Ode III

Irmos: O Christ, Who in the beginning established the heavens in wisdom and founded the earth upon the waters, make me steadfast upon the rock of Thy commandments; for none is holy as Thee, O Thou Who lovest mankind.

Kontakion & ikos of the resurrection.

Glory..., Now & ever..., Theotokion —

Sessional hymn, in Tone III —

Joachim and Anna have been called the ancestors of God, and the parents of the Forerunner and the mother of Samuel are blessed; multitudes of saints have sprung forth from a sacred root; but in Thais is a most glorious wonder made manifest, for from a root of corruption we behold holy fruit emerge.

Theotokion: Possessed of a wealth of loving-kindness, O all-hymned Theotokos and Mother of Christians, deliver from misfortune those who hope in thee, overlooking our offenses. Protect, help and save us.

Uplifted by thy manifold pangs, thou hast soared aloft to the heavens of Christ on wings of abstinence, O dove.

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

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

The springs of impure passions more bitter than Marah didst thou dry up with thy fiery repentance, O venerable one, washing thy soul with streams of tears, drinking of the living water of prayer which springeth up unto life everlasting, and being not filled to satiety therewith.

Glory…, Now & ever…: Theotokion —

Having washed away the fœtid mire of the passions with the water of Christ, O honored Pelagia, thou didst show thyself to be myrrh for Him.

Irmos: O Christ, Who in the beginning established the heavens in wisdom and founded the earth upon the waters, make me steadfast upon the rock of Thy commandments; for none is holy as Thee, O Thou Who lovest mankind.

Then, this Sessional hymn of the fathers, in Tone IV: Spec. Mel: “Go thou quickly before...” —

Utterly despising thy life of sin, aflame with divine desire, and wedded to Christ at the first hour, O Thais, thou didst cry out to the Savior: “Make me steadfast in Thy love!”

Theotokion: Thy gladness, O pure one, dropping down like the dew of morning, doth ever quench the furnace of the passions for those who hymn thee.

Thine ardent love and desire for God truly became a deadly weapon against the enemy, O honored one.

“O Thou Who hast thrown wide the gates of repentance, shut not the gates of Thy loving-kindness against me, that from this doorless cell I may enter into Thy most radiant chamber, O Savior,” the blessed Thais prayed, knocking at the gates of paradise.

Glory…, Now & ever…: Theotokion —

Having quenched the flame of the passions with the dew of repentance, thou didst offer thy life to Christ thy Savior; and, fleeing the world for His sake, thou didst withdraw in solitude to the desert, attaining an angelic life. Wherefore, obtaining from God an honorable end with great glory, thou hast become known to the ends of the earth, O angelic Pelagia. Entreat Christ God, that He grant remission of sins unto those who with love celebrate thy holy memory.

Without separating Himself from the divine Essence, becoming incarnate in thy womb, God became man yet remained God, the one Lord, preserving thee, the Virgin Mother, as immaculate after giving birth as thou wast before birthgiving. Him do thou earnestly entreat, that He grant us great mercy.

Theotokion: Let all the ungodly depart who do not venerate the precious icon of the Theotokos and do not proclaim her to be the one who gave birth to Christ theandrically; and let them be sent into the fire, to burn without being consumed.

Having fallen into greatly tangled perils from enemies visible and invisible, and been beset by the tempest of my countless offenses, O pure one, I flee to the haven of thy goodness as to my fervent help and protection; wherefore, O all-pure one, earnestly entreat Him Who became incarnate of thee without seed, in behalf of all thy servants who unceasingly praise thee, ever beseeching Him, O all-pure Theotokos, to grant remission of offenses unto those who fittingly hymn thy glory.

Stavrotheotokion —

Stavrotheotokion —

Beholding Thee hanging dead upon the Tree, O Christ, Thy pure Mother who knew not wedlock said, lamenting maternally: “How hath the iniquitous and ungrateful assembly of the Jews rewarded Thee, having enjoyed Thy many and great gifts, O my Son? I hymn Thy divine condescension!”

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 hymn Thy divine sufferings with faith.

Initiated into the mysteries by Christ, the divine chief shepherds drove away from the pious the parties of Antichrist, who wished to trouble the Church of Christ, that it not be shaken.

The company of the fathers, drawing forth streams of teaching from the wellsprings of salvation, give the thirsting people of Christ to drink thereof, and wash away the turbid streams of filth.

The Seventh Council of the Christ-loving, whose defenders were the imperial Irene and Constantine, was held in the splendid city of Nicæa against those who of a truth accused Christians and brought them to trial.

O ye truly most blessed and divinely eloquent fathers, ye have appeared on earth as most radiant lamps of the truth of Christ to the world, drying up the sacrilegious blasphemies of heresy and quenching the fiery tumults of the heretics. Wherefore, as ye are hierarchs of Christ, pray that we be saved. Twice

Go thou quickly before us, O pure Virgin Mother. Rescue us from the enemies who blaspheme against thee. Destroy all the sacrilege of heresies. Set at naught their assaults by thy might, that they may understand that thou alone art the Mother of God, who by thy supplications dost save the congregation of the Orthodox.