Canon I of the Theotokos, the composition of John of Damascus, in Tone II—

Exapostilarion—

Irmos: Come, ye people, let us chant a hymn to Christ God, Who divided the sea and guided the people whom He had led forth from the bondage of Egypt, for He hath been glorified.

Katavasia: Tracing an upright line with his staff, Moses divided the Red Sea for Israel which was traveling 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.

Kontakion, in Tone IV—

Sessional hymn, in Tone IV: Spec. Mel.: “Joseph marvelled…”—

On the Praises, 4 stichera, in Tone I: Spec. Mel.: “O wondrous miracle!…”—

Theotokion: Who hath seen a Babe fed with milk Whom a father hath now sown? Or where hath there been seen a Mother who is a Virgin? Truly past understanding are both of these things, O pure Theotokos.

Come, ye faithful, and, rejoicing with divine spirit, let us honor with hymns the Ever-virgin Maiden who today hath issued forth from a barren woman for the salvation of men.

Irmos: To Him Who crushed battles with His arm and led Israel across the Red Sea, let us chant, as to God our Deliverer, for gloriously hath He been glorified.

Katavasia: The rod of Aaron is taken to be an image of the mystery, for by its budding forth it chose one priest over others; and for the Church, which before was barren, the tree of the Cross hath now budded forth, for her might and confirmation.

O wondrous miracle! The wellspring of Life is born of the barren woman, and grace beginneth to produce splendid fruit. Be glad, O Joachim, as thou art the father of the Theotokos! There is none to compare with thee among mortal parents, O God-pleaser! For the Maiden who contained God, the divine dwelling-place, the all-holy mountain, hath been given to us by thee! Twice

Theotokion: O pure Theotokos, who gavest birth unto the Bestower of light, the Author of man’s life, thou hast been shown to be the treasure of our life and the portal of Light unapproachable.

Rejoice, O pure one, Mother and handmaid of Christ God, mediatress of our primal blessedness! All of us, the human race, glorify thee with hymns, as is meet.

Irmos: Establish us in thee, O Lord Who hast slain sin by the Tree, and plant the fear of Thee in the hearts of us who hymn Thee.

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

O wondrous miracle! Fruit hath shone forth from the barren woman at the behest of the Almighty Creator of all. She hath boldly loosed the barrenness of the world. Ye mothers, join chorus with the mother of the Theotokos, crying: O joyous one, rejoice! The Lord is with thee, Who through thee granteth the world great mercy!

Theotokion: The all-unoriginate Origin receiveth a beginning from thee in the flesh and in time, O Theotokos, and He remaineth equally the unoriginate and incarnate Word of the Father, equally everlasting with the Spirit, maintaining His divine dignity.

Today is the bridge of life born, through which men have attained restoration after their fall into hades, glorifying Christ, the Bestower of life, with hymns.

Irmos: My heart is established in the Lord; my horn is exalted in my God; my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies. I am glad in Thy salvation.

Katavasia: O thrice-blessed Tree, whereon the King and Lord was crucified, and whereby he who beguiled mankind by the tree did fall! He was beguiled by thee, when God was nailed in the flesh, Who granteth peace unto our souls!

The right glorious Anna, who is shown forth as an animate pillar of chastity, a splendid receptacle shining with grace, hath truly given birth to the bulwark of virginity, the divine flower who manifestly imparteth the beauty of virginity to all the virginal who desire the gift of virginity, and bestoweth great mercy upon all the faithful.

Theotokion: Thy womb becameth the chariot of the Sun; thy purity remained intact as before, O Virgin; for Christ the Sun appeared from thee like a Bridegroom from a bridal chamber.

Let all creation join chorus, and let David be glad, for from his tribe and seed hath come forth as a flower the rod which beareth the Lord, the Creator of all.

Irmos: I have heard report of Thy dispensation, O Lord, and have glorified Thee Who alone lovest mankind.

Katavasia: Stretching forth his arms in the form of a cross in the belly of the sea monster, Jonah clearly prefigured the saving Passion. And, issuing forth after three days, he foreshadowed the transcendent resurrection of Christ God, Who was nailed in the flesh and enlightened the world by His rising on the third day.

