Canon of Saint Athanasius

Exapostilarion from the Octoechos; and Glory…, that of the saints—

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.

Kontakion of the holy hierarchs, in Tone IV: Spec. Mel.: “Thou hast appeared…”—

Sessional hymn of Saint Athanasius, in Tone III: Spec. Mel.: “Awed by the beauty of thy virginity…”—

Having cleansed thy soul and body of all defilement, O Athanasius, thou wast shown forth as a temple rightly divine. Wherefore, the fullness of the Trinity rested within thee, O most blessed initiate of the sacred mysteries.

Theotokion: Thou wast shown to be more exalted than the cherubim and the seraphim; for thou alone didst receive the infinite God in thy womb, O undefiled one. Wherefore, all of us, the faithful, bless thee with hymns, O pure one.

Irmos: Thy Church rejoiceth in Thee, O Christ, crying aloud: Thou art my strength, O Lord, my refuge and my consolation!

Kontakion of Saint Athanasius, in Tone II: Spec. Mel.: “Of thy blood…”—

The grace of the Comforter, finding thy soul purified of the passions, manifestly showed its activity therein, O father, and hath set thee forth as an all-radiant beacon for the world.

Theotokion: Having been cleansed beforehand by the Spirit, O pure one, thou gavest birth to the Word of the Father, the Essence of reason, unto our benefaction.

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!

Thou wast shown forth as a standard of hierarchy for bishops, the model for a life of spiritual activity. Thy discourse, the form of thy vision and the breadth of thy theology and doctrine were manifestly revealed, O all-wise one.

Now & ever…: Theotokion—

Irmos: Beholding Thee lifted up upon the Cross, O Sun of righteousness, the Church stood rooted in place, crying out as is meet: Glory to Thy power, O Lord!

Strengthened by Christ, O Cyril, with unwavering intent thou didst rend apart the machinations of the evil serpent as though they were a spider’s web.

Theotokion: Thou art the boast of the faithful, O unwedded one; thou art the intercessor and refuge of Christians, their bulwark and haven. For thou dost bear entreaties to thy Son, O most immaculate one, and savest from misfortunes those who with faith and love acknowledge thee to be the pure Theotokos.

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.

Thou didst scrape the mire of the passions from thy soul, O Cyril, casting down every evil thought which rose up against Christ.

Theotokion: He Who by His divine power created all things out of nothing, O Mother of God, rejoiceth in thee, illumining the world with the radiant beams of His divinity and with the effulgence of the knowledge of God.

Irmos: Thou hast come, O my Lord, as a light into the world: a holy light turning from the darkness of ignorance those who hymn Thee with faith.

Like a successful athlete, O father, thou didst avoid every carnal pleasure as vainglorious and treacherous.

Theotokion: Having acquired maternal boldness toward thy Son, O most pure one, reject not thought of kinship with us, we pray; for we set thee before Christ as the only merciful cleansing of Christians.

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 sacred primates most great, champions of the Church of Christ, preserve all who chant: Save those who honor Thee with faith, O Compassionate One!

Theotokion: We set thee forth as an invincible weapon against the enemy, O Bride of God, for we have acquired thee as the confirmation and hope of our salvation.

Irmos: I will sacrifice to Thee with a voice of praise, O Lord, the Church crieth unto Thee, cleansed of the blood of demons by the blood which, for mercy’s sake, flowed from Thy side.

As He Who chose thee beforehand named thee, thou wast the embodiment of immortality, piously slaying all the opinions of Arius; for thou wast an unscathed champion of the truth, O father Athanasius, thou boast of the Orthodox. Wherefore, hymning thee as is meet, we celebrate thy godly memory.

Theotokion: May we be delivered from grievous transgressions by thine entreaties, O pure Theotokos; and may we receive divine illumination from the Son of God Who was ineffably incarnate of thee, O most pure one.

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!

Glory…, that of Saint Cyril, in the same tone & melody—

Theotokion: O wonder newer than all other wonders! Conceiving in her womb, without having known a man, Him Who sustaineth all things, the Virgin did not confine Him!

Irmos: The children of Abraham in the Persian furnace, afire with love of piety more than with the flame, cried out: Blessed art Thou in the temple of Thy glory, O Lord!

