Akathist of Creation for Creation Sunday

This Sunday at Valley Covenant, Steve is thinking about using part of the Creation Akathist, "Glory to God for All Things"to observe Creation Sunday.

According to OrthodoxWiki, this hymn is often attributed to Priest Gregory Petrov who died in a Soviet prison camp in 1940, but also to Metropolitan Tryphon (Prince Boris Petrovich Turkestanov) +1934. The title is from the words of St. John Chrysostom as he was dying in exile. It is a song of praise from amidst the most terrible sufferings.

Steve selected and arranged parts of it as a responsive reading, pasted below.

If anyone's interested in the whole enchilada, they can go here:
http://www.goarch.org/en/ourfaith/articles/article8228.asp

CREATION AKATHIST HYMN

(parts selected and arranged responsively; N= north side of congregation, S=south side. From the Eastern Orthodox Church.)

All: Incorruptible Lord, your right hand controls the whole course of human life, according to the decrees of your Providence for our salvation.

We give you thanks for all your blessings, known and unknown:

N: for our earthly life and for the heavenly joys of your kingdom which is to come.

S: Henceforth extend your mercies towards us as we sing:

All: Glory to you, O God, from age to age!

I was born a weak, defenseless child, but your angel, spreading his radiant wings, guarded my cradle. From my birth, your love has illumined my paths, and has wondrously guided me towards the light of eternity. From my first day until now, the generous gifts of your providence have been wonderfully showered upon me. I give you thanks, and with all those who have come to know you, I exclaim:

N: Glory to you for calling me into being.

S: Glory to you for spreading out before me the beauty of the universe,

N: Glory to you for revealing to me through heaven and earth the eternal book of wisdom,

S: Glory to you for your eternity within this fleeting world,

N: Glory to you for your mercies, seen and unseen,

S: Glory to you for every sigh of my sorrow,

N: Glory to you for every step in my life's journey, for every moment of joy,

S: Glory to you, O God, from age to age.

All: O Lord, how lovely it is to be your guest:

N: Breeze full of scent; mountains reaching to the skies;

S: Waters like a boundless mirror,

N: Reflecting the sun's golden rays and the scudding clouds.

S: All nature murmurs mysteriously, breathing depths of tenderness,

N: Birds and beasts bear the imprint of your love,

S: Blessed are you, O earth, in your fleeting loveliness,

N: Which wakens our yearning for happiness that will last for ever

S: In the land where, amid beauty that grows not old,

All: Rings out the cry: Alleluia!

How glorious you are in the triumph of spring, when every creature awakes to new life and joyfully sings your praises with a thousand tongues: you are the source of life, the con­queror of death. By the light of the moon night­ingales sing: the plains and the woods put on their wedding garment, white as snow. All the earth is your promised bride awaiting her bridegroom who does not know decay. If the grass of the field is clothed like this, how glori­ously shall we be transfigured in the coming age of the resurrection: how radiant our bodies, how resplendent our souls!

N: Glory to you, bringing from the darkness of the earth an endless variety of colors, tastes and scents,

S: Glory to you for the warmth and tenderness of the world of nature,

N: Glory to you for surrounding us with thousands of your works,

S: Glory to you for the depth of your wisdom: the whole world is a living sign of it,

N: Glory to you: on my knees, I kiss the traces of your unseen hand,

S: Glory to you for setting before us the dazzling light of eternal life,

N: Glory to you for the hope of the unutterable, imperishable beauty of immortality,

S: Glory to you, O God, from age to age.

All: How filled with sweetness are those whose thoughts dwell on you: how life-giving your holy Word; to speak with you is more soothing than anointing with oil, sweeter than the honeycomb. Praying to you refreshes us and gives us wings: our hearts overflow with warmth; a majesty filled with wisdom permeates nature and all of life! Where you are not, there is only emptiness. Where you are, the soul is filled with abundance, and its song resounds like a torrent of life: Alleluia!