The 3rd Day of the MONTH OF JULY

Commemoration of the Holy Martyr Hyacinth

AT VESPERS

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

The chosen Chief Cornerstone hath been set up in Sion, the immovable Foundation whereon the ranks of the martyrs have founded themselves. With them doth the victorious Hyacinth shine with heavenly luster. O Thine ineffable loving-kindness, O Master! Thereby, O Christ, save Thou our souls, in that Thou alone art merciful.

Thou wast let fly through Jerusalem, the splendid city of God, like a stone dyed with blood, clad in the purple robe of suffering. And now thou hast manifestly prayed, joining chorus and rejoicing. By thy supplications save those who celebrate thine all-glorious and sacred memory, O all-blessed one.

Possessed of right acceptable boldness before Christ the Master, as an invincible martyr, and His well-given ear as a lawful athlete, cease not in thine entreaties, O right wondrous one, delivering from temptations and evil circumstances those who, keeping thy memory, hymn thee faithfully.

Glory…, Now & ever…: Theotokion —

The preëternal God, receiving flesh through thy blood, hath shown thee to be an intercessor for men, O pure one. Wherefore, deliver thy servants from every misfortune and evil circumstance, and from the wiles of the wicked enemy. And vouchsafe that all who glorify and bow down before thee may receive a share of the splendor of the elect.

Stavrotheotokion —

“What is this sight which mine eyes behold, O Master? Lifted up upon a tree, Thou Who sustaineth all creation dost die, granting life unto all,” weeping, the Theotokos said when she saw the God and Man Who ineffably shone forth from her suspended upon the Cross.

Troparion, in Tone IV —

In his suffering, O Lord, Thy martyr Hyacinth received an imperishable crown from Thee, our God; for, possessed of Thy might, he set at nought the tormenters and crushed the feeble audacity of the demons. By his supplications save Thou our souls.

AT MATINS

Canon, the acrostic whereof is: “I hymn thee as a brilliant stone, O martyr”, in Tone VIII —

Ode I

Irmos: Having traversed the water as though it were dry land, and escaped the evil of Egypt, the Israelite cried aloud: Let us chant unto our Deliverer and God!

Upon thee, the precious stone of the Church of God, who shone with the splendor of martyrdom, do I now call for help in singing thy praises.

Forsaking earthly glory, thou didst inherit the glory of heaven, O glorious and crowned martyr, who art ever with the Master of all.

Valiantly opposing falsehood, O martyred athlete, thou didst display courage of mind for Christ, though thou wast young of age.

Theotokion: The Creator of all, making His abode within thy womb, O Mother of God, became incarnate for the salvation of man, taking on human substance for our sake.

Ode III

Irmos: Thou art the confirmation of those who have recourse to Thee, O Lord; Thou art the light of the benighted; and my spirit doth hymn Thee.

Though a youth, O wise martyr of Christ, thou wast shown to possess a mature understanding and to be adorned with wisdom.

Speedily running the course of martyrdom, thou didst attain the martyrs’ valor and crown of honor.

Theotokion: By thy supplications, O joyous one, guide thou to the entrance of heaven those who piously hold thee to be the Theotokos.

Sessional hymn, in Tone III: Spec. Mel.: “Of the divine Faith…” —

As a precious stone of the Church thou wast laid up in the treasuries of heaven, O Hyacinth. Thou didst denounce those who worship stones and didst drain the cup of suffering, O glorious martyr. Entreat God, that He grant us great mercy.

Glory…, Now & ever…: Theotokion —

Though He became flesh in thy womb, He was not separated from the divine Essence: He remained God, though He became man, the one Lord Who, even after thou gavest birth, preserved thee an immaculate Virgin, as thou wast before giving birth. Him do thou earnestly entreat, that He grant us great mercy.

Stavrotheotokion —

The unblemished ewe-lamb of the Word, the incorrupt Virgin Mother, beholding Him Who sprung forth from her without pain suspended upon the Cross, cried out, maternally lamenting: “Woe is me, O my Child! How is it that Thou sufferest of Thine own will, desiring to deliver man from the indignity of the passions?”

Ode IV

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

Thou wast shown to be a lawful athlete, enduring the pangs of piety, O thou who art most rich, and thou was undaunted by the savagery of the torturers.

