When it is said
The Orthodox sing it on the feast of the Ascension, 40 days after Easter.
At Matins on the feast it is still sung with the first full stanza of the hymn it opens.
Its last line is short enough to carry with you on any day you feel alone.
Where it comes from
Author by tradition
St Romanos’s hymn
St Romanos the Melodist wrote long hymns that were sung as sermons in the 500s. This kontakion opens his hymn for the Ascension. In the old manuscripts, the first letters of its 18 stanzas spell “of the humble Romanos”. Every stanza ends with Christ’s promise: “I am not parted from you. I am with you, and no one will be against you.”
J. B. Pitra, Analecta Sacra, volume 1 (1876), the hymn on the Ascension; Andrew Louth, “In No Way Parted”, The Visual Commentary on Scripture; Manuel Nin, “L’Ascensione del Signore nell’innografia di Romano il Melode”, L’Osservatore Romano (2011)
Two promises in one line
The last line joins two promises from the Bible. At the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus promises His disciples that He is with them always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). Paul asks who can be against us if God is for us (Romans 8:31). The hymn puts the two together as Christ’s own words to those who love Him.
J. B. Pitra, Analecta Sacra, volume 1 (1876), the hymn on the Ascension; Manuel Nin, “L’Ascensione del Signore nell’innografia di Romano il Melode”, L’Osservatore Romano (2011)
The Scripture in it
By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, was taken up in glory.
“and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Bible text: Berean Standard Bible, public domain.
In Greek
Τὴν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν πληρώσας οἰκονομίαν,
καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ γῆς ἑνώσας τοῖς οὐρανίοις,
ἀνελήφθης ἐν δόξῃ, Χριστε ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν,
οὐδαμόθεν χωριζόμενος,
ἀλλὰ μένων ἀδιάστατος,
καὶ βοῶν τοῖς ἀγαπῶσί σε·
Ἐγώ εἰμι μεθ' ὑμῶν, καὶ οὐδεὶς καθ' ὑμῶν.