September 25: Commemoration of the Revelation of the Trisagion Hymn

Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us!

This hymn is the favorite of every Byzantine child I know, and is, perhaps, the one most easily learned and remembered by any visitor to our Divine Liturgy.  How did it come to be part of the Divine Liturgy, and nearly every eastern prayer service, including the recitation of our daily prayers?  

History tells us that in the year 447AD, the city of Constantinople was ravaged by intermittent earthquakes for a span of about four months time.  People were becoming emotionally drained, not only because the earthquakes themselves were difficult to endure, and they made the conditions ideal for a predatory attack by none other than Attila the Hun, one of the most fierce and dreaded warrior invaders of the time.  

Out of desperation, the Emperor Theodocius, the Patriarch Proclus, and all of the people of Constantinople took part in a barefoot procession to beg God for mercy and protection.  As they began to pray, the earthquakes suddenly became more violent, and a little boy was taken up into the heavens in the sight of the crowd.  They all watched him, suspended in mid-air and understandably, began to cry out, "Lord, have mercy!"  When the boy came down to earth, he told the crowd that while he was up in the heavens, he heard the angels singing, " Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One!"  And then he heard the people shouting, " Lord have mercy!". He told the Emperor that he heard God tell him that he must tell the people to pray to God using these words.  As soon as the people began to repeat the words the boy had taught them, the earthquakes stopped, and the boy fell asleep in the Lord.   It was Empress Pulcharia, sister of Theodocius, who asked the partiarch to include this powerful angelic prayer in our Divine Liturgy, and it remains a beloved liturgical hymn to this day.  

+Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us!

+Святий Боже, Святий и Крепкий, Святий и Бессмертный, помилуй нас!

+ Svjati Bozhe, Svjati i krepki, Svjati i Bezsmertni, pomilui nas!

Святий (svjati)__________________________________________holy

Боже (Bozhe)___________________________________________God

Крепкий (krepki)_________________________________strong/ mighty

Бессмертный (bezsmertni)_____________________________immortal

                    Без (bez)__________________________________without

                    Смерть (smert)_______________________________death

Помилуй ( pomilui) ________________________________ have mercy

Нас (nas)___________________________________________ (on) us