Canon to the Theotokos

Exapostilarion—

Irmos: The bow of the mighty hath been broken by Thy might, O Christ, and the strengthless have girded themselves with power.

Kontakion, in Tone VIII: Spec. Mel: “O Champion Leader...”—

Glory..., and another Sessional hymn, in the same tone and melody—

Sessional hymn in Tone VIII: Spec. Mel: “Of the Wisdom...”—

At the Praises, 4 stichera, in Tone I: Spec. Mel: “Joy of the ranks of heaven...”—

Theotokion: O Virgin Mother, thou hast truly been known to be the splendid portal of the dispensation of the Word, Who saveth us; for upon us hast thou brought forth the noetic Effulgence of the all-divine Godhead.

Let us hymn the womb which is far more spacious than the heavens, through which Adam hath come to make his abode in the heavens, rejoicing.

Irmos: O Christ, Who in the beginning established the heavens in wisdom and founded the earth upon the waters, make me steadfast upon the rock of Thy commandments; for none is holy as Thee, O Thou Who lovest mankind.

Now and ever..., Theotokion—

The divinely wise Sabbas, who spurned things below, the sojourner who loveth things above, dweller in the desert, doth command us all to celebrate with faith the saving day of his departure unto God. Twice

Theotokion: A beauteous paradise newly sprung forth hast thou been shown to be, O thou who most divinely bore within thy womb and gavest birth unto the Tree of Life planted therein, Who poureth forth the hope of salvation upon all who with faith acknowledge thee to be the Theotokos.

Having set thy mind as master over the passions, O thou who art most rich, thou didst show thyself forth as a dispenser of justice; for thou didst manifestly subject what is worse to that which is better. Wherefore, thou didst flourish in the desert like a palm tree, O father.

Irmos: I have heard, O Lord, of Thy glorious dispensation, and I have glorified Thine unapproachable power, O Thou Who lovest mankind.

Glory..., Now and ever...: Theotokion—

Being in thy virtues apart from the flesh and from the world, thou didst thereby glorify the Lord of glory on earth in thy life, O wise father. And as is fitting thou hast been glorified by Him and art shown to be a divine wellspring of healings, O God-pleasing Sabbas.

Theotokion: O all-pure one, intercessor for the faithful, indestructible rampart of those who praise thee, O thou who gavest birth in the body unto God, the Salvation revealed to the whole human race: Save thou my soul!

Having resolved to follow in the steps of the Master, thou didst forsake thy homeland; and, making thine abode in the desert, thou didst denounce the divers wiles of the enemy, didst unmask them in the sight of all, and didst set at naught his overweening audacity, O wise one.

Irmos: Thou art my strength, O Lord, Thou art my power; Thou art my God, Thou art my joy, Who, without leaving the bosom of the Father, hast visited our lowliness. Wherefore, with the Prophet Habbakuk I cry unto Thee: Glory to Thy power, O Thou Who lovest mankind!

Glory..., in Tone VI—

O father, thou wast truly humble, guileless, meek, simple and more serene than other men, and thou fashioned of matter thou wast shown to be a most worthy immaterial abode of God, mercifully imparting unto us the gifts given thee by Him.

Theotokion: O pure Lady, who gavest birth unto God, the Savior and Deliverer of all, Who took our flesh upon Himself: from misfortune save those who call upon thee!

Perceiving thee to be sacred of soul and adorned with simplicity of intent and with the virtues, Euthymius, the most radiant luminary, accepted thee, prophetically proclaiming thy splendor, O most blessed one.

Irmos: The Sun — the live Coal which was revealed beforehand to Isaiah — shone forth from the Virgin’s womb, granting the enlightenment of divine knowledge to those gone astray in darkness.

Now and ever..., Theotokion, in the same tone—

O venerable father, the sound of thy corrections hath gone forth into all the earth. Wherefore, thou hast found thy reward in the heavens, hast destroyed legions of demons, and hast attained unto the ranks of the angels, whose life thou didst blamelessly emulate. As thou hast boldness before Christ God, ask thou peace for our souls.

Theotokion: Reasoning rightly, we call thee the bridal chamber, the banquet hall and throne of the incarnation of the Word, most pure beyond telling; and, rejoicing, we cry out to thy Son: Blessed is the God of our fathers!

Look down upon the hymns of Thy servants, O Benefactor, casting down the lofty pride of the enemy. O Thou Who seest all things, raise up far above sin those who hymn Thee, established immovably upon the foundation of the Faith, O Good One.

