Canon of the Martyrs

Exapostilarion from the Octoechos; and this one of the martyrs: Spec. Mel.: “As the disciples watched…” —

Irmos: O Lord, Fashioner of the vault of heaven and Creator of the Church: establish me in Thy love, O Summit of desire, confirmation of the faithful, Who alone lovest mankind.

Kontakion of the holy hierarch, in Tone VIII: Spec. Mel.: “To thee, the chosen leader…” —

Sessional hymn of the martyrs, in Tone VIII: Spec. Mel.: “Of the Wisdom…” —

Theotokion: The all-transcendent Word, Who hath brought all things into being, selecting thee, O pure one, as His good, beautiful and chosen one, desired to make His abode within thine immaculate and God-pleasing womb.

Mightily opposing the tyrant, O Tarachus, and steadfastly enduring the battering of thy face, made valiant by the power of the Spirit, thou didst crush the jaws of the noetic lions.

Irmos: Thy Church rejoiceth in Thee, O Christ, crying aloud: Thou art my strength, O Lord, my refuge and my consolation!

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

Glory…: Sessional hymn of the holy hierarch, in the same tone & melody —

Theotokion: The shadows have passed away and the truth of Christ hath shone forth, O Mother of God; for receiving flesh from thy womb, He hath saved us.

Lacerated and burned, thy breast pierced with goads, thy divinely glorious mouth smitten, with high-minded understanding thou didst endure also the wounding of thy back and belly, O martyr Probus.

Irmos: Thou art my strength, O Lord, Thou art my power; Thou art my God, Thou art my joy, Who, without leaving the bosom of the Father, hast visited our lowliness. Wherefore, with the Prophet Habbakuk I cry unto Thee: Glory to Thy power, O Thou Who lovest mankind!

Now & ever…: Theotokion —

Suspended like a lamb, thou didst withstand the pain of most grievous wounds, O martyr Andronicus: the burning of fire, the uprooting of thy teeth and the excision of thy theologizing tongue.

Irmos: Beholding Thee lifted up upon the Cross, O Sun of righteousness, the Church stood rooted in place, crying out as is meet: Glory to Thy power, O Lord!

Theotokion: Thou alone didst bear in thy womb the incarnate God Who bringeth all things into being. And the divine martyrs suffered without wavering, confessing Him in the arena, O all-hymned Virgin Theotokos, thou wonder of the angels and wounding of the demons.

With beautiful hymns thou didst gladden the Bride of Christ, moving her to hymnody, manifestly setting forth the divine mysteries of Christ.

Irmos: Wherefore hast Thou turned Thy face from me, O Light never-waning? And why hath a strange darkness covered me, wretch that I am? But turn me, and guide my steps to the light of Thy commandments, I pray.

Theotokion: Let us hymn the all-holy Theotokos, who gave birth to the Word of God incarnate, in two natures but a single hypostasis, as the godly Cosmas hath taught.

Nurtured on the laws of Christ, O father Cosmas, thou didst nourish the flock entrusted to thee with Orthodox precepts.

Irmos: Thou hast come, O my Lord, as a light into the world: a holy light turning from the darkness of ignorance those who hymn Thee with faith.

Theotokion: Thou wast greater than the hosts of heaven, O Virgin, having given birth to the equally beginningless and eternal Word. And the athletes, illumined by His splendors, passed through the night of ungodliness.

Having acquired within thee a soul burning with the fire of divine zeal, O venerable father Cosmas, thou didst burn up all heresies.

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.

Theotokion: The lightning-flash of thy birthgiving hath illumined the whole world, O most hymned one, and the earth hath been moved from falsehood to faith therein.

Adorned with the virtues, O divinely inspired Cosmas, thou wast the ornament of the Church of Christ; for thou hast embellished it with hymns, O blessed one. Pray thou to the Lord, that we be delivered from all the wiles of the enemy, for we cry: Rejoice, O thrice-blessed Cosmas!

Irmos: I will sacrifice to Thee with a voice of praise, O Lord, the Church crieth unto Thee, cleansed of the blood of demons by the blood which, for mercy’s sake, flowed from Thy side.

