2010.59.5

22-page "akafist" booklet, containing a hymn to St. Mary, the Mother of God. The cover contains the title, publisher, place and year of publication, and a drawing of the Our Lady of Vladimir Convent. The text is entirely in Russian and contains a photo of an icon of Mary and a drawing of the Our Lady of Vladimir Convent at 19th and Capp Streets in San Francisco. This publication belonged to Tatiana Ivanovna Switchevsky, great-grandmother of Oakland Museum of California researcher Adam Nilsen. Tatiana was born in the town of Staraja Russa in the Novgorod province of Russia in 1898. She and her husband, Herculan Herculanovich Switchevsky, who was a lieutenant in the Russian Imperial Navy, fled from Vladivostok in 1922 to Shanghai, where they joined thousands of other Russians who fled Communist Russia. In Shanghai, Tatiana's daughter, Irene, and granddaughter, Julie, were born, and the family enjoyed their hometown and were involved in the Russian Orthodox Church and other Russian organizations. In 1948 the three women, a widowed Tatiana, divorcee Irene, and young Julie, fled during the advance of the Communists in China. They, along with 5,000 other Russians, were relocated by the International Refugee Organization to the Philippines, whose government had offered them the island of Tubabao as a refuge. Although they spent almost two years camping in tents, the women left with fond memories of the beautiful beaches, monkeys, and the jungle environment. They were excited when the opportunity arose to emigrate to the United States--they had long had their sights set on San Francisco, and in November 1950, they boarded the General Hersey and sailed there. The three lived in San Francisco for the next 25 years and were active in the Russian community in the Sunset and Richmond Districts.

From Wikipedia: The Akathist Hymn is an Eastern Orthodox Christian hymn dedicated to a saint, holy event, or one of the persons of the Holy Trinity. ... During Orthodox religious services in general, sitting, standing, bowing and the making of prostrations are set by an intricate set of rules, as well as individual discretion. Only during readings of the Gospel and the singing of Akathists is standing considered mandatory for all. The akathist par excellence is that written in the 6th century to the Theotokos. In its use as part of the service of the Salutations to the Theotokos (used in the Byzantine tradition during Great Lent), it is often known by its Greek or Arabic names, Chairetismoi and Madayeh, respectively; in the Slavic tradition it is known as Akafist.The writing of akathists (occasionally spelled acathist) continues today as part of the general composition of an akolouthia, particularly in the Slavic tradition, although not all are widely known nor translated beyond the original language. Reader Isaac E. Lambertsen has done a large amount of translation work, including many different akathists. Most of the newer akathists are pastiche, that is, a generic form imitating the original 6th century akathist to the Theotokos into which a particular saint's name is inserted. In the Greek, Arabic, and Russian Old Rite, the only akathist permitted in formal liturgical use is the original akathist.

Used: Tatiana Ivanovna Switchevsky