Thou didst denounce the falsehood of heresies and didst elucidate the Orthodox Faith; and as one divinely eloquent and pious thou didst preach throughout the world that men should worship the one Godhead in Trinity, consubstantial in Essence and unconfused as to Persons. Wherefore, assembling, we honor thy memory, O most glorious Cyril.

Theotokion: Now have all things been filled with divine light through thee, O all-pure one; for thou wast shown to be the portal through which God conversed with the world, enlightening with faith those who cry: Blessed is the God of our fathers!

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!

The awesome mystery of God which was wrought in thee, O divinely joyous Mistress, is incomprehensible and unattainable; for, conceiving the Infinite One, thou gavest birth unto Him wrapped in flesh through thine all-pure blood. Him do thou ever entreat as thy Son, O pure one, that our souls be saved.

Theotokion: Rejoice, O hallowed and divine habitation of the Most High! For through thee, O Theotokos, hath joy been given to those who cry: Blessed art thou among women, O most immaculate Mistress!

Irmos: Stretching forth his hands, Daniel shut the lions’ mouths in the pit; and the young lovers of piety, girded about with virtue, quenched the power of the fire, crying out: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord!

Stavrotheotokion—

Theotokion: Let us hymn her who gave birth in the flesh to the One God in Trinity, and even after giving birth hath constantly remained whole, for she hath surpassed the cherubim and is more honorable than the seraphim, who cry: Ye children, bless; ye priests, hymn; ye people, exalt God supremely for all ages!

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.

Thy pure Mother who knew not wedlock, O Christ, seeing Thee hanging dead upon the Cross, said, weeping maternally: “How hath the iniquitous and thankless synagogue of the Jews recompensed Thee, Who delighted them with Thy manifold and great gifts, O my Son? I hymn Thy divine condescension!”

Theotokion: The Word Who of old was begotten of the Father without mother was born a second time of thee, without father, O most pure one; and though before He was incorporeal, He became incarnate in His loving-kindness, desiring to save those who chant: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord!

Irmos: Eve, through weakness, abode under the curse of disobedience; but thou, O Virgin Theotokos, hast put forth blessing for the world through the Offspring of thy child-bearing. Wherefore, we all magnify thee.

All the life-bearing inspiration of the Spirit of Christ, which in godly manner descended from on high into the upper chamber of old, breathed upon thee, O father, and showed thee to be a thirteenth apostle who preached the Orthodox Faith.

Theotokion: Without seed or carnal desire thou didst conceive the Word of God Who hath created all things, and thou gavest birth to Him without suffering the pangs of childbirth, O Virgin. Wherefore, confessing thee to be the Theotokos with tongue and heart, we magnify thee.

Burning exceedingly with divine zeal while taking part in the Council in Nicæa before thou wast consecrated to the hierarchy, thou didst preach the consubstantiality of the Trinity. Wherefore, Christ made thee a chief shepherd and teacher of the Church.

Theotokion: O most holy Virgin Theotokos who wast born of a barren woman and gavest birth to Him Who by His will and gesture hath transformed all things: My heart, which is barren of godly virtues, do thou show forth as fruitful, that I may hymn thee, the most hymned one.

Having the helm of the Church entrusted to thee by the providence of God, O Athanasius, as with a scythe thou didst mow down all the spiritually harmful pratings of the heretics, cutting them down like weeds; and, watering the seed of the Word, thou didst wisely cultivate it.

Now & ever…: Theotokion—

Thy fiery tongue burned up the unnatural division made by Arius and the mingling of Sabbelius, and every heretical blasphemy with them, which are boundless evil and veritable ungodliness, O Athanasius.

Now & ever…: Theotokion, or this stavrotheotokion: Spec. Mel.: “Of great faith…”—

Christ, seeing thee victorious over soul-corrupting passions and mastering the flesh by thy thought, O God-bearing father Cyril, set thee as primate over His divine Church.

Having, as a beloved son, inherited the paternal virtue of Mark, thou wast an heir to his cathedra, following the steps of the godly evangelist.

Tended like a lamb by Christ, as a shepherd thou didst nurture thy flock with thy spiritually nourishing discourses, as with grace and flowers, feeding them abundantly with grace.

