THE 11th DAY OF THE MONTH OF MARCH

THE COMMEMORATION OF OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS SOPHRONIUS, PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM

AT VESPERS

On “Lord, I have cried...,” these stichera, in Tone IV: Spec. Mel.: “As one valiant among the martyrs...”—

Called the namesake of chastity by divine foreknowledge, O Sophronius, thou wast righteous and chaste in thy deeds, manly and wise, and wholly crowned with native virtues. And thou didst remain flourishing in both soul and body as a most eminent arbiter.

From thy theological mouth, O most blessed Sophronius, thou didst thunder forth the teachings of theology, having clearly expounded the theology of the unoriginate Father, and the Son Who is equally without beginning, and the co-eternal Holy Spirit — the Trinity in unity, and the unity in Trinity, God One in essential identity.

Wisely didst thou, O most wise one, teach the Word Who with the Father is equally without beginning, and Who, though incorporeal, united flesh to His Hypostasis without change or confusion, Whose actions are two-fold, for both natures, of which He is composed and wherein He is beheld, being One, undivided in essence, apprehended in the one and the other.

Glory..., Now and ever...: Theotokion, in the same tone and melody—

Bedew my mind with showers of the All-holy Spirit, O all-pure one, who ineffably gave birth unto Christ the drop Who with His compassions washeth away the countless iniquities of men; dry up the upwelling of my passions, and vouchsafe unto me a torrent of ever-living nourishment by thy supplications.

Stavrotheotokion—

As she beheld Thee nailed to the Cross, O Lord, the Ewe-lamb, Thy Mother, marvelled, and cried out: “What is this that I see, O my Son most desired? Thus doth the disobedient and iniquitous assembly repay Thee which enjoyed Thy many wonders! Yet glory to Thine ineffable condescension, O Master!”

AT MATINS

Canon to the holy hierarch, the acrostic whereof is: “I hymn the sincere sacrifice of the namesake of chastity,” the composition of Theophanes the Branded, in Tone IV—

Ode I

Irmos: I will open my mouth, and with the Spirit will it be filled; and I shall utter discourse unto the Queen and Mother, and shall appear, keeping splendid festival; and, rejoicing, I will hymn her wonders.

Chastely didst thou sail the deep of chastity, impelled by the winds of the Spirit, and thou didst take on great riches, the gifts of wisdom, O father Sophronius.

Thou wast like the angel of the resurrection of Christ and presided in godly manner over the Sepulcher of Christ God, Who enriched thee with a wellspring of immortality and hath raised us up from our fall.

With the splendor of thy discourses and keenness of thine intellect didst thou make the world bright, clearly theologizing the essence of the Godhead in three Persons, the threefold Unity, O father Sophronius.

Theotokion: He Who by nature is uncreated, and Who with the Father is co-eternal, above and beyond time, and everlasting, being conceived of thee, O Mistress, is come under time as a man, saving man.

Ode III

Irmos: Neither in wisdom, nor in power, nor yet in riches do we boast, but in Thee, O Christ, the hypostatic Wisdom of the Father; for none is holy save Thee, O Thou Who lovest mankind.

Supported by the staff of thy words, O venerable one, the Church of Christ repelleth the assaults of the ungodly, driving away heresies opposed to God.

Contending through thine honored preaching, O God-bearer, wisely strengthened, with the aid of the Spirit thou wast shown to be a victor, O father Sophronius.

Having mortified all the corrupting pleasures of the flesh, by piety thou didst enliven thine incorrupt soul, and didst show it to be an instrument of God.

Thy beautiful tongue, which exudeth honey and theology, poureth forth rivers of discourse, O thou who art pleasing unto God, pouring forth divine teachings upon all.

Theotokion: We glorify thee, the Theotokos who gavest birth unto God, harmonizing the name of thine Offspring and the title which befitteth thee, O all-pure Mistress.

Sessional hymn, in Tone IV: Spec. Mel.: “Go thou quickly before...”—

With thy discourses hast thou adorned the Church of Christ, and by thy words hast thou preserved that which is in the image of God, O venerable Sophronius; for the chastity which is within thee hath shone forth in the world, beaming forth the grace of thy teachings upon all who with love celebrate thy holy memory.

Glory..., Now and ever...: Theotokion, in the same tone and melody—

By thy divine birthgiving, O pure one, thou hast restored the mortal nature of those born of earth which had become corrupt through the passions; and thou hast raised up everyone from death to the life of incorruption. Wherefore, we all bless thee as is meet, O all-immaculate Virgin, as thou didst foretell.

Stavrotheotokion—

As she beheld Thee lifted up upon the Cross, O Word of God, Thine all-pure Mother cried aloud maternally, lamenting: “What is this new and strange wonder, O my Son? How is it that Thou, the Life of all, dost taste of death, desiring to give life to the dead, in that Thou art full of loving-kindness?”

Ode IV

Irmos: Seated in glory upon the throne of the Godhead, Jesus most divine hath come on a light cloud, and with His incorrupt arm hath saved those who cry: Glory to Thy power, O Christ!

Thou, O wise father, didst preach the one beginningless Essence in three Hypostases, Each with its own properties, separate yet indivisible, unified yet not commingled, one in will and divinity.

Possessed of chaste thought and a mind most chaste, O most blessed father, thou didst not admit any change or confusion of the two immutably united natures in the one, only-begotten Christ.

Divinely illumined by the enlightenment of the Spirit, thou didst set at nought the wicked insanity of Nestorius, who with his will and reason preached the fusion into one nature of the two natures of Christ.

