The 22nd Day Of The Month Of October
Commemoration Of The Holy Wonderworker Abercius,
Bishop Of Hierapolis, Equal Of The Apostles
Commemoration Of The Seven Youths Of Ephesus
(For this day we provide also the service in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos.)
At Vespers
On “Lord, I have cried…”, 6 stichera: 3 for the hierarch, in Tone II: Spec. Mel.: “When from the Tree…” —
With the splendors of divine teachings thou didst destroy the night of polytheism, O father Abercius, and, shining forth the dawn, thou didst make those who before were in darkness children of the day, showing forth all-glorious miracles, O hierarch. Wherefore, we all celebrate thy holy memory with faith, hymning thee, O divinely inspired one.
Working a miracle, O father, thou didst mingle wine and oil in a single vessel, preserved in another form, but didst cause them to separate by divine grace when needed; and by thy supplication thou didst cause an outpouring of thermal waters to flow forth, healing all the infirmities of those who approach thee with faith and call thee blessed, O Abercius.
Cleaving wholly unto God, O Abercius, thou didst show thyself to be a fulfiller of divine teachings; and receiving grace from on high, O venerable one, thou didst dispel the divers infirmities of men; thou didst destroy the temples of the idols and didst plant divine knowledge in those who before languished wretchedly in ignorance, O blessed one.
And 3 stichera of the youths, in Tone IV: Spec. Mel.: “As one valiant among the martyrs…” —
Submitting to God, the blessed youths spurned the all-iniquitous commands, and when they were bound they broke the bonds of falsehood, and, rejecting worldly rank, have received a glory which made them all-gloriously perfect and won for them the enjoyment of the heavenly kingdom.
Having mightily trained yourselves for the struggles of suffering, O saints, ye hid in the cave, entreating to the Lord with unceasing supplications, that He grant might and power through judgments which He Who loveth mankind doth know; and as God He commanded all of you to fall asleep in peace.
Come ye all, and let us earnestly hymn the witnesses of piety, the divinely assembled legion, the blessed choir, the invincible regiment of martyrs, the beautiful triumph of the Church of God, the indivisible company, the unvanquished army, the unshakable foundation of piety.
Glory…, the composition of John the monk, in Tone III —
O venerable hierarch, most blessed father Abercius, thou wonder-worker and favorite of God, who shone forth in thy prophetic life, thou hast been vouchsafed apostolic gifts, unceasingly ministering unto the Savior with the angels. Pray thou, that our souls be delivered from every threat.
Now & ever…: Theotokion, or this stavrotheotokion, Spec. Mel.: “Great is the power of Thy Cross…” —
A sword pierced thy heart, O all-pure one, when thou didst behold thy Son upon the Cross; and thou didst cry out: “Show me not to be childless, O my Son and my God, Who hast kept me a virgin even after giving birth!”
Troparion of the hierarch, in Tone IV —
The very truth of things revealed thee to thy flock as a rule of faith, a model of meekness and teacher of abstinence. Wherefore, thou didst attain the heights through humility and riches through poverty. O father Abercius, entreat Christ God, that our souls be saved!
Glory…: Troparion of the martyrs, in the same tone —
In their sufferings, O Lord, Thy martyrs received imperishable crowns from Thee, our God; for, possessed of Thy might, they set at nought the tormenters, and crushed the feeble audacity of the demons. By their supplications save Thou our souls.
Now & ever…: Theotokion, or stavrotheotokion.
At Matins
One canon from the Octoechos, with 6 troparia; and two for the saints, with 8 troparia.
Ode I
Canon of the holy hierarch, the acrostic whereof is: “I hymn the great glory of Abercius”, the composition of Joseph,
in Tone II —
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.
Illumined with the radiant splendor of the three-Sunned Godhead, O Abercius, thou becamest a light enlightening those in darkness and dispelling all the darkness of the demons.
On earth thou didst live a heavenly life, O all-blessed one, living in the flesh like one of the incorporeal ones and mortifying the passions; and thou didst receive the gift of the priesthood.
Having within thyself the evangelical discourse, O father, thou didst destroy the irrationality of the vain-minded, casting down the temples of the demons and their false graven images.
Theotokion: The tongues of orators are at a loss how to describe thy conceiving, which is beyond recounting, O most pure one; for thou gavest birth to God in the flesh, Who in His goodness became like unto us.
