Also on The 20th Day of the MONTH OF APRIL

Commemoration of Our Venerable Father

Theodore Trichinas

AT VESPERS

On “Lord, I have cried…”, these stichera, in Tone VIII: Spec. Mel.: “O all-glorious wonder…”—

O venerable father Theodore, thou didst offer thyself as a choice gift unto God, having acquired all-night vigilance and compunction, divine instruction, utter humility, hope, faith and undiluted love, watchfulness and loving-kindness, true dispassion and prayer, which showed thee to be a most radiant pillar of light.

O venerable father Theodore, seeking with pious mind to clothe thyself in the vesture of truth and the raiment of salvation, thou didst never cease to cover thy body with rags of sackcloth; and thus, strengthened by the power of the divine Spirit, thou didst lay bare the wiles of him who stripped us naked.

Being poor in spirit, thou didst bring thyself as a living sacrifice, an acceptable wholeburnt offering and a precious gift, O most blessed one, to God Who assumed our flesh from the Virgin Mother and beggared Himself for our sake. Wherefore, thou hast received heavenly delight. Pray thou ever to Him, we beseech thee, that He have mercy upon us.

Glory…, Now & ever…: Theotokion—

The preëternal God, receiving flesh through thy blood, showed thee to be an intercessor for men, O pure one. Wherefore, deliver thy servants from all misfortune and every evil circumstance, and from the snares of the wicked enemy, and vouchsafe that all who glorify and do thee homage may share in the splendor of the elect.

Stavrotheotokion—

Beholding Thee crucified upon the Cross, O Jesus, accepting suffering willingly, Thy Virgin Mother cried out: “Woe is me, O Master, my sweet Child! How is it that Thou dost unjustly endure wounds, O Physician Who hast healed the weakness of men and delivered all from corruption by Thy loving-kindness?”

AT MATINS

Canon of the venerable one, in Tone II—

Ode I

Irmos: Overwhelming power once laid low the whole army of Pharaoh in the deep, and the incarnate Word hath destroyed pernicious sin. All-glorious is the Lord, for gloriously hath He been glorified.

Enriched with divine gifts, thou didst offer thyself to the Creator as a priceless gift, O father; wherefore, impart grace to my thoughts, for I praise thy radiant memory and thine angelic life today.

Nurtured with divine beauty, with fasting thou didst take thy cross upon thy shoulder, O blessed Theodore, and, mortifying thy bodily passions, thou didst follow after Him Who for thy sake had endured voluntary crucifixion.

Arraying thyself mightily against the enemy, and armed with the sword of the Cross, O father, having humbled thyself and been exalted in wisdom, thou didst bring him low. Wherefore, thou wast shown to be a victor and a peer of the saints.

Theotokion: Saved for thy sake, O Virgin, with hymns we bless and honor thee as the Mother of God, all-immaculate among women; and together we cry: Rejoice, O cause of our first parents’ restoration!

Ode III

Irmos: The desert, the barren Church of the nations, blossomed like a lily at Thine advent, O Lord; and therein hath my heart been established.

Thou didst blossom like a fragrant rose in the bed of abstinence, O venerable and all-glorious one, perfuming our hearts with thy godly life.

Made strong by the might of the Savior, thou didst tread the narrow, hard and difficult path, O glorious one, and didst attain unto the summit of Sion on high.

Thy tomb is seen pouring forth fragrant myrrh by grace, O venerable and sacred father, and it proclaimeth that thou wast the sweet ­fragrance of God.

Theotokion: Thy womb became the bridal-chamber of immortality, from whence the Lord and Bridegroom, shining forth, gathered to Himself the choir of the venerable, O all-pure Virgin.

Sessional hymn, in Tone IV: Spec. Mel.: “Having been lifted up…”—

Approaching the Pure One with frequent supplications, in that thou wast pure, O Theodore, thou wast sanctified by the Spirit; hence, dwelling now with the angels, thou dost chant the thrice-holy hymn to the Master of all. Wherefore, entreat Christ, O venerable one, that He have mercy on those who honor thee with love.

Glory…, Now & ever…: Theotokion—

After God it is to thy divine protection that I, the lowly, flee; and, falling down, I pray: have mercy, O all-pure Mistress, for my sins have passed over my head, and I fear the torments and tremble. Make supplication to thy Son, O pure one, that He deliver me therefrom.

Stavrotheotokion—

She who gave Thee birth in the flesh, O Christ, Who wast begotten of the unoriginate Father, beholding Thee hanging upon the Cross, cried out: “Woe is me, O most beloved Jesus! How is it that Thou, O my Son, Who art glorified as God by the angels, art now crucified of Thine own will by iniquitous men? I hymn Thee, O Long-suffering One!”

Ode IV

Irmos: Thou didst come forth from the Virgin, neither a mediator nor an angel, but Thyself incarnate, O Lord, and hast saved me, the whole man; wherefore, I cry to thee: Glory to Thy power, O Lord!

With frequent wounds of abstinence thou didst wound the passions of Egypt, O Theodore, and thou hast guided to the land of heaven those who piously and venerably follow thee.

With the embroidery of the virtues, O Theodore, thou didst fashion for thyself vesture pleasing and most pure, and having arrayed thyself therein, thou hast entered into the bridal-chamber on high.

