Ode III

Irmos: The desert, the barren Church of the nations, blossomed like a lily at Thine advent, O Lord; and therein hath my heart been established.

Glory..., and another Sessional hymn, in the same tone and melody —

Sessional hymn, in Tone IV: Spec. Mel: “Joseph was amazed...” —

Hearkening to the words of the Spirit, thou didst become like good and fertile land, receiving the precious Seed and giving rise to salvation of souls, O thrice-blessed one.

Theotokion: The Lord, Who holdeth all creation in His divine hand, is borne on thine arm, O Virgin. Him do thou now entreat, that He deliver from misfortunes those who hymn thee.

Irmos: O Theotokos, thou living and abundant fountain: in thy divine glory establish those who hymn thee and spiritually form themselves into a choir; and vouchsafe unto them crowns of glory.

Now and ever...: Theotokion —

Sessional hymn, in Tone IV: Spec. Mel.: “Thou hast appeared today…” —

Having been reborn in manner divinely inspired, thou didst slay the arrogance of the serpent’s sting and didst restore a soul to life; and thou standest before the King of all.

Theotokion: O Theotokos, thou gavest birth unto the Mediator of immortality Who in holiness resteth in the saints, for thou hast been seen to be the uncultivated field which produced the Grain of life for all to share.

Thou didst put to shame the godless edict of the tormentors, and didst hasten to Christ. Having purchased Him with all thou hadst, thou becamest a great merchant, O divinely wise one.

Glory…, Now & ever…: Theotokion —

Loving the piety of thy mother, O glorious one, thou didst despise the greatly vexatious godlessness of thy father; for, possessed of reason, thou didst choose that which is better.

O ye faithful, with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs let us render brilliant praise to Panteleimon, the valiant contender for Christian piety; for through him hath the tyranny of the invisible foe been trampled down by divine might, and healing of infirmities hath been richly bestowed by the Lord upon those who faithfully celebrate his divine and honored festival.

Thou didst obey the words of the wise Hermolaus, O martyr, and didst straightway forsake earthly activities as abominable, impotent and pernicious, having in thy heart the sufferings of Christ as the teachings of life, and granting health to the incurably ill, O Panteleimon. Wherefore, pray thou in behalf of those who celebrate thy memory with love.

Tempest-tossed by the threefold waves of the passions, O pure one, I, who am without conscience, cry unto thee with fervor: Disdain me not, wretch that I am, for I perish, O thou who gavest birth to the Abyss of loving-kindness: and beside thee I have no hope. And trusting in thee, may I not therefore be an object of joy and mockery for mine enemies; for whatsoever thou dost desire thou canst do, in that thou art the Mother of the God of all.

The fiery might of the trilingual heresy was extinguished, for the holy seven plunged the whole land of Bulgaria into the font of baptism.

Honoring the hierarchy of the Church, the seven journeyed to Rome, confirmed the Slavonic books, and brought the Bulgarian race to the Orthodox Faith through the preaching of the law of God.

O Christ, we truly praise the equals of Thine apostles — Methodius and Cyril, Clement and Nahum, Sabbas, Gorazd and Angelarius — who dwell with the angels.

Let the Church of Bulgaria celebrate today the honored festival of the seven honored equals of the apostles; for they have made Bulgaria steadfast by their divine dogmas.

O invincible intercession for the sorrowful and fervent aid for those who set their hope on thee: deliver me from misfortunes, for thou art the protection and help of all.