Having Christ speaking in the eloquent instrument of thy tongue, O father Athanasius, in writing thou didst put to shame the heresy of the idols, guiding those astray and converting them to the true God.

With discourses and writings thou didst denounce all pernicious heresies, O blessed father, dispelling from the whole world divers falsehoods with thy wise proofs, elucidating the Orthodox Faith irrefutably.

The Church of Christ calleth thee directly the truly great teacher of wise doctrines, O father Athanasius, and hath numbered with the apostles thee who revealest the unadulterated word of the Faith.

Contemplating the countenance of Christ now face to face, no longer by reflection as in a mirror, O Cyril, thou hast been united to thy desire.

Thy discourse, O Cyril, hath been likened truly to the mighty torrent of a river in full flood, toppling the machinations of the heretics.

O Cyril, thou didst overturn the vile division of Arius and the abominable mingling of Sabbelius alike.

Thou hast left to the Church of Christ thy rich discourses like treasures of gold and precious stones, O Cyril.

Apollinarius, having shown himself to be a sower of the alien seed of earthly discourse and understanding, is mightily denounced by thee, O most blessed one, as senseless and foolish of mind, in thy work on the incarnation of Christ.

We the faithful draw forth honey most sweet, like water from a bowl, from the ever-flowing wellspring of grace which floweth in torrents of discourse pouring forth from thy lips, O venerable one.

Everyone doth marvel at the magnificence of thy wise writings, exclaiming in love, O wise father, foreseeing the heresies which would spring forth to be rejected by thee prophetically.

The seraph bore the burning ember to the prophet with tongs, but thou, O initiate of the sacred mysteries, dost give to the Church of Christ the purifying ember of divine fire with thine own hands.

Thou didst not destroy the neighboring Philistines as did Samson, but didst cast down the aliens of heterodox doctrine and give might to the Orthodox, O Cyril.

Manifestly heading the divinely elect Council, O father, filled with zeal for the true Mother of God thou didst cast down the heresy of Nestorius, the audacity which opposeth Christ, O father.

Planting Orthodox doctrine, thou didst mow down the tares of heresy, causing the seed of faith to increase through the rain of the Spirit, O venerable one. Wherefore, we hymn thee, O Athanasius.

Ikos: O ye faithful, with hymns let us praise today the most festive memory of Athanasius and Cyril; for they cast into the abyss of perdition Arius the deceiver, Eunomius and Sabbelius, committing them to immolation in everlasting fire, for they unjustly blasphemed the incarnation of the Savior. Wherefore, we hymn thee, O Athanasius.

Having in Orthodox manner preached that the Word is equal in honor and equally enthroned with the Father and His only-begotten Son, O father, namesake of immortality, thou dost straightway teach that the Spirit is also equally enthroned, of one essence and equally eternal.

The father of impiety, seeing that thou wast a manifestly sacred proclaimer and teacher of the light of the threefold Sun who declared the Orthodox Faith unto the ends of the earth, raised persecutions against thee.

The countless tribulations which thou didst endure, O blessed one, struggling for piety, were also splendid crowns; for thou wast like adamant to those who struck at thee, and didst draw all to thee like a magnet.

Strange doctrines foreign to the Church of Christ didst thou cast out, theologizing concerning the Trinity of Hypostases, the unity of the Godhead, Whom thou didst hymn, saying: Blessed is the God of our fathers!

Moses of old, entering the darkness on Mount Sinai, received the law which slayeth by the letter, O Cyril; but thou hast disclosed the hidden beauty of the Spirit.

The covering of protection given of old to the children through the indistinct images of the law did thou disclose like roses of understanding, O father, plainly elucidating the images.

Inspired by the grace of the prophets, O Cyril, in pure manner thou hast revealed to us that the books of the God-pleasing divine preachers are full of the Spirit.

Theologizing that there are three Hypostases in an unconfused divine Unity, unseparated by division, O father Cyril, thou hast plainly said that They are immutable in one Essence and Godhead.

O Athanasius, thou right glorious adornment of hierarchs, pillar of light and confirmation of the Church, champion of the Trinity, golden clarion of theology, famed recorder of the rules of the monastic life: thou dost celebrate with us, making priests and leading the faithful people to Christ forever.

