Canon of the Hieromartyr

Exapostilarion: Spec. Mel: “To the disciples...”—

Irmos: Thou art the confirmation of those who flee to Thee, O Lord; Thou art the light of those who are in darkness, and my spirit doth hymn Thee.

Kontakion, in Tone IV: Spec. Mel: “Having been lifted up...”—

Glory..., and that of the venerable one, in Tone IV: Spec. Mel: “Thou hast appeared today...”—

Sessional hymn of St. Anthimus, in Tone I: Spec. Mel: “The angelic choir...”—

Having first served the Deliverer in thy sacred ministry, thou wast shown to be a hieromartyr; and after, thou didst make of thyself a priestly sacrifice.

Theotokion: By thine entreaties grant us aid, O all-pure one, repelling the assaults of grievous circumstances.

Irmos: Thou art the confirmation of those who flee to Thee, O Lord; Thou art the light of those who are in darkness, and my spirit doth hymn Thee.

Now and ever..., Theotokion—

Thou wast not a hireling, but a shepherd most true, O venerable one, shedding thy blood for thy flock, O beloved of God.

Theotokion: Chanting hymns, the fasters, divinely instructed, glorified thee as the Theotokos who gaveth birth to God, O Mistress.

Irmos: I have heard the mystery of Thy dispensation, O Lord; I have considered Thy works, and have glorified Thy divinity.

Now and ever..., Theotokion, or this StavroTheotokion: Spec. Mel: “As one valiant among the martyrs...”—

Thou didst tend the flock of the Master with care, O hierarch; wherefore, thou hast made thine abode in a place of verdure.

Theotokion: As Thou art without sin, O God, grant us cleansing of the sins we have committed in ignorance, and bring peace to Thy world, through the prayers of her who gave birth unto Thee.

Irmos: Thou didst mount Thy steeds, Thine apostles, O Lord, and didst take their bridles in Thy hands; and Thy chariot becameth salvation unto those who sing with faith: Glory to Thy power, O Lord!

Thou didst mortify thy flesh with abstinence, O venerable one, and didst enlighten thy soul with gifts of divine grace.

Theotokion: As thou didst appear in the world as a man from the Virgin, Thou hast granted victory to Thy venerable ones; for by Thy Cross they drove away the demons, crying out with faith: Glory to Thy power, O Lord!

Irmos: Waking at dawn we cry to Thee: Save us, O Lord! For Thou art our God, and we know none other than Thee.

Thou didst direct all thy desire toward thy Master, and didst arm thyself against the demons, O God-bearer.

Theotokion: Still thou the constant tempest of my passions, O thou who gavest birth to the Helmsman and Lord.

Irmos: Illumine us with Thy commandments, O Lord, and with Thy lofty arm grant us Thy peace, O Lover of mankind.

O wise one, thy blood, like that of Abel, cried out to God mystically from the ground, O divinely wise one; for thou didst clearly preach the uncreated Trinity. Wherefore, O Anthimus, shining forth as a shepherd, thou didst drive off the wild beasts of the heresies, in that thou art a protector of the Faith.

Theotokion: The two most excellent and divinely called ones who lived together preached God Who was incarnate of the pure Virgin and hath shone forth ineffably upon us.

Irmos: Grant me a robe of light, O Thou Who coverest Thyself with light as with a garment, O most merciful Christ our God.

Chief among the fathers wast thou called, and thou wast an all-radiant beacon to the world, O venerable father Theoctistus. Wherefore, we honor thy memory unceasingly.

Theotokion: O Theotokos, we, the faithful, declare thee to be the temple and tabernacle of God, the animate chamber and the portal of heaven.

Irmos: I pour forth my prayer unto the Lord, and to Him do I declare my grief, for my soul is full of evil and my life hath drawn nigh unto hell, and like Jonah I pray: Lead me up from corruption, O God!

Stretching forth thine all-pure hands, O Virgin Mother, protect those who set their hope on thee and cry out to thy Son: Grant Thou Thy mercies unto all, O Christ!

Theotokion: O right gracious and godly ones, ye were attracted by the beauty of the love of Christ, Who appeared in the world in the flesh of the holy and pure Mother of God; and ye were shown to be models of the renowned life of monks.

Irmos: Once, in Babylon, the youths who had come forth from Judæa trod down the flame of the furnace with faith in the Trinity, singing: O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!

Stavrotheotokion—

Theotokion: For our salvation thou didst reveal Thyself incarnate of the Virgin’s womb. Wherefore, knowing Thy Mother to be the Theotokos, we cry out in thanksgiving: O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!

Irmos: In the furnace the Hebrew children boldly trod upon the flame and transformed the fire into dew, crying out: Blessed art Thou, O Lord God, forever!

