Canon to the Directress, the all-holy Theotokos, the composition of the Hieromonk Ignatius, 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.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
O pure one, joyously do I now offer my foremost praise: Rejoice! And with gladsome voice I cry out to thee, O Directress: Rejoice, and fill me with understanding as I begin to hymn thee!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, O all-hymned one who gavest birth unto Christ our everlasting Joy! O Directress, thou hope of the Orthodox, all-hymned Virgin, fill me with the joy which the world hath desired.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
All men and angels join chorus, ever crying out together in heaven and on earth, O Directress: Rejoice, O Virgin, for by thy birthgiving thou hast filled all things with joy!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
O Directress, vouchsafe joy unto those who with fear cry out to thee Rejoice!, in that thou art the Mother of joy who deliverest from all tribulations; and have mercy on all that have recourse unto thee.
Another canon of the feast, in the same tone:
Irmos: Same as that of the preceding canon.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The captains of the angels reverence thee, O Theotokos; and the ranks of the saints minister to thee with honor; the righteous adorn themselves and bless thee as the Mediatress of heavenly things; heaven and earth together praise thee splendidly in gladness. And we sinners ask mercy: Illumine our hearts, O Mistress, that we may chant a hymn to the revelation of thy holy icon.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Come ye, O Christian people, having mystically cleansed your minds, and assemble in the holy church of the Mother of Christ our God; for from her holy icon there poureth forth upon us inexhaustibly a spiritual wellspring which healeth the souls and bodies of those who cry out in song: Blessed is our God Who was born of thee!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
The strange wonder of thy divine birthgiving striketh every ear with wonder and awe, O all-immaculate one: how thou didst conceive the Creator of the cherubim; how thou didst bear in the flesh Him Who is life, and for the whole world didst give birth to life: the God and Man!
Beneath thy shelter do all of us, the generations of man, flee, O Virgin Lady. With the light of thy birthgiving enlighten us, thy sinful servants who earnestly pray, bowing down before thine all-pure icon, asking to receive from thee great mercy.
Ode III, Irmos: O Theotokos, thou living and abundant fountain: in thy divine glory establish those who hymn thee and spiritually form themselves into a choir; and vouchsafe unto them crowns of glory.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, O unshakable, pure and animate palace of Christ the King Most High! Rejoice, O Directress, Rejoice! For by thee is our city preserved intact!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
In thy womb which tasted not of wedlock thou didst bodily contain Him Whom creation cannot contain, O Virgin Directress. Wherefore, magnifying thee as is meet, we chant, Rejoice!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
O all-hymned joy of the world, ever hymning thee with joy, O pure one, we are vouchsafed everlasting joy by thy maternal supplications unto Him Who was born of thee, O Directress.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
O Directress, we invoke thee as the golden jar, the candlestick, the rod and the table, O pure one, and we ever raise the cry, Rejoice! to thee when we use these terms.
Same Irmos
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
What worthy praise can our utter infirmity offer thee? For through the manifestation of thine all-pure, divine icon thou pourest forth bountiful streams of healing upon thy servants who faithfully have recourse to thee.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The holy revelation of thy divine icon, O Virgin Theotokos, hath shone upon us like the radiant sun, emitting rays of all-glorious miracles, and dispelling a myriad of evil circumstances by thy sacred intercessions, O Mistress.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Thou didst once fill thy first-painted icon with grace, O Virgin Lady Theotokos; and now that same grace speaketh forth truly in the effulgence of the wonders of faith, as the first one did for the sake of thee who wast first depicted thereon, unto those who with faith have recourse to thee after God.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
We bow down before the all-pure image of thee and thy Babe all-sweet, Christ the preëternal and never-waning Light, O Theotokos, by Whom thou hast saved all human nature from cruel evils and mortal corruption.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Sessional Hymn, Tone VIII, Spec. Mel. “Of the Wisdom…”: The divine apostles of the Word, the clarion-voiced universal heralds of the Gospel of Christ, having founded a divine temple in thine all-holy name, O Theotokos, approached thee, entreating thee to come to its consecration. But thou didst say, O Mother of God: “Go in peace, and I shall be with you there!” And they, going forth, there found, on the wall of the church, the likeness of thine image limned powerfully in colored hues; and seeing it, they did thee homage and glorified God. And we also, with them, bow down before thy divine icon, asking of thee great mercy. Grant remission of sins to thy servants, O thou who alone art blessed.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The above Sessional hymn is repeated.
