Akolouthia for St Nikephoros Phokas

text 5 Akolouthia for St Nikephoros Phokas

Introduction

An akolouthia (liturgical office for a new saint) was written for Nikephoros II Phokas, declaring him a martyr and a saint, presumably by a contemporary.The text is preserved in a single manuscript (Lavra 124 fols 133–149) and was edited by Petit 1904, 401–420.1

The Text The text consists of two kathismata, stichera, two kanons, another kathisma, other stichera, a kontakion, an oikos, and an exapostilarion.2

The first kathisma focuses on Phokas’s combination of military success and asceticism, comparing his death to those of Abel and Zachariah, the second on his conquest of the passions and merciful rule over the people and, by his shed- ding of blood, his sanctification of the people. The stichera note his victories and virtue and the reward for his death as a “comrade of martyrs” in paradise. His slaughter is seen as a ladder to martyrdom, and the author records the use of his severed head as an object of sport by his assassins.

The first kanon again stresses Phokas’s combination of military and ascetic accomplishments, notably calls him a monk and a model for monks, associates him with the imagery of light versus darkness, refers to him as a priest, describes the assassination, and associates him by name with the first martyr Stephen in that he prayed for the forgiveness of his murderers. It also portrays him as a sacrificial victim, describes his funeral procession and interment, calls him an angel, refers to his spiritual protection of the faithful, and sees him as a source of miracles. Each of the odes in the kanon ends with a theotokion which stresses the theme of the Incarnation, the marriage of God with humanity and God’s deification of humanity.

1 Ed. Petit, BZ 13 1904, 401–420. 2 On the liturgical rite of the akolouthia and its components see Spanos 2010, 5–13. See, too, the Glossary (Technical Terms) in the present volume.

The second kanon begins with the author’s prayer for inspiration to record Phokas’s achievements; there follow descriptions of Phokas’s adherence to the commandments, his successful navigation of the sea of life, his ascetic prac- tices, his conquest of the Hagarenes, his care for the poor, his willingness not to defend himself when attacked by his assassins, his ability to cure diseases, and the holy oil flowing from his coffin as a source of cures for the faithful. The theotokia of this kanon focus on the special relationship Phokas had with the Theotokos. His success is with her aid, he has been initiated by her, she is his co- worker and unshaken support, his ambassador and salvific intercessor, his aid in life. One may add that Leo the Deacon3 notes that Phokas when first struck by his assassins cried out, “Help me, O mother of God,” and that as he was dying, “kept calling on the mother of God for assistance.”

The following kathisma, the third, describes Phokas’s passage through the gate of heaven and the faithful’s embrace of his dust and reverence for an icon of him. The stichera speak of his asceticism and sacrifice as a martyr, his courage in the face of death, his double baptism in tears and blood, and his worldwide fame as soldier, emperor, ascetic, and martyr, accomplishments which the City has gathered to celebrate. The kontakion hails Phokas as the victor and asks for his intercession, the oikos speaks of the difficulty of adequately declaring his prowess in defeating the Ishmaelites and rescuing the faithful from captivity, and the exapostilarion asks all creation to celebrate Phokas as victor over bar- barians and demons, and as a source of miracles.

The Author The author is unknown. Petit argues that the absence of any reference to Mount Athos or its monks makes it unlikely that the akolouthia originated there. He also notes the animosity that Phokas’s novella, restricting monasteries,4 created in the monastic community. He suggests rather a member of the Constantinop- olitan secular clergy and tentatively posits, based on some verbal similarities, Theodosios the Deacon, author of the panegyric poem De Creta capta. The similarities are to my view slight and one notes that the author of the akolouthia in the third ode of the first kanon calls Phokas a “monk” and a “role model for monks.”While Phokas’s relations with Athanasios of Athos were mixed, as were the views of him by the monks there, a vignette in the Life of Athanasios of Athos5 describes a monk-cook of Lavra who also calls Phokas a martyr and who

3 Leo the Deacon, Hist. 5.7 (Hase 1828, 88). 4 See McGeer 2000, 90–96. 5 Vita of Athanasios of Athos, Version B (Noret 1982, 178–179).