Ode IX

Exapostilarion —

Irmos: Saved by thee, O pure Virgin, we confess thee to be in truth the Theotokos, magnifying thee with the incorporeal choirs.

Although today we commemorate your martyrdom, yet knowing that even after death ye are alive, we commend ourselves to your intercession, O passion-bearers, magnifying your firm confession.

Theotokion: Thee, whom the heavenly armies unceasingly glorify and on whose account all creation joineth in chorus, the true Theotokos and helper of men, do we ever magnify with love.

Irmos: It is not possible for men to behold God, upon Whom the ranks of angels dare not gaze; but through thee, O most pure one, hath the Word appeared incarnate unto men; and magnifying Him with the armies of heaven, we call thee blessed.

Lovingly we keep your memory, O martyrs; we kiss your wounds; and we hymn your struggles, magnifying Christ God Who crowned you with glory.

Theotokion —

O virgins, three in number, the Trinity Who wrought all things, Whom ye glorified on earth and before Whom ye now do stand, boldly entreat ye in behalf of the world.

Theotokion: At the cry of the angel thou gavest birth to the Word Who is without beginning, Who took noetic and animate flesh of thy pure blood, O most pure Virgin, cast down the incorporeal foe, and hath saved all of us who confess thee to be the true Theotokos.

Fleeing the night of impiety, ye went forth to greet the radiant dawn of the Sun of righteousness, O all-praised martyrs Cyriaca, Valeria and Maria, with Whose rays ye illumined your minds, bedewing your souls with the dew of tears, rising early in spirit for the Savior of the world, and crying out to Him in compunction: “Seek us out, as Thou didst the lost sheep, O Lamb of God, and unite us to Thy chosen flock, O good Shepherd, that we also, emulating Thy voluntary sacrifice, may offer ourselves as an oblation pleasing unto Thee, and at Thy dread judgment may be delivered from the lot of the goats.”

In thee do we boast, O Theotokos, and thee do we have as our intercession before God. Stretch forth thy holy hand, and crush our enemies; and from the holy place send down help upon thy servants.

That thou mightest receive heavenly glory, O passion-bearer, rejoicing thou didst spurn visible glory; and committing thyself to tortures with divine resolve, thou wast undaunted by the prospect of tortures and bitter death; wherefore, thou, having struggled, hast been crowned with the martyrs.

Thou didst show thyself to be the pure temple of the Trinity, erected by godly deeds and adorned with the brilliance of splendid sufferings, O Theodotus who art most rich; wherefore, with the divine power of the Comforter thou didst manifestly demolish the demonic temples of the graven images.

Thou wast shown to be a mountain which letteth fall divine sweetness, a wellspring of miracles, an abyss of divine gifts, and a radiant stream of the Holy Spirit giving drink to men’s souls, drowning the passions, and winning joy for all who hymn thee with piety, O glorious martyr.