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!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, O Mistress Directress, thou wonder of wonders! Rejoice, joy of all cities and towns, impregnable fortress and bulwark for Christians amid misfortunes, thou victory over the enemy!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, rejoice, O boast of Orthodox kings, for thou, O Queen of all, dost accompany Christ-loving armies! Rejoice, O Directress, thou refuge and confirmation of us all!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, deliverance for all amid misfortunes! Rejoice, ready consolation for all the sorrowful! Rejoice, O all-hymned one! Rejoice, most blessed Directress, healer of all the infirm!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, thou whose mighty works all creation doth make haste to glorify as is meet; yet it is unable, O Directress, and therefore it crieth out to thee: Rejoice, O Mistress, thou dwelling-place which contained God!
Same Irmos
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
O ye pure people, in purity let us cherish the icon of the Virgin Theotokos and of the divine Infant Christ our God; and let us kiss it and glorify her with fear and trembling; for we right honorably venerate the icon and honor even more the pure Mother of God.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
David, the divine and wondrous prophet, foreseeing as from a great distance, said: The rich among the people shall entreat thy countenance. And let us, O ye faithful, bow down and venerate the precious icon, sanctified body and soul.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Luke, the divinely eloquent recorder of the Gospel, at the behest of God set down thine all-immaculate image, O Theotokos, depicting the preëternal Infant in thine arms; and from temptations and misfortunes thou deliverest those who have recourse thereto, and thou protectest and savest them all by thine image.
Thou art the boast and crown of all the saints, O Queen; after God, thou art our hope and helper, and on thee have we all set our hope of salvation. Thee do we entreat as the Mother of God: Rain down thy rich and soul-saving mercies upon thy sinful servants.
Ode V, Irmos: All things are filled with awe at thy divine glory; for thou, O Virgin who hast not known wedlock, didst contain within thy womb Him Who is God over all, and gavest birth to the timeless Son, granting peace unto all who hymn thee.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Thou art an abyss of goodness and compassions. Rejoice, O Virgin Directress! Rejoice, thou who makest all faithful! O rejoice, most speedy helper of those who are in misfortune and sorrow!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Beholding the mighty works of the fullness of thy wonders, we, the faithful, are filled with joy, even those among us who hear of them yet see them not. Wherefore, in every place we all ever chant unto thee, Rejoice, O Directress!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
O rejoice, O Virgin Directress, thou dwelling-place of Christ our God and habitation of His ineffable and all-divine glory! O rejoice, palace all adorned! Rejoice, animate city ever reigning!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Looking upon thee as a sea of joy inexhaustible, O Virgin Maiden Directress, rejoicing we all cry out to thee, Rejoice! And chanting, we ever expect of thee divine gifts invisibly bestowed.
Same Irmos
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Every being is at a loss how to hymn thee, O all-pure one; for thou art exalted far above the heavenly intelligences, having given birth unto the unapproachable and dread King and God of all. But as thou art merciful and the ready helper of men, attend unto the entreaty of thy servants, and grant us thy help.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Where thy grace overshadoweth, O Theotokos, the demons vanish in fear and their wickedly devised phantasy is destroyed; the dark demons flee and the whole multitude of the faithful rejoice, crying out a hymn of praise to thee from their hearts: Rejoice, thou divine protection of our souls!
Sweet sight is given to the eyeless, hearing to the deaf, goodly speech to the mute, the ability to walk to the lame, cleansing to the leprous, chastity to the demonized, and healing to those who suffer from divers sicknesses, through the overshadowing of thine all-pure icon, O Theotokos.
O joyous Theotokos, let us never fail to hymn thy mighty works with psalms and hymns; for thou truly gavest birth unto the incarnate God unto our universal salvation and deliverance.
Ode VI, Irmos: Celebrating this divine and most honored festival of the Mother of God, come, ye divinely wise, let us clap our hands and glorify God Who was born of her.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Receiving Christ within thyself, O pure Virgin Directress, thou didst hear the cry, Rejoice! And having given birth unto Him ineffably, thou dost ever hear the salutation Rejoice! from all.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Thou hast filled all with joy, and hast united those who are on high with them below, O Directress. Wherefore, with joy heaven and all the earth now cry out to thee together.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, O all-hymned Directress, consolation of widows and all orphans! Rejoice, thou who pourest forth inexhaustible riches upon all the destitute!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, O Directress, dwelling-place of Christ, more lustrous than any gold and more splendid than the dawning of the sun! Rejoice, O Virgin! Rejoice, O Bride unwedded!