Canon of the martyrs, in Tone VIII —
Irmos: The staff of Moses, once working a wonder, striking the sea in the form of the Cross and dividing it, drowned the mounted tyrant Pharaoh, and saved Israel who fled on foot, chanting a hymn unto God.
O ye seven holy youths, who are honored by the number seven, ye radiant stars shining in the firmament of the Church, who by your witness have come to dwell in the heavens: Be ye mindful of those who honor you with faith.
Forming a lamp of sevenfold brilliance with the sevenfold radiance of the Spirit, O ye seven martyrs, ye caused the darkness of falsehood to diminish, and with the light of piety ye now illumine us all with sevenfold radiance.
Theotokion: On thee, O Virgin, do I place my hope of salvation. Wash from me all the mire of sin and make me pure, that I may be well-pleasing to thy Son and do His most holy will.
Ode III
Canon of the Hierarch
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.
By sacred words and the performing of miracles, O Abercius, thou hast all-gloriously guided to the haven of salvation those who sail the sea of delusion.
Working healings, performing excellent miracles and dispelling the fantasies of the demons, thou hast become the cause of salvation for all and an intercessor for the rich.
O father, thy discourse was sacred, thy life godly, thy character resplendent with miracles, thy manner of living glorious, and thy death honorable.
Theotokion: God Who before was invisible became visible, O Virgin, when He became incarnate of thy womb in His compassion; wherefore, we bless thee with faith.
Canon of the Martyrs
Irmos: O Christ, Who in the beginning established the heavens in wisdom and founded the earth upon the waters, make me steadfast upon the rock of Thy commandments; for none is holy as Thee, O Thou Who lovest mankind.
Appearing on earth in sevenfold radiance like lamps of the virtues, and shining brightly in the effulgence of your struggles and the brilliance of your miracles, ye have shone the light of the knowledge of God upon the whole world.
Offered to the Creator from earliest infancy, for His sake ye spurned glory, royal honors and the transitory riches, for which ye have received the glory of incorruptible honors.
Theotokion: With the activity of the Life which appeared through thee to the world, O only most immaculate Theotokos, raise up my deadened mind, destroying the wounds and forms of sin.
Kontakion of the martyrs, in Tone IV: Spec. Mel.: “Having been lifted up…” —
O Christ Who hast glorified Thy saints on earth, before Thine awesome Second Coming Thou hast shown forth the resurrection to those who knew it not, through the all-glorious raising up of the youths, revealing their clothing and bodies as incorrupt; and Thou didst prevail upon the emperor to cry out: Truly there is resurrection for the dead!
Ikos: When the bishop of Ephesus beheld the wondrous and exalted resurrection of the youths, astonished in mind he wrote with haste to the most faithful emperor, describing their rising: “May thy highness deign to come hither, O master, that thou mayest behold the power of our God, which He hath shown to thee.” And rising up straightway, the great victor made the journey, rejoicing, showing himself to be another charioteer like Elijah, crying out: Truly there is resurrection for the dead!
Sessional hymn of the hierarch, in Tone VIII: Spec. Mel.: “Of the Wisdom…” —
Thou hast been shown to be a hierarch anointed with precious oils in godly manner, O most sacred and all-praised father Abercius, and working all things through grace, adorned with the splendor of divine gifts and miracles, healing sicknesses, burning up the demons, converting multitudes of the deluded. Wherefore, we cry out to thee: Entreat Christ God, that He grant remission of sins unto those who honor thy holy memory with love.
Glory…: Sessional hymn of the youths, in Tone IV: Spec. Mel.: “Go thou quickly before…” —
As pillars of the Church of Christ ye mightily destroyed the ramparts of unbelief, O seven martyred brethren; wherefore, before your death ye put down the rage of the heathen, and after your death ye stilled the tempest of heresy, praying for our souls.
Now & ever…: Theotokion —
O pure, most immaculate one who knewest not man, who alone gavest birth within time to the timeless Son and Word of God: With the holy and honored patriarchs, the martyrs, prophets and the venerable, entreat Him, that He grant us cleansing and great mercy.
Stavrotheotokion —
O most immaculate Virgin Mother of Christ God, a sword pierced thine all-holy soul when thou didst behold thy Son and God crucified of His own will. Cease thou never to entreat Him, O blessed one, that He grant us forgiveness of transgressions.
