Canon of the Forefeast, in Tone V—

Exapostilarion of the forefeast: Spec. Mel.: “The heaven with stars…”—

Irmos: Bringing battles to nought with His upraised arm, Christ hath overthrown horse and rider in the Red Sea, and hath saved Israel, who chanteth a hymn of victory.

Kontakion of the forefeast, in Tone IV: Spec. Mel.: “Thou hast appeared today…”—

The choirs of heaven rejoice and prepare to receive the pure Mother of God, the Queen Who in piety hath dominion over all creatures.

Sessional hymn of the saint, in Tone I: Spec. Mel.: “Thy tomb, O Savior…”—

Theotokion: He Who was known before time began, O Mother of God, hath appeared on earth in latter days assuming flesh, delivering those who before were made captive.

Let us approach the tomb which received the Virgin, O ye faithful, hastening to receive divine fragrance; for therein hath been poured the wafting fragrance of the phial, which perfumeth men’s souls.

Irmos: Having traversed the water as though it were dry land, and escaped the evil of Egypt, the Israelite cried aloud: Let us chant unto our Deliverer and God!

Glory…, Now & ever…: Sessional hymn of the forefeast, in Tone IV: Spec. Mel.: “Go thou quickly before…”—

Theotokion: Thou wast a most manifest mountain, O all-pure one, whereon the Lord, having ascended it, manifested Himself, and to which we now have recourse.

Sion is set apart from other mountains; and the animate Sion hath come to rest in the Garden of Gethsemane, having assented that our immortal God rest in her incorrupt womb, in that she is animate.

Irmos: O Christ Who by Thy command fixed the earth upon naught and suspended its weight unsupported: establish Thou Thy Church upon the immovable rock of Thy commandments, O Thou Who alone art good and lovest mankind.

Theotokion: The Mother of God the Creator is believed to be the descendent of David; wherefore, she ineffably gave birth to Him when He took flesh of her.

O ye mouths of the apostles, having winded the clarions of God-bearing men, cry ye out with a loud voice: “Ye powers, open the gates! Receive the Queen into the highest!”

Irmos: Thou art the confirmation of those who have recourse to Thee, O Lord; Thou art the light of the benighted; and my spirit doth hymn Thee.

Theotokion: Thou wast the place of the Lord, O Mother of God, from whence He issued forth, delivering the world from deception.

How can death lay hold of the most immaculate one who, in manner transcending nature, manifestly gave birth to everlasting Life? But the Master, rejecting this, hath translated thee to the haven of heaven.

Irmos: Perceiving Thy divine condescension prophetically, O Christ, Habbakuk cried out to Thee with trembling: Thou art come for the salvation of Thy people, to save Thine anointed ones!

Theotokion: Thou didst make the house of Judah splendid, O Virgin, revealing Him Who shone forth from thy holy womb.

As a truly clear divine mirror of things divine, O blessed one, thou standest before the Creator. Him do thou beseech, that He save from misfortunes those who hymn thee with faith.

Irmos: I have heard, O Lord, the mystery of Thy dispensation; I have understood Thy works, and have glorified Thy divinity.

Theotokion: The Word, Whose power equals that of the Father and Who is the Father’s peer, the blessed God of our fathers, by the Father’s good pleasure taketh form as a man in the Virgin’s womb.

Full of spiritual understanding and the wisdom of God, O most excellent Micah, as a pure intelligence thou didst learn the things of the future.

Irmos: O Thou Who art clothed in light as with a garment: I rise at dawn unto Thee, and to Thee do I cry: enlighten Thou my gloom-enshrouded soul, O Christ, in that Thou alone art compassionate!

Theotokion: Having Him Who was born of thee as our mighty consolation, O Virgin, like the apostles we cleave to the precious confession of the Faith, hymning the Lord and exalting Him supremely forever.

Piously proclaiming thy prophecy, O blessed one, thou didst say that the Lord would appear on earth from heaven, recording His manifestation unto us.

Irmos: Waking at dawn, we cry to Thee: Save us, O Lord! For Thou art our God, and we know none other than Thee.

Theotokion: As thou art more exalted and pure than all, in that thou didst conceive the all-good God, wash away the defilement of my soul.

