Ode 1. Tone 6.

Exapostilarion of the Saint.

Kontakion of the Feast.

The One who before was without a body, by the Father’s good pleasure did not refuse to be formed with a body like ours, and has granted us the grace of a divine representation.

The unchanging nature, the most precise definition of the Father, having entered mortal flesh, left behind for us on earth his characteristics when he went back to heaven.

By your revered sufferings, O Christ, you justified your inheritance, which had been shaken by the deception of the Enemy, making it stable by the representation of your form.

Taking flesh from your pure loins in a manner above nature, O all-blameless, the One who gives being to all mortals became visible, yet not abandoning what he was before.

Of the Holy Icon. Ode 3.

You wrapped the honoured Church around with raiment, O Saviour, when you moved the royal heart to seek out your likeness as a shield wall.

Wishing to strip away things that are good and diminish them in time, the begetter of envy shamelessly handed them over to polluted hands; but he was confounded, for his reckoning was in vain.

David once danced with radiant joy before the holy Ark; and now the one who has gained royal sceptres as his lot is glad to give them greater strength by the divine likeness.

Wishing to cut out from its root all the forefather’s natural disobedience, O Virgin, your Son assumed from your womb all that is human.

Kathisma of the Holy Icon. Tone 1.

The king of Edessa, recognising you as King of all things, who do not offer sceptre and army, but with a word multitudes of wonders, implored you, the God-man, to come to him. But seeing your impress on the towel he cried out, ‘You are Lord and God’.

**Of the Saint**. ****

Tone 8. The Wisdom and Word.

**Of the Feast. The same.**

O Virgin, who conceived God without seed and without corruption gave birth to him incarnate, you have been clothed in the new incorruption of the Spirit; for as Mother of Life and Queen of all things you have passed over to immaterial life. Therefore fittingly and truly you have been revealed as a cloud pouring down waters of life for us. All-blameless Mother of God, intercede with your Son and God to grant forgiveness of faults to those who with faith bow down before your divine Falling Asleep.

Of the Holy Icon. Ode 4.

As it leaves the city in the East and draws near ours, the King, wise in God, now receives your sacred napkin.

Sweet is the sun, which appears to the eyes; but sweeter the appearance, O Christ, of your likeness; for the one gives sensible light, the other spiritual.

Strength deserted the right hand of the Ishmaelite, for with the weapon of the Cross the stern King cast all its defence to the ground.

Intercede we beg, O most pure, that your city may be guarded unharmed from barbarous assault; for see what the boasters devise against her.

Of the Holy Icon. Ode 5.

Small was the city that first prepared your reception, O Christ, which the coming of Thaddaios set free from diseases, the writing of your hand and the depiction of your face.

The gifts of your graces have been multiplied, O Christ; for the things which before Edessa held in its bosom as its boast, New Rome receives with rejoicing.

Halt the massed assaults of our enemies, O Virgin; destroy their devices; help your inheritance; for you see that we have been beset by evils.

Of the Holy Icon. Ode 6.

You were fairer in beauty beyond all the sons of mortals, O Saviour; for though you had neither form nor beauty at the moment of your passion, yet you truly enlightened all things, and the sight of your form is revealed. Its likeness, imprinted on a cloth, has been granted to us.

The multitude of the strength of the Hagarenes has been removed and has now given, like an Ark from among foreigners to the new Israel, your imprint on a towel, O Christ, and your glory which it had also gained; for it is not right for Holy Things to be thrown aside.

Just now I was fainting, O Saviour, from the strength from your hand; but take your blows from me at the prayers of her who bore you without knowing man, O Word, and do not abandon me to be drowned by the tempest of sin and suffer dread nausea, O only Redeemer.

On the 16th of the same month, commemoration of the holy Martyr Diomedes.

He strove in life and death, Diomedes;

In life by choice, in death his head cut off.

On the sixteenth of the month Diomedes was slain by a sword stroke.

On the same day the venerable Chairemon died in peace.

O blest Chairemon, at life’s end rejoice ;

For then you saw the start of toils’ reward.

On the same day, commemoration of the thirty three holy Martyrs from Palestine, who died by the sword.

Stalwart the force and great the battle line

Which falling by the sword crushed demon ranks.

On the same day memorial of the entry of the Image Not Made By Hand of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ, brought from the city of the Edessenes to this god-protected Queen of cities.

Alive you wiped your face upon a cloth,

A final burial cloth you wore when dead. ****

For the Tile

Maker of all, my Christ, a tile once made

By hand now bears your form not made by hand.

When our Lord and great God and Saviour Jesus Christ was, in his goodness, working many wonders, as it is recorded in the sacred Gospels, and when his reputation was spreading everywhere, Agbar the Ruler of Edessa heard of them and wanted to see Jesus Christ with his own eyes, but was unable to do so because he was suffering from incurable diseases. For a black leprosy had burst out over all his body and had consumed him, for this reason he was unapproachable and unseen for all his subjects.

Around the time of the Passion of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ, he wrote a letter and sent it by a certain Ananias, ordering him to depict with absolute accuracy his height, his hair and his face, and in short his whole bodily appearance, and to bring him the form of Christ; for Ananias was a skilled painter.