Receiving in heaven a crown studded with hyacinth stones, O divinely wise one, thou wast counted worthy to join chorus with the inhabitants of heaven, as one who art heavenly.

With a courageous and pious mind thou didst preach the Word, and with invincible resolve thou didst denounce the tyrant, O most blessed one.

Theotokion: O divinely blessed one, who alone didst receive almighty God within thyself, deliver those who hymn thee from every evil circumstance.

Ode V

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 denounce the raging tyrant, O athlete, having been invested by God with invincible power.

Accepting death voluntarily for Christ, O crowned one, thou didst acquire immortal piety.

Theotokion: Let us who honor thine ineffable birthgiving be delivered from the snares of the enemy by thy supplications, O all-pure one.

Ode VI

Irmos: Cleanse me, O Savior, for many are my transgressions; and lead me up from the abyss of evils, I pray, for to Thee have I cried, and Thou hast hearkened to me, O God of my salvation.

Suffering the torments inflicted by the ungodly, the martyr rejoiced, strengthening his mind with the suffering of the Dispassionate One; and, undaunted by the mindless ones, he hath been led in to the Judge of the contest.

Like a brilliant hyacinth-stone thou hast given luster to the temple of God, and thou wast a choice purple cloth, dyed in the blood of thy suffering, for the Church of the firstborn, O all-glorious one.

Theotokion: Let us be delivered from evil transgressions by thy supplications, O pure Theotokos, and let us receive the divine splendor of the Son of God Who became ineffably incarnate of thee.

Kontakion, in Tone VI —

Having acquired Thy Faith like a tree of life in the midst of his soul, Thy martyr, O Christ, became more honorable than the Garden of Eden, boldly destroying the tree of the serpent’s deception by his spirit; and he was crowned with Thy glory, O greatly Merciful One.

Ode VII

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

Manifestly possessing a pious mind as ruler of thy passions, O all-blessed one, thou didst spit out the food of the iniquitous; for thou wast nurtured by the divine word, crying out: O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou! Twice

With purity of soul and radiance of mind, O wise one who art most dear to the Lord, thou didst offer thyself as a sacred sacrifice, crying out: O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou.

Theotokion: When the human race fell, O pure and blessed Virgin, thou didst pacify the God of our fathers, having conceived the Wellspring of immortality and Life incorruptible, because of mortal corruption.

Ode VIII

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!

Through durance vile and imprisonment thou didst reach the vast and beauteous spaciousness of paradise, beholding the luminous splendors of the saints and gazing upon the choirs of the angels; and standing earnestly before God, thou dost cry: Ye children, bless; ye priests, hymn; ye people, exalt Him supremely for all ages!

With all thy heart didst thou love God, even to the shedding of thy blood, contending against sin and manifestly slaying the foe; and, adorned with wreaths of victory, thou dost cry out with zeal: Ye priests, bless; ye people, exalt Him supremely for all ages!

Like a magnificent ornament, like a jewel of surpassing brilliance, like a sacred robe of purple hast thou adorned the Church of heaven. And having adorned the holy of holies with the splendors of martyrdom, thou dost cry out unceasingly: Ye priests, bless; ye people, exalt Him supremely for all ages!

Theotokion: Ineffably didst thou give birth to the unoriginate Word of God, for the good of rational nature; and thereby are we delivered from corrupt mortification and have received the life-creating Spirit. Wherefore, we glorify thee as the true Theotokos, O Virgin, for all ages.

Ode IX

Irmos: With unceasing glorification we magnify thee, the Mother of the Most High, who knewest not wedlock, who didst truly give birth unto God the Word in manner past understanding, and art more highly exalted than the all-pure hosts.

By thy supplications render the Master merciful to all who with faith hymn thine invincible suffering, whereby thou didst abolish the falsehood of idolatry, and hast made clear the word of piety.

Appearing to the army of the angels as all-comely, O Hyacinth, stained with blood as with heavenly dye, thou wast adorned with the crown of thy martyrdom for thy confession and faith in Christ.

Thou wast wholly a most sacred dwelling-place of God and didst commit thy body and soul to untiring opposition to the warfare of the iniquitous tyrant. Wherefore, we all call thee blessed.

Theotokion: O Mistress, slay thou the sin which liveth within me; and transform into life the spiritual mortification of those who piously magnify thee, through the activity of the true Life Who in His ineffable loving-kindness was born of thy womb.