Irmos: Cleanse me, O Savior, for many are my transgressions; and lead me up from the abyss of evils, I pray, for to Thee have I cried, and Thou hast hearkened to me, O God of my salvation.
Kontakion, in Tone VI—
Being like unto the angels in thy volition, thou didst acquire an angelic mien, O blessed one; and rejoicing and dancing with them, save those who hymn thee.
Theotokion: The only-begotten Son, Who was invisible from before the ages, in the latter days became thy firstborn: the God of my salvation, Who, through thee, became visible in the flesh, O Mother of God.
The power of thy divinely inspired words manifestly fell like a loud clap of thunder upon the ears of the iniquitous and darkened their visage, O blessed one, who art pleasing unto God.
Thou wast vouchsafed to see the glory of the Father and the consubstantial radiance thereof, O Stephen, and He rewarded thee with splendid crowns for thy sufferings.
Thou wast the first to be sown on the earth by the heavenly Husbandman, O most laudable Stephen, and thou wast the first on earth to shed thy blood for Christ, O blessed one; first hast thou been to be crowned with the wreath of victory in the heavens, O first among athletes, crown-bearer, who wast first among martyrs.
Ikos: Beholding the blossoms of paradise, which fill the whole world with their comely fragrance, I marvel at their strange appearance; for amid the ice of winter do many bloom, which is passing strange for flowers. And the martyr of Christ who was first to blossom forth is become a gate for those who suffer under the law and flower amid the winter of torment, and hath shown the straight path to all who wish to suffer. Thou art the initiator of the contest, who hast shown forth in thy pangs, O crowned one, first among the martyrs to suffer.
Translated by Isaac Lambertsen. Edition menaion.en.lambertsen.