This is one of my favorite hymns in the Orthodox (Byzantine) tradition. The first is sung in the original Greek, the second is the English translation. The hymn was authored by St. Nectarios of Aegina early in the last century. Also, the term Theotokos means “bearer of God” or “the One who bore God” in Greek. It is the name of the Virgin Mary and functions as a Christological statement, that is, it affirms the child born of Mary is God. This was decided at the Council of Ephesus in 431.
