Revealing thyself as a most radiant intercessor before the three-Sunned Godhead, O Michael, supreme commander, with the heavenly hosts thou criest out, rejoicing: Holy art Thou, O Father! Holy art Thou, O Word Who art equally without beginning! Holy also art Thou, O Holy Spirit! One glory, one kingdom, one nature, one Godhead and power. Twice

¶8

Reading from The Book of Judges

¶9

Thy visage is fiery, and thy beauty wondrous, O Michael, chief among the angels! For in thine immaterial nature thou dost traverse the ends of the earth, fulfilling the commands of the Creator of all, acknowledged as mighty in thy strength, making thy temple a wellspring of healings, honored in thy holy calling.

¶10

Glory..., in Tone IV—

¶11

Thou hast made Thine angels spirits, as is written, and Thy ministers a flame of fire, O Lord. And Thou hast appointed Michael supreme commander, preëminent among the ranks of Thine archangels, who is obedient to Thy commands, O Word, and with fear giveth utterance to the thrice-holy hymn unto Thy glory.

¶12

Now and ever..., the composition of George of Nicomedia, in the same tone,—

¶13

And 4 stichera, in Tone IV: Spec. Mel: “Thou hast given a sign...”—

¶14

Glory..., Now and ever..., in Tone VIII, the composition of John the Monk—

¶15

The preëternal Mind appointed thee as a secondary luminary, O Gabriel, which hath enlightened the whole universe with divine communions, revealing to us the truly divine and great mystery which was hidden from before time began, of Him Who, though incorporeal, was incarnate in the Virgin’s womb, and became man, that He might save man. Twice

¶16

Standing before the throne of the three-Sunned Godhead, and richly illumined by the rays of divine light which are continually emitted therefrom, deliver from the darkness of the passions those who on earth joyously join chorus and praise thee, and illumine them with thy radiance, O Gabriel, supreme commander, intercessor for our souls.

¶17

Set at naught the fury of the Moslems who oft descend upon thy flock. Cause thou the schisms of the Church to cease. Still the tempest of countless temptations. From misfortune and tribulation deliver those who honor thee with love and take refuge under thy protection, O Gabriel, supreme commander, intercessor for our souls.

¶18

Rejoice with us, all ye captains of the angels, for your chief and our intercessor, the great supreme commander, appearing today in his honored temple, doth most gloriously sanctify it. Wherefore, singing praises as is meet, we cry out to him: Protect us in the shelter of thy wings, O most great Archangel Michael.

¶19

Rejoice with us, all ye choirs of virgins, for our intercessor and mediatress, our protection and great refuge, doth comfort the sorrowful today in her honored and divine temple. Wherefore, singing her praises as is meet, we cry out: Protect us by thy divine intercession, O all-pure Mistress Theotokos.

¶20

Entrance. Prokimenon of the Day. Three Readings:

¶21

And it came to pass, when Joshua was in Jericho, that he looked up with his eyes, and a man standing before him, and there was a drawn sword in his hand; and Joshua drew near and said to him: “Art thou for us, or on the side of our enemies?” And he said to him: “I am now come, the chief captain of the host of the Lord.” And Joshua fell on his face upon the earth, and said to him: “Lord, what commandest thou thy servant?” And the captain of the Lord’s host said to Joshua: “Loose thy shoe off thy foot; for the place whereon thou now standest is holy”

¶22

And it came to pass in those days that the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and the children of Israel made for themselves because of Midian the caves in the mountains, and the dens, and the holes in the rocks. And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord because of Midian. And an angel of the Lord came and sat down under a fir-tree, which was in Ephratha in the land of Joas father of Esdri; and Gideon his son was threshing wheat in the wine-press, in order to escape from the face of Midian. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him: “The Lord is with thee, thou mighty in strength.” And Gideon said to him: “Be gracious with me, my Lord; but if the Lord is with us, why have these evils found us? and where are all His miracles, which our fathers have related to us, saying: ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ And now He hath cast us out, and given us into the hand of Midian.” And the angel of the Lord turned to him, and said: “Go in this thy strength, and thou shalt save Israel out of the hand of Midian: behold, I have sent thee.” And Gideon said to him: “Be gracious with me, my Lord: whereby shall I save Israel? behold, my thousand is weakened in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” And the angel of the Lord said to him: “The Lord shall be with thee, and thou shalt smite Midian as one man.” And Gideon said to him: “If now I have found mercy in thine eyes, and thou wilt do this day for me all that thou hast spoken of with me, depart not hence until I come to thee, and I will bring forth an offering and offer it before thee.” And [the angel] said: “I will remain until thou return.” And Gideon went in, and prepared a kid of the goats, and an ephah of fine flour unleavened; he put the flesh in a basket, and poured the broth into a pot, and brought them forth to him under the turpentine-tree, and drew nigh. And the angel of God said to him: “Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and put them on that rock, and pour out the broth close by.” And he did so. And the angel of the Lord stretched forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened bread; and fire came up out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened bread; and the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight; and Gideon saw that he was an angel of the Lord; and Gideon said: “Ah, ah, O Lord my God! for I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!” And the Lord said to him: “Peace be to thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.” And Gideon built there an altar to the Lord, and called it The Peace of the Lord, until this day as it is still in Ephrata of Esdri.

