Ode III

Irmos: None is as holy as the Lord, and none is as righteous as our God, Whom all creation doth hymn, singing: None is righteous save Thee, O Lord!

Sessional hymn, in Tone VIII—

Glory…, Now & ever…: Theotokion—

Even though there is no beauteous hymnody on my lips, yet do I offer such as I have to thee, O God-bearing Ephraim; for, having withdrawn from service to an earthly prince, thou didst serve the King of heaven, and hast received thy reward from the hand of the Lord.

I honor Isaiah who is excellent in the gift of miracles, and I hymn him as the recipient of the diocese of Rostov, praying that he join me, the lost sheep, to the flock of the Most High Shepherd, and lead me into His fold by his supplications.

I praise the blessed Damian, the adornment of priests and healers; for, burning with love for all, he healed many with oil and prayer. By his remedies heal me also, O Master Who lovest mankind.

Meet it is to honor thee with praises, O Jeremiah, for thou wast honored from on high with the gift of clairvoyance and didst penetrate the secrets of men through the revelation of God. Remember me, who am sunk in the oblivion of countless sins, O blessed one, and be thou my guide to repentance.

O Matthew, who clearly beheld the entry of the demons, and correctest those who give cause for the assaults of the passions: as one who perceiveth my error by noetic eyes, guide me aright, that I may magnify thee continually, O venerable one.

O Simon, good shepherd and lamp of Suzdal’, and thou, O Nicetas the Recluse, as lovers of the Great Lavra and zealots of monastic correction, by your instruction set me aright who have fallen, O fathers.

Glory…: In this life the venerable ones preserved Thy glory in their souls, O Holy Trinity; wherefore, they have been vouchsafed everlasting glory by Thee. May we also not be deprived thereof, for we set the council thereof before Thee today to make supplication.

Now & ever…: As thou art the ineffable gladness of the venerable, make me a partaker of their joy, and deprive me not of the glory of the saints, for through God all things are possible for thee, and thou doest whatsoever thou desirest, O Mary Bride of God.

I make bold to honor the council of the God-bearing fathers, the noetic stars illumining the land of Russia; but as I have a soul benighted by the passions, my mind is at a loss. Dispel the darkness of inconstant thought, that with honor I may chant a hymn to you, O all-blessed fathers.

Rejoice, O Mother of the never-setting star, O ray of the mystical Dawn! For through thee have we come to behold the Light, the true Sun of righteousness, and illumined by His rays, we hymn thee continually, O divinely blessed Maiden.