I cannot say I exactly "wrote" this. Fr. Seraphim Rose in his book [i]The Place of Blessed Augustine in the Orthodox Church[/i] in the appendices includes propers for Vespers and Matins services to Blessed Augustine. Since it's incredibly unlikely that I would have attended such a service, other saints are usually given greater regard on his feast day, so I decided to take from the text and use it to construct an Akathist.
Mind you, I began my Christian life in the Roman church and did not know what an Akathist was before a year ago, so I have never had to construct or write one obviously. But I studied them in detail and even stole (and modified) praises from others in making this. St. Augustine is one of my favorite saints, so he certainly deserves one.
So if you like him too, feel free to use it and there is something wrong here, please feel free to let me know.
Akathist to Blessed Augustine of Hippo
Kontakion 1
O holy hierarch and theologian, boast of the Church of Christ, instructor in piety and confirmation of the Orthodox faith, uprooter of heresies and treasury of mystic teachings, blessed father Augustine, all-wondrous hierarch, pray unto God for us all, as we cry to thee: Rejoice, O Augustine, adornment of Hierarchs and Lover of God!
Ikos 1
Bedewed by the divine words of Ambrose, thou didst put forth the grain of the virtues a hundredfold, and wast an ornament for the Church, a blazing beacon, a flame burning up heresies and warming the hearts of the faithful, O prelate of the city of Hippo, blessed father and holy hierarch. And now ask of Christ great mercy for us who sing to thee:
Rejoice, firm defender of Orthodoxy!
Rejoice, venerable icon of Christian piety!
Rejoice, greatest of the Latin Doctors!
Rejoice, exterminator of heresies!
Rejoice, diligent servant of God!
Rejoice, teacher of the whole world!
Rejoice, holy model for contrite sinners!
Rejoice, pillar of the True Faith!
Rejoice, vessel of Divine Wisdom!
Rejoice, zealous instructor of the Holy Gospel!
Rejoice, worker in the Lord’s vineyard!
Rejoice, ardent intercessor for our souls!
Rejoice, O Augustine, adornment of Hierarchs and Lover of God!
Kontakion 2
No one so confessed his sins, no one so declared his love for the Lord like thee, O holy hierarch. “I love my God, and count everything else to be as dust. Him alone do I seek, and unto Him alone do I desire to cleave!”, thou didst say. Praising the Lord Who so willed to raise thee in His Spirit, we wretched ones exclaim: Alleluia!
Ikos 2
Greatly did thy mother weep when she beheld thee perishing, and she earnestly prayed that thou be saved; and the fruit of such prayers could not perish. Having been catechized with divine words, thou didst utterly leave the wide path to destruction, and walking the path of monasticism thou wast shown to be exalted among hierarchs, a treasury of divine doctrines, a harp of the Spirit, a mystagogue of dogmas and the boast of the Church of Christ. Wherefore, we joyfully sing:
Rejoice, shining mirror of holiness!
Rejoice, model of humility!
Rejoice, thou whose heart was inflamed with the fire of Divine love!
Rejoice, true disciple of Christ!
Rejoice, cherished son of the venerable Monica!
Rejoice, thou who gave the world a confession beyond compare!
Rejoice, ever-prayerful theologian!
Rejoice, treasury of mystic teachings!
Rejoice, blessed temple of the Holy Spirit!
Rejoice, speedy intercessor for us who are unworthy!
Rejoice, enlightener of those in the darkness of unbelief!
Rejoice, contrite and humble father now with the Most Holy Trinity!
Rejoice, O Augustine, adornment of Hierarchs and Lover of God!
Kontakion 3
Possessing a name which signifieth greatness, thou didst clearly seal within thy soul the greatness of the All-holy Trinity, Whose hidden mystery thou didst broadly elucidate as far as is possible. Entreat the Godhead, that we find mercy because of the great multitude of our sins, as we thank God for thine apostolic labors, crying out to Him: Alleluia!