Theotokion: Having conceived the Preëternal One in thy womb without seed, O pure one, thou gavest birth in the flesh to Him Who is incorporeal by nature, and didst nourish with milk Him Who nurtureth all, O Mother of God who knewest not wedlock.

Having armed themselves like youths with mighty faith in the Holy Trinity, Andronicus, Probus and the most wise Tarachus destroyed the might of the falsehood of polytheism and bound the people to divine love. Wherefore, receiving the honors of victory, they rejoice with the choirs of the incorporeal hosts. Let us cry out to them with faith: Entreat Christ God, that He grant remission of sins unto those who with love honor your holy memory.

Irmos: Once, in Babylon, the fire stood in awe of the condescension of God; wherefore, the youths, dancing with joyous step in the furnace, as in a meadow, chanted: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!

Theotokion: Following thy divinely inspired words, O Virgin Maiden, all of us, the generations of men, call thee blessed, for thou art the blessed Mother of the good God.

Having been raised in piety and faith and adorned thy mind and soul with wisdom, thou didst flee all earthly cares and, dwelling alone and setting thy mind on ineffable things, wast vouchsafed great grace; wherefore, thou hast adorned the divine Church of Christ with mellifluous hymns and doctrines. O holy hierarch Cosmas our father, entreat Christ God, that He grant remission of sins unto those who with love honor thy holy memory.

Irmos: The children of Abraham in the Persian furnace, afire with love of piety more than with the flame, cried out: Blessed art Thou in the temple of Thy glory, O Lord!

Theotokion: Without leaving the bosom of the Father, the most perfect Word emptied Himself into thy womb: and He is seen to be flesh and is born a babe. To Him do we chant, rejoicing, O Virgin: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!

Having conceived the Wisdom and Word in thy womb without being consumed, O Mother of God, thou gavest birth for the world, to Him Who sustaineth the world and didst carry in thine arms Him Who holdeth all things, the Nurturer of all, the Author of creation. Wherefore, I entreat thee, O most holy Virgin, and glorify thee with faith, that I may be delivered from transgressions. And, on the day of judgment, when I must needs stand before the face of my Creator, O pure Virgin Mistress, grant me thine aid, for all things soever thou desirest, thou canst do, O most hymned one.

Irmos: Madly did the Chaldæan tyrant heat the furnace sevenfold for the pious ones; but, beholding them saved by a higher Power, he cried out to the Creator and Deliverer: Ye children, bless; ye priests, hymn; ye people, exalt Him supremely for all ages!

Theotokion: What mortal tongue can worthily bless thee who gavest birth to God, O Bride of God? Wherefore, we cry out with faith: Rejoice, O pure Virgin! Rejoice, O all-glorious one!

Stavrotheotokion —

Irmos: Stretching forth his hands, Daniel shut the lions’ mouths in the pit; and the young lovers of piety, girded about with virtue, quenched the power of the fire, crying out: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord!

Theotokion: With the incorporeal ranks, the armies of martyrs, the apostles and prophets, we all piously hymn the only pure Mother of God, the Mistress who hath dominion over all creation, in that she is holier than the cherubim; and we exalt Christ supremely for all ages.

The Ewe-lamb, beholding the Lamb, Shepherd and Deliverer upon the Cross, exclaimed, weeping, and, bitterly lamenting, cried out: “The world rejoiceth, receiving deliverance through Thee, but my womb doth burn, beholding Thy crucifixion, which Thou endurest in the loving-kindness of Thy mercy. O long-suffering Lord, abyss and inexhaustible wellspring of mercy, take pity and grant remission of offenses unto those who with faith hymn Thy divine sufferings!”

Irmos: Every ear trembleth to hear of the ineffable condescension of God, for the Most High willingly came down even to the flesh, becoming man through the Virgin’s womb. Wherefore we, the faithful, magnify the all-pure Theotokos.

Theotokion: Thou didst spring forth as a rod from the root of Jesse, O all-pure Virgin who gavest birth to the Lord, the Flower Who perfumeth us with the myrrh-laden scents of His sufferings; wherefore, we all bless thee, O Mary, Bride of God.

Observing Thy law, O Word, and despising the laws of the iniquitous who commanded, with demonic wiles, that Thou, the Creator, be reviled, the martyrs received the peace of heaven, having withstood all the threefold billows of torture.

