Ode I

Irmos: Tracing an upright line with his staff, Moses divided the Red Sea for Israel, which was travelling on foot; and striking it a transverse blow, he brought the waters together over the chariots of Pharaoh, thereby inscribing the invincible weapon of the Cross. Wherefore, let us hymn Christ our God, for He hath been glorified.

Katavasiae: The irmoi of the Canon of the Cross.

Canon of the Cross, the acrostic whereof is: “Having arrayed myself in the Cross, I give utterance to hymnody”, the composition of Cosmas of Maiuma, in Tone VIII—

Irmos: Having traversed the water as though it were dry land, and escaped the evil of Egypt, the Israelite cried aloud: Let us chant unto our Deliverer and God!

Of old, Moses, standing between the priests, prefigured in himself the image of Christ’s most pure sufferings; for, forming a cross with his outstretched arms, he raised up victory, vanquishing the might of the tyrant Amalek. Wherefore, let us hymn Christ our God, for He hath been glorified.

Upon a pole did Moses set the cure of the deadly and venomous sting of the serpents, and the deliverance therefrom; for to the tree, in the image of the Cross, he bound a serpent which crawleth upon the ground, triumphing over the sinister bane therein. Wherefore, let us hymn Christ God, for He hath been glorified.

The sky showed forth the victory of the Cross to the divinely wise Emperor Constantine, the pious ruler; and therein the audacity of the hostile foe was cast down, delusion was destroyed and the divine Faith spread to the ends of the earth. Wherefore let us hymn Christ our God, for He hath been glorified.

Canon of the Icon of the Theotokos, the acrostic whereof is: “We flee beneath thy mercy, O Theotokos”, the composition of Valeria, in the same tone—

Come, let us hymn the Queen of the world who is more exalted than all creation, the radiant hope of the faithful, the Mother of the Unoriginate One.

The promise of the wondrous woman who would crush the head of the serpent was made amid the sorrow of our first parents when they were driven from paradise, and she hath shone forth like a never-setting star.

Mary, the divine Bride, all-adorned with ineffable virginity, read the Prophet Isaiah and pondered in perplexity: “Who is this mystic Virgin of whom the prophet speaketh?” And, lo! the archangel stood before her, crying: “Rejoice, O thou who art full of grace!”

Haste ye, run ye, O shepherds of Bethlehem, and offer homage to the Virgin Who hath given flesh to the Lamb of God! O ye shepherds of Bukovich, run ye also with haste and announce great joy: the icon of the Mother of God hath all-gloriously appeared unto us!