Ode IV
Canon of the Hierarch
Irmos: I hymn Thee, O Lord, for I heard report of Thee, and I was afraid; for Thou comest to me, seeking me who have strayed. Wherefore, I glorify Thy great condescension toward me, O greatly Merciful One.
Thou didst greatly adorn thy cathedra, O venerable hierarch, for thou didst render it utterly magnificent with great miracles and a splendid life; wherefore, our all-great God hath glorified thee.
Knowing that the Lord desireth mercy, O God-bearer, thou didst beseech Him fervently to cause a most wondrous outpouring of thermal waters for the healing and salvation of many.
By the grace of God thou didst make childless women fertile and didst fulfill their intentions; for having manifestly sown upon them thy words as seed, O blessed Abercius, like a good sower thou didst reap grain a hundredfold.
Theotokion: O most immaculate Bride of God, thou hast healed the contrition and ancient accursedness of mortals, having given birth to Christ, the King and Lord, Who hath taken upon Himself our infirmities in His ineffable compassion.
Canon of the Martyrs
Irmos: Thou art my strength, O Lord, Thou art my power; Thou art my God, Thou art my joy, Who, without leaving the bosom of the Father, hast visited our lowliness. Wherefore, with the Prophet Habbakuk I cry unto Thee: Glory to Thy power, O Thou Who lovest mankind!
Bound together with a fraternal bond, and set afire with divine desire, O martyrs of the Lord, agreeing on the true confession and faith ye put to shame the vain-minded understanding of the tyrants and the false teaching of polytheism.
Persecuted for Christ and with Christ, hiding in caves and mountainous defiles, for His sake ye slept a life-bearing sleep instead of death for many long years, manifestly confirming the general resurrection of mortals.
Theotokion: That in the richness of Thy goodness Thou mightest restore Thine image which had become dim through the passions, Thou didst make Thine abode within the Virgin’s womb, from which thou didst form wisdom, the temple of God, whereby Thou didst come to dwell with men and save the ends of the world, O Compassionate One.
Ode V
Canon of the Hierarch
Irmos: O Christ my Savior, enlightenment of those who lie in darkness and salvation of the despairing: rising early unto Thee, O King of the world, may I be enlightened by Thy radiance, for I know none other God than Thee.
Having set thy feet upon the rock of thy heart, O divinely wise and blessed one, with divine words thou didst teach those who had fallen into perdition and were rendering worship unto stones to worship the Rock, Jesus Christ our God.
Let us honor Abercius the teacher of sacred things, the excellent physician of the infirm, the guide of all who have been deceived by evil counsel, the phial of precious gifts, the receptacle of the divine Spirit.
When wine and oil were placed together in a single vessel and mingled together at thy command, at the appointed time they were poured forth all-gloriously unmingled, manifestly revealing thy most excellent grace, O sacred one.
Theotokion: In thee, O Virgin, are the laws of nature all-gloriously restored; for without seed thou gavest birth to God the Savior, yet remainest a virgin still. O awesome wonder! Wherefore, we piously declare thee the Mother of Emmanuel.
Canon of the Martyrs
Irmos: Wherefore hast Thou turned Thy face from me, O Light never-waning? And why hath a strange darkness covered me, wretch that I am? But turn me, and guide my steps to the light of Thy commandments, I pray.
Dying to the world, ye spurned all the beauties of life, committing your life to Him Who hath dominion over life, and sleeping a life-bearing sleep for many years as an image of the general resurrection.
Enduring long persecution, ye showed yourselves to be athletes by your life, bearing hunger and thirst and divers tribulations, sorrows and misfortunes, yet made rich in tranquility.
Theotokion: Made rich in thee, our rampart, and protected by thine intercession, boasting in thy divine glory, we call thee blessed; for thou, O all-holy one, dost pour forth gladness and joy upon our souls.
Ode VI
Canon of the Hierarch
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!
Thou didst go from the East to the West, O venerable one, deposing the queen of demonic and cruel passion with the power of the Spirit.
Thou didst appear a sojourner in the world, O most sacred Abercius, working strange and awesome miracles, both while in the body and having departed therefrom.
Seen to be as brilliant as lightning, O divinely inspired father Abercius, thou didst vanquish hordes of the demons, who were unable to bear the threat of thee.
