Canon of the Theotokos

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

Irmos: The bow of the mighty hath been broken by Thy might, O Christ, and the strengthless have girded themselves with power.

Kontakion, in Tone II: Spec. Mel.: “In supplications…”—

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

On the Praises, 4 stichera, in Tone IV: Spec. Mel.: “Thou hast given a sign…”—

Theotokion: Thou alone, O Mother of God, hast, in manner past nature, become the mediatress of blessings for those on earth; wherefore, we cry out to thee: Rejoice!

He Who, as the Creator of time, is outside of all time, O Virgin, willingly made Himself a child through thee.

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

The grace of the Spirit, shining upon thee, O Chariton our father, illumined thee with splendor; hence thou didst roll back the night of the passions and attain unto the daylight of dispassion, having united thyself in pure fashion unto the most pure Light. Abiding therein, forget not, O divinely eloquent one, those who with faith hymn thy sacred memory. Twice

Glory…, Now & ever…: Theotokion—

Let us hymn the womb which is far more spacious than the heavens, through which Adam hath come to abide in the heavens, rejoicing.

Irmos: I have heard, O Lord, of Thy glorious dispensation, and I have glorified Thine unapproachable power, O Thou Who lovest mankind.

Bearing the grace of heaven which thou didst desire, O Chariton, thou didst spurn the things of this earth; wherefore, like one incorporeal, thou didst choose a life of misery, desiring to quench thy thirst with piety, as at a torrent of ever-existing sweetness; and with thy tears thou didst dry up the turbid spring of the passions, O venerable one, and hast watered the grain of men’s souls.

Theotokion: Thy birthgiving wast shown to be ineffable, O Theotokos who alone art pure and blessed; wherefore, falling down before thee, we cry out: Rejoice!

The reason-endowed flock of thy disciples rejoiceth in thee, O venerable one, spiritually partaking of thy splendor.

Irmos: Out of love for Thine image Thou didst stand affixed to the Cross, O Compassionate One, and the nations melted away; for Thou art my strength and boast, O Thou Who lovest mankind.

From divine grace, O Chariton, thou didst worthily receive the grace of healings; hence, the deception of the evil spirits falleth down before thee, and thou didst pass through unpleasant afflictions, escaping corruption, O venerable one. For thou pourest forth like water the streams of thy grace; and drinking thereof, we hymn thy memory.

Theotokion: We wield thee as an invincible weapon against the enemy, O Bride of God, and have acquired thee as our might and the hope of our salvation.

O venerable Chariton, to the Spirit of life thou didst subject carnal knowledge, as the cause of enmity towards God.

Irmos: The Sun — the live Coal which was revealed beforehand to Isaiah — shone forth from the Virgin’s womb, granting the enlightenment of divine knowledge to those gone astray in darkness.

Glory…, in Tone V—

Theotokion: O wonder newer than all wonders! For, conceiving in her womb Him Who sustaineth all things by His word, without knowing man, the Virgin did not confine Him.

Like David thou didst lay low the power of the noetic alien Goliath, O venerable one, with the weaponry of the Spirit.

Irmos: Thou hast come, O my Lord, as a light into the world: a holy light turning from the darkness of ignorance those who hymn Thee with faith.

O venerable father, on hearing the voice of the Gospel of the Lord, thou didst forsake the world, holding wealth and glory to be as nought. Wherefore, thou didst cry out to all: Love God, and ye will receive everlasting grace; prefer nothing above His love, that, when He cometh in His glory, ye may find rest with all the saints! Through his supplications, O Christ, preserve Thou and save our souls.

Theotokion: Rejoice, O sanctified and divine habitation of the Most High! For through thee, O Theotokos, hath joy been given to those who cry: Blessed art thou among women, O most immaculate Mistress!

Tested by the pangs of suffering and made firm through feats of asceticism, thou didst shine with greater luster than gold in thy piety and becamest a pure receptacle of the Spirit. Thou didst dispel the darkness of the evil spirits, and, assembling against them multitudes of monastics, thou didst become a shepherd and a most radiant beacon for them, O blessed Chariton. Entreat Christ God, that He grant remission of sins unto those who honor thy holy memory with love. Twice

Irmos: Hearkening to the sound of the cries of entreaty which issue forth from a soul in pain, O Master, deliver me from my grievous sins, for Thou alone art the Cause of our salvation.

