Ode IX

Exapostilarion from the Octoechos; Glory..., that of the venerable one, in Tone VIII —

Irmos: God the Lord, the Son of the unoriginate Father, hath revealed Himself to us­ ­incarnate of the Virgin, to enlighten those in darkness and to gather the dispersed. Wherefore, we magnify the all-hymned Theotokos.

Wondrous are thy works, O venerable father; and wondrous was thy life. Wherefore, celebrating thy memory with love and invoking thy name in prayer, we magnify thy struggles.

Theotokion: O Theotokos, thou might of martyrs and patience of the venerable, dominion of kings and exalted boast of virgins, help of Christians: Entrusting our life to thine intercession, we magnify thee.

Exapostilarion: Spec. Mel.: “Hearken, ye women…” —

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.

Thou art a servant who hath entered into the joy of thy Lord; thou art a partaker of everlasting life; thou hast boldness, O father; wherefore, entreat the consubstantial Trinity on behalf of us who glorify thee with all our soul.

Now & ever…: Theotokion —

Standing with boldness before the throne of God, O Paul, remember those who honor thy memory and hymn thy struggles with love, that with thankful lips we may ever magnify thee.

Theotokion: As the Mother of the Creator of all, with thy maternal boldness beseech thy Son, that He save thy captive servants from the violence of tyrants, set at nought the slanders of wicked men and grant peace and salvation unto those who hymn thee.

Come, ye who have forsaken the tumult of cities and towns, and let us make haste to the desert to behold a wondrous and righteous man, a beacon of the virtues, who shone forth in simplicity and obedience, and hath acquired great boldness before Christ; and falling prostrate before him, let us cry: Remember us at the throne of God, O thrice blessed father!

Theotokion —

O all-pure one, thou gavest birth to God, the Word of God, Who doth most wisely accomplish the excellent dispensation of salvation for the world; wherefore, we all fittingly hymn thee as the one who prayeth to Him, that we be delivered from sickness and every misfortune.

As a lover of all-wise wisdom, thou hast now received, rejoicing, the magnificent crown of grace therefrom; and as thou art a member of the heavenly choir which danceth before the Creator of all, pray thou, that those who praise thee may be saved from misfortunes, O Hierotheus.

Thou hast made thine abode in the divine courts on high and hast inherited the everlasting mansions, and now thou holdest festival with the armies of the angels and the ranks of the apostles, with whom thou rejoicest in gladness. And, dwelling together with them, ask divine peace for those who honor thee with faith.

Receiving excellent rewards, thou didst acquire their manifestation on earth, gazing toward God with constant love, O father Hierotheus. Pray thou earnestly now that He grant mercy and cleansing unto those who with faith celebrate thy radiant and most sacred memory.

Thou didst make that which is baser subject to that which is more sublime, O God-pleaser, most wisely setting thy mind to control the passions. Wherefore, O Hierotheus, thou wast an instrument of theology and an apostle of Christ. O wise hierarch, pray thou for the world.

Arriving at thine all-pure dormition with the rest of the apostles, Hierotheus chanted a hymn to thee, the Maiden, divinely beholding in ecstasy what is strange and ineffable, in that He is truly pleasing to God. O Virgin Mother of God, show us also to be emulators of him.