¶23

Reading from The Book of the Prophet Isaiah

¶24

Thus saith the Lord: All the earth crieth aloud with joy: the trees also of Lebanon rejoice against thee, and the cedar of Lebanon, saying: “From the time that thou hast been laid down, no one hath come to cut us down.” Hell from beneath is provoked to meet thee: all the great ones that have ruled over the earth have risen up together against thee, that they have raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All shall answer and say to thee: “Thou also been taken, even as we. and thou art numbered amongst us. Thy glory hath come down to hades, and thy great mirth: under thee they shall spread corruption, and the worm shall be thy covering. How shall Lucifer, who rose in the morning, fallen from heaven! He who sent orders to all the nations is crushed to the earth! But thou didst say in thy heart: “I will go up to heaven, I will set my throne above the stars of heaven: I will sit on a lofty mount, on the lofty mountains toward the north: I will go up above the clouds; I will be like the Most High.” But now thou shalt go down to hell, even to the foundations of the earth. They who see thee shall wonder at thee, and say: “This is the man who troubled the earth, who made kings to shake; who made the whole world desolate, and destroyed its cities; who loosed not those who were in captivity. All the kings of the nations lie in honor, every man in his house. But thou shalt be cast forth on the mountains, like a loathed carcass, with many dead who have been pierced with swords, going down to the grave. As a garment defiled with blood shalt not be pure, so neither shalt thou be pure; because thou hast destroyed My land, and slain My people: thou shalt not endure forever, thou—an evil seed.

¶25

At the Litia, these stichera, in Tone I—

¶26

The composition of Cyprian: O supreme commander of the noetic powers that stand unceasingly before the throne of the Master. Pray ye to the Lord, that He grant peace to the world and great mercy to our souls.

¶27

The composition of Arsenius: Michael, preëminent among the divine ranks, commander of the hosts on high, who ever walketh with us and preserveth us all from every assault of the devil, hath today summoned us to a festival. Come, therefore, ye that love the feasts of the Church and Christ, and taking up the flowers of the virtues, with pure thoughts and an upright conscience let us honor the assembly of the archangel; for, standing unceasingly before God, chanting the thrice-holy hymn, he prayeth that our souls be saved.

¶28

The composition of the Studite, in Tone II: O ye supreme commanders, that govern the immaterial essence of the noetic hosts, and shed light upon the whole universe with rays of glory of the threefold Sun. With never-ceasing utterance ye chant the thrice-holy hymn. Wherefore, pray ye that our souls be saved.

¶29

Another sticheron by Arsenius, in the same tone: O ye noetic beings, divine and incorporeal, who surround the immaterial throne, with lips of flame ye chant the thrice-holy hymn to God the Ruler: Holy is God, the unoriginate Father! Holy is the Mighty One, the Son Who is equally without beginning! Holy is the Immortal One, the Spirit one in essence, Who with the Father and the Son is glorified.

¶30

The composition of Anatolius: With incorporeal lips and noetic mouths the ranks of the angels offer unceasing hymnody to Thine unapproachable Divinity, O Lord, and the pure intelligences and ministers of Thy glory, and with them Michael the incorporeal and Gabriel the exceeding magnificent, praise Thee, O Lord. And the supreme commanders of the angels, preëminent among the powers on high, have today become our hosts, commanding us to chant the hymn of hymns unto Thine unapproachable glory, O Thou Who lovest mankind, which they entreat unceasingly in behalf of our souls.

¶31

With lips of fire the cherubim hymn Thee, O Christ God, and with incorporeal mouths the choir of the archangels doth continually glorify Thee. And Michael, the commander of the hosts on high, doth unceasingly offer a hymn of victory to Thy glory; for he hath lighted our way to a radiant festival today, that, with lips of clay, we may fittingly give utterance in psalmody to the thrice-holy hymn of praise, for all things have been filled with Thy praise, and therefore Thou dost grant the world great mercy.

¶32

Today the Theotokos, the temple which containeth God, is led into the Temple of the Lord, and Zechariah raiseth her aloft. Today the Holy of Holies rejoiceth and the choir of angels doth mystically keep festival. Celebrating with them today, let us cry out with Gabriel: Rejoice, O thou who art full of grace! The Lord, Who hath great mercy, is with thee!

¶33

At the Aposticha, these stichera, in Tone I: Spec. Mel: “Joy of the ranks of heaven...”—

¶34

Keeping festival in the world angelically, let us give utterance to a hymn to God Who is seated upon the throne of glory: Holy art Thou, O heavenly Father! Holy art Thou, O Word co-everlasting! Holy also art Thou, O all-holy Spirit!

¶35

Stichos: He maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire.

¶36

Preëminent with great boldness among those of heaven, and standing in glory before the dread throne, O Michael, supreme commander, beholder of ineffable things, by thy supplications save us who are in want, misfortune and temptation, we beseech thee.

¶37

Stichos: Praise Him, all ye His angels; praise Him, all ye His hosts.

¶38

Thou art the first among the incorporeal angels, the minister of God’s divine radiance, a beholder and initiate of the divine mysteries, O Michael, supreme commander. Save us who piously honor thee each year and hymn the Trinity with faith.

¶39

O supreme commander, in that thou art captain and champion, princely leader of the angels, from all want and sorrow, infirmity and grievous sin do thou free those who faithfully hymn and entreat thee, O glorious one; for as thou art immaterial, thou dost manifestly behold the Immaterial One, and art illumined with the unapproachable light of the glory of the Master Who, in His love for mankind, took flesh of the Virgin for our sake, wishing to save mankind.

¶40

Supreme commanders of the heavenly armies, we, the unworthy, do ever entreat you, that by your prayers ye surround us with the protection of the wings of your immaterial glory, preserving us who earnestly fall down before you and cry aloud: Deliver us from misfortunes, in that ye are the leaders of the hosts on high. Twice

¶41

and “Virgin Theotokos, rejoice...,” once.

Translated by Isaac Lambertsen. Edition menaion.en.lambertsen.