Ikos 3
Full of wisdom divine, thou didst proclaim the precious doctrines of the Church, setting forth the corrections of the dogmas, interpreting the divine Scriptures, honoring the memory of the saints with discourses, and providing a rule for monastics by thy manner of life and thy writings; and having thus ascended to the heights of theology, and like Moses having struck the hidden and unapproachable rock of theology with the staff of divine love, thou didst cause to flow a wellspring of water flowing toward life everlasting, wherewith thou didst give drink in abundance to a thirsting people. Wherefore, we beseech thee, O holy hierarch Augustine our father, entreat Christ God, that He grant remission of transgressions unto those we who honor thy holy memory, singing of thee:
Rejoice, emulator of the poverty of Christ!
Rejoice, thou who overcame concupiscence with prayerful chastity!
Rejoice, thou who wast penetrated by the divine energies of the Transfiguring Light!
Rejoice, thou who kept thy heart undefiled by ascetical fasts!
Rejoice, thou who puttest the wiles of the demons to shame by thy vigils of prayer!
Rejoice, thou who entered into the Divine Darkness to be united with God!
Rejoice, thou who now is with the Lord who dwells in Light Unapproachable!
Rejoice, thou who forsook the world and sought thy happiness only in God!
Rejoice, thou who fended off despondency with contemplation of the Lord!
Rejoice, wondrous tree in the fallen garden of the world that bore fruit!
Rejoice, saintly bishop who still shepherds souls to the Lord through thy intercessions!
Rejoice, O Augustine, adornment of Hierarchs and Lover of God!
Kontakion 4
The foolish and mindless Manicheans didst thou denounce, and their false teachings didst thou blow away like dust with the wind of thy divine teachings; and thou didst cast down the pride of Pelagius, and didst bring the assembly of Donatists to the Orthodox faith, O Augustine. In thanksgiving to the Lord for his good and faithful servant, we exclaim: Alleluia!
Ikos 4
Having penetrated with faith that which is inaccessible to the corruptible mind, O father Augustine, thou didst clearly preach it; and thou didst thunder upon all the ends of the world, setting forth the greatness of dogmas. Seek also spiritual enlightenment and great mercy for we who honor thee and sing thy praises:
Rejoice, sight to those blinded by false doctrines!
Rejoice, orator of divine truths!
Rejoice, loving chastiser of those gone astray!
Rejoice, speedy comfort to those who repent!
Rejoice, advocate of those on the straight and narrow!
Rejoice, giver of untainted doctrines!
Rejoice, holy shepherd of Christ’s sheep!
Rejoice, sharp arrow by which heresies are brought down!
Rejoice, merciful teacher who instructed the ignorant!
Rejoice, beacon of righteousness!
Rejoice, illuminator of the universal Church!
Rejoice, contributor of divine teaching to the ecclesiastical treasury!
Rejoice, O Augustine, adornment of Hierarchs and Lover of God!
Kontakion 5
Praise without end the orator of the Spirit, the instructor of Orthodoxy, the holy hierarch Augustine. For he struck down heresies and shepherded well the flock of Christ; he hath likewise led countless people to the mansions of heaven; and even now he poureth forth healings upon those who celebrate his memory with faith and cry out to God: Alleluia!
Ikos 5
What shall we call thee, O holy hierarch! Adornment of the city of Hippo? Yet thou art the boast of the whole world. An honorable man? Yet thou wast an angel in thy manner of life. Radiant lamp? Yet thy light hath never been extinguished, divinely eloquent mouth? Yet the grave, the arbiter of oblivion, hath not stopped thee. Great is thy virtue, and great are the wreaths wherewith Christ hath crowned thee. Pray thou that our souls be saved, as we incessantly sing:
Rejoice, our venerable and God-bearing father!
Rejoice, infirmary wherein spiritual diseases are healed by God!
Rejoice, thee who kept a closet where thy holy labor of prayer was hidden!
Rejoice, thunder to obstinate sinners!
Rejoice, shower of mystical ponderings!
Rejoice, worthy heir of the apostolic ministry!
Rejoice, prodigal son who was embraced by his Heavenly Father!
