Sub tuum praesidium


"Beneath Thy Protection" is a Christian hymn. It is the oldest preserved extant hymn to the Blessed Virgin Mary as Theotokos. The hymn is well known in many Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox countries, and is often a favourite song used along with Salve Regina.

History

The earliest text of this hymn was found in a Coptic Orthodox Christmas liturgy. The papyrus records the hymn in Greek, dated to the 3rd century by papyrologist E. Lobel and by scholar C.H. Roberts to the 4th century. According to scholar Serafim Seppälä "there are no determinate theological or philological reasons to reject the 3rd century dating."
The hymn is used in the Coptic liturgy to this day, as well as in the Armenian, Byzantine, Ambrosian, and Roman Rite liturgies. It was part of Sulpician custom that all classes ended with a recitation of this prayer. Besides the Greek text, ancient versions can be found in Coptic, Syriac, Armenian and Latin.
Henri de Villiers finds in the term "blessed" a reference to the salutation by Elizabeth in Luke.
"Praesidium" is translated as "an assistance given in time of war by fresh troops in a strong manner."
The former medieval and post-medieval practice in several dioceses, especially in France, was to use the Sub tuum as the final antiphon at Compline instead of the Salve Regina and in the Rite of Braga where it is sung at the end of Mass.

Modern use

In the Byzantine Rite used by the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, the hymn occurs as the last dismissal hymn of daily Vespers in Great Lent. In Greek practice it is usually sung in Neo-Byzantine chant.
In the Armenian Rite, the hymn is sung on the Eve of Theophany and is also used as an acclamation in the daily compline service known as the Rest Hour. A slightly different version of the hymn is appended to the Trisagion when the latter is chanted in the daily Morning and Evening Hours of the Daily Office.
The Slavonic version of the hymn is also often used outside of Great Lent, with the triple invocation «Пресвѧтаѧ Богородице спаси насъ» appended. Other than the traditional and modern chant settings, which are the most commonly used, the most well-known musical setting is perhaps that of Dmytro Bortniansky.
In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church it is used as the antiphon for the Nunc Dimittis at Compline in the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and in the Liturgy of the Hours may be used as the Marian antiphon after Compline outside of Eastertide.
The Latin version has also been set to music in the West many times, notably by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, H 20, H 28, H 352, Antionio Salieri, Ludwig van Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
The prayer has a special significance for Marists, and it is often heard in Marist schools and groups around the world. It is also commonly used by the Salesians in honor of Mary Help of Christians.
Pope Francis asked to pray this Hymn along with the Rosary and the Prayer to Saint Michael asking for the unity of the Church during October in the face of diverse scandals and accusations. In the official comuniqué 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'”.

Recensions

Greek

Church Slavonic

The earliest Church Slavonic manuscripts have the prayer in the following form:
This version continues to be used by the Old Believers today. In the 17th century, under the liturgical reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow, the Russian Orthodox Church adopted a new translation :
This second version continues in use today.

Latin

The Latin translation, likely derived from the Greek, dates from the 11th century:
Some of the Latin versions have also incorporated the following verses often attributed to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux to the above translation:
Domina nostra, Mediatrix nostra, Advocata nostra
tuo Filio nos reconcilia
tuo Filio nos recommenda
tuo Filio nos representa