Same Irmos
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
O Virgin Lady, by thine exclamation of old thou didst impart to thine all-pure image the all-rich grace of thy divine birthgiving, that it work great and all-glorious miracles in abundance, unto the salvation of those who set their hope on thee.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Where the holy name of the joyous Theotokos is glorified, streams of every good thing pour forth. Come ye in purity, O people, for, lo! by the manifestation of the divine icon of the Virgin is the presence of the Queen revealed, unto the salvation of all the faithful.
Approaching with faith, O all-immaculate Mistress and Mother of God, from thine all-pure icon we receive healing of maladies, the dispelling of the passions, salvation which nourisheth the soul, forgiveness of sins, and everlasting deliverance.
To thee, O Lady, do the generations of the earthborn flee, and ask great mercy; and they that are infirm receive healing in abundance, release from the passions, and consolation amid grief. O Mistress, let fall upon me a drop of soul-saving rain, that with all I also may hymn thy magnitude.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone VIII, Spec. Mel.” To thee, the champion leader…” : O ye people, let us flee to that calm and good haven, the speedy helper and ready and fervent salvation, the protection of the Virgin, and let us make haste to prayer and speed to repentance. For the all-pure Theotokos poureth forth upon us inexhaustible mercies; she cometh in advance to help us and delivereth her good-hearted and God-fearing servants from great misfortunes and evils.
Ikos: Having cleansed thought and mind, let us make haste to the Theotokos, calling her blessed in splendid hymns; and let us glorify and honor her all-pure icon; and falling down before it, let us do homage as to herself; for the veneration shown an icon ascendeth unto the Prototype, and he that honoreth and boweth down before it, honoreth the Prototype Himself, as the divine fathers have said. And if one doth not reverence the all-holy Theotokos, and doth not venerate her icon, let him be anathema. For she putteth to shame and destroyeth those who honor her not, and delivereth from great misfortunes and evils her good-hearted and God-fearing servants.
Ode VII, Irmos: The divinely wise youths worshipped not a creation rather than the Creator, but, manfully trampling the threat of the fire underfoot, they rejoice, chanting: Blessed art Thou, the all-hymned God of our fathers!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, rejoice, O Directress, who dost ever direct all the faithful to tread the path to all salvation! Rejoice, O Mistress, for by thee are we ever delivered from the present tribulations brought about by the barbarians!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, rejoice, O Theotokos Directress, who keepest watch and prayest to God for us, delivering all the people from every sorrow and from all evil by thy mediation!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, rejoice, O all-holy Directress, who fulfillest those of our petitions which are for our profit, and ever desirest for all good and brotherly unity, especially among the leaders.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, rejoice, O Directress of ships which must needs sail, who deliverest the faithful, and quickly loosest them from divers and long-standing ailments, O deliverance of all from every sorrow!
Same Irmos
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Come ye, let us draw forth remission from the inexhaustible wellspring which poureth forth sanctity, the all-pure Virgin and her all-pure Infant, God the Word, Who became incarnate for our sake. And let us cry out to Him: O Creator and Deliverer Who art God glorified with the Father and the Spirit, blessed art Thou!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Possessed of ever-vigilant and God-pleasing prayer, O pure one, and an insuperable dominion of might, crush thou the audacity of the enemy which is directed against us, that we, thy servants, may rejoice in thee, crying out to thy Son: O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!
O ye faithful people, let us rejoice and be glad in the wondrous appearance of the icon of the all-pure Mistress, the Theotokos; for it hath been shown to be an inexhaustible river pouring forth the water of healing. For it giveth sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, the ability to walk to the lame, and free healing to all amid their infirmities.
An unfathomable abyss, an incomprehensible mystery is the unapproachable image of thy conception, O Virgin; for thy conception was seedless; thou gavest birth without a husband; the Incorporeal One became incarnate, the Preëternal One became an infant, the Son of God became thy Son, O Virgin. To Him do we cry aloud: Blessed art Thou, O God!
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!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, O most blessed Mary, for through thee the most blessed God hath arrayed Himself wholly in me; and having arrayed Himself in man, He hath united man to His divinity in an ineffable union, O Virgin Directress! Rejoice, O joyous one, thou joy of all the world!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, dispeller of evil spirits! Rejoice, O Theotokos Directress! Rejoice, thou whom the invisible armies of heaven ever glorify and magnify as the Mother of God! Rejoice, thou who hast joined those who are below with those above!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, rejoice, O Directress who without exception surpassest all the heavenly hosts! Rejoice, O all-hymned Mistress, who gavest birth to the God of all creation, and hast dominion over it! Rejoice, O pure one, who even after giving birth remainest a virgin!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, glory of all women, all-hallowed temple of our God! Rejoice, O Directress! Rejoice, thou who savest the souls of all the world! Rejoice, protecting cloud broader than the heavens! Rejoice, phial full of divine oil of myrrh!
