the service) from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia Website
* [http://www.networks-now.net/litresswraoc/SVCParaklesis_Theotokos.htm What is the Paraklesis?] St. Raphael Clergy Brotherhood, 2006
* [http://www.orthodox.net/ustav/paraclesis-service-explained.html The Paraclesis Service Eplained] St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, Dallas, Texas
* [http://orthodoxwiki.org/Great_Paraklesis Paraklesis] article from OrthodoxWiki