Glory…, Now & ever…, idiomelon, in Tone VI—

Theotokion: Thou wast a golden candlestick, O pure Theotokos, for in thy womb the Fire made His abode: the Word from the Holy Spirit; and He became visible in thee in human form.

The Holy of holies is placed in the holy sanctuary as a babe, to be fed by the hands of angels. Let us all, therefore, faithfully keep festival together on her nativity.

Irmos: With noetic eyes the Prophet Habbakuk foresaw Thy coming, O Lord; wherefore he cried aloud: “God shall come out of Thæman!” Glory to Thy power! Glory to Thy condescension!

Katavasia: The mad command of the impious tyrant, breathing forth threats and blasphemy hateful to God, cast the people into confusion. Yet the three children feared not the fury of the wild beasts, nor the roaring blaze; but, in the midst of the fire, when the dew-bearing wind blew upon it, they sang: O all-hymned God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!

This is the day of the Lord! Rejoice, O ye people! For, lo! the bridal-chamber of the Light and the book of the Word of life hath issued forth from the womb, and the portal which faceth toward the east, having been born, awaiteth the entry of the great High Priest. She alone leadeth the one Christ into the world, for the salvation of our souls.

Theotokion: Most gloriously didst thou alone give birth unto God, O Virgin. By thy nativity thou hast renewed nature, O Mary. Thou hast released Eve from the primeval curse, O pure Theotokos.

Anna was barren and unable to give birth, yet she was not childless in God’s eyes; for, lo! she hath become known by all generations as the mother of the pure Virgin, from whom the Creator of nature hath sprung forth in the guise of a servant.

Irmos: Having destroyed the shadowy darkness of indistinct images and illumined the hearts of the faithful by the coming of the Truth through the divine Maiden, O Christ, guide us by Thy light.

Katavasia: O children equal in number to the Trinity: bless ye God, the Father and Creator; hymn ye the Word Who came down and transformed the fire into dew; and the all-holy Spirit, Who giveth life unto all, exalt ye supremely forever!

Theotokion: O report most new! God becometh the Son of a woman! O seedless birthgiving! A Mother without a husband, a begotten God! O awesome sight! O, the strange conception of the Virgin! O ineffable nativity, truly past all understanding and contemplation!

With hymns we all honor thee, the innocent ewe-lamb who hast been born of Anna and who through thy womb brought the Lamb Christ into our nature.

Irmos: Grant us peace, O Lord our God. O Lord our God, take us for Thy possession. O Lord, we know none other than Thee; we call upon Thy name.

As katavasia, we chant here both irmoi of Ode IX of the canon of the Exaltation of the Cross —

Theotokion: Within thy womb, O Mother, thou didst contain One of the Trinity: Christ the King, Whom all creation doth hymn and before Whom the ranks of heaven tremble. Him do thou entreat, O most pure one, that our souls be saved.

Triadicon: I glorify the three Unoriginate Ones, I hymn the three Holy Ones, I proclaim the three equally Everlasting Ones to be of a single Essence; for the one God is glorified in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Irmos: From the belly of the sea monster, Jonah cried out: Lead me up from the abyss of hell, I pray, that with a spirit of truth and in a voice of praise I may sacrifice to Thee, as to my Deliverer!

Having lived blamelessly for God, ye gave birth unto the salvation of all, O divinely wise parents of her who gave birth to our Creator and God.

Irmos: Like the waters of the sea am I tossed about by the waves of life, O Thou Who lovest mankind. Wherefore, like Jonah I cry to Thee: Lead up my life from corruption, O compassionate Lord!

From a barren woman did the Lord, Who poureth forth life upon all, cause the Virgin to come forth, in whom He was pleased to make His abode, preserving her incorrupt even after giving birth.

Irmos: The fiery bush on the mount and the dew-bearing furnace of Chaldæa manifestly prefigured thee, O Bride of God; for in thy material womb thou didst receive the divine and immaterial Fire without being consumed. Wherefore, to Him Who was born of thee do we chant: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!