Irmos: Christ, the Chief Cornerstone uncut by human hands, Who united the two disparate natures, was cut from thee, the unquarried mountain, O Virgin. Wherefore, in gladness we magnify thee, O Theotokos.

Theotokion: Have pity on me, O Savior Who wast born and preserved her who gave Thee birth incorrupt after parturition; and when Thou shalt sit to judge all my works, overlook mine iniquities and sins, in that Thou art sinless, as the merciful God Who lovest mankind.

Thou didst love to bear the yoke of Christ, and, crushed by the yoke on thy neck, thou didst rejoice. And having the Cross as a staff of mighty power, O most blessed Tarachus, thou didst endure the blows of many rods, crying: glory to Thy power, O Thou Who lovest mankind!

Theotokion: Glorifying thee as it is written, we call thee blessed, O Theotokos, the all-holy Virgin, who art more glorious than the seraphim and gavest birth to Christ Who shone forth from the Father wholly without beginning.

Made powerful by the divine Spirit, thou didst manfully endure the painful severing of thy tendons and the plucking out of thine eyes, O martyr Probus, enlightened most perfectly by knowledge of the Trinity, joining thyself to the choirs on high.

Theotokion —

As a youth, O martyr Andronicus, thou didst stand before the tribunal, mightily setting thyself against the enemy. Wherefore, when they severed thy tendons, they rendered thee all the more powerful, and thou didst crush his head beneath thy foot as thou madest thy way on high.

Having first rid the eye of thy heart of the turmoil of the passions, O hierarch Cosmas, thou didst chant beautiful and saving hymnody, and hast enlightened the Church.

O Cosmas, thy most laudable and delightful hymns, adorned with dogmas and the beauties of melody, have become the healing of all despair for those who love them.

The Church, which had become sick through the blasphemous and foolish edicts of Copronymus, didst thou heal with writings which thou didst melodiously chant, O most blessed one.

In that thy hymns are wondrous and full of all understanding, O father, through them thou hast manifestly revealed to all the mysteries of Christ, which are truly awesome and all-wondrous.

Ye were unwavering travellers of the narrow and hard way, cutting through the multitude of perils like the foam of the sea, O athletes, establishing your hearts upon the rock of faith like immovable pillars.

Speaking divine things and theologizing the doctrines of salvation, thou didst endure the cutting away of thy lips, O martyr Tarachus, but with strength of mind thou didst shut the mouths which spake blasphemy against God the Creator.

Thy four limbs stretched out, covered with the wounds of stripes, thou didst valiantly display uprightness of soul; wherefore, appearing, crowned, with thy fellow athletes, O Probus, thou standest before the King of all.

Thy sound hath passed over all the ends of the earth, O wise Cosmas, gladdening with divine hymns those who praise thee.

Thou didst say that, in manner transcending the laws of nature, the all-holy Theotokos gave birth to the all-divine Word. Wherefore, we call thee blessed.

Sweetly chanting wondrous hymns, thou didst hymn the ineffable nativity of the Master from the all-pure Virgin, O most sacred one.

Becoming a weapon of the Mighty One through faith, ye manfully wounded the hearts of the pagans, contending against them valiantly, O athletes of great renown.

As of old the wild beasts cowered before Daniel in the pit, so now were they terrified of the faith of the mighty warriors in the arena, subdued by their honored sufferings.

Tarachus, imitating Thy pierced side, O Master, was pierced in the side; and he was given vinegar to drink, and his head was cruelly burned with fire.

Thy words were like sweet honey-comb, delighting the hearts of the pious who hymn the baptism of the Savior and Symeon’s encounter and passing.

Not in words, but by material things, O blessed one, didst thou set forth in hymns the raising of Lazarus from the dead, the children’s praise and the hatred of the Jews.

Thou didst adorn the elevation of the thrice-blessed Tree, chanting hymnody full of all gladness and joy in the hymns thereof, O most blessed one.

The valiant warriors and martyrs of Christ, Tarachus, Probus and Andronicus, have revealed to us the glory of the Trinity; for, contending with valor and faith, they denounced all the ungodliness of the tyrants.

