[“This Akathist, also called the “Akathist of Thanksgiving,” was composed by Metropolitan Tryphon (Prince Boris Petrovich Turkestanov) in 1934.  A copy was in possession of Protopresbyter Gregory Petrov shortly before his death in a prison camp in 1940. Suggestion: Light a candle in a silent room.  Make the Sign of the Cross, and slowly pray the words aloud, take time to reflect on them, and make them your own.  Revisit these words this Wednesday as well as next Sunday and Wednesday.   Part 13 will be on Sunday December 30]

ODE 12

How oft have I seen
the reflection of Your glory in the faces of the dead.
How resplendent they were, with beauty and heavenly joy;
how ethereal, how translucent their faces;
how triumphant over suffering and death, their felicity and peace.
Even in the silence they were calling upon You.
In the hour of my death, enlighten my…