Theotokion: Through thee, O most holy Bride of God, we, who are dead, have been vouchsafed life, and we who are in thrall to corruption have manifestly been enriched by incorruption.
Canon of the Martyrs
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.
With love for God, O wise ones, ye left your Ephesian homeland, your splendid family, all-lustrous riches and all-honorable glory, preferring to inherit heaven.
The seven-member choir of athletes, uniting in godly manner, cast down the great multitude of the enemy and have received the glory of confession and crowns for their suffering.
Theotokion: The majesty of the Most High shone forth from Sion, arrayed through union in the flesh which He received from thee who knewest not wedlock; and He hath enlightened the world.
Kontakion of the hierarch, in Tone VIII: Spec. Mel.: “As firstfruits…” —
The whole Church of the faithful doth honor thee as an all-great priest and dweller with the apostles, O Abercius. By thy supplications preserve it invincible, unassailed and undefiled by all heresy, in that thou art ever-memorable.
Ikos: Mindful of the vanity of this world, as a sojourner in the world and an emulator of the suffering of Christ thou didst mortify the carnal passions, and taking up thy cross, O blessed one, thou didst follow after thy Creator. Abiding with Him now, pray thou for those who truly honor thee, in that thou art ever-memorable.
Ode VII
Canon of the Hierarch
Irmos: When the golden image was worshipped on the plain of Dura, Thy three youths spurned the ungodly command, and, cast into the midst of the fire, bedewed, they sang: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!
As a godly shepherd, as a performer of miracles, O father, by thy supplication thou hast granted the blind to see and the deaf to hear; and thou hast bestowed cleansing upon lepers and the ability to walk to the lame, who chant: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!
The bubbling spring of thermal waters and the pillar which lieth on thy grave, which the wicked spirit, driven out by thee, O father Abercius, carried back from great Rome, proclaim thine ability to work miracles forever.
Thou wast a guide for humble folk, having been revealed as exalted in vision and activity and power, O most sacred one, as a favorite of the most high King. To Him do we cry: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!
Theotokion: He Who was begotten of the Father before the morning-star was born of thee in two natures and wills, as both God and man, O Maiden, and is known to all who cry out with faith: Blessed art thou who gavest birth to God in the flesh!
Canon of the Martyrs
Irmos: Once, in Babylon, the fire stood in awe of the condescension of God; wherefore, the youths, dancing with joyous step in the furnace, as in a meadow, chanted: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!
Submitting to God, and guided by the divine law and an upright mind, ye reviled the all-iniquitous commands of the tyrants, O youths, acquiring life and incorruption through death, enriched in your mortal bodies.
Desiring to drain the cup of death for the Creator with faith, for the sake of immortality and incorruption ye endured the burial of your bodies, revealing the resurrection by your all-glorious rising from the dead, O martyrs.
Theotokion: Thou didst shine forth like the morning, having the Sun of righteousness Who, through divine knowledge, taketh away the darkness of ignorance from the world. To Him do we chant, O all-pure one: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!
Ode VIII
Canon of the Hierarch
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!
Let Abercius be honored as an all-glorious shepherd, an inexhaustible wellspring of healings, a pillar of the Church, the confirmation of the faithful, a great luminary and a most splendid teacher of sacred things.
Like the palm-tree of the psalms thou didst flourish in the courts of the living God; thou didst multiply like the cedar, O wise one, and wast shown to be like the olive-tree, causing the faces of all to shine with faith through the oil of thy works.
Through thine active life, thou wast manifestly known to be like a city standing on the summit of a mountain, O venerable one; and thy city, which of old was sunk in deception, thou showest forth as an heir to the city of the Most High.
Theotokion: Behold, thou art the bridal bower of Solomon now surrounded by the mighty prophecies of the divinely inspired Scriptures, and one which Christ God hath rested in His divine incarnation, O blessed and joyous one.
Canon of the Martyrs
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!
Your memory hath shone forth with sevenfold radiance today like the beams of the sun, illumining the earth with the splendors of your suffering, with the brilliance of your miracles and with the rays of divine dogmas, wherewith ye assure all of the resurrection of the body and the incorruption of mortals, O wise ones.