Rejoice, holy hierarch crowned in Christ’s glory!
Rejoice, thou to whom much was given and even more fruit bore!
Rejoice, mighty denouncer of heterodoxy!
Rejoice, bottomless well of true theology!
Rejoice, thou who contemplated God and who now dwells with Him!
Rejoice, O Augustine, adornment of Hierarchs and Lover of God!
Kontakion 6
Tagaste boasteth of thy birth, Carthage boasteth in thy youth, Milan in thy repentance, and Rome in thy teaching; but most of all the city of Hippo is glorified by thee, chief hierarch and good shepherd, while the whole world cherisheth thee as an honorable teacher mighty leader and fervent intercessor for men’s souls. Mindful of the glory of the Lord in thee, Blessed Augustine, we are moved to cry: Alleluia!
Ikos 6
Amassing a spiritual treasure, thou didst distribute thine earthly riches unto those in need; and embracing voluntary slavery thou didst receive the rank of monk, and becamest a model for hierarchs and a rule for monastics a, standard of the virtues, a cup full of love, and a most true teacher of meekness. O blessed Augustine our father, pray thou in behalf of our souls, who forever intone thy praises:
Rejoice, thou who did not walk in the counsels of the wicked!
Rejoice, thou whose prayers God heard and received His compassion!
Rejoice, thou who received a spirit of continence from on high!
Rejoice, thou who wast freed from the bondage of the passions!
Rejoice, thou who praised the Lord day and night!
Rejoice, thou who sought the Lord in His Divine Mysteries!
Rejoice, thou who called himself our brother though was ordained a hierarch!
Rejoice, thou who most excellently shepherded thy flock!
Rejoice, thou who served God not mammon!
Rejoice, thou who fearlessly held to apostolic tradition!
Rejoice, thou with whom the Lord is well pleased!
Rejoice, thou who art a constant hope to Christians!
Rejoice, O Augustine, adornment of Hierarchs and Lover of God!
Kontakion 7
Thou wast a model for thy disciples, O father, and even when thou didst receive the honorable episcopate thou didst not flag in thy monastic struggles, but didst take even greater care, struggling in ascetic endeavors and vigils, in fasting and labors, until thou wast more like an angel than a man. Inspired by thy holy labors, we wretched ones cry out to God: Alleluia!
Ikos 7
He Who appeared to Mary in the garden and cast away from her the lamentation of tears, appeared likewise unto thee in a garden and commanded thee to open the Scriptures and to read; and having read, thou didst show forth a wondrous way of life. Pray thou unto Christ that we also may follow it, that we may be led to the kingdom of heaven. Wherefore, we shall continue to sing thy praises:
Rejoice, thou who art a comfort to the forsaken!
Rejoice, thou who art a consoler of the distressed!
Rejoice, thou who art a friend and lover of the poor!
Rejoice, thou who intercedes for the unchaste!
Rejoice, thou who intercedes for the prodigal sons yet to repent!
Rejoice, thou who brings solace to those who mourn!
Rejoice, thou who art an supreme icon of penitence!
Rejoice, thou who does not neglect the children of Eve yet in exile!
Rejoice, thou who leads us wretched ones to the marriage feast of the Lamb!
Rejoice, thou who never strayed from the Rock of St. Peter’s confession!
Rejoice, thou who patiently counsels Christians who have gone astray!
Rejoice, thou who laments no more but rejoices with the heavenly hosts!
Rejoice, O Augustine, adornment of Hierarchs and Lover of God!
Kontakion 8
He Who of old saved Paul on the road to Damascus ensnared thee by Paul’s epistle, saying: “Take and read!” And when thou hadst read, thou didst count all worldly things as but dung; and finding Christ our Lord as a most precious pearl, with true love thou didst cleave unto Him. In awe of thy repentance, we exclaim: Alleluia!
Ikos 8
O honorable hierarch Augustine, beacon of the whole world, all-wondrous instructor, against the passions strengthen us, aid us amid tribulations, guide us toward virtue, and pray unto the Lord, that He grant our soul salvation. Wherefore, we shall sing praises to thy blessed name:
Rejoice, thou who was called like the great apostle Paul!