Let us now send up funeral hymns to the pure one, the Theotokos who gave birth to the Creator, and, rejoicing, with the incorporeal armies let us surround her life-bearing bier as though it were a divine and holy throne.

Irmos: O Christ Master, still Thou the sea of the passions which rageth with a soul-destroying tempest, and lead me up from corruption, in that Thou art compassionate.

Shedding tears with faithful hearts, come ye, let us touch her incorrupt body, the life-bestowing, divine and ever-flowing fountain, gazing upon it with our eyes as it lieth, laid out and enshrouded.

Irmos: Grant me a robe of light, O Thou Who coverest Thyself with light as with a garment, O most merciful Christ our God.

O divine and right noble habitation of God, true seat and animate city of the true King of all, through thy memorial grant remission of all our offenses, and save us from misfortunes.

Irmos: The supremely exalted Lord of our fathers quenched the flame and bedewed the children, who sang together: Blessed art Thou, O God!

Thy tongue became a pen of the divine Spirit, whereby thou hast revealed to us the fulfillment of things to come.

Irmos: Once, in Babylon, the youths who had come forth from Judæa trod down the flame of the furnace with their faith in the Trinity, chanting: O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!

Thou didst indicate that the preëternal Prince, the Savior and Director of all, would become incarnate in Bethlehem.

Irmos: The children, forming a universal chorus in the furnace, chanted to Thee, the Creator of all: Hymn the Lord, all ye works, and exalt Him supremely for all ages!

Illumined with prophetic enlightenment, O glorious prophet, thou wast for us an excellent instructor in the mysteries of things which pass understanding.

Irmos: When the musical instruments sounded and innumerable were those who worshipped the image in Dura, the three youths, refusing to obey the tyrant’s command, hymned and glorified the Lord for all ages.

Thine understanding enlightened by the Holy Spirit, O wise one, thou didst openly prophesy things to come, making clear the incomprehensible, O Micah most rich; for thou didst prophesy that Christ, the Prince and Leader Who doth shepherd His people, would come forth from Bethlehem.

Irmos: Rejoice, O Isaiah! The Virgin hath conceived in her womb and borne a Son, Immanuel, both God and man. Orient is His name; and, magnifying Him, we call the ­Virgin blessed.

Ye virgin maidens, sing in anticipation! Ye mothers, give praise, and chant ye all a song of parting, celebrating beforehand, in godly manner, the dormition of the Virgin, the Mother of the Lord, with hymns of divine beauty; for she is gloriously translated to the heavens.

Irmos: Saved by thee, O pure Virgin, we confess thee to be in truth the Theotokos, magnifying thee with the incorporeal choirs.

Let the evil spirits of the air withdraw; and let the very prince of this world recoil and fall back confounded, beholding the Mother of God borne aloft.

No longer is the ark of the covenant carried by priests symbolically, in an indistinct image: the Mother of God is borne in truth by the holy apostles.

O turtle-dove of Solomon, beauteous, comely and most precious, having fallen asleep in a place of rest divine, thou hast found repose among the immutable treasures of life.

Illumined from on high with the splendors of divine inspiration, O right glorious one, thou didst proclaim things to come as though thou didst behold them in the present.

The law went forth out of Sion as Thou didst foretell, O blessed of God, and hath continued to the ends of the earth, proclaiming the Word of the Lord.

The Lord of all appeared in the house of Jacob to exercise dominion, and as a shepherd He tendeth His people in the glory of His name, O most blessed one.

On Mount Sinai Thou didst animate the pure and divine habitation of the all-holy Spirit, and in manner transcending nature hast enlightened all creation.

Thou wast the dwelling-place of all divinity; wherefore, the Godhead hath transported thee from the earth to the heavens, utterly and wholly, O Mother and Theotokos.

Jesus, the all-divine Lord of glory, Who, in His loving-kindness, was born of thy womb, hath Himself translated thee from the earth, soul and body, O Mother of God.

Thou didst understand that salvation would come to all nations from the Jews, O wondrous one.

Beholding grace, thou didst proclaim it, O divinely revealed one; and flocks of the gentiles have recourse unto it and are saved.

With the angels, archangels, authorities, principalities, thrones and powers, let us make haste to Sion and behold the great wonder.

How can corrupt death lay hold of her who is the Mother of Life, and who hath been untainted by any corruption? Truly beyond nature are thy mysteries, O pure Virgin!

