The Paraklesis

A service of supplication for the living, sung most of all in the two weeks before the Dormition.

The Paraklesis, or Supplicatory Canon, is a short Orthodox service of supplication for the living: a canon of hymns with psalms and litanies, most often addressed to the Theotokos. In Byzantine use it is sung on most evenings of the Dormition Fast, August 1 to 14, alternating the Small and Great Paraklesis. Russian use serves a moleben instead.

The Paraklesis is a service of supplication offered for the living, as the memorial service is offered for the departed. At its heart is a supplicatory canon, a hymn in odes, sung with psalms, hymns, and litanies. It may be addressed to any saint whose intercessions are sought, but most often it is addressed to the Most Holy Theotokos.

There are two canons to the Theotokos. The Small Paraklesis was composed by Theosterictus the Monk in the ninth century. The Great Paraklesis was composed in the thirteenth century and is attributed to a Byzantine emperor of the Laskaris line, usually Theodore II. Outside the Dormition Fast, when a Paraklesis to the Theotokos is served, it is the Small.

In the Dormition Fast, from August 1 to 14, the two are sung on alternate evenings, with some exceptions: none on Saturday evenings or on the eve of the Transfiguration, and the Great Paraklesis always on Sunday evenings. In the Russian Church the equivalent service is the moleben.

Questions about the Paraklesis

What is the difference between the Small and Great Paraklesis?

They are two supplicatory canons to the Theotokos. The Small was composed by Theosterictus the Monk in the ninth century; the Great, in the thirteenth century, is attributed to an emperor of the Laskaris line, usually Theodore II. Outside the Dormition Fast only the Small is used.

When is the Paraklesis sung?

Most of all in the Dormition Fast, August 1 to 14, on most evenings, alternating the Small and Great. There is none on Saturday evenings or on the eve of the Transfiguration. On the Old Calendar the fast falls thirteen days later, August 14 to 27.

What is a supplicatory canon?

A canon, a long hymn in odes, that asks for the intercessions of the Theotokos or a saint for the welfare of the living. It is the part that sets a Paraklesis apart from other services.

More questions about the Orthodox Church, answered ›

“For, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.”

Luke 1:48, the Song of the Theotokos (King James Version, public domain)

In Orthros

The Dormition Fast, when the Paraklesis is sung, stands in the Orthros calendar day by day, with the fasting measure for each day on both calendars.