Same Irmos
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The minds of angels and men are filled with awe, O Theotokos, in contemplating how thou gavest flesh unto the God of heaven, containing Him in thy womb, and how, having given birth unto Him as a babe, thou bearest Him as a Son in thine arms. Before Him doth creation stand in awe and the heavenly thrones tremble, crying out unceasingly: Holy, holy, holy art Thou, O God Who art all-hymned and supremely exalted above all forever!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, thou who art the joy of all the world! With the Archangel Gabriel we cry out to thee, O Theotokos: Rejoice, thou who didst contain the Infinite One! Rejoice, O thou who art full of grace, bearer of the whole Divinity! Rejoice, restoration of Adam, the Lord is with thee, saving us for thy sake! Him do we hymn and exalt supremely forever.
O sanctified root of Jesse, thou hast plucked forth the root of our sin, O rod of Aaron which blossomed, giving rise to a Blossom, Christ the Bestower of life! O jar which received the Manna, thou hast crushed all the power of death, and hast brought the human race to the generation of life. Wherefore, we hymn thee, the cause of that which is good.
Thou art the boast of Christians, O Mistress; thou art a sword against our enemies and a rampart for those who have recourse unto thee. We now call upon thee for aid, O Lady: permit not the foe to rise up against thy people, for they praise neither thee nor thy Son, O Theotokos, nor do they bow down before thine icon. Vanquish them, and save thou our souls.
Ode IX, Irmos: Let every mortal leap for joy, enlightened by the Spirit; and let the nature of the incorporeal intelligences keep festival, honoring the sacred feast of the Mother of God, and let them cry aloud: Rejoice, O most blessed Theotokos, pure Ever-virgin!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, O lamp who bore the never-waning Light and who in thy birth-giving hast destroyed the darkness of polytheism and delivered thy people from the abyss of hades! Rejoice, O Theotokos Directress, mediatress of all good things!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, O earth from whence the Ear of heavenly grain hath budded forth for the faithful; and deliver the whole world from soul-destroying famine, O noetic and animate one! Rejoice, O vine who gavest birth to the Cluster of life, O pure Theotokos Directress!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, most comely paradise of mystic flowers! Rejoice, Virgin Mother, O Theotokos who by purity hast most strangely vanquished the understanding of the invisible foe! Rejoice, O Maiden, rejoice, O Directress, thou universal wonder and report!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
By thine aid, keep thou the remaining time of our life untouched by harm, O Virgin Maiden, and count us worthy to receive a good end, for we hymn thee and cry aloud: Rejoice, O most blessed and pure Theotokos and Directress!
Same Irmos
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Thee, the steadfast helper of the human race, O Theotokos Mary, did the choir of the prophets foretell in many and divers ways, as the holy tabernacle more spacious than the heavens, the tablet divinely inscribed, the bush unconsumed by the Fire, the portal through which God passeth, the mountain and the ladder, the bridge and the rod which blossomed forth. And we truly magnify thee as the Theotokos.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The mystery of the depth of thy birthgiving moveth the mind of the angels to awe, O Virgin, and thine all-pure icon driveth the demons away, darkeneth the countenances of the ungodly, and putteth them to shame. For they cannot bear to look upon its power, and they flee and vanish away. And we lovingly bow down and venerate it, and magnify thee as the Theotokos.
As a constant intercessor before the King Most High, in that thou art possessed of undaunted boldness, establish thou the life of the Orthodox in peace profound, exalt our right-believing hierarchs, and ever grant unto thy servants all things profitable, that we may magnify thee as the Theotokos.
O most merciful helper of Christians, the mind of men or angels cannot hymn thee as is meet, for thou art more honorable than all creation, more glorious than all things of heaven and earth; for thou gavest birth unto the Creator and God of all. O Mistress, mercifully accept the hymn which we have composed for thee from the depths of our heart, and ever save us, for on thee have we set our hope.
Troparion, Tone IV: O earnest helper, Mother of the Lord Most High, thou dost entreat Christ, thy Son and our God, on behalf of all, and dost cause all to be saved who have recourse to thy mighty protection. O Lady, Queen and Mistress, help us all who, amid temptations, sorrows and sickness, are heavy laden with many sins, who stand before thee and with tears pray to thee with compunctionate soul and contrite heart before thine all-pure image, and who have unfailing hope in thee: Grant deliverance from all evils, and things profitable unto all, O Virgin Theotokos, and save us all, for thou art the divine protection of thy servants.