Orthodox Study
Isaac Lambertsen

Ode VIII

Menaion — translated by Isaac Lambertsen

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¶1

Irmos: Madly did the Chaldæan tyrant heat the furnace sevenfold for the pious ones; but, beholding them saved by a higher Power, he cried out to the Creator and Deliverer: Ye children, bless; ye priests, hymn; ye people, exalt Him supremely for all ages!

¶2

Theotokion: Having made His abode within thine undefiled womb, the Lord showed thee forth as pure and radiant. Wherefore, O Virgin, cleanse me who am defiled by bitter habits and the harmful assaults of the adversary, and grant that I may chant: Ye people, exalt the Lord supremely forever!

¶3

Parting the sea of the passions with the rod of the Cross, ye destroyed all the might of the noetic pharaoh, O venerable fathers, and have saved a sacred multitude of monks, leading them to the land of dispassion, as they chant unceasingly: Ye children, bless; ye priests, hymn; ye people, exalt Him supremely for all ages!

¶4

Irmos: God, Who descended into the fiery furnace for the Hebrew children and transformed the flame into dew, hymn ye as Lord, O ye works, and exalt Him supremely for all ages!

¶5

Theotokion: Who doth not marvel at the great mystery of thy birthgiving, O Theotokos? What earthly tongue or incorporeal mind can describe it? For in manner transcending nature and comprehension, O Theotokos, thou gavest birth to the Creator.

¶6

The exaltation of the heretical didst thou manifestly cast down, foreseeing their destruction from afar. Thou didst help the poor, and wast a guide for the blind, a staff for the aged and the consolation of widows, O Dalmatus, crying aloud: Ye children, bless; ye priests, hymn; ye people, exalt Him supremely for all ages!

¶7

For forty-three days didst thou fast, and straightway didst thou fall asleep for as many days, in manner surpassing nature, keeping the eye of thy heart in vigilance, illumined by the radiance of God, O wise one. And to Him dost thou cry, O Dalmatus: Ye priests, hymn; ye people, exalt Him supremely for all ages!

¶8

Having acquired the character of Abraham, thou didst travel from the land of Rome to Novgorod the Great, and there thou didst behold God, Who promised thee rich reward. Wherefore, in gladness thou dost cry out earnestly unto Christ: Bless the Lord, all ye works, and exalt Him ­supremely forever!

¶9

Living on earth like an angel in the flesh, like one of the incorporeal ones thou didst subdue the bodiless foe beneath thy feet, and through fasting, vigils and prayer didst acquire purity. Wherefore, radiantly joining chorus with the angels in the heavens, thou criest unto Christ: Bless the Lord, all ye works, and exalt Him supremely forever!

¶10

Rome, thy homeland, acclaimeth thee, O venerable one, and Novgorod the Great boasteth in thee, receiving thee from the Lord as a treasure which cannot be stolen away; for having obtained thee as a great helper, O blessed Anthony, it now rejoiceth with the choirs of monastics. Wherefore, celebrating thy memory, we joyfully cry: Bless the Lord, all ye works, and exalt Him supremely forever!

Translated by Isaac Lambertsen. Edition menaion.en.lambertsen.

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