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.
On the Praises, 6 stichera: 3 from the Pentecostarion, and 3 of the hieromartyr, in Tone II—
Theotokion: Glory to thee, O all-blessed Mary, Mother of our Lord and Creator! May we be vouchsafed His eternal glory by thine entreaties!
Thou now enjoyest incorruptible food, divine light and everlasting glory, O hieromartyr, magnifying the Lord with the angelic ranks and all the saints.
Exapostilarion—
Irmos: Thee, the unconsumed bush, the holy Virgin, the Mother of the Light, the Theotokos, the hope of us all, do we magnify!
Ye angels in heaven and men on earth, hymn and glorify our great helper, the holy hierarch Joseph! For he was shown to be an earthly angel and a heavenly man by his righteous life and love, emulating his Master and Lord in faith and purity, and he laid down his life for his people. And dwelling now in the highest, he danceth in splendor.
Theotokion: O thou who art more exalted than the angels and more honorable than the cherubim, we pray thee: through the intercession of the holy Cyril and Methodius have pity on our lowliness, lead us up from the depths of sin, and deliver us from everlasting damnation, that with them we may magnify thee, the Theotokos and Mother of the Light, and our hope.
O holy hierarch, in hymns and songs we all honor thee as a beacon of the Church, magnifying thee as is meet.
Glory…, Now & ever…: exapostilarion from the Pentecostarion.
Thou wast shown to be a clarion of the righteousness of God, O holy hierarch; for thou didst lead all to the true Light, fearlessly telling the truth to all, undaunted by tortures and death. Through thee may we come to the Sun of righteousness, to gaze with enlightened minds upon eternal righteousness in the Holy Trinity.
Standing in glory before God the King, O hieromartyr Joseph, by thy supplications preserve the land of Russia and our city from all misfortunes.
Instructing thy people to be faithful to God and the authorities, thou didst accept fiery torture and death, and wast cast down from the heights of the rampart. And now, worshiping the Lord with the martyrs and holy hierarchs, pray thou that our souls be saved.
O lamp of the Church of Astrakhan, holy hierarch Joseph, standing now before the preëternal Light, instruct us also to walk in the light of the commandments of God, that we too may come to the abodes of light.
Glory…, in Tone VI—
Glory…, Now & ever…, from the Pentecostarion.
O ye people, come, let us rejoice today in splendor and glorify our holy hierarch Joseph, chanting together: Rejoice, O hieromartyr! Rejoice, O wonder-worker! Rejoice, O holy hierarch Joseph our speedy helper!
Who can praise thee fittingly, O most glorious Methodius? And who can reckon the labors thou didst apostolicly undertake for the salvation of an erring people, O Cyril? We who have been taught by you to glorify God Most High in our native tongue magnify you in oneness of mind.
Now & ever…, from the Pentecostarion.
When thou hadst completed thy work and finished the race, O blessed Cyril, thou didst receive word of thy repose from on high, and, accepting it joyfully, thou didst chant: “My spirit was glad because of them that said unto me, Let us go into the courts of the Lord!” And yearning for the heavens, thou wast borne aloft in soul, where with the hosts of heaven thou dost continually magnify the consubstantial Trinity.
On the Praises, 6 stichera: 3 from the Pentecostarion, and 3 for the saints, in Tone IV: Spec. Mel.: “As one valiant among the martyrs…”—
Receiving the episcopacy of the Church of Moravia, O venerable Methodius, in proclaiming the Holy Faith thou didst undertake many labors and struggles, and didst endure many tribulations and persecutions; and, rejoicing now in the highest with the holy Cyril, pray for us, that we may continually magnify you as our helpers and mediators.
O divinely wise Cyril and Methodius, following in the steps of the apostles, with oneness of mind ye labored to search out the lost; and like fleet-winged eagles ye soared above the Slavic lands, and, having illumined them with the light of the knowledge of God, ye brought them to Jesus Who loveth mankind, the Savior of our souls.
Celebrating your memory with splendor, O holy teachers, we entreat you most earnestly: establish on the rock of the confession of Christ the nations which ye enriched with the treasure of the glad tidings, and preserve our life in peace.
O God-bearing fathers, husbandmen of the vineyard of Christ, planters of piety: after diligent search ye found the Slavic peoples like a lost coin; and, rejoicing with the angels, Jesus Who loveth mankind, the Savior of our souls, hath taken it into the treasury of everlasting life.
O champions of the Holy Trinity, guides of the lost, who bested the blasphemy of Islam and put to shame the impiety of the Jews: the Church which ye acquired through your God-pleasing labors and your sweat, do ye strive to preserve unharmed by the assaults of the enemy and well-pleasing to Jesus Who loveth mankind, the Savior of our souls.
Glory…, in Tone VI—
O ye people, piously celebrating the memory of our enlighteners, let us cry out in thanksgiving: Rejoice, all-radiant beacons who have illumined the Slavic lands with the light of the knowledge of God! Rejoice, ye good shepherds, who have gathered together the reason-endowed sheep who were scattered amid the thickets of unbelief, and have brought them to Christ, the Chief Shepherd. Magnifying Him, we call you blessed.
Now & ever…: doxasticon from the Pentecostarion. Great Doxology. Litanies. Dismissal.
Translated by Isaac Lambertsen. Edition menaion.en.lambertsen.