The Canon of St. Andrew of Crete

The Great Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete is one of the treasures of the Orthodox Faith.  It is the longest canon that exists, and is appointed to be prayed in Orthodox churches on the first four nights of the Great Fast, where it is divided into segments for this purpose.  It is also appointed to be prayed in its entirety on the fifth Thursday of the Great Fast, during which service the entire life of Saint Mary of Egypt is also read.

Saint Andrew's feast is celebrated on 04July.

Born in Damascus of Christian parents, the saint was mute from birth until he reached the age of seven.  At that time his parents brought him to church where he received the Eucharist, and he began to speak.  At the age of fifteen he entered the Monastery of Saint Sabas the Sanctified, where his ascetic efforts soon brought him to a place of surpassing many of his elders' efforts.  The Patriarch took Andrew as his personal secretary.  When the Monothelite heresy came to the fore (a teaching that Christ did not possess a human, but only a divine will), St. Andrew defended the faith at the Sixth Ecumenical Council in Constantinople in 681AD, at which time he had been ordained to the rank of Archdeacon.  He worked miracles by his prayers.  He drove the Saracens from the Island of Crete, wrote many books of instruction, and many hymns as well as the Great Canon.

The Great Canon is in essence a dialog between St. Andrew and his soul, with the theme being an urging of the soul to conform to the will of God.  It is also a survey of the entirety of Holy Scripture, both Old and New Testaments.  In the Canon he compares the sins of those in Scripture with his own, lamenting how his sins exceed those from Scripture.  Conversely, he highlights those from Scripture who were shown to be God-pleasing, and again compares himself with them, asking God's help in conforming his sinful life to theirs.  In his words lay a study for us on repentance, and how we should approach our own spirits to fully confess to God.

Canons in the Orthodox Church are liturgical hymns having a tightly prescribed form.  They contain a variable number of parts called odes.  Most canons have eight such odes, numbered from 1 to 9, with Ode 2 typically being omitted due to its penitential nature (and so it is used only on Tuesdays during the Great Fast).  And Irmos begins each Ode, which is typically sung.  The Irmos is followed by a variable number of Troparia which usually refer back to the theme of the Irmos.  These are typically chanted, and followed by a refrain, which may be chanted or sung.  At the end of Odes may be prescribed a Katavasia, which may be the sames as the Irmos or differ from it in form, but not in theme.  The Katavasia may be sung in a more ornate fashion as well.

The Great Canon is chanted by the Priest from the center of the church, with the faithful (or a choir) singing the Irmoi, refrains ("Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me!"), and Katavasia.  There are varying traditions related to bowing and prostrations, which follow each Irmos and each troparion.