Beholding thy Son uplifted on the Tree, O all-pure one, thy maternal womb rent apart, and thou didst cry out in grief: “Woe is me! How is it that Thou hast waned, O my timeless Light?”

Theotokion: Behold, the Virgin gave birth unto the divine Babe, acknowledging Whom as God and Lord, the God-bearers now cry out: Blessed art Thou, O Lord God, forever!

Irmos: The King of heaven, Whom the hosts of angels hymn, praise and exalt ye supremely for all ages.

Transforming packs of wolves into lambs by thy discourse, O blessed one, thou wast slain in thy body, and didst commit thy spirit to the Lord.

Theotokion: The unapproachable Light, Who dwelt within thee, O Virgin, hath shown thee to be a luminous and golden lamp forever.

Irmos: Madly did the Chaldæan tyrant heat the furnace sevenfold for the pious ones; but, beholding them saved by a higher power, he cried out to the Creator and Deliverer: Ye children, bless; ye priests, hymn; ye people, exalt Him supremely for all ages!

Thy sacrifice was pleasing unto the King of all as a savor sweet and most precious: thee who dost offer it in divine wisdom and who art brought as an offering on the arms of the iniquitous.

Theotokion: The divinely wise fasters who were planted in godly manner by the virtues, yearned to philosophize with the desire for the hypostatic ­Wisdom which appeared to the world through thee, O all-immaculate Maiden, Whom the children bless, the priests hymn, and the people exalt supremely for all ages.

Irmos: The birthgiving of the Ever-virgin, which was shown beforehand to the lawgiver in the burning bush for the salvation of us the faithful, let us magnify with unceasing hymns.

Thou wast first anointed with the oil of the priesthood, O venerable one, and later thou wast perfected by the blood of thy suffering, O father.

Theotokion: Those who oppose Thy Church, O Christ, do Thou crush with Thine arm for the sake of the Theotokos; and confirm the faithful Orthodox hierarchs, that we may magnify Thee unceasingly.

Irmos: Heaven is struck with awe, and the ends of the earth are amazed, that God hath appeared to men in the flesh, and that thy womb hath become more spacious than the heavens. Wherefore, the legions of men and angels magnify thee as Theotokos.

Thou wast shown to be a lover of the primal Wisdom, O all-wise one; for, wholly purified in soul and mind, thou didst live a blameless life, crying aloud: Glory to Thy power, O Lord!

Theotokion: O ye two divine, all-radiant and sacred fathers of godly wisdom, by your supplications ask ye that God send down peace upon the world and true oneness of mind and faith upon the Churches, through the right acceptable supplications of the Theotokos, O all-blessed ones.

Having rid thy mind of the tumult of the passions, O glorious one, and wisely set thy senses aright, thou didst hasten to undisturbed serenity, O father, diligently crying out: Glory to Thy power, O Lord!

Shaking off earthly grief through abstinence, the divine Theoctistus, Thy favored one, O Master, acquired heavenly hope, crying out with Euthymius: Glory to Thy power, O Lord!

Thou didst offer the unbloody sacrifice unto the Lord, and through thy blood didst bring thyself to Him as fruit, O Anthimus.

The divine Spirit enlightened thee, O hierarch; wherefore, we celebrate thine all-glorious memory.

Thy divine tongue dripped salvation, and the stream of thy blood dripped spiritual joy.

Mortify our presumption and the uprisings of our flesh, O Thou Who lovest mankind, through the right acceptable supplications of Thy venerable one.

Thou lookest down upon us from on high, O most blessed one, and settest aright the life of us who keep thy memory with love, O wise one.

Thou didst baptize thy people with water and the Holy Ghost, as thou thyself wast baptized; and thou wast again baptized in thy blood, O father.

Choice and precious as a branch of the vine of life, thou hast produced a multitude of fruit for thy Master, O most blessed one.

Cease not to make entreaties to Christ for thy flock, O blessed one, setting forth thy blood as supplication.

Thou didst shine forth upon those who are on earth like the sun, illumining them with the light of purity, emitting the radiance of the virtues, and teaching the splendors of chastity. And now, O Theoctistus, bring peace to the whole world by thy prayers.

Having been blessed with divinely wise thought, thou didst vanquish all things on earth, and didst prefer a heavenly inheritance, O all-blessed Theoctistus; and now thou manifestly livest in the heavens, rejoicing.

Having lived piously among priests and finished the path of martyrdom, thou didst extinguish the immolations of the idolaters, being a champion for thy flock, O divinely wise one. Wherefore, it now honoreth thee, mystically crying out: By thy supplications deliver us from misfortunes, O ever-memorable Anthimus.

