At Vespers

On “Lord, I have cried…”, 6 stichera: 3 of the prophet, in Tone VIII: Spec. Mel.: “O Lord, even though Thou didst stand before the tribunal…”—

Beholding the sayings of thy divinely moved tongue now fulfilled, O prophet, truly marvelling, I bless thee; for with thy radiant voice thou hast illumined the world, proclaiming aloud the saving advent of the Lord.

By thine angelic life thou becamest an angel on the earth, and thou wast most fittingly enriched by being called an angel, having joined together beauty of soul and beauty of body, O most blessed Malachi.

O Lord, I set before Thee Thy prophet as advocate and intercessor. By his entreaties and prayers, O Compassionate One, loose Thou my wretched soul from offenses, in that Thou art full of loving-kindness, possessed of essential and natural goodness.

And 3 stichera of the martyr, in the same tone: Spec. Mel.: “O all-glorious wonder…”—

Seeing the vaunted darkness of deception, fleeing, thou didst betake thyself away, O passion-bearer Gordius, waiting upon God; and tested by manifold pangs, wasted by starvation, as a contender aware of his own power, summoned, thou didst advance upon the adversary.

Great in hope, thou didst proceed to the multitude of adversaries, O most glorious Gordius, holding the assembly of the iniquitous to be as naught; and, standing in their midst as a herald of free will, thou didst proclaim Christ aloud, the Creator and Lord, Who with the Father and the worshipful Spirit is equally without beginning, consubstantial and everlasting.

Beheaded by the sword, thou didst most manifestly pass from life unto life, from death to immortality, and from corruption to incorruption, without expecting the mortification of nature, but led of thine own will to die. O thy struggles, O passion-bearer Gordius, whereby, O martyr, thou hast gladdened Christ, Who alone is compassionate!

Glory…, Now & ever…: Doxasticon of the Forefeast, the composition of John the Monk, in Tone IV—

O all-glorious wonder! He Who baptizeth by the Holy Spirit and fire cometh to be baptized by John in the Jordan, neither simply God nor plainly man, but in two natures, the one only-begotten Son, seeking baptism as a man from a mortal, and as God taking away the sin of the world, and granting great mercy unto all.