Canon I

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

Irmos: O Christ, Who in the beginning established the heavens in wisdom and founded the earth upon the waters, make me steadfast upon the rock of Thy commandments; for none is holy as Thee, O Thou Who lovest mankind.

Kontakion, in Tone VIII —

Sessional hymn, in Tone IV —

Come, behold an all-glorious sight, ye faithful, and look upon the all-pure Virgin, who with reverence shineth forth on high in her all-pure image, illumining with grace us who reverently chant: There is none more pure than thee, O Mistress!

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

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.

The mind of each of the faithful is hallowed by thy grace, O Theotokos, and exalted by the wondrous coming of thine icon. Vouchsafe that we, thy servants, who honor it with piety and glorify thee with faith, O Mistress, may partake thereof.

Irmos: Thou art my strength, O Lord, Thou art my power; Thou art my God, Thou art my joy, Who, without leaving the bosom of the Father, hast visited our lowliness. Wherefore, with the Prophet Habbakuk I cry unto Thee: Glory to Thy power, O Thou Who lovest mankind!

O Bride of God, grant that we may tread the heavenly path unassailed, and strengthen us to do godly works, that leaving the path of the evil one’s wiles by thy help, O Virgin, we may have a share in eternal glory.

Irmos: Seated in glory upon the throne of the Godhead, Jesus most divine hath come on a light cloud, and with His incorrupt arm hath saved those who cry: Glory to Thy power, O Christ!

With the beams of Christ the true Light, the Creator of the angels, Who shone forth ineffably from thee, O Mother of God, and with thine own grace, illumine the souls and hearts of us who are in darkness. O thou who art full of grace, sanctify us, guiding us to the love of heavenly light.

Irmos: My spirit riseth early unto Thee, O God, Who wast ineffably begotten of the Father and hast lifted up for us the horn of salvation.

O Christ Jesus, preëternal King Who art full of mercy, illumine us with the appearance of the all-pure image of Thee and the Ever-virgin who gave birth to Thee, and grant us remission of offenses and deliverance from misfortunes.

Irmos: All things are filled with awe at thy divine glory; for thou, O Virgin who hast not known wedlock, didst contain within thy womb Him Who is God over all, and gavest birth to the timeless Son, granting peace unto all who hymn thee.

When the people beheld thine all-pure icon invisibly upborne by the angels and suspended in the air amid radiance, O Mistress, illumined with the light of thy mercy they were filled with ineffable joy.

Irmos: I pour forth my prayer unto the Lord, and to Him do I declare my grief; for my soul is full of evil and my life hath drawn nigh unto hell, and like Jonah I pray: Lead me up from corruption, O God!

O God-loving hierarchs and priests, kings and princes, and all ye people, splendidly join chorus today, for a radiant beam hath shone forth on high, holding the true Light depicted in the flesh. With Him she hath come down to us, granting enlightenment to all the world.

Irmos: Celebrating this divine and most honored festival of the Mother of God, come, ye divinely wise, let us clap our hands and glorify God Who was born of her.

Through thy most precious icon did the Creator of all work wonders of old and save the Imperial City from the incursions of aliens. So also be thou a protection and help for the land of Russia, O Lady and Queen, saving it from all the assaults of the enemy.

Irmos: Once, in Babylon, the fire stood in awe of the condescension of God; wherefore, the youths, dancing with joyous step in the furnace, as in a meadow, chanted: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!

Thine all-pure image, O Mistress, truly more precious than the ark of old, shining more brightly than electrum, emitteth rays of thy mercy revealing them to all, in every place, in abundance, and with the grace of God mercifully preserveth those who honor its all-glorious coming. And fervently rejoicing therein, O Mistress, we keep festival and glorify thy maternal loving-kindness toward us.

Irmos: The divinely wise youths worshipped not a creation rather than the Creator, but, manfully trampling the threat of the fire underfoot, they rejoice, chanting: Blessed art Thou, the all-hymned God of our fathers!

Glory…, Now & ever…: The foregoing is repeated.

Irmos: O Thou Who coverest Thy chambers with waters and settest the sands as a bound for the sea: Thee doth the sun hymn; Thee doth the moon glorify; and unto Thee doth all creation offer a hymn forever, as to the Creator of all.

The Creator and Fashioner of all, Who upholdeth all things with His omnipotent power, hath today arrived most gloriously, O pure Virgin, borne on thine arm in His and thy divine and miraculous image, for the salvation and healing of men.

Irmos: The birthgiving of the Theotokos saved the pious children in the furnace — then in figure, but now in deed — and it moveth all the world to chant to Thee: Hymn ye the Lord and exalt Him supremely for all ages!

Come, ye faithful, let us bow down before the ineffable gift of God, the icon of Christ the light and the all-pure Virgin, and with love let us fall down, crying out: For the sake of the gentle Ever-virgin who gave birth to Thee, O Benefactor, send down grace and mercy upon us, Thy servants.