Thy body fallen in through desiccation, thou didst labor to cover thy flesh with hair-cloth, O Theodore; wherefore, noetic gladness shone forth upon thee through the divine Spirit.

Theotokion: At the dread hour, O all-pure and immaculate one, save and deliver me who am condemned, and rescue me from Gehenna, that I may bless and honor thee as is meet.

Ode V

Irmos: O Lord, Bestower of light and Creator of the ages: guide us in the light of Thy commandments, for we know none other God than Thee.

Having taken up the angelic life on earth, O venerable and divinely wise Theodore, by fasting and all manner of affliction thou didst kill the uprisings of the passions.

Ever contemplating the hour of judgment, rising early thou didst drive from thy soul the sleep of despondency, adorned with divine love.

Loving the mansions on high as a true monk, thou didst raise up on the earth houses for monastics; and having been established therein by thee, they honor thee, O venerable one.

Theotokion: Thou alone gavest birth to the Creator and Lord of all, the hypostatic Life, O all-pure one; and loving Him, the multitude of venerable fathers lived in holiness.

Ode VI

Irmos: Whirled about in the abyss of sin, I call upon the unfathomable abyss of Thy loving-kindness: Lead me up from corruption, O God!

Illumined by more exalted visions, thou didst strip thy soul bare of all earthly attachments, O Theodore, and thou didst rest in God with unceasing instructions.

All on earth have been enlightened by the splendor of thy radiant life, O blessed one, and they proclaim thee to be the brilliant star of the Sun of the East.

Oppressed by frost and freezing cold, thou didst warm thyself with thy yearnings for God, O Theodore, and didst dispel the winter of the passions with divine fervor.

Theotokion: The comely Word loved thee as one beautiful and comely, O pure one, and made His abode within thy womb, for the deliverance of us, the faithful.

Kontakion, in Tone IV: Spec. Mel.: “Thou hast appeared today…”—

Thou hast been shown to be all-wondrous in life, O wise father Theodore, and changing thy rags of haircloth, which are more precious than royal treasure on earth, in their stead thou didst receive heavenly vesture. Pray thou ever in our behalf, O venerable one.

Ode VII

Irmos: The command of the iniquitous tyrant, opposed to God, raised up a lofty flame; but Christ, Who is blessed and all-glorious, spread a spiritual dew upon the pious youths.

Thou becamest fragrant through thy virtuous vows, O Theodore, and from thy precious relics thou pourest forth fragrant myrrh upon us who honor thee with faith, O venerable one, perfuming our hearts.

Like an innocent lamb pastured on the meadow of abstinence, O venerable one, thou madest thine abode in the fold of heaven, where thou rejoicest with the Chief Shepherd. Wherefore, be thou ever mindful of thy sheep.

As a torch of valor set alight by the fire of the divine Spirit, with the drops of thy tears thou didst quench the furnace which burned thy body, O sacred father, and thou hast become a light for those in darkness.

Theotokion: The bush wrapped in fire yet in nowise consumed prefigured thee, O all-immaculate one; for thou didst bear the fire of the Godhead, Who preserved thee unconsumed and an incorrupt virgin even after giving birth, O pure one.

Ode VIII

Irmos: God, Who descended into the fiery furnace for the Hebrew children and transformed the flame into dew, hymn ye as Lord, O ye works, and exalt Him supremely for all ages!

With the flow of thy tears thou didst wash away the defilement of thy soul, and thou hast inherited a torrent of sustenance and the land of the meek, O venerable one, in that thou wast meek and guileless, and manifestly adorned with righteousness.

Ever illumined by directing thy gaze toward God, unopposed thou didst rout passionate thoughts and all the darkness of thy body, O father, and thou hast passed over to the light of dispassion.

That thou mightest approach thy true desire, thou didst show thyself to be an humble-minded, long-suffering and truly merciful ascetic, covering thyself with rags of haircloth, and stripping away the deception of the demons.

Theotokion: Adorned with the beauties of the virtues, and arrayed in robes embroidered with gold, O Virgin, thou gavest birth to the Word Who is more beautiful than all the children of men. Him do the multitude of the venerable hymn forever.

Ode IX

Irmos: God the Lord, the Son of the unoriginate Father, hath revealed Himself to us incarnate of the Virgin, to enlighten those in darkness and to gather the dispersed. Wherefore, we magnify the all-hymned Theotokos.

Having crucified thy flesh with the fear of thy Master, thou didst die to the world, O father Theodore; and now, rejoicing, thou hast passed over to the life of the living, deified by communion and ever filled with light, O thrice-blessed one.

Today we celebrate thy divine memory, a day of festivity, full of holiness; for thou hast truly been shown to be a child of the light and the day, and thou livest, rejoicing, in never-waning light.

O radiant beacon, namesake of the gifts of God, lamp of divine radiance, never-waning effulgence, phial of the virtues and steadfast pillar of monastics: by thy supplications deliver thy flock from all tribulation.

Theotokion: Thy womb became the dwelling-place of the Light Who hath illumined the world with rays of divinity, O portal of the Sun of glory, most joyous among women, boast of the venerable, O most holy and all-blessed Virgin.