Irmos: Wherefore hast Thou turned Thy face from me, O Light never-waning? And why hath a strange darkness covered me, wretch that I am? But turn me, and guide my steps to the light of Thy commandments, I pray.

O Theotokos, thou art the true vine who hast budded forth for us the Fruit of life. Thee do we entreat: With the holy apostles pray thou, O Mistress, that our souls find mercy.

Theotokion: Remaining virgin, thou didst give birth without knowing wedlock, and by thy strange birthgiving thou hast brought all together, abolishing the strife of time and great distance, bearing in thy womb Christ, the ­Bestower of peace. Him do we faithfully hymn and exalt supremely forever.

Having forsaken all earthly things, while on earth in the body thou wast a companion of the angels in spirit; for, having mortified the passions present in thy body, thou didst show thyself to be a servant of the Trinity, O blessed one. Wherefore, thou dost cure the sufferings of the afflicted, and, by thy word, dost drive away evil spirits through grace, O our God-bearing father. Pray thou to Christ God, that remission of sins be granted unto those who celebrate thy holy memory with love.

Irmos: Hearkening to the sound of the cries of entreaty which issue forth from a soul in pain, O Master, deliver me from my grievous sins, for Thou alone art the Cause of our salvation.

Theotokion: O pure one, thou art more highly exalted than all mortal men in thine incomparable preëminence; for in thy womb thou didst contain God, the Author of all creation. Him do thou beseech, in that He is merciful, that He grant to His Churches oneness of mind, peace and serene prosperity.

Abandoning the tumults of life and taking thy cross upon thy shoulders, thou didst offer thyself wholly unto God; and, transcending the flesh and the world, thou didst become a converser with the Holy Spirit. Wherefore, raising men up to zeal, thou didst empty the cities and didst make cities of desert places, O our God-bearing father. Entreat Christ God, that remission of transgressions be granted to those who celebrate thy holy memory with love.

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.

O all-immaculate Bride of the Creator, O Mother of the Deliverer, who knewest not wedlock: As thou art the abode of the Comforter, O all-hymned one, haste thou and deliver me, who in mine iniquity am a defiled habitation, and am become in mind a plaything of the demons; from their wickedness deliver me, and make me a splendid dwelling-place of the virtues. O luminous and incorrupt one, drive away the clouds of the passions, and vouchsafe me to partake of the never-waning light of the Most High, through thy prayers.

Irmos: The youths of old showed themselves to be rhetors with the greatest love of wisdom; for, theologizing with their lips, they chanted from the depths of their God-pleasing souls: O most divine God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!

Behold! the most manifest Mother of God, the divine mountain of the house of the Lord, is exalted far above the hosts of heaven.

Irmos: Once, in Babylon, the fire stood in awe of the condescension of God; wherefore, the youths, dancing with joyous step in the furnace, as in a meadow, chanted: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!

O Virgin, who, alone outside the laws of nature, gavest birth unto the Ruler of creation: thou hast been vouchsafed a divine calling.

Irmos: The thrice-blessed youths, disdaining the golden image and beholding the immutable and living image of God, chanted in the midst of the flame: Let all existing creation hymn the Lord and exalt Him supremely for all ages!

Cleansing and expanding the state of thy soul with divine visions, thou didst truly fashion of it a dwelling-place of divine gifts, O divinely blessed one; and by the laying on of thy hands thou didst heal the afflicted, being an emulator of the Master.

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!

He Who waxed arrogant against thee, O father, was swallowed up like the accursed Dathan, and was destroyed like Abiram; for the grace of God invisibly preserved thee, intent upon the salvation of many, O most blessed, glorious and divinely wise Sabbas.

Irmos: Thou art all desire, all sweetness, O Word of God, Son of the Virgin, God of gods, all-holy Lord of the saints. Wherefore, we magnify Thee and her who gave Thee birth.

O divinely eloquent one, having disciplined thy senses with the law of God, thou didst direct thy skillful thought to the knowledge of incorporeal and noetic things, passing inexorably from glory to glory and from strength to strength, O father.

Irmos: Heaven was stricken with awe, and the ends of the earth were amazed, that God hath appeared in the flesh, and that thy womb became more spacious than the heavens. Wherefore, the ranks of men and angels magnify thee as the Theotokos.