The letter was as follows, word for word:

Agbar, Ruler of the city of Edessa, to Jesus Saviour, the good physician, who has appeared in Jerusalem, greeting!

I have heard about you and about your cures, which are done by you without drugs; for example you make the blind see again; you make the lame walk; you cleanse lepers; you drive out unclean spirits; you heal those who have been tormented by disease over long periods. Having heard all this of you I had one of two ideas: either that you are Son of God, who do these things, or that you are God. So then I write to you and ask you to and to come to me to cure the suffering I have, and then to be with me; for I have also heard that the Jews murmur against you and wish to do you ill. My city is very small but distinguished and adequate for both of us to live here in peace.

Ananias left for Jerusalem and having given the letter to the Lord he gazed intently at him, but, since he was unable to get near him because of the surging crowd, he climbed up onto a small outcrop of rock and at once began to move his eyes while press his hand to the paper and he began to copy the appearance of what he saw, but he was quite unable to capture his form because it appeared now with one now with another appearance and with differing aspect. But the Lord, who knows what is hidden and searches hearts, knowing his intention, revealed what was happening secretly. For he asked to wash, and while doing so he was given a cloth folded in four, and when he had washed he wiped his most pure and divine face with it. Thus his divine form and appearance were imprinted — O the wonder! — on the cloth. This he gave to Ananias saying, Go, give this back to the one who sent you’. He also gave him a letter in the following terms,

Blessed are you, Agbar, who have believed in me, though you have not seen me. For it is written of me that those who have seen me do not believe in me so that those who have not seen me may believe and live. As to what you wrote about my coming to you, it is necessary that I accomplish all that I was sent out to do and, after I have accomplished it, to be taken up to the Father who sent me. And when I have been taken up I will send you one of my Disciples, named Thaddaios, heal will heal your disease and grant you and those with you eternal life and peace, and he will make your city such that no enemy can prevail against it.

At the end he fixed seven seals in Hebrew letters, which when translated mean,

Picture of God Divine wonder.

Agbar received Ananias with great joy and fell down and worshipped the Holy and most pure Icon of the Lord with faith and much love, and he was instantly healed of his disease. Only a small patch of leprosy remained on his forehead. After the saving passion of Christ and his assumption into heaven the Apostle Thaddaios reached Edessa and brought Agbar and all those under him to the font, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. When Agbar came out of the water he had been cleansed of the small remaining trace of leprosy.

On the same day we commemorate the great and surpassing love for mankind of God concerning us, which he demonstrated once by routing with shame the godless Hagarenes, at the mediation of our most holy Lady, Mother of God and ever-virgin Mary.

On the same day the drawing of the holy water in the church of Life-receiving Spring and of its replenishment.

A Spring of wonder-working waters emptied out,

But then, filled up, works wonders yet again.

On the same day the commemoration takes place of the dread threat in those times of the earthquake, from which, beyond hope, our God who loves mankind delivered us.

To him be glory and might to the ages. Amen.

Of the Holy Icon. Ode 7.

The Youths in Babylon.

O Word of God, when you dwelt on earth you drove out every disease with a word; but returning to your Father’s throne you heal our diseases through your Imprint.

The One who created all things by a word, and who received a form that was not his, has left behind for us visible appearances of his own form. As we receive them with gladness, we rejoice.

The faithful king, seeking with his whole soul an impression of your form, Lord, as he sought so he found, discovering the fitting fulfilment of his godly longing.

By your conceiving humanity was freed from the ancient condemnation; for God, having found you alone to be wider than the heavens, O All-blameless, made you his dwelling.

Of the Holy Icon. Ode 8.

As in a vision, the whole chosen people of the city, hoping that you, the Lord, will make your home there, gives you a wondrous welcome, leading out a choir of High Priests, carried on whose shoulders and entering your own inheritance, O Compassionate, you came to rest in your Mother’s shrine.

The mouths of innocent children sang your praise as you journeyed to the city that slew the Prophets; but the lawless synagogue of the Hebrews armed a murderous hand and raged against you. But now the lawful city, pouring out with all its people because it sees you, the Creator, rejoices as it receives the imprint of your form.

The Angel of Great Counsel of the Father, having chosen to put on flesh, was brought to completion in your womb, O All-pure. He declared you to be his Mother below, O holy one, and renewed corrupted mortal nature. We bless him as Creator and highly exalt him to all the ages.

Of the Holy Icon. Ode 9.

A people without understanding raved against you, O Saviour, and in return for kindness shamelessly threatened dreadful deeds against you; but we, who had been thrust far away, were adopted as children by your sufferings, O Saviour.

Grant help against their enemies to the Orthodox and to their faithful Sovereigns, because we have gained as an invincible protection, Master, the symbols of your flesh. Through them they look towards their salvation.

The Word of God, bearing a body, appeared to those on earth, double by nature from you, O All-blameless, by exchange of the Godhead, united without mixture in one hypostasis by the mingling. Him we glorify.

Glorious great Martyr, divinely you empurpled the Church of Christ with the streams of your blood; while you quenched the soul-destroying deception of idols, all-blessed Diomedes; and now do not cease to intercede for us to the Lord.

And of the Feast.

The company of the Apostles, assembled together on clouds, as is fitting buries the Mother of the Lord, the Saviour too being present with tens of thousands of Angels.