With the fire of thy teachings, O divinely wise and venerable father, thou didst utterly consume Pyrrhus, who denied that in Christ there are two volitions which are of themselves of different essences, and likewise that there are two energies.

Theotokion: Thou art become more comely than all the magnificence of the angels, O Maiden, in that thou hast given birth unto their Creator and Lord, Who was incarnate of thine all-pure blood and delivereth all who glorify Him.

Ode V

Irmos: The ungodly perceive not Thy glory, O Christ; but, waking at dawn out of the night, we hymn Thee, O Only-begotten One Who lovest mankind, Thou effulgence of the glory of the Father’s divinity.

Gazing upon the site of the honored resurrection, the sepulcher of Life, with unfeigned love, thou didst draw forth therefrom the mystic teachings of the vision of God, and hast passed illumination on to the faithful, O holy hierarch.

Aflame with noetic radiance, in every way thou didst love Him Who alone is good; and thou didst come also to love the Wellspring of incorruption, straining towards Him with thy spiritual vision, O all-wise one.

Thou didst become a living and animate temple of God, having died to all on earth and acquired the abundant table of the Word and the lampstand of grace, O venerable one.

Theotokion: To Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, Who is known in two essences, and Who, though without beginning, became flesh, didst thou give birth in manner past recounting, O ever-virgin Mother of God.

Ode VI

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.

Richly did the grace of the All-holy Spirit flow forth from thy lips, O divinely wise one; wherefore, the sound of thy words is like unto the rushing torrents of rivers.

Thou didst flourish like a palm tree in the house of the Lord, O holy hierarch, delighting the hearts of those who with faith honor thee, with the fruitfulness of thy discourse and thy pure life.

The council of the heretics is slain by the vivifying sword of thy words; and the savage array of those who wage war on God is cut down, slain by the blade of thy teachings.

Theotokion: O Theotokos, we hymn thy pure birthgiving whereby we are all saved from the snares of death and are delivered from grievous sin and the bonds of hades.

Kontakion, in Tone VIII: Spec. Mel.: “To thee, the champion leader...”—

O Sophronius of Jerusalem, most wise among patriarchs, who struggled with divine zeal, spread the commandments of truth with thy lips, set the foundations of the Church in good order, and there transmitted them to those in the monastic ranks: thou didst bring most wise discourses to light; and, instructed thereby, we cry out to thee: Rejoice, O splendid boast of the Orthodox!

Ode VII

Irmos: O all-hymned Lord God of our fathers, Who saved the children of Abraham in the fire, slaying the Chaldæans whom justice rightly overtook: blessed art Thou!

O wise victor opposing the blasphemy of the heretics with aid from on high, thou didst cry out in gladness: O all-hymned Lord God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!

Wholly dedicated to God, O wise one, soaring over the plantation of the ascetics, thou didst plant a meadow by thine instructions in the virtues, consecrating it to God Who is in the highest.

Obedient to the law of Christ, to those who asked thou didst piously distribute the riches of thy knowledge, crying aloud: O all-hymned Lord God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!

Theotokion: Having sanctified thy soul and wholly purified thy body, thou didst give birth seedlessly, having conceived the power of the Most High in thy womb through the descent of the Holy Spirit upon thee, O all-immaculate one.

Ode VIII

Irmos: The birthgiving of the Theotokos saved the pious children in the furnace — then in figure, but now in deed — and it moveth all the world to chant to Thee: Hymn ye the Lord and exalt Him supremely for all ages!

With the myrrh of the grace of hierarchal activity wast thou sanctified; and having been bishop where the salvation of the world was revealed, O most wise father Sophronius, thou didst cry out: Hymn the Lord, ye works, and exalt Him supremely forever!

Honoring the highest wisdom, thou wast crowned with a crown of the graces, receiving the gift of wisdom, unfading glory and riches which cannot be taken away, O glorious one, crying aloud: Hymn the Lord, and exalt Him supremely forever!

Vested as a priest in divine righteousness, O father, thou initiate of the mysteries of God, thou didst govern the flock of the Master with most righteous words and deeds, teaching them to sing: Hymn the Lord, and exalt Him supremely forever!

Splendidly, in manner past recounting, the Word Who with the Father is equally without beginning bestowed upon thee discourse which turneth away and weakeneth the words and blasphemies of heresies, O father who criest out: Hymn the Lord, and exalt Him supremely forever!

Theotokion: Thou hast been shown to be a sacred temple of the Word Who sanctifieth all creation, and a holy mountain of richness, a most splendid mountain, O blessed Mistress who alone art all-hymned. Wherefore, we hymn thee, O Mother of God, and exalt thee supremely for all ages.

Ode IX

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.

The speech which proceedeth from thy divine lips, O divinely eloquent one, sweeteneth the thoughts of the pious with grace, like sap exuding the magnificence of understanding.

With the Master and King of all dost thou dwell, O divinely eloquent one, amid the inner sanctuaries of Heaven, where the angelic luminaries and the armies of the saints join chorus.

Having led an angelic life on earth, O father, thou hast been vouchsafed the blessedness of the angels in the heavens, wherein do thou entreat Christ, that all who hymn thee may be saved.

Thy cheeks were like phials of perfume, filled with precious and pure nard, O divinely wise one, and thou wast shown to be an alabaster box full of wisdom, perfuming the precious body of Christ with thy teachings.

Theotokion: Isaiah beheld thee as a light cloud, O Virgin, for the Lord, having descended upon thee, cast down all the works of men’s hands and hath revealed His understanding unto those who hymn thee.