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 Queen of the angels, noetic ark: God hath adorned and glorified thine all-pure image with ineffable miracles and grace beyond that of the ark of the law, and hath commanded even the angels to venerate it. With them, O all-hymned one, do thou pray to Him for us who glorify His saving providence, that we also may obtain thy salvation.

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!

O most good and immaculate helper given by God in His grace unto all of us Christians, entreat Him, that He overlook our countless offenses and deliver us from flaming retribution and the outermost darkness, and from every torment.

Let all the earth and the air be glad today, and let the sea cause joy to fall in drops, for by the miraculous journey of the most precious image of the Mother of God the land of Russia hath been all-gloriously illumined.

As behooveth servants, the ranks of the angels minister to thee, the Queen of all, and they reverently honor thy most precious icon, hymning thee, the all-holy Virgin. But how can we, the lowly, hymn thee, the most pure one, as is meet?

We cry out to thee the hymn of the archangel: Rejoice, O Bride of God, the Lord is with thee! Rejoice, thou joy of the angels and gladness of all men who truly glorify thee! Save the souls of those who hymn thee, O pure Theotokos!

O Theotokos, bestower of joy: Fill thou with ineffable joy those who with faith glorify thee and hymn thee with all their soul, and vouchsafe them never-waning light, O Virgin Mistress who art full of grace.

In thy merciful good pleasure, O thou who art full of grace, today thou hast graciously enlightened our land with thy godly appearance, and hast sent down the mystical illumination of thy light upon the world, guiding the faithful to the light of heavenly glory, O Theotokos.

We have become benighted by our thoughts and weighed down by our sins, O Mistress, and we are at a loss how to confess thy radiant grace and mercy; but illumine us, O all-holy Virgin, visit us and make us rich by thy mystical gifts of divine desires, directing us to the light of the right path.

Go thou before those who, from every direction, make haste to thine all-honored icon, O Mother of God, who bow down before it with fervor and call upon thee with faith in every place; and save all from every misfortune, delivering them from cruel infirmities and driving away the evil spirits, imparting tranquility and health unto all, O Mistress.

Forsake us not, neither disdain us, O Theotokos, who are cruelly vexed by grievous thoughts, vile memories and the wicked enemy; but cover us with thy grace, protecting us from them and helping us, O blessed of God, saving us from all their assaults.

In the wilderness, O Mother of God, the reverent man was counted worthy to behold thee manifestly with the holy hierarch, and he received from thee the words of thy good pleasure, for the great confirmation and furthering of the salvation of the world, O Queen.

Wretched am I, O most pure one, and unworthy of the grace to behold thee now; yet vouchsafe that I may behold thee in the future, and meet thy Son Who shall come in glory, and hear the divine voice crying in the kingdom of heaven.

We flee to thy goodness, O pure Virgin, and direct the eyes of our hearts toward thee; and bending our knees while weeping, we entreat thee: Disdain not our sighing, and be thou a protection and helper for us on the day of judgment.

Thou art an intercessor for all Christians, O all-pure Mother of God. Hearken to our supplication: look upon us, O most hymned one, save thy city and monastery, and illumine thy flock with the radiance of the grace of thine aid.

In the all-glorious arrival of thine icon, O Queen, the wide air and our land have been filled with the grace of thy miracles and divine gifts, unto the confirmation of piety and of all the faithful, O most hymned one. Thereby are our adversaries laid low today, and those who glorify thee are made firm in might.

O city of God, holy habitation, Virgin Bride of God: From the assaults of the adversary and all the attacks of the enemy preserve thy holy dwelling, and all cities and lands where Christians dwell, who hymn thee with love and with faith honor thine all-precious image.

O Mother of God, ever give sanctification, health and salvation to the souls and bodies of us who piously venerate thy divine icon, reverently and fearfully kiss it with lips and heart, and faithfully hymn thee with all our soul.

Having acquired thee as a mighty protection and an unassailable rampart, O Ever-virgin Theotokos, after God it is on thee that we, the faithful, set our hope; and we earnestly pray: By thy power show forth the darts of the enemy and all the wiles of the demons to be as impotent and harmless as those of children, O our mighty helper.

O thine all-wondrous miracle, O Mistress! For for disobeying thy command, a man was caught up in terror from the pinnacle of the church, but, by thy mercy, O most merciful one, he found himself on the ground, unharmed.

No one hath disobeyed the commands of God as have I, wretch that I am. Wherefore, falling down before thee, I pray, O Mistress: Before I perish utterly, guide me to the path of truth, and save me, O pure one.

O Mother of God, who hast given birth unto Him Who endured crucifixion on the tree of the Cross for our sake, ask thou ever that we who commemorate His holy suffering may do His divine will and become heirs to the eternal good things.