Rejoice, thou who wast captivated by the divine Incarnation!
Rejoice, thou who found stillness of heart in contemplation of God!
Rejoice, thou who didst ever live in fear of God and do His holy will!
Rejoice, thou who manifested divine grace in countless virtues!
Rejoice, thou who hast enlightened many by thy holy labors!
Rejoice, thou who feasted on the Medicine of Incorruptibility!
Rejoice, thou who knew that riches profit not on the Day of Judgment!
Rejoice, thou who drunk from the well-spring of Truth!
Rejoice, thou who cast away shadows to behold the Sun of Righteousness!
Rejoice, thou who art an icon of perseverance and faith!
Rejoice, thou who labored faithfully and delivered to the Lord a rich harvest!
Rejoice, O Augustine, adornment of Hierarchs and Lover of God!
Kontakion 9
Who can fittingly hymn the labors wherewith thou didst toil throughout the whole Church, cutting down ungodly heresies with the sword of thy corrections, denouncing the Arians, casting down the Manicheans, exhorting the Donatists to return to the Orthodox faith, crushing the audacity of Pelagius, and planting Orthodoxy, until thou hadst assembled many children in the habitation of the Church and, instructing and guiding them, didst lead them to the mansions of heaven? Gather us together, who are cruelly separated, and lead us to Christ our God, ever entreating Him that our souls be saved. Wishing to imitate thee as thou imitated Christ, we cry unto thee: Alleluia!
Ikos 9
We multitudes bless our guide and honor his holy memory, for he ever prayeth for us who keep his most honored memory and cry out to him with love: Pray for us to the most compassionate God, Whom thou didst ever serve, Whose field thou didst cultivate, Whose sheep thou didst tend, Whose talent thou didst increase; and ever beseech Him in our behalf, O holy hierarch Augustine, that our souls find mercy. And as always, we shall intone thy praises with heavenly rejoicing:
Rejoice, beacon of Orthodoxy!
Rejoice, O exemplar of the self-denial of the Gospel!
Rejoice, O light of theologians!
Rejoice, thou who exposed the false teachings of Pelagius!
Rejoice, thundering preacher of repentance!
Rejoice, great glory of the Church of Christ!
Rejoice, O gate us salvation for us sinners!
Rejoice, O arrow of humility that pierces hearts of stone!
Rejoice, fragrant prayers rising before the Most Holy Trinity!
Rejoice, thou who accepted the foolishness of God and not the wisdom of the world!
Rejoice, O bridge of prayer that leads us to Christ!
Rejoice, O great boast of monastics!
Rejoice, O Augustine, adornment of Hierarchs and Lover of God!
Kontakion 10
With what wreaths adorned shall we crown the hierarch, the honored boast of the
great Ambrose, the excellent luminary of the whole world, the all-wondrous pastor of
the Church, the fervent comforter of the sorrowful, the unshakable confirmation of
the timid, the steadfast opponent of Pelagius, the utter uprooting of heresies, the
vigilant lover of the purity of the Church, whom Christ our God, Who hath great
mercy, hath crowned? O Augustine, with thee and all the blessed saints, we cry: Alleluia!
Ikos 10
Recognizing the mystery of the love of God, thou didst say that one cannot find the spirit of serenity until one finds the serenity which is with God, Who hath created it. As thou hast found this, pray for us, that we who are whirled about amid earthly things may also find it, and we will remember thy supplications with gratitude, singing thy praises before all nations:
Rejoice, pupil of our holy father Ambrose!
Rejoice, O diadem of the sacerdotal priesthood!
Rejoice, O flowing fountain of Heavenly treasures!
Rejoice, O blessed hierarch who sought not the world nor vain-glory!
Rejoice, thou who was fed by the Tree of Life!
Rejoice, thou in whom Christ sat upon the throne of thy virtue!
Rejoice, thou who while in the world escaped the Devil’s snares!
Rejoice, thou who personified the divine beatitudes!
