Irmos: Cleanse me, O Savior, for many are my transgressions; and lead me up from the abyss of evils, I pray, for to Thee have I cried, and Thou hast hearkened to me, O God of my salvation.
Kontakion of the hieromartyr, in Tone II—
Theotokion: Be thou the salvation of those who set their hope in thee, O all-pure Virgin; for thine entreaty is able to accomplish much, O kind-hearted Mother. For thou deliverest our souls from misfortunes and sufferings.
Heal thou our infirmities and pangs, O Savior, through the supplications of Thy holy hierarch; for, glorified by Thee, he granteth healings unto all through the imposition of his precious hairshirt.
Irmos: The uttermost abyss of sins hath engulfed me, and my spirit doth perish. But, stretching forth Thine upraised arm, O Master, save me as Thou didst Peter, O Helmsman!
Kontakion, in Tone III—
Theotokion: The uttermost abyss of sins hath encompassed me, and, beset with trembling and terrified of utter drowning, I offer thee entreaty, O all-immaculate one: Have mercy upon my passion-plagued soul! Stretch forth thy hands, in that thou art good, and as Thy Son saved Peter, so do thou save me, O thou who dost steer my soul.
Christ hath given thee the gift of working miracles, O holy hierarch; wherefore, by the power of the Lord thou didst open the mouth of one who was mute, and he glorified thee and gave thanks to the Lord Who hath given such authority to His elect.
The woman with an issue of blood, who in vain spent her substance upon earthly cures, touched the hem of the Lord’s robe, and received healing. And the power of Christ also abode within thee, O hieromartyr; for thy precious hairshirt, when laid upon the sick with prayer, imparteth speedy healing.
Like an all-radiant star didst thou shine forth in Astrakhan, O holy hierarch Joseph, where thou wast born and raised, and thou didst accept a martyr’s death out of loyalty to God and the lawful authorities. And we, honoring thy sufferings, cry aloud unto thee: O holy hierarch Joseph who wast slain by rebels, entreat Christ God in behalf of our souls!
Ikos: Loving the divine commandments of Christ, and hating the pleasures of this world, O holy hierarch, thou didst earnestly approach Him, and wast a beacon enlightening all the lands of the Volga with thy radiance of spirit. Wherefore, falling prostrate, we beseech thee: Illumine the eyes of our soul, that we may hymn thy struggles—thine ascetic feats and vigilance, and thy martyric end, for which thou now enjoyest the life of blessedness. Honoring thee, we cry: O holy hierarch Joseph who wast slain by rebels, entreat Christ God in behalf of our souls!
“Our God is like the deep of the sea, unfathomable by the mind and indescribable in words,” thou didst say to the Moslems who disputed with thee, O all-wise Cyril; “and some who attempt to sail across this deep in the leaky boats of their own intellect are drowned, falling into errors and heresies, while others are buffeted by incomprehension and doubt, knowing not how to chant: O Helmsman, save us, as Thou didst Peter!”
Sunk deep in the abyss of their false understandings, the Moslems secretly offered thee deadly poison. But He Who said: “If ye drink anything deadly, it will not harm you”, preserved thee whole and returned thee with honor to the Imperial City. And, fittingly blessed by the emperor and patriarch, thou wast supremely exalted, crying: “O Helmsman, Thou hast saved me as Thou didst Peter!”
The Holy Spirit once said to the disciples: “Separate for Me Barnabas and Saul for the task to which I have called them,” the enlightenment of the nations who are perishing in the abyss of ignorance of God; and He likewise commanded that ye be sent to the lands of the Slavs, O venerable fathers. And, illumined by the light of your teaching, people who sat in darkness and the shadow of death have cried out: “O Helmsman, Thou hast saved us as Thou didst Peter!”
Let us honor our two sacred enlighteners, who poured forth upon us a spring of divine knowledge through their translation of the divine Scriptures. Drawing forth abundantly therefrom to this very day, we bless you, O Cyril and Methodius, who stand before the throne of the Most High and fervently pray for our souls.
Ikos: Come, ye faithful, let us praise our God-bearing fathers Methodius and Cyril, the preachers of piety who shone forth in virtue, the true pillars and foundation of the Church, the divine clarions of Christian dogmas; for having driven the darkness of unbelief away from us and burned up the impieties of heresy with the fire of the Spirit, by their translation of the Scriptures they transformed the Slavic race from wild olive-trees into a fruitful grove, through divine baptism have brought them into the Christian Faith, and have filled the whole world with a multitude of miracles; wherefore, they stand, crowned, before God Almighty. And we cry out to them: O divine fathers, peers of the apostles, entreat Christ, that He grant all the Slavic peoples steadfastness in Orthodoxy and oneness of mind, bring peace to the world, and save Thou our souls.
Translated by Isaac Lambertsen. Edition menaion.en.lambertsen.