Ode IX

Exapostilarion —

Irmos: Let every mortal leap for joy, enlightened by the Spirit; and let the nature of the incorporeal intelligences keep festival, honoring the sacred feast of the Mother of God, and let them cry aloud: Rejoice, O most blessed Theotokos, pure Ever-virgin!

Treading the path of virtue, thou didst cry out to those walking with thee, and without pausing, didst exclaim: “Say ‘It is enough’ and thou art lost!” Yet strengthen us, thy disciples, O father, to tread well the path of salvation unto the kingdom of heaven.

Theotokion: O Mother of the Almighty, pure Ever-virgin, having opened unto us the door of life, look upon us and cover us with thy precious veil. O Mistress, help thy weak children, for in thee do we hope, and in thee do we ever boast.

Great Doxology. Troparion. Litanies. Dismissal. First Hour.

Exapostilarion —

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.

O honorable hierarch Augustine, beacon of the whole world, all-wondrous instructor, against the passions strengthen us who today celebrate thy holy festival; aid us amid tribulations; guide us toward virtue; and pray unto the Lord, that He grant us salvation of soul.

Glory…, Now & ever…: Theotokion —

Glory…: Another exapostilarion —

When we pray to thee, O holy hierarch, look down upon us from the heights of heaven, and visit us in thy mercy. For thou beholdest evil lack of faith and the tumult of the sea of life, and those hearest the cries of the churches which have been destroyed. Help us who are weak, for as an honorable hierarch thou hast boldness before the Lord.

Now & ever…: Theotokion, in the same tone —

Come ye all, and let us ever bless the holy hierarch Augustine as a good shepherd, a wise instructor, a beacon of our Orthodox Faith, and an intercessor for our souls.

Theotokion: The never-setting Sun, Who shone forth from thy womb, preserving thee a virgin, caused His servant to share in His light and ineffable joy. With him pray thou, that He have pity upon those who magnify thee.

O Virgin, boast of Christians, defender of the afflicted, strengthening and healing of the infirm, speedy deliverer of those weighed down by sin: Save us who trust in thee!

Now & ever…: Theotokion —

On the Praises, 4 stichera, in Tone VIII: Spec. Mel.: “What shall we call you…” —

Now & ever…: Theotokion, in the same tone —

What shall we call thee, O holy hierarch! Adornment of the city of Hippo? Yet thou art the boast of the whole world. An honorable man? Yet thou wast an angel in thy manner of life. Radiant lamp? Yet thy light hath never been extinguished. Divinely eloquent mouth? Yet the grave, the bringer of oblivion, hath not stopped thee. Great is thy virtue, and great are the wreaths wherewith Christ hath crowned thee. Pray thou that our souls be saved.

What now shall we declare thee, O Augustine? Great hierarch or glory of monastics? Excellent shepherd or boast of ascetics? Bold denouncer of heresies or true instructor in meekness? Model of the virtues or rule of repentance? Lover of wisdom or glory of anchorites? Exemplary carer of the poor or one who utterly forsook all worldly things? Beauty of monastics, adornment of hierarchs or teacher of wisdom? Pray thou that our souls be saved.

What now shall we call thee, O Augustine? Beloved disciple of the great Ambrose? Yet thou didst surpass him in the depths of thy theology. Wondrous successor of Valerius? Yet thou didst shine more brightly than he. Holy fruit of the holy Monica? Yet thou didst achieve greater holiness than she, and having ascended to the heights of heaven, thou didst taste of everlasting joy. Pray that our souls be saved.

Proclaiming the city of God, whose great citizen thou wast and a recounter of the ineffable mysteries of God, thou didst make steadfast the Orthodox Churches, instructing and teaching them by thine acts and words; and having set now like the sun in the West, thou illuminest us with thy writings, teaching us to seek the grace of God and not to think ourselves great, but rather to be filled with the Spirit, of Whose inspiration thou didst abundantly partake, as a mystagogue of theology. Pray that our souls be saved.

Glory…, in Tone VI —

Who can fittingly hymn the labors wherewith thou didst toil throughout the whole Church, cutting down ungodly heresies with the sword of thy corrections, denouncing the Arians, casting down the Manichees, exhorting the Donatists to return to the Orthodox Faith, crushing the audacity of Pelagius, and planting Orthodoxy, until thou hadst assembled many children in the habitation of the Church and, instructing and guiding them, didst lead them to the mansions of heaven? Gather us together, who are cruelly separated, and lead us to Christ our God, ever entreating Him that our souls be saved.

O Theotokos, thou art the true vine who hast put forth for us the Fruit of life. Beseech Him with the holy apostles, we pray thee, O Mistress, that He have mercy upon our souls.

The divine choir of the angels rejoiceth, receiving thee, O most excellent one; for thou didst live like an angel on the earth, O blessed one, adornment of sacred teachers and boast of ascetics.

Thy memory is piously glorified on earth, and thou dwellest now in heaven with Augustine, praying for us and thy namesakes, who honor thee, O God-bearer, and venerate thine image.

Thou didst dawn like the morning, and like the sun didst set in the heavens, where thou didst desire to be, leaving thy writings behind as a treasure, O wondrous one, from whence grace and heavenly gladness pour forth.

Making thy flesh subject to thy spirit, thou didst labor ascetically in the flesh as though thou wast one of the incorporeal beings; wherefore, on high, O Jerome, thou hast been vouchsafed with the angels to praise the Master of all.

Anointed with thy labors and sweat, Bethlehem crieth out to thee, O God-bearer: O divinely wise Jerome, thou art my boast and the adornment of monastics!

O Virgin Mother of the Lord, delight of the angels, joy of the sorrowful, intercessor for Christians: Help us and deliver us from everlasting torments by thy supplications.

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

O wise father Jerome, having cleansed thy mind, thou didst transcend the flesh and didst draw wisdom upon thyself, wherewith thou didst recognize Christ our God, Who knoweth and bestoweth wisdom. O thy divinely wise struggles, wherewith thou didst magnify that which is God’s and didst put to shame that which is of the enemy!

O wise father Jerome, through thine understanding of wisdom in five languages and thy divine asceticism thou wast shown to be a great champion of the Holy Orthodox Faith; wherefore, by thy words and deeds thou hast glorified the Lord and Savior Who strengthened thee.

O wise father Jerome, instructor of the faithful, true friend of Augustine, most diligent pupil of Gregory: thy writings emit rays of divinely wise teaching, and, studying them, we piously praise thee.

O wise father Jerome, having struggled for many years on the earth, thou didst hasten to the heavenly city of God, which thou didst describe to thy friend in a dream. Pray thou, that we also who cherish thine honored memory may be counted worthy to dwell there.

Glory…, in the same tone —

Come, and with hymns let us praise the divinely wise Jerome, the preacher of piety; for, having first studied secular wisdom and been purified by God-pleasing struggles, he became an instrument of the Holy Spirit and a dwelling-place of the Trinity all-divine. Him do we appoint as our advocate before Thee, God in three Hypostases, that Thou grant us great mercy.

O unwedded Virgin who ineffably conceived God in the flesh, Mother of God Most High: accept the entreaties of thy servants, O most immaculate one, granting unto all cleansing of transgressions; and, accepting now our supplications, pray thou that we all be saved.