Thou wast a true namesake of immortality, for thou didst surpass works with thy discourse; and, vanquishing the artifices of words with the fame of thy life, thou didst transcend the boundaries of both. Wherefore, shining with most excellent virtue, thou hast acquired an immortal memory forever.

In thy valiant struggles thou didst show forth a most splendid episcopacy, O God-pleasing initiate of the mysteries of heaven, and by thy frequent banishments for preaching the Trinity thou didst drive out falsehood, for thou didst proclaim the triune God, crying out: Worship the Father, theologize the Son and hymn the Spirit for all ages!

In thee hath a wellspring of wisdom flowed forth which is truly like a wave of the sea; and ever-flowing rivers of pious doctrines have issued forth from thy belly, as Christ foretold. For thy divinely eloquent words surpass in number the sands of the sea.

Shown forth as a wise pastor and teacher of the Church, O venerable Cyril, thou didst manifestly interpret the two Testaments; for, holding thy words to be an anchor and a paternal inheritance, it crieth out: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord!

For the sake of the Word, the Author of all things Who became incarnate for our sake, O Cyril, thou didst teach the ineffable union which is indivisible and unconfused, and didst worship each equally, crying out: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord!

Thy life flashed like lightning, O father, and thy proclamation hath rolled forth on all like thunder which the sun illumineth; for thou didst truly have inspiration from heaven on high. Wherefore, the grave, the state of oblivion, hath not dimmed thy memory, O Athanasius.

Illumined now with the thrice-radiant light of the threefold Sun, thou dost emit splendid effulgence upon those who hymn thee, reflecting beams from on high, like a mirror doth those of the sun, O blessed one; and thou art given the remission for which thou dost ask, which is great and of surpassing dignity.

We who hymn thee beg thee earnestly: Pray thou for the Church, grant victory over heresies to our hierarchs, giving them might to defend the Orthodox Faith against heretics; and grant salvation to us and peace to the world on the day of thy commemoration, O Athanasius.

Thou didst mightily cast down every ungodly uprising of Nestorius against Christ and His Mother, O Cyril: a duality of Sons and the confusion of essences by the Acephalites.

With the power of reason and the enlightenment of grace, O blessed one, thou didst theologize the consubstantial Trinity and the incarnate Son of God; and as a champion of the Theotokos, thou art now glorified in the highest.

From on high thou dost mercifully regard those who hymn thee, O father, granting victory to the Cross-bearers and exalting the horn of the Orthodox by thy prayers, illumining those who magnify thy memory.

Ye were shown to be most wise initiates of the mysteries and champions of the all-divine Trinity, O blessed Athanasius and Cyril revealed of God, casting down Arius, and with him Sabellius and Nestorius, and every other falsehood of wicked heresies with them, O holy hierarchs of the Lord.

O most blessed Cyril, thou dost teach the faithful to speak of the Theotokos with boldness and to do her homage in truth, destroying the ungodly heresy of Nestorius.

Aposticha stichera from the Octoechos; and the following sticheron of the saints, in Tone III—

Stichos: Thy priests shall be clothed with righteousness, and Thy righteous shall rejoice.

In sacred manner let us praise with great laudation the sacred Athanasius and Cyril, our invincible intercessors; for, cutting down legions of heresies by the power of the all-holy Spirit, they raised up victories for Orthodoxy through all the world, piously reckoning the mystery of the Trinity in the peculiar properties of the Persons thereof, likewise acknowledging them as united without confusion in the identity of Their essence, and theologizing like the cherubim; and they ever pray for our souls.

Glory…, the composition of Germanus, in the same tone—

The much-suffering Athanasius, the great clarion of the truth, today calleth the Church to a banquet. O ye faithful, let us all meet in splendor for the solemnity of the good shepherd, honoring his sacred labors with hymns, that, through his supplications, we may receive great mercy from Christ God.

Beholding Him Who was born of thee hanging upon the Tree, O most immaculate one, thou didst exclaim, crying: “O my Child most desired, whither hath set the luminous beauty of Thee Who hast adorned the human race?”