Ode I

Irmos: Overwhelming power once laid low the whole army of Pharaoh in the deep, and the incarnate Word hath destroyed pernicious sin. All-glorious is the Lord, for gloriously hath He been glorified.

Theotokion: Slain by the tree of knowledge, O pure one, by Christ God, the Tree of life, Who sprang forth from thee in manner past understanding, O Theotokos, we, the faithful, have been called back to life. Entreat Him with boldness, that our souls be saved.

Canon of the forefeast, the acrostic whereof is the [Greek] alphabet, the composition of Joseph, in Tone II—

Irmos: Same as that of the preceding canon.

Thou wast registered according to the edict of Cæsar, desiring to enroll man in the Book of Life, O King of all; and in strange manner Thou didst come unto Thine own, summoning to heaven him who had grievously been exiled from paradise.

Receive Christ, O Bethlehem, for He cometh, incarnate, to thee, opening Eden to me! Prepare thyself, O cave, for thou shalt behold the Infinite One all-gloriously contained within thee, having now abased Himself in the richness of His compassion.

Christ cometh to be born, bestowing a strange regeneration upon the descendents of Adam, in that He is God. Be glad, O human nature, thou barren desert, for the Master hath come to make thee bear many children.

Canon of the martyr, the acrostic whereof is: “In songs I eminently hymn the great glory of Eugenia”, the composition of Theophanes, in the same tone—

O Eugenia, martyr of Christ, joyfully dancing now with the angelic armies, as an immaculate virgin, as a crowned martyr who art most rich, pray thou, that He bestow grace upon those who hymn thee with love.

Hearkening to divine hymnody, O bride of Christ, through thy nobility thou didst soar aloft to the Most High; for like light the theology of hymns of the Spirit shone in thy heart, driving away all ungodliness.

Unmindful of thy womanly nature, thy mind hastened to manly feats, having found courage through grace, being directed toward the providence of God, O martyr Eugenia, namesake of divine nobility.

Illumined with noetic light, O divinely wise one, thou didst cause a great many to partake of effulgence; and delivering from sin those who hymn thee, by thine entreaties vouchsafe it.