Ode III

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

Sessional hymn, in Tone III: Spec. Mel.: “Of the divine Faith…”—

Heal thou my mind which hath been afflicted with grievous carnal passions, O ever-memorable Ignatius, martyr of Christ.

Theotokion: Cleansed by the Spirit beforehand, O pure one, thou gavest birth to the Word of the Father, for the benefit of rational nature.

Knowing well that thou wast of one mind with the apostles, Christ appointed thee as a teacher shining with divine light upon all the Churches.

Glory…, Now & ever…: Theotokion—

Having beheld the Bestower of life slain for thy sake, O Ignatius, with love thou didst hasten to endure death for His sake.

Illumined by the divine Spirit, with pastoral boldness and great wisdom thou didst put to shame the savagery of the tyrants; and, drawing thyself across the chasm of falsehood, O venerable father, thou didst reach the divine haven. Entreat Christ God, that He grant us great mercy. Twice

Without separating Himself from the divine Essence when He took flesh in thy womb, the one Lord remained God though He became man; and even after thy birthgiving He preserved thee, His Virgin Mother, as immaculate as thou wast before giving birth. Him do thou earnestly beseech, that He grant us great mercy.

Stavrotheotokion—

The unblemished Ewe-lamb of the Word, the incorrupt Virgin Mother, beholding Him Who sprang forth from her without pain suspended upon the Cross, cried out, lamenting maternally: “Woe is me, O my Child! How is it that Thou dost suffer willingly, desiring to deliver man from the indignity of the passions?”