Rejoice, thou who preached the Gospel in thy works!
Rejoice, thou who remained pure in heart!
Rejoice, thou phoenix ever arisen from thy very ashes!
Rejoice, thou who wast an angel in the flesh!
Rejoice, O Augustine, adornment of Hierarchs and Lover of God!
Kontakion 11
Thou didst teach ancient Rome not to be troubled by its fall, O holy hierarch, for the city of God, the Church of Christ, will not fall forever. The dogmas thereof thou didst widely elucidate, and thou didst earnestly summon all the people, faithful and infidel alike, to become its children. Longing for the kingdom of God, we cry to thee: Alleluia!
Ikos 11
O holy hierarch, father Augustine, thy life was in accordance with thy name. Thou didst preach the greatness of God, wast adorned with the greatness of deeds, wast crowned with the greatness of struggles, and wast illumined with the greatness of thy love for Christ. Wherefore, pray thou that great mercy be given to us, who cry aloud:
Rejoice, most glorious lamp of the Church!
Rejoice, all-blessed dweller in Heaven!
Rejoice, thou by whom the Orthodox faith has been exalted!
Rejoice, thou by whom delusion and false teaching has been dethroned!
Rejoice, propagator of true adoration of the All-Holy Trinity!
Rejoice, thou who sings hymns of praise with the choir of angels!
Rejoice, thou who exchanged mortality and corruptibility for heavenly joy!
Rejoice, thou who art rich with gifts from the Spirit!
Rejoice, thou who surpass the wise in knowledge!
Rejoice, thou who fill with joy all who hasten to thee!
Rejoice, thou who suffered for the sake of the crucified Lord!
Rejoice, thou who art a joyful sight to the heavenly host!
Rejoice, O Augustine, adornment of Hierarchs and Lover of God!
Kontakion 12
Proclaiming the city of God, whose great citizen thou wast and a recounter of the ineffable mysteries of God, thou didst make steadfast the Orthodox Churches, instructing and teaching them by thine acts and words; and having set now like the sun in the West, thou dost illumine us with thy writings, teaching us to seek the grace of God and not to think ourselves great, but rather to be filled with the Spirit, of Whose inspiration thou didst abundantly partake, as a mystagogue of theology. Beholding thy splendor we cry with thee: Alleluia!
Ikos 12
Enlighten the darkened eyes of my heart, O holy hierarch, and teach me worthily to hymn thy memory and to praise the wondrous life which thou didst live like an angel. Teach me to take thy doctrines into my soul, and guide me in walking the path of virtue, that I may never depart from the path which leadeth to life everlasting. Show me what I ought to think, to say and to do. Bind thou my hands and feet with the fear of God; impel me toward the love of Christ, that I may ever behold and not be deceived by the corruptible beauties of this world. Strengthen us, that we may assiduously seek the things which are to come; and pray always for us who sing to thee:
Rejoice, thou who art satisfied with the sweet vision of Christ!
Rejoice, radiant light in the noetic firmament!
Rejoice, foundation of the mystical Zion’s unassailable towers!
Rejoice, O sweet-scented flower of Paradise!
Rejoice, O joyous partaker of the Divine Nature!
Rejoice, perceptive observer of the wonders of Creation!
Rejoice, mighty river watering the spiritual wilderness!
Rejoice, thou who brings the mercy of God to the unforgiven!
Rejoice, sanctification of the Christian people!
Rejoice, elucidator of the Holy Scriptures!
Rejoice, exaltation of Christendom!
Rejoice, O deified and blessed creature in whom Christ is glorified!
Rejoice, O Augustine, adornment of Hierarchs and Lover of God!
Kontakion 13
When we pray to thee, O holy hierarch, look down upon us from the heights of heaven, and visit us in thy mercy. For thou beholdest evil lack of faith and the tumult of the sea of life, and hearest the cries of the churches which have been destroyed. Help us who are weak, for as an honorable hierarch thou hast favor before the Lord, to Whom we cry: Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! (Thrice)
Ikos 1 and Kontakion 1 are repeated.