Ikos: Bestowing divine knowledge upon me, by thy supplications dispel the gloom of ignorance from my heart, that I may faithfully hymn thy holy memory, whereon the angelic choirs are divinely gladdened today, and men fittingly crown thy head with hymns of praise as with flowers, asking to receive from thee remission of their offenses, release from the evils of life, and to be delivered from enemies, visible and invisible, by thy prayers, O Anthimus, our father.

Thy sacrifice was shown to be good and rich, O all-blessed Anthimus; for, offering up the unbloody sacrifice, thou didst offer thyself to the Master Himself with blood, crying out: O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!

Having shepherded and been shepherded, thou didst derive wealth from both, O father; and safeguarding this, thou didst preserve it with the seal of martyrdom, chanting unto Christ: O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!

Thou didst theologize concerning the nature of the Hypostases in the Church of the faithful, and, slain by the judgment of the unjust before it, O God-bearer, thou didst chant: O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!

Having cleaved to thy Master with all thy desire and with steadfast abstinence, thou art now sustained by His splendors, crying out: Blessed art Thou, O Lord God, forever!

Thou didst offer thy life to the Master as a divine fruit, a pleasing and unblemished sacrifice, O thrice-blessed one, crying out: Blessed art Thou, O Lord God, forever!

Thou didst find the end of sickness and the delight which is in paradise, O father; for, through the narrow way thou didst attain unto the broad expanse of the kingdom, O most wise one, blessing Christ forever.

O ye faithful, let us be glad on the day of the commemoration of the right glorious hieromartyr, crying out: Thee do we exalt supremely, O Christ, forever!

Beholding a hierarch fittingly adorned with the crown of martyrdom, we hymn the Lord and exalt Him supremely forever.

Let us honor the favorite of the Trinity, who shed his blood for His sake, hymning and exalting the Lord supremely for all ages.

Thy memorial is celebrated place with praises , O God-bearer; for thou wast shown to be a nurturer of righteousness, courage, wisdom and chastity, O wise father, crying out to the Creator and Deliverer: Ye children, bless; ye priests, hymn; ye people, exalt Him supremely for all ages!

With godly praises let us honor the God-bearer as one manifestly full of grace and enlightened thoroughly with divine splendors, who crieth out to the Creator and Deliverer: Ye children, bless; ye priests, hymn; ye people, exalt Him supremely for all ages!

Thou wast shown to be a faithful shepherd of thy sheep, and didst bring thyself as a lamb to sacrifice to the Shepherd, and didst receive twofold glory. Wherefore, honoring thee, we call thee blessed.

Depicting thy lineaments with abstinence in hues of piety, O all-blessed one, thou didst show thy soul to be truly according to the image of God, O blessed one.

Preserving thy traditions inviolate and honoring thy suffering, O father, with unceasing hymns we piously bless the Trinity in the One Nature of the Godhead.

Cleansed by the streams of thy tears, thou now delightest in the thrice-radiant Light, O Theoctistus; standing manifestly before It and illumined thoroughly with the rays emitted thereby, thou lookest down from on high upon us who keep thy memory, O most blessed one.

Armed with love and hope and protected with faith, thou didst set at naught the artifices and wiles of the enemy; and, as a crowned victor, thou now livest with the divine choirs of the angels and the venerable, around the throne of the King of all.

Having lived chastely, righteously and piously with men on earth, O divinely wise faster, ye shine in the heavens with the ranks of the incorporeal ones, delighting in the radiance of the Godhead, from whence, as victors, ye have rightly received crowns for your struggles.

O city of Nicomedia, rejoicing, bring forth today a choir for the annual commemoration of thy good shepherd, and leap for joy, having a watchman preserving thee who is greater than the bane of the enemy.

With the apostles, entreat thy Son and Lord, O Theotokos, that He have mercy upon all who hymn and glorify thee, who honor thee in thine icons, venerating and kissing them lovingly, as is meet.

At the Aposticha, the stichera from the Octoechos, and Glory..., the composition of Ephraim of Karyes, in Tone IV—

With the great city of Nicomedia all cities and lands celebrate today on the commemoration of its honored citizen; for the ends of the earth clap their hands, making merry on the present festival of the hieromartyr. And we, weaving wreaths of hymns as flowers, cry out to him: Rejoice, O good shepherd, who laid down thy life for thy sheep, thou sacrifice and sacrificer, priest and lamb! To thee do we pray, together with those who suffered with thee: O Anthimus, entreat Christ to deliver thy flock from alien wolves and to vouchsafe them to dwell with thee in the fold of heaven.

The all-pure one, seeing Christ, Who loveth mankind, crucified, His side pierced with a spear, cried out, weeping: “What is this, O my Son? How have the thankless people rewarded Thee for the good works which Thou didst accomplish for them? And wilt Thou leave me childless, O most Beloved? I marvel at Thy voluntary crucifixion, O Compassionate One!”