Ode IX

Exapostilarion: Spec. Mel.: “Heaven with stars…”—

Irmos: It is not possible for men to behold God, upon Whom the ranks of angels dare not gaze; but through thee, O most pure one, hath the Word appeared incarnate unto men; and magnifying Him with the armies of heaven, we call thee blessed.

Aposticha stichera from the Octoechos; and, Glory…, the composition of Cyprian, in Tone II—

Theotokion: The mind of man cannot understand the mystery of thy birthgiving which passeth understanding, O Virgin; for, making His abode within thy womb, God did not violate the seal of thy virginity, as He, Who alone is unapproachable, knoweth.

Wounded by the love of the Almighty, lamenting thou didst reach the end of thy whole life, crying out with fear, O venerable one: “Grant me ease with the waves of thy grace, O Savior, richly preserving me therewith in the life to come!”

Exapostilarion: Spec. Mel.: “Hearken, ye women…”—

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.

Thou didst flourish like the palm-tree described by David, O venerable father Ephraim, and didst cut off the tongues of the blasphemous as with a sword. Thou didst dry up the depths of the passions with abstinence, and, taking up the Cross as a weapon, wast shown to be an instrument of the Holy Spirit. Unceasingly entreat Christ in behalf of us who ever celebrate thine honored memory with faith.

Now & ever…: Theotokion, or this stavrotheotokion: Spec. Mel.: “When from the Tree…”—

Thy sweet discourse was replete with compunction and full of enlightenment for those who have recourse to thee, O right wondrous God-bearer Ephraim; and thy life was blameless, adorned and illumined with all manner of divinely radiant virtues.

Beholding the Creator of all things enduring great maltreatment and lifted up upon the Cross, the most pure one groaned, saying: “O all-hymned Lord, my Son and God, how is it that, desiring to honor Thy creation, Thou endurest dishonor in the flesh? Glory to Thy great compassion and Thy condescension, O Thou Who lovest mankind!”

Theotokion: O unwedded Virgin Mother who ineffably gavest birth to God in the flesh, deliver me from diseases of the flesh, redeem my greatly sinful soul from grievous insensitivity, and illumine my mind with the light of repentance, that I may hymn thee, O greatly hymned one.

Thou wast a temple of the Spirit, a river full of life-giving waters, the unshakable foundation of the Church, the confirmation of monastics, and an ever-flowing stream of divine compunction, O right wondrous Ephraim.

Let Isaac, who is great among the venerable ascetics, the scion of Syria, the God-bearing initiate of the life which is in Christ, the most excellent recorder of the mysteries and the enlightener of monastics, be worthily hymned as one who entreateth God, for he prayeth that great mercy be granted unto us.

Now & ever…: Theotokion—

Through thy compunction, O venerable father Ephraim, thou wast shown to be a cup of the hidden treasures of the wisdom of Christ, and by thy divine teachings thou dost gladden the souls of the faithful.

Thou didst engage in the pious struggle of holy ascesis, O venerable one, and thereby didst in godly manner learn the mysteries of all the wisdom of asceticism, that thou mightest teach us wisely to avoid the sophistries of the enemy, that we may live virtuously, O God-bearer.

With thy mighty protection preserve all of us, thy servants, unharmed by the attacks of the enemy, O pure one; for thee alone do we have as our refuge in need.

Thou hast passed over to the true glory, whose revelation thou didst acquire beforehand; and face to face thou dost gaze upon the effulgence of Christ which is past understanding, O Isaac, adornment of the venerable. Yet cease not to pray for us who praise thee with love.

Great Doxology. Troparia. Litanies. Dismissal. First Hour.

Having freed thy mind from the clasp of the passions through the struggle of asceticism, thou wast filled with immaterial light, and dost illumine all with the rays of thy words; for having done the will of the Lord, O venerable one, thou teachest us that which is more sublime.

In that thou didst wondrously conceive the Author of creation in human essence, and after childbirth didst remain an undefiled virgin, O Virgin Theotokos, in thy great loving-kindness deliver me from the corruption of the passions, and save me, thy servant.

On the Praises, 4 stichera, in Tone VIII: Spec. Mel.: “O all-glorious wonder…”—

O blessed father Isaac, from thy youth thou wast seen to be a most godly lover of the blessed life, having spurned all the world; and having by abstinence mortified carnal-mindedness, thou wast seen to be a precious vessel of the Spirit, dispelling the moonless night of the soul by the grace-filled discourse bestowed upon thee.

O divinely eloquent father Isaac, denying thyself, by great inner stillness thou didst furnish thy mind with wings to soar aloft toward heavenly love, and by divine visions and deeds thou dost lead us toward perfection; wherefore, we honor thee as a wise teacher and guide, celebrating thy holy memory.

O God-bearing father Isaac, by the goodwill of God thou didst serve as a godly hierarch, the shepherd and hierarch of Nineveh; and thou didst command that the commandments of the law of grace be kept, instructing all by thine example to submit with faith to the salvific words of the Almighty.

O far-famed father Isaac, in completing well the desert life which revealed thee to be a peer of the angels, thou didst glorify God by mighty ascetic struggle, and didst ascend to the heavenly and ultimate goal; wherefore, we beseech thee to pray for us who celebrate thy most splendid memorial.

Glory…, in Tone VIII—

Living thy life in awe of that which is higher, thou didst blot out corrupt images from thy soul, O venerable one; for by great stillness, abstinence and vigilance of mind, thou didst inscribe thereon the image of the ascetic way of life, and from the richness of thy heart thou hast granted thy salvific teachings unto all. And now, O Isaac our father, who standest before the three-Sunned light, deliver us from the nether-darkness of the passions.

O Mistress, accept the supplications of thy servants, and deliver us from all want and grief.