Ode III

Irmos: The desert, the barren Church of the nations, blossomed like a lily at Thine advent, O Lord; and therein hath my heart been established.

Kontakion of the saint, in Tone II: Spec. Mel.: “Seeking the highest…”—

Sessional hymn of the saint, in Tone III: Spec. Mel.: “Of the divine Faith…”—

O venerable Theodore, thou didst offer to the Master as a gift of love thy soul, which by thine abstinence was saved and kept untouched by the passions. Twice

Theotokion: Fleeing, thou didst retreat into the desert, O glorious one, receiving God the Word, Who shone forth from the Virgin; and in Him didst thou find salvation, O right glorious one.

Sanctified for God, thou didst transcend the sense of things seen, O most wise one; and with a pure mind thou didst converse with the transcendent Mind, O all-blessed one.

Glory…, Now & ever…: sessional hymn from the Pentecostarion, or this theotokion, in the same tone & melody—

Thou didst flourish in the house of God like a palm-tree, and through excellent ascetic endeavor didst bring forth the fruit of the virtues for the Lord, O venerable father; wherefore, as one who standeth with the incorporeal hosts, thou art called blessed.

Invested with divine power, thou didst strip naked the hordes of the adversary’s hosts, O God-bearer, and, shining forth with the splendor of the virtues, thou hast emitted rays of healings, O venerable father. Entreat Christ God, that He grant us great mercy.

Thou wast the divine tabernacle of the Word, O only all-pure Virgin Mother, who hast surpassed the angels in purity. With the divine waters of thy supplications, O pure one, cleanse me who, more than all others, am dust and am defiled by carnal transgressions; and grant me great mercy.

Stavrotheotokion—

The unblemished ewe-lamb of the Word, the incorrupt Virgin Mother, seeing Him Who without pain sprang forth from her suspended upon the Cross, cried aloud, lamenting maternally: “Woe is me, O my Child! How is it that Thou sufferest of Thine own will, desiring to deliver man from the indignity of the passions?”