Once, God preserved Abimelech in the field, that he might not witness the destruction of Jerusalem; and He preserved you asleep for a many long years in the cave as an assurance of the resurrection of all, O youths, ye lamps equal in number to the seven ages.
Theotokion: Sanctified by the Spirit, O most immaculate Theotokos, thou didst truly receive in thy womb the everlasting Son Who is without beginning, Who became incarnate within thee, O pure one, for the benefit of those who cry out with faith: Ye children, bless; ye priests, hymn; ye people, exalt Him supremely for all ages.
Ode IX
Canon of the Hierarch
Irmos: O ye faithful, with hymns let us magnify in oneness of mind the Word of God, Who from God came in His ineffable wisdom to renew Adam who had grievously fallen into corruption, and Who became ineffably incarnate of the holy Virgin for our sake.
In that thy life was splendid and thy feet beautiful, in that thy yearning for God and neighbor was exceeding wondrous, in that the grace given thee from on high was magnificent, O wise Abercius, we honor thee with faith.
With faith we glorify thee, O Abercius, as one who dwelleth with all the holy martyrs, an emulator of the divine disciples, a peer of the patriarchs, prophets and the venerable, and a converser with the ministers of heaven.
Thine all-holy memorial, which hath spread throughout the world, doth illumine the souls of men with rich light in grace. By thy supplications, O Abercius, from the passions and from perilous darkness deliver us who celebrate it with love, we pray thee.
Theotokion: The prophet beheld thee beforehand as a radiant lampstand bearing within thee as a truly divine Lamp the only transcendent God Who, in the compassion of His mercy, became man through thee, O most holy Virgin.
Canon of the Martyrs
Irmos: Heaven was stricken with awe, and the ends of the earth were amazed, that God hath appeared in the flesh, and that thy womb became more spacious than the heavens. Wherefore, the ranks of men and angels magnify thee as the Theotokos.
Everyone born on earth marvelled, and every mind was amazed, that mortals who lay enclosed for many years in a cave appeared as though having slept but for an evening, rising up in the morning as usual, assuring all of the general resurrection of mortals.
O ye seven radiant luminaries and martyrs, ever-shining beacons of Ephesus, intercessors for the whole world, fervent advocates, preachers of the general resurrection and guardians of the faithful: Ask for us tranquility and salvation, and peace for all the ends of the world.
Theotokion: As thou art the Mother of Him Who suffered for us, in that thou art full of loving-kindness deliver me from soul-corrupting passions, and break thou the bonds of my transgressions. In that thou art good, bless now my soul, which is beset by the assaults of the demons, O Virgin Theotokos, that I may hymn thee, the most hymned one.
Exapostilarion of the hierarch: Spec. Mel.: “Hearken, ye women…” —
The hindering demon compelled thee to hasten to the city of Rome, for he had entered wickedly into the daughter of the emperor, O divinely eloquent Abercius; but thou didst drive him from her like a dog, and didst compel him to carry a pillar back to Hierapolis.
Glory…: Exapostilarion of the martyrs —
Protecting themselves with the weapon of Thy precious Cross, thine athletes, O Lord, mightily vanquished the adverse powers, put the tyrants to shame and suffered for Thee; and they reign together with Thee, O my Christ, Thou King of all.
Now & ever…: Theotokion —
O thy mysteries! O thy wonders! How is it that even after giving birth thou didst remain a virgin as thou wast before birthgiving? How didst thou contain God Who is in nowise confined? Truly ineffable are all thy works, O blessed Mary!
At Liturgy
On the Beatitudes, 8 troparia: 4 from the Octoechos, and 4 from Ode III of the canon of the hierarch.
Prokimenon, in Tone I —
My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
Stichos: Hear this, all ye nations; give ear, all ye that inhabit the world.
Epistle to the Hebrews, §318
[Heb. 7: 26-8: 2]
Brethren: Such a high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore. Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such a high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
Alleluia, in Tone II —
Stichos: The mouth of the righteous shall meditate wisdom and his tongue shall speak of judgment.
Stichos: The law of his God is in his heart, and his steps shall not be tripped.
Gospel according to John, §36 [Jn. 10: 9-16]
The Lord said to the Jews who came to Him: “I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is a hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is a hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine. As the Father knoweth Me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd.”
Communion Verse —
In everlasting remembrance shall the righteous be; he shall not be afraid of evil tidings.