Light ye as many lamps as possible, O people of Sion, and come, let us go forth to meet in Gethsemane her who hath been wrapped in light; and let us accompany her with hymns.

Obedient to the laws of God, preserving the law thou didst denounce all who violated them, O all-glorious one.

O godly Micah, honored instrument of the Spirit: by thine entreaties preserve the faithful from misfortunes.

The universe, embroidered by the immaterial Spirit for thy glorious memorial, noetically crieth out to thee with gladness: Rejoice, O Virgin, thou boast of Christians!

Ikos: He Who splendidly assembled His divine apostles on clouds from the ends of the earth, to come to thy body, O pure one, revealed thee to all as the Theotokos, the awesome bridal-chamber all adorned; and, as thy Son and God, He took thine all-pure soul in His hands and set it in paradise. For the tree of life is there, and mortals, eating thereof, have found immortality through thee. Wherefore, we also cry out to thee: Rejoice, O Virgin, thou boast of Christians!

O ye assemblies of priests, ye companies of the people, all ye maidens and virgins: joining chorus, hymn the divine repose of the Virgin!

O leaders of the law and grace, praise ye the dormition of the Theotokos, chanting and singing together: Blessed art Thou, O God!

Today is the all-pure one, the holy of holies, the great and holy mountain, translated to Sion. To her do we cry aloud: Rejoice, O all-immaculate one!

Thou didst show thyself to be most valiant and useful to the Master of all, denouncing the cruelty of the rulers, teaching and crying out, O right glorious one: O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!

Shining with the beams of thy godly life, thou wast shown to be a most pure prophet of the manifestation of God, O blessed one, chanting: O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!

O Virgin Queen of all women, bear thou to Christ the entreaty of those who lovingly celebrate this thy memorial and exalt thee supremely for all ages.

Thy sanctified countenance, made luminous by the beauty of the Godhead, shineth with the glory of thy divine virginity, which is adorned utterly for all ages, O all-immaculate one.

I cannot speak of thine all-great works. I tremble and am amazed, and am cast into confusion. Yet, looking upon my love, O Virgin, ever continually reward me with divine gifts.

The Word of God, Who existeth from before time began, hath appeared, delivering the descendants of Adam, as the Prophet Micah foretold. Hymn the Lord and exalt Him supremely forever!

Noetically instructed, thou didst cry out: the Master, Who desireth to be merciful, in that such is His nature, taketh pity upon the unrighteous deeds of those who with faith hymn and exalt Him ­supremely forever.

Receiving the effulgence of God, thou wast shown to be like bright lightning, becoming like a clear mirror, O Micah, crying: Hymn the Lord and exalt Him supremely forever!

Well, right well hast thou been adorned as a bride, O Virgin Mother of God; for in thee have the stumbling of Adam and the most destructive suasion of Eve been set aright. Wherefore, with hymns we all unceasingly magnify thee.

Rightly doth God, as thy Master, give thee glory, O Virgin. But what shall we, who are wretched, offer to thee? Yet accept if only the zeal of those who with love honor thee as the Theotokos, preserving us.

In that the Most High, descending, issued forth from thy womb, O Virgin Bride of God, through thee He hath visited us. Emulating Him, from the mansions of heaven do thou visit those who hymn thee on the feast of thy memory.

Grant victories over heresy to our Orthodox hierarchs, who hold thine honored burial as their sure confirmation and honor thy memory royally, O Mother of God, bringing the enemies of our Faith into submission.

Resplendent with beams of piety and praying for the world, thou standest ever before the incorrupt and most pure Mind of God.

The splendid day of thy memory hath dawned, O prophet, full of the gifts of prophecy, and it poureth forth rivers of repentance.

Deified in manner past understanding, O blessed one, thou delightest in the gladness of the Savior Who came to the world in accordance with thy prophecy.

Angels and shepherds first hymned thy birthgiving, and now the ranks of the angels, the choir of the apostles and every nation hymn thy dormition, O Virgin.

Glory…, Now & ever…: Spec. Mel.: “Hearken, ye women…”—

Celebrating the all-splendid memory of thine honored dormition, O Theotokos, we chant with love: Departing to thy Son and Lord in thy glory, as thou art the all-pure Mother pray for the Christians who hymn thee with faith.