We, the faithful, call thee blessed, O Virgin Theotokos, and we glorify thee as is due: the unshaken city, the impregnable rampart, the steadfast intercessor and refuge of our souls.

Theotokion: Alone among all generations, thou hast been revealed as the Mother of God, O pure Virgin. Thou wast the abode of the Godhead, O most immaculate one, who wast not consumed by the fire of the unapproachable Light. Wherefore, we all call thee blessed, O Mary, thou Bride of God.

Having fallen into subtle dangers laid for me by enemies visible and invisible, and caught in the storm of my countless offenses, I flee to the haven of thy goodness, O pure one, as to my fervent help and protection. Wherefore, O all-pure one, earnestly entreat Him Who became incarnate of thee, in behalf of all thy servants who beseech thee unceasingly, O all-pure Theotokos; and ever pray to Him, that He grant remission of offenses unto those who hymn thy glory as is meet.

Irmos: I will sacrifice to Thee with a voice of praise, O Lord, the Church crieth unto Thee, cleansed of the blood of demons by the blood which, for mercy’s sake, flowed from Thy side.

Great Doxology, litanies and dismissal.

Theotokion: Rejoice and be glad, O Bride of the great King, radiantly contemplating the beauty of thy Bridegroom, which in luster is brighter than gold and outshineth the sun!

Behold! the most manifest Mother of God, the divine mountain of the house of the Lord, is exalted far above the heavenly hosts.

Irmos: The youths of old showed themselves to be rhetors with the greatest love of wisdom; for, theologizing with their lips, they chanted from the depths of their God-pleasing souls: O most divine God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!

Glory…, Now & ever…: Theotokion—

O Virgin who alone, outside the laws of nature, gavest birth to the Ruler of creation: thou hast been vouchsafed a divine calling.

Irmos: The children of Abraham in the Persian furnace, afire with love of piety more than with the flame, cried out: Blessed art Thou in the temple of Thy glory, O Lord!

Now & ever…: Theotokion—

Rejoicing in the Lord as a victor, O venerable one, thou didst challenge the incorporeal foe, crying: God is my strength and Lord!

Irmos: The thrice-blessed youths, disdaining the golden image and beholding the immutable and living image of God, chanted in the midst of the flame: Let all existing creation hymn the Lord and exalt Him supremely for all ages!

Grace crowned thee with the athlete’s wreath of the kingdom of Christ, O Chariton; for thou didst uproot the drunkenness of deception, O blessed one.

Irmos: Stretching forth his hands, Daniel shut the lions’ mouths in the pit; and the young lovers of piety, girded about with virtue, quenched the power of the fire, crying out: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord!

Having mortified with the pangs of abstinence the pleasures which tormented thee before thy repose, O Chariton, thou wast invested with a life-bearing death.

Irmos: Thou art all desire, all sweetness, O Word of God, Son of the Virgin, God of gods, all-holy Lord of the saints. Wherefore, we magnify Thee and her who gave Thee birth.

Clouds of gladness rain down delight upon those on earth; for unto us hath a Child been given Who hath existed from before the ages: our God incarnate of the Virgin.

Irmos: Christ, the Chief Cornerstone uncut by human hands, Who united the two disparate natures, was cut from thee, the unquarried mountain, O Virgin. Wherefore, in gladness we magnify thee, O Theotokos.

Light hath shone forth upon my life and my flesh, and hath destroyed the gloom of sin: the most Exalted One Who, in the latter days, was incarnate without seed of the Virgin.

Thou, O venerable and most blessed Chariton, hast been splendidly manifest as a bright mirror of the light of the effulgence of the Most High.

Thou, O venerable one, dost shine with twofold grace; for thou wast piously adorned with the wounds of suffering and with the pangs of asceticism.

Thou, O venerable and most blessed one, hast been shown to be a physician of souls, having sought out divine wisdom from earliest infancy.

Human nature, enslaved to sin, hath obtained freedom through thee, O pure Mistress; for thy Son hath been sacrificed like a lamb.

We all cry out to thee, the true Mother of God: Save thou thy wrath-filled servants, for thou alone hast boldness before thy Son.

Laying thy foundation on Christ, not on sand, thou didst build up virtue more pure than gold, O father, and becamest the dwelling-place of the All-holy Trinity.