O pure Virgin Mistress, deliver us from all cruel circumstances, entreating Him Who nailed our sins to the Cross, and vouchsafe that we may worthily stand at His right hand when He shall come in His glory.

O ye people, let us make haste to the Virgin Theotokos and Queen, giving thanks to Christ our God; and gazing with compunction at her miraculous icon, let us fall down and cry out to her: O Mary our Mistress, visiting this land in the miraculous appearance of thy precious icon, save our Orthodox hierarchs and all Christians in peace and prosperity, showing us to be inheritors of the life of heaven. For to thee do we cry with faith: Rejoice, O Virgin, salvation of the world!

Ikos: Beholding the all-wondrous appearance of the Mother of God, let us ascend to the summit of the virtues and lift our mind up to heaven; for she hath come, traversing the heavens, that she may draw up to the heights those who cry out to her thus: Rejoice, O blessed Virgin, chosen by God from among all generations; rejoice, Queen of heaven, Mother of the Lord God, the Creator of all! Rejoice, Object of the angels’ most joyous hymnody; rejoice, sight most desired by all the world! Rejoice, immovable foundation of the Faith of piety; rejoice, most splendid knowledge of grace; rejoice, goodwill of God towards men! Rejoice, thou who hast led mortals to God; rejoice, consolation of our ­oppressed souls! Rejoice, speedy help for all the faithful; rejoice, intercessor given by God to the Christian people, whom do thou earnestly preserve from all misfortunes and evils, that we may cry out to thee: Rejoice, O Virgin, salvation of the world!

Thine image, O Mistress, which even the angels revere, ever shineth with ineffable grace and power; for today thou dost illumine mortals with its gifts, dost guide them to the heavens, and leadest them to everlasting life, in thine ineffable goodness, O thou who art full of grace.

The mouths of orators are in nowise able to confess thy godly manifestation, the all-glorious arrival of thine icon, and the abyss of thy miracles, O pure one. What then shall we, who are coarse, say? Only: Have mercy and save us, O most merciful Mistress!

O renowned helper of the faithful and bestower of all good things: Accept us who fall down in faith and cry out to thee with love. Have mercy upon us, O Lady, have mercy upon us; and today, as in the age to come, be thou our helper and aid!

O merciful Mother of God, open unto us today the portals of thy mercy, and snatch us from the jaws of the noetic wolves who would devour us and destroy us utterly. Have mercy, we pray thee, O Mistress, have mercy! Turn not away from thy servants who have been put to shame!

O the wonder! Thine only-begotten Son, the God of all, preserved thine all-pure image unharmed amid the flame, O Mother of God; for it was found, shining more brightly than the sun with grace, and illumineth the faithful who chant with faith: Blessed art Thou, O God!

O Theotokos, on thy splendid festival the ranks of heaven rejoice with those born on earth. With the light of thy radiance, O all-pure one, illumine us who celebrate it and who stand with fear before thine all-pure image; and save us all.

O Queen, thou gavest birth in the flesh to the Word of God, the King of heaven, One of the Trinity: Beseech the Godhead, O Mistress, that victory be given to our Orthodox hierarchs over all heresies and schisms, and to all the faithful aid, remission of sins and salvation of soul.

In that thou gavest birth to the Benefactor of all, O pure one, with thy light-giving and divine grace cover thy servants, who hymn thee and pray to thee with unwavering faith; and protect and preserve us from all the assaults of the enemy.

The excellent ranks of heaven piously reverence thine all-pure image, and its all-wondrous arrival, O most pure one, which is shown forth as all-glorious under the sun and hath moved the Orthodox people to lift up their voices in hymnody and glorify thy Son as Creator of all, forever.

Chanting all-glorious hymns today, with devotion we lovingly bow down before thine image, which is revered even by the angels, O Lady and Queen. With thy divine grace cover our Orthodox hierarchs, who glorify thee; strengthen them against heresies and schisms, and maintain their authority in peace.

Rejoice, O most blessed and most immaculate one, cause of joy! Rejoice, thou who art full of grace, our might, rampart and refuge of salvation! Save us, thy servants, who have no other help than thee before God; for in thee do we trust, and thee do we hymn forever.

Thee do we have, with God, as the sole preserver of our life and our mighty hope of salvation. O kind-hearted one, we beseech thee to mediate for us until the end, that we may be delivered from the reckoning which is to come, and may find thy Son and God merciful on the day of judgment.

O thine all-glorious wonders, O pure one! For the builders of thy holy church, who were buried beneath the stones for three days, were found alive and unharmed, preserved by thy protection; and they sent up cries of praise to thee, the Queen of all.

Thou gavest life instead of death to one who had died, O Theotokos. Wherefore, O Bride of God, preserve unharmed by the enemy us, who have been slain because of our many sins, and lead us up to the higher life, saving our souls.

