At Vespers

On “Lord, I have cried…”, 6 stichera: 3 of the martyr, in Tone VIII: Spec. Mel.: “O all-glorious wonder…”—

Now & ever…: Theotokion, or this stavroTheotokion: Spec. Mel.: “When from the Tree…”—

Shedding thy blood, O blessed one, thou didst present thyself to Christ, the Bestower of life, Who shed His blood for thy sake, and Who hath made thee to participate in His glory and to share in His kingdom, in that thou didst prevail over the deceiver and didst utterly reduce his cruel snares to ashes.

Thou wast a pillar of piety set firmly upon the rock of faith, unshaken by temptations or misfortunes, O blessed one, for the great tempest and tumult and the waves which buffeted thee did not cast down thine unbreakable strength; for thou didst desire to be adorned with the crown of martyrdom.

Following the life-bearing steps of our incarnate God Who, by His suffering on the Cross, cast down the tyrant, O athlete, rejoicing, thou didst enter the arena of martyrdom, and, lacerated with wounds, with thy flesh, O martyr, thou didst wound him who boasted that he would destroy the sea, and thou didst cast him down to the ground.

And 3 stichera of the holy hierarch, in the same melody—

O most honored father John, withdrawing from the tumultuous confusion of the world, thou didst hasten to the serenity of Christ, O most venerable one; and thou wast manifestly enriched in truth with the most rich effulgence of vision and divine activity, and, made splendid by thy godly life, didst impart them to the faithful.

O most honored father John, honorably adorned with vestments like another Aaron, thou now beholdest the Holy of holies beyond the second veil. O the ineffable brilliance of thy mind, which passeth understanding, O divine adornment of hierarchs, whom thou hast now joined in fellowship!

O most wise father John, becoming godly in the simplicity of thy character, thou standest now before God, united with Him through a higher unity, deified at His continual behest, filled with His light, O divine and most sacred adornment of hierarchs.

Glory…, the composition of Byzantius, in Tone II—

At the table of God thou wast set like a newly planted olive-tree, the child of those who walk the path of the Lord. For the sake of thy martyrdom the Lord hath blessed thee, and thou lookest upon the good things of the heavenly Sion, ever delighting with thy parents in divine joy. O right laudable Mamas, by thine entreaties make us partakers thereof.

When the unblemished ewe-lamb beheld her Lamb as a man led forth, of His own will, to the slaughter, she said, lamenting: “Dost Thou now hasten to leave me childless who gave Thee birth, O Christ? Wherefore hast Thou done this thing, O Deliverer of all? Yet do I hymn and glorify Thine utter goodness which passeth understanding and recounting, O Thou Who lovest mankind!”