The serpent is known to be the instrument of evil; yet, vanquished by thine excellence, O Chariton, it wrought vengeance upon the wicked through the providence of the Righteous One.

Nought was able to separate thee from the love of Christ: neither a body covered with wounds, nor the threat of a sentence of death; for thou didst delight in divine solitude, O blessed one.

Having delighted in abstinence and bridled the desires of thy flesh, O divinely wise one, thou wast shown to increase in faith, and didst flourish like the tree of life in the midst of paradise, O most blessed and sacred Chariton.

Ikos: Standing before God, open thou my mouth by thy right acceptable supplications, O all blessed and most glorious venerable martyr, that I may hymn thy divine life and speak worthily of thy virtues which thou didst perfect on earth through thy fervent love. For thou wast a most mighty confessor, and, loving vigil and purity, didst practice abstinence with faith, O exceeding blessed and most sacred Chariton.

At night, Jacob beheld God as in a dream, and He Who was incarnate of thee hath manifested Himself in splendor unto those who chant: Most divine and supremely glorified is the God of our fathers!

He Who wrestled with Jacob, prefiguring the ineffable union in thee, O pure one, whereby He willingly united Himself to mankind, is the most divine and supremely glorified God of our fathers.

The vile one who did not proclaim Thee, the Son of the Virgin, to be One of the All-hymned Trinity, cried out with steadfast thought with his tongue: Most divine and supremely glorified is the God of our fathers!

Emulating in the zeal of thy piety the children of Abraham who were cast into the furnace, O God-bearer, thou didst trample the command of the tyrant underfoot, crying out: Blessed art Thou, O Lord my God!

When thou wast as in a furnace of burning temptation, O venerable one, from heaven the cooling grace of God visited thee who cried: Blessed art Thou, O Lord my God!

As one wounded with love for God in Trinity, thou didst offer Him an equal number of monasteries, which chant in spirit: Blessed art Thou in the temple of Thy glory, O Lord!

He that is incomparable in grace and might through thee became visible on earth and dwelt with men. Chanting unto Him, O all ye faithful, let us cry out: Let all existing creation hymn the Lord and exalt Him supremely for all ages!

Truly proclaiming thee the pure one, we glorify thee, O Theotokos, for thou didst give birth to the One of the Trinity Who became incarnate. And with the Father and the Spirit we chant unto Him: Let all existing creation hymn the Lord and exalt Him supremely for all ages!

The deception of the Persians who kindle fire in their unrighteousness, thou didst utterly consume, O venerable one, while thou thyself didst remain untouched through the activity of the Holy Spirit; and thou hast elevated men to piety, that they may chant: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord!

Having cast off the old man, thou didst truly clothe thyself in Christ, rebuking the hordes of the ruler of this world with the wounds of thy suffering, and crying out in gladness: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord!

As a true disciple of Paul, O venerable Chariton, thou didst follow in his steps; and thou wast shown to be a guide for monks and a standard of virtue for all who cry: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord!

In thy womb, O pure one, the Word of God was given to corruptible nature as a staff of strength. And he restored what had been dragged down to hades. Wherefore, we magnify thee, O all-pure one, as the Theotokos.

O Master, mercifully accept Thy mother as an intercessor in our behalf, as Thou hast willed, and all things shall be filled with Thy goodness, that we all may magnify Thee as our Benefactor.

Not even the grave, the conduit of oblivion, was able to conceal thy virtues, O venerable Chariton; for thine everlasting memory hath shone forth like the sun, and we magnify it as is meet.

Come, brethren, and, spiritually celebrating the annual commemoration of the God-bearer, and emulating his virtues, let us give rein to our zeal and cry out with him: We magnify thee, O Thrice-holy Lord!

As thou hast boldness before Christ, O confessor, ever preserve those who piously magnify thee, and who are whirled about by the passions and are drowning amid the tempest of sin.

Having first been well tested by suffering and then completed a second divine race by fasting, thou didst ascend to the heavens, O venerable father Chariton, and standest before Christ, praying for us who fervently hymn thee. Twice

O thou who gavest birth to ineffable Joy, make us partakers of the joy of heaven who all truly honor thee, O all-pure one, and cry out to thee from the depths of our souls: Forget not thy servants, O blessed Mary!