Today all the faithful are filled with joy and gladness because of thine icon, O Theotokos, for thou art shown to be a cause of life for those in the jaws of death, and an ever-flowing fountain pouring forth gifts of healing and imparting salvation unto all.

O most lauded one, accept the supplication of the people who have come together from all places, fittingly to hymn the all-glorious arrival of the all-pure image of thee and the Babe Whom thou didst bear, the true God; and fulfill their petitions.

Thine icon, O Mistress, travelling upright a path through the luminous air, and radiantly traversing invisible ways, moved by God, hath illumined with grace on earth the faithful who cry with faith: Truly thou art higher in honor than all others, O pure Virgin!

In nowise are we able fittingly to adorn the accounts of thine exalted miracles with rhetoric, O pure Queen; we can only pray fervently to thee, that thou entreat thy Son, the Master and King of all, Who hath given thee to us as an all-glorious helper, that He count us worthy of His heavenly kingdom.

O thou who art full of the grace of God, accept from us this song of hymnody in thanksgiving for thine ineffable loving-kindness, fulfilling those of our petitions which are profitable; and lead us all up to the heights of heaven, for we cry out to thee with faith: Truly thou art higher than all, O most immaculate Virgin!

All of us, the generations of men, joyously call thee blessed, O Theotokos, for thou hast filled us all with joy by the all-glorious arrival of thine icon, O all-pure one. And bowing down before it today, we entreat thee with compunction: In the age to come, O Mistress, forget not to vouchsafe thy servants the joy of the elect!

Who doth not marvel at the appearance of thy most precious icon, O Mistress; who is not amazed? For thou didst send it, as a light-bearing gift, through the air to the land of Russia, which hymneth thee with joy and magnifieth thee with faith.

O Mistress, who hast given ineffable joy to the world through the manifestation of thine all-pure icon: From every grief deliver those who bow down before it with faith and kiss it with fear. O all-holy one, save and have mercy upon all, and vouchsafe us the kingdom of heaven.

O Mistress, who gavest birth to God Who loveth mankind, in thy love for us thou hast visited us in thy divine icon; and ever having recourse to it and gazing upon its magnificence, we cry out to thee with compunction: O Theotokos, ever save thine inheritance!

With humble lips have I offered thee this meager hymnody, O most hymned one; but though I am coarse and full of sin, and am unworthy to hymn thee as is meet, yet do I trust fervently in thy compassions, in that thou gavest birth to the Savior of the whole world. Disdain this not, O Queen, but accept it and save me.

Honoring thine all-pure image, whereby thou hast illumined us, O divine Virgin Maiden, we celebrate now its arrival, receiving, through thy grace and that of thy Son, deliverance from tribulations, misfortunes and dangers, O Mother of God Most High.

Glory…, Now & ever…: The foregoing is repeated.

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

O all-glorious wonder! the icon of the Mother of God hath shone forth universal joy upon us from on high, and, imparting enlightenment unto all the world, confirmation of piety, and salvation for the faithful, this divine gift hath been bestowed upon mortals. Rejoicing therein, O Christ, we entreat Thee: Save our souls, in that Thou art full of loving-kindness. Twice

O all-glorious wonder! The land of Russia hath been honored above all others by the providence of the Most High! For it, and none other, hath been counted worthy, through His grace, to receive this icon of the Mother of God as a radiant and heavenly gift all-gloriously sent by God from on high. And rejoicing therein, O Christ, it crieth out to thee with compunction: O Good One, save our souls, in that Thou art full of loving-kindness!

Most gloriously, O Theotokos, doth thy monastery boast in thee, among all lands, O Bride of God, for it hath within itself thy miraculous icon which was wondrously and all-gloriously transported through the air by the angels; and receiving ineffable healings from it, we cry out words of thanksgiving unto thee, entreating thee with compunction: O all-holy Virgin, save our souls, in that thou art full of loving-kindness!

Glory…, Now & ever…, in Tone II —

As once the Imperial City, possessed of thine icon, O all-pure Virgin, rejoiced, vanquishing the adversary with the aid of God and thee, so now the land of Russia, having wondrously acquired thine image, O Lady, as its aid, doth celebrate with gladness, having been made firm. And thine all-honored monastery is also greatly adorned, having thee, with God, as a protection and a firm bulwark against all the assaults of the enemy. And thy church, O Theotokos, like that of Blachernae of old, shineth with thine all-pure image and is illumined with all-glorious miracles; and, rejoicing spiritually, it holdeth chorus today, O Mistress, crying out with all the faithful: Rejoice, O all-holy Virgin, my majesty and boast and everlasting gladness! Thou makest me rich with all-wondrous miracles and divine gifts, O Mistress, thou inexhaustible wellspring of healings, consolation for those amid misfortunes and protection and salvation of all the faithful.