After we have prayed during the Anaphora that the Holy Trinity change the bread and wine into the True Body and Blood of Christ, we commemorate all those who have gone before us into the spiritual dimension, especially the Mother of God.
The Axion Estin, the Greek name for the Hymn to the Mother of God, is the great hymn of praise to the glorious Theotokos, found in nearly every major service of the Byzantine rites. It is believed that it was composed in the eighth century by St. Cosmas the Hymnographer. It was well over one hundred years later that this hymn was added to the Divine Liturgy, but with an added beginning as the result of the following miraculous event.
On June 11, 980 CE, as a group of monks were conducting an all-night vigil before the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They suddenly noticed a monk standing on the right of the icon whom they did not recognize at all. He was unknown to the monks and no one could explain his abrupt presence. This unidentified monk began to chant the beautiful hymn written by St. Cosmas, but rather began with the words: It is truly proper to glorify You, Theotokos, the ever blessed and most pure Virgin and Mother of God.
The monk then explained to the others that he was the Archangel Gabriel and that these words should be added to the hymn. The Archangel then vanished from their sight, leaving the monks amazed at the power of God. Since that day on June 11, 980 CE, the additional words to the hymn of St. Cosmas have been sung by all Eastern Christians around the world. The icon of the Blessed Mother Axion Esti is still venerated today in the Cathedral of Mt. Athos.
We do well to listen closely to the words that our Church places in our mouths in praise of the Mother of God. It states that we believe that she is more honorable than the Cherubim and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim. These words recognize that she, the Mother of God, is the greatest of all created beings. She is considered to be the greatest because she voluntarily participated with God in making His incarnation in the Person of Jesus a reality. The integration of this hymn in our Liturgy states how very important Mary is in the history of salvation and what a profound model she is for all to imitate.