Ikos: Valiantly emulating the sufferings of Jesus, Tarachus, Andronicus and the wise Probus suffered, rejoicing, in the arena, denouncing the ungodliness of the iniquitous. Wherefore, honoring their memory with love, we praise them in hymns and faithfully proclaim their struggles; for wondrous is the Lord Who hath glorified as luminaries in the world those who have contended with valor and faith.

Rejoicing, thou didst endure the severing of thine ears, O glorious Tarachus, in that thou art a right obedient servant of Him Who inclined His most merciful ear and hearkened to the supplications of thee who cry out: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!

Afflicted with the wounds of torture, O martyrs, ye opposed the all-iniquitous ones with steadfast resolve; and as victors ye chant: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!

Thy spirit was filled with divine dew and coolness when they burned thy head with a stream of fire, O Tarachus; and thou didst cry out like the children: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!

With the drops of your precious blood, O saints, ye extinguished the burning coals of falsehood, exuding for us the divine dew of grace; and ye pour forth waters of healing upon those who ever praise your memory.

Every soul is gladdened, reading thy hymns, O divinely wise father, and crying out with faith: O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!

Truly thy tongue, O father, became the pen of the Holy Spirit, recording the great wonders of the Word like a swiftly writing scribe.

In thee are the rules of praise set aside, O father; for there is naught fit to serve as praise for thee who recounted the mighty works of the Master.

Illumined with wounds and the comely beauties of your goodly and wondrous suffering, ye all stand, crowned, before the Lord, richly filled with the light that shineth there, and chanting continually with love: Ye children, bless; ye priests, hymn; ye people, exalt Him supremely for all ages!

Raging within himself since he had been vanquished by your opposition, the all-mindless tyrant straightway commanded that ye be slain with the sword who chant to the Creator and Deliverer: Ye children, bless; ye priests, hymn; ye people, exalt Him supremely for all ages!

Andronicus, Probus and Tarachus are honored as champions of the Trinity, right victorious martyrs, who dispelled the winter of ungodliness with the fervor of the Spirit, the foundation of the faithful, beautiful flowers of the noetic garden of paradise, havens for the tempest-tossed, immovable pillars.

Strengthened by the staff of thy dogmas, O glorious one, we who praise thee turn away from all the evils of heresy and chant piously to Christ, crying: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord!

Being far above all in intellect, O Cosmas, thou didst describe the meal whereat the Lord offered the life-bearing Mysteries, and the dread betrayal and inhumanity of Judas, which thou hast taught us to flee.

Shining with the rays of immaterial light, O most venerable Cosmas, thou didst describe the all-pure sufferings, burial, resurrection and transfiguration of Christ, teaching all to chant: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord!

With their corruptible bodies Probus, Tarachus and Andronicus, the valiant favorites of Christ, were able to undertake incorrupt struggles and emulated the angels, receiving the immutable kingdom of God.

Mystically enkindled by the immaterial Fire, ye showed yourselves to be burning coals and consumed material falsehood, O great martyrs; and as ye shine forth light, ye illumine creation and save our souls from sufferings and misfortunes.

Today the Church of Christ doth joyfully and radiantly offer this, your divine festival, as an annual celebration; and with you the prophets, apostles and all the martyrs rejoice, O victorious athletes of great renown.

Ye have been taken up into the splendid habitations of paradise, O passion-bearers, clad in the splendid robes which ye wove with your multifarious torments; and ye stand before the throne of the Almighty, praying earnestly for all.

We magnify thee as one rich and noble, shining with rays of the virtues and illumining the faithful who honor thee with praises and chant in Orthodox manner, O thrice-holy Cosmas.

Shining with divine laws, and having guided thy flock to the life-bearing meadow, O blessed and venerable one, as is meet thou hast passed over to the heavens, reaping the fruits of thy pangs.

The never-waning Light was shown to thee who hast now been translated from transitory things and art rightly purified. And delighting therein most manifestly and purely, be thou mindful of those who honor thee, O right glorious one.

With hymns of praise let us crown the three-member chorus of athletes, Tarachus, Probus and Andronicus; for they endured laceration, cruel wounding and pain, and reign with Christ.

Thou hast been revealed as more glorious than the cherubim and shown to be more exalted than the seraphim, as the one who gave birth to God incarnate, Who hath shown men how to walk the straight paths which lead to salvation.