Let us hymn Mary today as the Theotokos, the fruit of Anna, the intercessor and helper of all, who gave birth to the life-bearing Cluster.

Irmos: The Chaldæan furnace, burning with fire, was bedewed by the Spirit through the presence of God; and the children chanted: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!

O all-pure Virgin Theotokos, thou hast been shown to be higher than all creation, having given birth in the flesh to the Creator.

Irmos: Thou didst once prefigure Thy Mother in the furnace of the children, O Lord; for her image drew from the fire those who entered it, without being consumed. We hymn and exalt her supremely for all ages, who through Thee hath been made manifest today to the ends of the earth.

Blessed is thy womb, O chaste Anna, for thou didst pour forth the fruit of virginity who gave birth without seed to Jesus the Deliverer, the Nurturer of creation.

Irmos: O Thou Who coverest Thy chambers with waters and settest the sands as a bound for the sea: Thee doth the sun hymn; Thee doth the moon glorify; and unto Thee doth all creation offer a hymn forever, as to the Creator of all.

O Ever-virgin, all creation calleth thee blessed who hast been born today of Anna as the rod sprung forth from the root of Jesse, who put forth Christ as an all-pure Bloom.

Irmos: Thee do we magnify, O blessed and most pure Theotokos, who through thy virginal womb ineffably didst make God incarnate, the Luminary Who shone forth before the sun and hath come to us in the flesh.

Showing thee to be more exalted than all creation, O pure Theotokos, thy Son magnifieth thy birth from Anna and gladdeneth all today.

Before the irmos and troparia of Canon II, we chant this refrain:

Triadicon: We worship Thee, O Father unoriginate in essence, we hymn Thy timeless Son, and we honor Thy Spirit Who is equally everlasting: as God three in Hypostases but one in Essence.

Irmos: Foreign to mothers is virginity, and strange is childbirth to virgins; yet both were accomplished in thee, O Theotokos. Wherefore, all of us, the peoples of the world, magnify thee unceasingly.

Like a cloud of light hath the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos, truly shone forth upon us today, and she cometh forth from the righteous ones for our glory. No longer is Adam condemned, and Eve is freed from her bonds. Wherefore, we exclaim, crying aloud with boldness to her who alone is pure: Thy nativity announceth joy to the whole world!

Glory…, Now & ever…: The foregoing is repeated.

We hymn Thee, O Lord, Who hast given unto all, as a haven of salvation, her who gaveth birth to Thee.

Christ hath revealed thee, O Bride of God, to all who with faith hymn thy mystery as their boast and might.

Delivered from transgressions by thy supplications, O Mistress who knewest not wedlock, we all bless thee with a good understanding.

The Patriarch Jacob, clearly foreseeing the mighty works of Thy dispensation, O Savior, cried out in the Spirit, saying mystically to Judah: “From the tender plant thou art gone up, O my Son!”, referring to Thee, O God, Who wast born of the Virgin.

Now the pure Virgin, the rod of Aaron which sprung forth from the root of David, cometh forth from Anna, and heaven and earth and all the nations of the gentiles mystically join chorus together with Anna and Joachim.

Let heaven now be glad; let the earth rejoice! And let Joachim and David join chorus: the one as the father of thee who truly gavest birth to God, and the other as thine ancestor who proclaimed thy mighty deeds, O pure one.

The whole world rejoiceth with thee today, O divinely wise Anna; for thou hast budded forth the Mother of its Deliverer, she who from the root of David put forth for us the rod of strength which beareth Christ as a flower.

Triadicon: I glorify God, the unoriginate Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the consubstantial, uncreated Trinity, before Whom the seraphim stand with reverence, crying aloud: Holy, Holy, Holy art Thou, O God!

O ye people, let us hymn the cause of the Cause of all, Who became like unto us. For the prophets, counted worthy to behold her image, rejoiced, bringing forth the fruit of manifest salvation through her.

The budding forth of the dry rod of the priest showed forth the destiny of Israel; and now the most glorious offspring of the barren woman most gloriously shineth forth the splendor of those who gave rise to her.