Proposing to do good unto thy fellow men, thou didst found magnificent and spiritually profitable cities in the desert, didst bring springs of water to the parched land, and didst most gloriously bring down clouds from heaven upon the waterless fields.

Singing beforetime of the restoration of the human race, the Prophet Habbakuk, ineffably vouchsafed to behold an image, proclaimed prophetically: A little Babe is come forth from the mountain of the Virgin, unto the restoration of men, O Word!

Clouds of darkness rain down delight upon those who are on earth, for unto us hath a Child been given, Who hath existed from before the ages: our God, Who is incarnate of the Virgin.

Light hath shone forth upon my life and my flesh, and hath destroyed the gloom of sin: the most Exalted One, Who in the latter days was incarnate without seed of the Virgin.

Stretching forth unwavering thought toward Him Whom thou dost desire, from Him thou didst receive the certain grace of most magnificent miracles, O father; and thou hast compassionately healed those who have recourse to thee with faith, O venerable one.

Putting away the coarseness of the heaviness of the flesh, thou didst become a divinely wrought and chosen vessel of the Holy Spirit, O wondrous one, adorned with abstinence from foods, with patience and chastity.

Thou wast appointed the most sonorous herald of the divine dogmas of the Councils, O father, and didst share the portion of the saints, enlightening emperors, to whom, O blessed one, thou wast clearly shown to be protected by divine grace.

O divinely inspired one, the grace given thee by God sounded forth, for it hath been distributed unto all, unto the ends of the earth, manifestly bringing about the divine activity of wondrous revelation in godly manner.

Out of the gloomy night of the works of deception, come Thou, O Christ, unto us that now keep vigil in hymnody addressed to Thee as our Benefactor, Who granteth us an easy path, travelling whereon we may attain to glory.

Human nature, enslaved to sin, hath obtained freedom through thee, O pure Lady; for thy Son hath been sacrificed like a lamb.

We all cry out to thee, the true Mother of God: Save thou thy servants, the objects of wrath, for thou alone hast boldness before thy Son.

Having acquired love for God and neighbor, fulfilling the chief precepts of the law and the prophets, thou didst achieve unattainable virtue, surpassing all others, O father.

As thou didst attain on earth a life equal to that of the angels, Christ hath given thee honor equal to that of the angels, sending thy soul to accompany the ranks of the holy.

Having been shown to be a child of wisdom, thou didst desire the beginning of wisdom, the fear of God; and, strengthened thereby, O father, thou didst attain unto the perfection of which men are capable.

Engulfed in the uttermost depths of the sea, Jonah prayed: Come Thou and calm the tempest! And, pricked by the dark of the tormentor, I cry aloud unto Christ: O Destroyer of evils, haste Thou quickly to my slothfulness!

In thy virtue didst thou offer thyself from childhood unto God as an unblemished sacrifice, O blessed Sabbas, becoming a gardener in the garden of piety. Therefore, thou wast an adornment for the venerable and a right laudable citizen of the desert. Wherefore, we cry to thee: Rejoice, O Sabbas most rich!

Ikos: O leader of the fathers, adornment of the venerable, boldness of fasters before Christ, citizen and gardener of the desert: how can I hymn thy life, O venerable one? for thou dost shine forth in brilliance unto the ends of the earth, like the sun. Wherefore, I cry unto thee:

Rejoice, beauteous glory of the Cappadocians!

Rejoice, honored standard of the whole world!

Rejoice, most goodly scion of the desert!

Rejoice, godly delight of the righteous!

Rejoice, for thou didst disdain that which is fleeting and corruptible!

Rejoice, for thou dost dwell with the angels in the heavens!

Rejoice, correction and rule of monastics!

Rejoice, rousing of the slothful to God!

Rejoice, divinely flowing fountain of miracles!

Rejoice, honored instrument of the Spirit!

Rejoice, thou by whom the East is adorned!

Rejoice, thou through whom the western lands shine forth!

Rejoice, O Sabbas most rich!

At night Jacob beheld God as in a dream, and He that was incarnate of thee hath manifested Himself in splendor unto those who chant: Most divine and supremely glorified is the God of our fathers!

He Who wrestled with Jacob, prefiguring the ineffable union in thee, O pure one, whereby He willingly united Himself to mankind, is the most divine and supremely glorified God of our fathers!

The vile one who had not proclaimed Thee, the Son of the Virgin, to be One of the all-hymned Trinity, cried out with steadfast thought and with his tongue: Most divine and supremely glorified is the God of our fathers!

