AT VESPERS

After the Introductory Psalm, we chant “Blessed is the man…”, the first antiphon.

The choirs of monks and companies of ascetics fall down before thee, O Lady, and, lovingly gazing upon thy holy icon, they cry out to thee: Come unto us, O good Mother! Take pity upon those who honor thee, and grant us thy holy image as an earnest of mercy and salvation!

On “Lord, I have cried…”, these stichera, in Tone VIII: Spec. Mel.: “O all-glorious wonder…”—

Glory…, Now & ever…: Theotokion—

Glory.., Now & ever..., in Tone VIII—

O divinely wise Hypatius, trained well in asceticism, thou didst enter upon the all-glorious heights of the virtues, manifestly yearning for divine vision, contemplating the beauty of Christ. And having illumined thy mind and thought with His radiance, thou hast surrounded all with rays of miracles.

A Reading from the Book of Genesis

O Hypatius, father of fathers, shining with the light of Orthodoxy thou hast illumined the thoughts of those who have recourse to thee with faith; and blinding the eyes of Arius, thou didst drive him from the Church of Christ, O venerable one. Wherefore, having acquired thee as a beacon, we all honor and bless thy sacred memory.

A Reading from the Book of Exodus

O sacred father Hypatius, having in thy heart Christ the King, Whom thou didst preach as consubstantial with the Father, thou didst shine forth with wondrous beams, casting light upon the whole world. Thou didst slay the serpent, and by thy supplications didst pour forth a torrent of warm waters for the healing of sufferings.

A Reading from the Book of Exodus

I beseech thee, the vessel of virginity and habitation of God, pure, beauteous and most precious: Calm thou my soul, which hath been affected by the venom of the serpent and is done to death by my transgressions, that I may glorify thee who hast magnified all the faithful, O divinely joyous one.

Glory..., Now & ever..., in Tone V—

Or this stavrotheotokion—

“What is this sight which I behold with my eyes, O Master? Thou Who upholdest all creation art suspended upon the Tree; and, dying, Thou grantest life unto all!” the Theotokos said, weeping, when she saw lifted up upon the Cross the God and man Who had shone forth ineffably from her.

On “Lord, I have cried…”, 8 stichera, in Tone V—

Adorn thyself, O Athos! Rejoice and be glad, O Monastery of Iveron! For, lo! the wondrous icon of the Mother of God cometh, borne over the sea by angels, resplendent with an ineffable light, driving away the gloom of sorrows and griefs, and illumining all with the rays of her mercy.

O all glorious wonder! For as the bush which burned with fire, yet remained unharmed, was once revealed to Moses on Sinai, so is the image of the all-immaculate Theotokos clothed in fire, yet remaineth unconsumed, illumining us who are in darkness, and preserving us unharmed amid the furnace of temptations and misfortunes.

Come thou, O Gabriel! Go forth with dryshod feet out onto the sea, and take the icon of the Mother of God in thine arms, unto the joy of Athos, as a bulwark for the Monastery of Iveron, and as a consolation for all Christians!

O Virgin Theotokos, thou mighty helper, the Monastery of Iveron now boasteth and rejoiceth in thee, having thee as a helper unashamed, an impregnable rampart, and unshakable foundation, and an ever-vigilant guardian. O Lady, never cease to deliver thy monastery and all Christian people from all dangers by thy supplications.

Grant consolation to thy servants who are held fast by temptations, O pure Theotokos, and exalt the horn of the faithful. By thy supplications save thou all the monasteries and cities of the Orthodox, strengthen our right-believing hierarchs against heresies and schisms, and defend all thy faithful servants who praise thee.

Thine all-pure icon, O Virgin Theotokos, is spiritual healing for the whole world. We flee to it, bowing down before thee; we venerate and kiss it; we draw forth the grace of healing through it, and by thy supplications we are freed from ailments of spirit and bodily sufferings.

The Monastery of Iveron, enlightened by the icon of thee and thy Son, as with royal purple and fine linen, O Theotokos, is adorned with miracles. Today it calleth all to celebrate its revelation, shining with the grace of the Holy Spirit more brightly than the radiance of the sun, gushing forth a wellspring of healings upon the sick and infirm, and granting rich mercy unto all.

O good Mother, Virgin Lady and Theotokos: spurn us not, thy humble servants, who offer up our unworthy prayers before thine all-pure icon. Be thou a fervent mediatress before thy Son for us sinners; deliver us from all misfortunes and temptations, that, saved by thee, we may continually cry out to thee: Rejoice, O good gate-keeper who openest unto us the portals of paradise!

Entrance. Prokimenon of the day. Three readings:

Jacob went forth from the well of the oath, and departed into Haran. And he came to a certain place, and slept there, for the sun had gone down; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it at his head, and lay down to sleep in that place, and dreamed: and behold a ladder fixed on the earth, whose top reached to heaven, and the angels of God ascended and descended on it. And the Lord stood upon it, and said: “I am the God of thy father Abraham, and the God of Isaac. Fear not; the land on which thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. And thy seed shall be like the sand of the earth; and it shall spread abroad to the sea, and the south, and the north, and the east; and in thee and in thy seed shall all tribes of the earth be blessed. And behold I am with thee to preserve thee continually in all the way wherein thou shalt go; and I will bring thee back to this land; for I will not desert thee, until I have done all that I have said to thee.” And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and said: “The Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.” And he was afraid, and sad: “How fearful is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he brought the sheep nigh to the wilderness, and came to the Mount of Horeb. And an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the bush, and he saw that the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. And Moses said: “I will go near and see this great sight, why the bush is not consumed.” And when the Lord saw that he drew nigh to see, the Lord called him out of the bush, saying: “Moses, Moses!” And he said: “What is it?” And He said: “Draw not nigh hither: loose thy sandals from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” And He said: “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses turned away his face, for he was afraid to gaze at God. And the Lord said to Moses: “I have surely seen the affliction of My people that is in Egypt, and I have heard their cry caused by their taskmasters; for I know their affliction. And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land, and to bring them into a good and wide land, into a land flowing with milk and honey.”

God led the people round by the way to the wilderness, to the Red Sea: and in the fifth generation the children of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had solemnly adjured the children of Israel, saying: “God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones hence with you.” And the children of Israel departed from Succoth, and encamped in Etham by the wilderness. And God led them, in the day, by a pillar of cloud, to show them the way, and in the night by a pillar of fire. And the pillar of cloud failed not by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, before all the people.

At the Litia, these stichera, in Tone VIII—

Come, ye who love the feasts of the Church, and ye companies of fasters; and having assembled together, let us offer hymns of praise to the Virgin Mary: for today the splendid festival of the revelation of her precious icon of Iveron hath dawned. And surrounding it in fear and love, let us chant to the Theotokos: Rejoice, inexpressible joy of all! Rejoice, thou who enlightenest us with thy holy image! Rejoice, boast and confirmation of all! Rejoice, salvation of our souls!

What shall we call thee, O Virgin Theotokos? Pillar of fire guiding us to an everlasting inheritance? Mighty rampart, in that thou defendest the generation of the Orthodox? Ever-vigilant guardian, in that thou preservest and savest this habitation? Wherefore, delivered from the tribulations which befall us, let us cry out to the Mistress: Rejoice, thou cause of good things, sure hope of Christians!

Athos rejoiceth; the Monastery of Iveron joineth in chorus, and the whole land of Russia holdeth festival. The Mother of God hath mercifully visited us in her wonder-working image, whereby she granteth aid amid necessities, consolation amid sorrows, healing amid illnesses, deliverance amid misfortunes, and bestoweth great mercy upon us all.