Thy nativity is all-pure, O immaculate Virgin, thy conception is ineffable, and thy birthgiving unutterable, O Bride unwedded; for God hath clad Himself in all of me.

Let the angelic ranks be glad; let the descendants of Adam join chorus; for the rod hath been born which put forth as flower Christ alone, our Deliverer.

Today the condemnation of Eve is lifted in thy nativity, the barrenness of Anna is loosed, and Adam is freed from the ancient curse; for by thee have we been delivered from corruption.

Glory to Thee Who hast glorified the barren woman today! For, according to the promise, she gave birth unto the flowering rod from whence Christ, the Flower of our life, hath budded forth.

Triadicon: Glory to Thee, O holy Father, unbegotten God! Glory to Thee, O timeless and only-begotten Son! Glory to Thee, O Spirit divine and equally enthroned, Who proceedest from the Father and restest in the Son!

The divinely wise parents of the Mother of God cried out to the Lord in grief over their barrenness; and they gave birth to her, our common boast and salvation for generations of generations.

The divinely wise parents of the Mother of God received a gift worthy of heaven from God, for she is a chariot more highly exalted than the cherubim, the Mother of the Word and Creator.

Thy chaste parents placed thee, who art the Holy of holies, in the temple of the Lord, O pure one, to be raised with honor and prepared to become His Mother.

Join chorus, ye barren women and mothers! Be of good cheer and leap up, O ye childless! For a childless and barren woman buddeth forth the Theotokos who delivereth Eve from her birth pangs and Adam from the curse.

I hearken to David who singeth to thee: “The virgins that follow after thee shall be brought into the temple of the King. And with him I also hymn thee, the daughter of the King.”

We hymn thy holy nativity and honor thine immaculate conception, O divinely chosen Bride and Virgin. And with us the ranks of angels and the souls of the saints glorify thee.

Triadicon: In thee, O pure one, is the mystery of the Trinity hymned and glorified; for the Father was well pleased, and the Word made His abode within thee, and the divine Spirit overshadowed thee.

In thy holy nativity, O all-pure one, Joachim and Anna are freed from the reproach of childlessness, and Adam and Eve from mortal corruption. And, delivered from the affliction of sin, thy people celebrate it, crying out to thee: A barren woman giveth birth to the Theotokos, the nourisher of our Life!

Ikos: The supplication of Joachim over his childlessness, together with the sighing of Anna over her barrenness, were right acceptable to God: they entered the ears of the Lord and brought forth life-bearing fruit for the world. For the one made supplication on the mountain, and the other bore her reproach in the garden; and with joy the barren woman giveth birth to the Theotokos, the nourisher of our Life.

Once, the transmitter of the law was prevented from understanding thy great mystery in material manifestations, O all-pure one, though instructed through images not to think earthly thoughts. Wherefore, marvelling at the wonder, he said: Blessed is the God of our fathers!

In godly manner the divine choir called thee beforehand the mountain and portal of heaven and the noetic ladder; for from thee was the Stone cut without the aid of man’s hands, and thou art the door through which passed the Lord of wonders, the God of our fathers.

We celebrate and bow down with faith before thy holy nativity, O pure one, honoring thy Son, by Whom we have now been delivered from the ancient condemnation of Adam.

Now Anna maketh merry and, rendering praise, crieth out: Though barren, I have given birth unto the Mother of God, for whose sake the condemnation of Eve, to give birth in pain and grief, hath been loosed!

Adam hath been freed and Eve danceth; and they cry out to thee in spirit, O Theotokos: Through thee have we been delivered from the primeval curse with the appearance of Christ!

O the womb which contained the dwelling-place of God! O the womb which bore her who is more spacious than the heavens, the holy throne, the noetic ark of sanctification!

Triadicon: We glorify the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in the unity of the Godhead, the all-holy Trinity, indivisible, uncreated, equally everlasting and consubstantial.