Thou didst put away transitory things, being rewarded with eternal things; and with the angels thou hast joined chorus as one who led an angelic life. And with them hast thou chanted: Blessed is the God of our fathers!

In thanksgiving thy great and most honorable Lavra crieth out to the Lord, putting thee forward as its inhabitant, founder and citizen, O wise one, and crying out in praise: Blessed is the God of our fathers!

O Sabbas most wise, entreat the Lord unceasingly in behalf of thy flock, and earnestly pray that thy labors be preserved forever for those who bear fruit and cry out with love: Blessed is the God of our fathers!

Captivated by the love of the King of all, the youths despised the godless threats of the tyrant raging uncontrollably; and when the great fire submitted to them, they said to the Master: Blessed art Thou forever!

He that is incomparable in grace and might through thee became visible on earth and dwelt with men. Chanting unto Him, O all ye faithful, let us cry out: Let all existing creation hymn the Lord and exalt Him supremely for all ages!

Truly proclaiming thee the pure one, we glorify thee, O Theotokos, for thou didst give birth to the One of the Trinity Who became incarnate. And to Him, with the Father and the Spirit, we sing: Let all existing creation hymn the Lord and exalt Him supremely for all ages!

With gladness do the ranks of the saints precede thy most pure soul to the place of delight among the splendid mansions, where the choirs of the righteous rejoice, O venerable one. With them thou now dost chant: Ye priests, hymn; ye people, exalt Christ supremely forever!

Strange are thy wonders, for thou didst tame wild beasts, having stilled the waves of the passions; and with thy prophetic gift thou dost foretell things to come; and, expelling legions of demons, thou dost wound them with thy right powerful vigils, prayers and fasts, and by the invincible power of the Cross, O God-bearer.

He, that of old spake to Moses from the pillar of cloud and fire, showed thee to be a most magnificent pillar reaching to heaven up from the earth, where now thy patient and much-suffering body doth lie. Standing before it in faith, we piously chant: Ye people, exalt Christ supremely forever!

Joyously is thy memory celebrated, O all-praised one; for thou didst robe thyself in the virtue which bringeth joy, the true garment of gladness, wherein adorned, thou dost now chant unceasingly: Ye priests, hymn; ye people, exalt Christ supremely forever!

The children of the Old Covenant who were not consumed by the fire prefigure the unconsumed womb of the Maiden which, though sealed, giveth birth in manner transcending nature. And grace, working both of these as a single wonder, doth rouse the people to song.

In thy womb, O pure one, the Word of God was given to corruptible nature as a staff of strength. And He restored what had been dragged down to hell. Wherefore, we magnify thee, O all-pure one, as the Theotokos.

O Master, mercifully accept Thy Mother as an intercessor in our behalf, as Thou hast willed, and all things shall be filled with Thy goodness, that we all may magnify Thee as our Benefactor.

Thy shrine putteth forth a sweet spiritual fragrance, richly gladdening thy children who surround thee with devotion, commemorating thine angelic sojourn on earth, O venerable one, and the radiance, glory and everlasting beauty bestowed upon thee.

Water broke forth in the desert, and the parched earth became a marsh, transformed by thy prayers, O father; for legions of fasters inhabit it as it were a river valley, and the land of Jordan hath blossomed forth like a lily, watered by thy tears.

The splendor of the saints in the heavens shone forth upon thee, in that thou wast a righteous man, O father; for thou didst manifestly love the true righteousness of Christ. Following His manner of life, O most blessed one, thou didst emulate His life-imparting sanctity as far as thou wast able.

Shining with fulsome light, O God-bearer, and beholding the choirs of angels standing in splendor around the light of the Trinity, receiving rays of divine knowledge through grace, cease thou never to pray that remission of sins be vouchsafed unto those who hymn thee.

Better would it be for us to keep silence in fear, for it is without peril; and it is difficult, O Virgin, to weave complex hymns harmoniously with love. But grant us, O Mother, the strength to fulfill our intent.

With thy wisdom-loving ways thou didst make the desert a city, O divinely wise father Sabbas, adornment of the fathers, and thou didst make of it a perfect noetic paradise blossoming with the divine flowers of a multitude of them of like character, fittingly celebrating thine honored memory. Twice

As one who hast compassion and great mercy, O all-hymned Virgin Theotokos, look upon my lowliness; quell thou the tumult of the passions and the temptations of life, O Maiden, and by thy supplications deliver me from the fire of Gehenna.