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Sub tuum præsidium (Ancient Greek:Ὑπὸ τὴν σὴν εὐσπλαγχνίαν;lit. 'under your protection') is an ancientChristian hymn and prayer dedicated to theBlessed Virgin Mary.
The hymn enumerates her special election byGod the Father and her motherhood ofGod the Son. It is one of the oldest knownMarian prayers and among the most ancient preserved hymns still currently in use.
ThePapyrus No. 470, containing a substantial portion of the prayer was dated initially to the 3rd or 4th century; later dated as late as the 9th century A.D. The dating of the Papyrus remains uncertain.[1] Accordingly, the celebrated hymn is well attested within theRoman Catholic Church, theEastern Orthodox Church andOriental Orthodox Churches.
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The earliest text of thishymn was found in aCoptic OrthodoxChristmas liturgy. Rylands Papyrus 470 records the hymn inGreek, and was dated to the 3rd century by papyrologistEdgar Lobel and by scholarColin Henderson Roberts to the 4th century.[2][3][4][5] By contrast, Hans Förster dates it to the 8th century and states that Roberts merely quoted Lobel, and that there is no consensus supporting the Lobel date.[6] Although he notes that a number of scholars support Lobel and Roberts, Towarek follows Förster and others in concluding that the earliest textual witness to the hymn is of 6th—7th century provenance and that it only became liturgically prevalent in the Middle Ages.[7]
Recent scholarship has identified the hymn in the Georgian Iadgari (Chantbook) of Jerusalem, demonstrating that theSub tuum praesidium was in liturgical use during the 5th century.[8][9] The hymn is also part of the Order ofSulpician custom that all classes ended with a recitation of this prayer.[10] Besides the Greek text, ancient versions can be found inCoptic,Syriac,Armenian andLatin.[11]
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The Frenchman, Henri de Villiers finds in the term "blessed" a reference to the salutation bySaint Elizabeth inLuke 1:42.[11]'Praesidium' is translated as "an assistance given in time of war by fresh troops in a strong manner."[12]
The former medieval and post-medieval practice in several dioceses, especially inFrance, was to use theSub tuum as the finalantiphon atCompline instead of theSalve Regina,[11] and in theRite of Braga, where it is sung at the end of theCatholic Mass.
Pope Pius VI in the decree of 5 April 1786 granted the indulgence of one hundred days and, on Sundays, of 7 years and the same number of forty years to anyone who with a heartcontrition recited in the morning theantiphonSalve Regina and in the evening theSub tuum praesidium.[13]
During the modernization efforts of theSecond Vatican Council, these types of indulgences (expressed in days or years) was suppressed by theIndulgentiarum Doctrina (1967).
TheEnchiridion Indulgentiarum of 2004 provides for partial indulgence.[14]
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In theByzantine Rite used by theEastern Orthodox andEastern Catholic Churches, the hymn is the lastapolytikion ofVespers celebrated duringGreat Lent on Sunday evenings and weekdays.[15] It is also the last apolytikion of Vespers on otherDays of Alleluia outside of Great Lent.[16] In Greek practice, it is usually sung inNeo-Byzantine chant.
In theArmenian Rite, the hymn is sung on theEve of Theophany and is also used as an acclamation (Armenian:մաղթանք) in the dailycompline service known as the Rest Hour (Հանգստեան Ժամ). A slightly different version of the hymn is appended to theTrisagion when the latter is chanted in the daily Morning (Առաւօտեան) and Evening (Երեկոյեան) Hours of theDaily Office.
The Slavonic version of the hymn is also often used outside ofGreat Lent, with the triple invocation«Пресвятая Богородице, спаси нас!» ("Most Holy Theotokos, save us") appended.
The prayer has a special importance inUkrainian Orthodoxy because Ukrainians connect it to theIntercession aspect of the Mother of God, which in its turn is outstandingly hallowed in theUkrainian tradition.
The hymn is used in the Coptic liturgy, as well as in the Armenian,Byzantine,Ambrosian, andRoman Rite liturgies.
In theRoman Rite of the Catholic Church it is used as the antiphon for theNunc Dimittis atCompline in theLittle Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and in theLiturgy of the Hours may be used as theMarian antiphon afterCompline orVespers outside ofEastertide.
The prayer has a special significance forMarists,[10] and it is often heard inMarist schools and groups around the world. It is also commonly used by theSalesians in honor ofMary Help of Christians.
Since 2018,Pope Francis has asked to pray this hymn along with theRosary and thePrayer to Saint Michael asking for the unity of the Church during October (2018). In the official communiqué he added that "Russian mystics and the great saints of all the traditions advised, in moments of spiritual turbulence, to shelter beneath the mantle of the Holy Mother of God pronouncing the invocation 'Sub Tuum Praesidium'".[17]
In Poland, this prayer is often recited at the end of theHoly Rosary.
The Latin version has been set to music in the West many times, notably byMarc-Antoine Charpentier,[18] (3 settings: H.20, for 3 voices and bc, 1670; H.28, for 3 voices unaccompanied, 1681–82; H.352, for 1 voice and bc; late1680s),Jan Dismas Zelenka, (10 settings for SATB and bc),[19]Antonio Salieri,Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart andLudwig van Beethoven.[10]
Other than the traditional and modern chant settings, which are the most commonly used, the most well-known musical setting in Slavonic traditiona is perhapsthat of the Ukrainian composerDmitry Bortniansky. AnotherUkrainian version was composed byIhor Sonevytsky.
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The earliestChurch Slavonic manuscripts have the prayer in the following form:
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This version continues to be used by theOld Believers today, as well as those churches (Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic alike) which use the Ruthenian Recension.[20] In the 17th century, under the liturgical reforms ofPatriarch Nikon of Moscow, theRussian Orthodox Church adopted a new translation (but parishes continue to use the form given above):[citation needed]
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This second version continues in use today.
The Latin translation, likely derived from the Greek, dates from the 11th century:
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Some of the Latin versions have also incorporated the following verses often attributed toSaint Bernard of Clairvaux[22] to the above translation:
Domina nostra, Mediatrix nostra, Advocata nostra (Our Lady, our Mediatrix, Our Advocate)
tuo Filio nos reconcilia (Reconcile us to your Son)
tuo Filio nos recommenda (Recommend us to your Son)
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