Now the foreordained tabernacle of our reconciliation to God, who is to give birth to the Word Who hath manifested Himself to us in the coarseness of our flesh, beginneth her existence. Him do we, who have been brought into existence by Him out of nonexistence, hymn and exalt supremely for all ages.

The reversal of Anna’s barrenness hath loosed the world’s lack of good things, and hath plainly shown forth a miracle: Christ, Who hath come to mortal men. Him do we, who have been brought into existence by Him out of nonexistence, hymn and exalt supremely for all ages.

Thou, O holy God, Who wrought most glorious things through the barren womb, Who opened the childless womb of Anna and gave her fruit, Thou, O Son of the Virgin, hast received flesh from her, the ever-flourishing Virgin and Theotokos.

Thou, O Lord, Who closest the abyss and openest it, Who raisest water to the clouds and givest the rain, hast given the holy Anna to bud forth and give birth unto the all-pure fruit, the Theotokos, out of a barren root.

O Cultivator of our thoughts, Planter of our souls, Who hast shown forth barren earth as right fruitful, Thou hast made the holy Anna, a field which before was dry, to become burgeoning, right fertile and fruitful, giving rise to the Theotokos, the all-pure fruit.

Come ye all, let us gaze upon the city of God born as from a little chamber, which issueth forth from the gate of Anna’s womb, yet hath no knowledge of the entry, for the one God and Creator issued forth by this strange path.

Triadicon: O transcendent Trinity, unoriginate Unity, the multitude of angels hymneth and trembleth before Thee; heaven and earth are in awe of Thee; men bless Thee, and fire serveth Thee as a slave. Everything in creation submitteth to Thee with fear, O holy Trinity.

He Who poured forth water from the stone for the rebellious people, through the womb of a barren woman giveth to us, the right submissive nations, the fruit of gladness: thee, O all-pure Mother of God, whom we magnify as is meet.

Thee, O Theotokos, do we magnify, who hast removed the ancient and precipitous condemnation: the restoration of our first mother, the cause of the reconciliation of our race to God, the bridge to the Creator.

Magnify, O my soul, the Virgin Mary who hath been born of the barren woman!

Thou hast received a nativity worthy of thy purity, O Mother of God; for, according to the promise, thou wast given to the barren one as a fruit springing forth divinely. Wherefore, all of us, the peoples of the earth, unceasingly magnify thee.

Fulfilled is the prophecy of him whom crieth, for he saith: I shall raise up the tabernacle of sacred David which is fallen, which was a foretype of thee, O pure one, through whom the dust of all men hath been fashioned into a body for God.

We venerate thy swaddling clothes, O Theotokos. We glorify Him Who gave fruit to her who before was barren, and Who most gloriously opened the womb of her who was unable to give birth. For as God with complete authority, He doeth all things soever He desireth.

To thee, O Theotokos who wast born of Anna, do we faithfully offer up hymnody as a gift, mothers and virgins glorifying thee as the only Mother and Virgin; and we bow down before thee and hymn and glorify thee.

Triadicon: Strange is it for the iniquitous to glorify the unoriginate Trinity: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the uncreated omnipotent Principle, by Whom the whole world is sustained by the hand of His might.

O Theotokos, thou art a mystical paradise, which, untilled, did put forth Christ, by Whom the life-bearing tree of the Cross was planted. Wherefore, worshipping it as it is now raised aloft, we magnify thee.

Death, which came upon our race through the eating of the tree, hath been abolished by the Cross today; for the curse of our first mother, which fell upon us all, hath been annulled through the Offspring of the pure Mother of God, whom all the hosts of heaven magnify.

Today the Theotokos doth issue forth like a flower from barren Anna, instilling all the ends of the world with divine fragrance, filling all creation with joy. Hymning her, we praise her as is meet, as the one who is more exalted than all mortals. Twice

Glory…, Now & ever…:

Be thou renewed, O Adam! Be thou magnified, O Eve! Join ye chorus with the apostles and the righteous! For Mary the Theotokos, the common joy of angels and men, hath shone forth today from the righteous Joachim and Anna.

Great Doxology. Troparion. Litanies. Dismissal. First Hour.