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!
Katavasia: “Christ is born...”
“O Christ, Who accepted the repentance of the preëminent Peter who had denied Thee, and made him a great shepherd of Thy sheep: receive me like a lost sheep!” the martyr Myrax cried.
Theotokion: The venom of the serpent, which was bitterly poured into the ears of Eve, dost thou heal, O Maiden, who didst spring forth from David and gavest birth unto the Deliverer.
Canon of the three holy youths and Daniel the Prophet, the acrostic whereof is: “I hymn the three youths and the great Daniel,” the composition of Theophanes, in Tone VIII—
Irmos: Christ is born, give ye glory! Christ cometh from heaven, meet ye Him! Christ is on earth, be ye exalted! O all the earth, sing ye unto the Lord, and chant with gladness, ye people, for He hath been glorified!
“I have fallen away from Thee Who becamest incarnate for my sake! I have rejected Thee Who wast nailed to the Cross for me! Yet I now confess that Thou art my God, and I glorify Thee!”
Theotokion: Let us hearken to the divine sayings of those who declare the appearance of Christ; for, lo! of a Maiden who knew not man is He born in a cave, Whose awesome nativity the star which appeared to the astrologers doth proclaim.
Let us glorify the Word Who is without beginning, Who as befitteth God was begotten of the Father before all ages and was visible as a figure to the youths in the furnace.
Irmos: Taking up the hymn of Moses, cry aloud, O my soul: My Helper and Protector hath He been for my salvation! He is my God, and I shall glorify Him!
“O all-radiant choir of martyrs, even though I denied Christ for a time, accept me now who have endured cruel tortures for Him, that I may glorify God with you!”
Theotokion: “I confess to thee my great sin, O Mistress; for I shamelessly denied thy divine Son!” Myrax cried out to the Theotokos in lamentation, begging her aid.
The right noble youths, resolutely reviling the words of the ungodly tyrant, did not wish to defile themselves with the food of the iniquitous like the Chaldeans.
Irmos: Let us chant unto the Lord, Who led His people through the Red Sea, for He alone hath gloriously been glorified.
O blessed Daniel, send down a luminous ray of light from heaven upon me who desire to praise thy memory with hymns.
Theotokion: The immutable Lord Who was born of thee, O Theotokos, appeared as a whole man, though even after incarnation He remained as He had been.
Nourished in soul by the word of God and in body with foods which grew of themselves, they showed themselves to the king as more comely of countenance than those who were fed with coarse foods.
A truly great sun, O father, thou didst shine forth to the ends of the earth, illumining the assemblies of the faithful with the splendor of thy virtues.
Canon to the holy forefathers, the acrostic whereof is: “I now offer up fitting praise to the fathers,” the composition of Joseph, in Tone I—
Submitting to the laws of the Master, O father, thou didst mortify the flesh with abstinence and didst subject it to the spirit.
Let us offer up a hymn unto the fathers who shone forth before the Law and under the Law, that, by their upright will, were pleasing unto the Lord and Master Who shone forth from the Virgin, and who now delight in unwaning enlightenment.
Let us honor the first Adam who was honored by the hand of the Creator, and who is the forefather of us all and resteth with all the elect in the tabernacles of heaven.
The Lord and God of all accepted Abel, who offered gifts with a most noble soul; and when he was slain by his brother’s murderous hand, He received him into light as a divine martyr.
Translated by Isaac Lambertsen. Edition menaion.en.lambertsen.