Irmos: There is none as holy as Thee, O Lord my God, Who hast uplifted the horn of Thy faithful and established us on the rock of the confession of Thee, O Good One.
Glory..., Now and ever...: Theotokion—
Sessional hymn, in Tone VIII: Spec. Mel: “That which was mystically commanded....”—
Theotokion: The wonder of thy divine birthgiving transcendeth all the order of nature; for in manner beyond nature thou didst conceive God in thy womb and, having given birth, dost ever remain a Virgin.
A barren womb put thee forth as a divine shoot, a glorious attendant to the Bride which is the Church of the nations, betrothing her to Christ, the true God and Bridegroom.
O Forerunner John, the wretched adulteress could not stop thy divinely eloquent voice with the sword, for from earth thou dost reveal thy divine head to us.
The city of Jerusalem, desiring thee and radiantly celebrating, keepeth festival, having found thy head to be a hidden treasure and an inexhaustible wellspring of healings, O Forerunner.
Like a treasure laid up in a hiding place was the head of the Forerunner preserved; the voice of the Word was hidden in a cistern. But like a grain of wheat planted in the depths of the earth it blossomed forth, yielding the fruit of divine life. The discovery thereof do we all honor, glorifying Christ Who hath imparted to it the grace to pour forth healings. Twice
Mystically receiving in his mind what was commanded, the incorporeal one went with haste to stand in the house of Joseph, saying to her who knew not wedlock: He Who bowed down the heavens by His descent doth immutably abide wholly within thee! And beholding Him within thy womb taking on the form of a servant, I fear to cry aloud to thee: Rejoice, O Bride unwed!”
Translated by Isaac Lambertsen. Edition menaion.en.lambertsen.