Tuesday Evening Compline : Canon in Tone VIII

Further to yesterday’s encouragement to pray the supplicatory canons to the Theotokos, as part of the praxis of the Dormition Fast, the canon for tonight’s compline is posted. This will be equally suited to incorporation into our evening prayers.

You will recognise this as the normal Small Supplicatory Canon, by the Lord Theophanes (also attributed to Theoktistos) but successive evenings will bring different Supplicatory Canons by other hymnographers. 

Ode 1, Irmos: Having passed through the water as upon dry land, * and having escaped the malice of the Egyptians, * the Israelites cried aloud: * Unto our God and Redeemer let us sing.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

Beset by many perils, I flee unto thee, seeking salvation. О Virgin Mother of the Word, save me from every grievous and cruel circumstance.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

Assaults of the passions disquiet me and fill my soul with great despondency. Bring peace to me with the tranquility of thy Son and God, О all-immaculate Maiden.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  

I entreat thee, О Virgin who hast given birth to God the Saviour, that I may be delivered from grievous circumstances; for, fleeing now unto thee, I raise unto thee my soul and mind.

Now & ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.  

In that thou art good, О only Mother of God who hast given birth to Him Who is good, unto me who am sick in body and soul grant divine visitation and providence.

Ode III, Irmos: O Lord, Creator of the vault of Heaven * and Builder of the Church,* do Thou strengthen me in Thy love, O Summit of desire, * O Support of the faithful, * O only Lover of mankind.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

I count thee the intercession and protection of my life, О Virgin Birthgiver of God. Guide me to thy haven, О cause of good things, confirmation of the faithful, who alone art all-hymned.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

I beg thee to quell the tumult of my soul and the tempest of my grief, О Virgin; for thou hast given birth to Christ, the Origin of tranquillity, О Bride of God who alone art most pure.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  

О thou who hast given birth unto the Benefactor, the Cause of good things, pour forth the riches of beneficence upon all; for as thou hast given birth to Christ Who is mighty in strength, thou art able to accomplish all things, О thou who art blessed of God.

Now & ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.  

When I am wracked by cruel afflictions and painful sufferings, О Virgin, do thou help me; for I know thee to be an inexhaustible and never-failing treasury of healings, О most immaculate one.

Ode IV, Irmos: O Lord, I have heard the mystery of Thy dispensation; * I have considered Thy works, * and I have glorified Thy Divinity.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

О Bride of God, who hast given birth to the Lord and Helmsman, still thou the tumult of my passions and the tempest of my transgressions.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

О thou who hast given birth to the compassionate Saviour of all who hymn thee, bestow the abyss of thy tender compassion upon me who invoke thee.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  

Delighting in thy gifts, О most pure one, we chant hymnody of thanksgiving unto thee, knowing thee to be the Mother of God.

Now & ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.  

As I lie upon my bed of sickness and infirmity, help me, О only Ever- virgin Theotokos, in that thou art full of love.

Ode V, Irmos: Illumine us O Lord with Thy commandments, * and with Thine arm raised on high * grant us Thy peace, * O Lover of mankind!

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

Fill thou my heart with gladness, О pure one, granting me thine unfading joy, О thou who hast given birth to the Cause of gladness.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

Deliver us from misfortunes, О pure Theotokos, who hast given birth to eternal Deliverance, the Intelligence which passeth all understanding.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  

Dispel thou the gloom of my transgressions with the radiance of thy splendour, О Bride of God who hast given birth to the divine and pre-eternal Light.

Now & ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.  О pure one, heal thou the sickness of my soul, granting me thy

О pure one, heal thou the sickness of my soul, granting me thy visitation, and By thy prayers giving me health.

Ode VI, Irmos: I will pour out my prayer unto the Lord, * and to Him will I proclaim my grief; * for my soul is filled with evils, * and my life unto Hades hath drawn nigh, * and like Jonah I pray unto Thee: * Raise me up from corruption, O God.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

He Who gave Himself over to death hath saved from death and corruption my nature which hath been held captive by corruption, О Virgin. Entreat thy Lord and Son, that He deliver me from the wickedness of the enemy.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

I know thee to be the intercessor and steadfast guardian of my life who doeth away with the tumults of temptations and repelleth the onslaughts of the demons; and I ever pray to be delivered from the corruption of my passions.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  

О Maiden, we have acquired thee as a bulwark of refuge, the perfect salvation of our souls, and latitude amid tribulations; and we ever rejoice in thy splendour. О Lady, even now save us from sufferings and misfortunes.

Now & ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.  

I lie now, sick, upon my bed, and there is no healing for my flesh; but to thee, the good one who gave birth to God, the Saviour and Redeemer of the world, do I pray: Raise me up from the corruption of infirmities.

Lord, have mercy. (Thrice).

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now & ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.  

Sessional hymn, Tone VIII: Beholding Thee, the Lamb and Shepherd, * the Saviour of the world, upon the Cross, * she that gaveth birth to Thee said, weeping: * The world rejoiceth, having received deliverance; * but my womb doth burn, beholding Thy crucifixion, ** which Thou dost endure on behalf of all, O my Son and God!

Ode VII, Irmos: The Children of Judaea, * who of old came to dwell in Babylon, * trampled underfoot the flame of the furnace * through their faith in the Trinity, * as they sang: ‘O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou.’

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

As Thou didst desire to arrange our salvation, О Saviour, Thou didst make Thine abode within the womb of the Virgin, and hast shown her to be an intercessor for the world. О God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

Thou hast given birth to Him Who willeth mercy, О pure Mother. Him do thou beseech, that He deliver from transgressions and defilement of soul those who cry out with faith: О God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  

Thou hast shown her who gave birth to Thee to be a treasury of salvation, a wellspring of incorruption, a tower of safety and a portal of repentance for those who cry: О God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!

Now & ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.  

О Virgin Birthgiver of God who hast given birth for us to Christ the Saviour, grant healing of bodily weakness and infirmity of soul unto those who with love have recourse to thy protection.

Ode VIII, Irmos: The King of heaven, * Who is glorified by the hosts of angels, * let us praise and supremely exalt throughout all ages.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

О Virgin, disdain not those who are in need of thine aid, and who hymn and supremely exalt thee throughout all ages.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

Thou healest, the infirmity of my soul and my bodily pangs, О pure Virgin, that I may glorify thee throughout all ages.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  

О Virgin, thou pourest forth a wealth of healings upon those who with faith hymn thee and supremely exalt thine ineffable offspring.

Now & ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.  

О Virgin, thou drivest away the assaults of temptations and the attacks of the passions; wherefore, we hymn thee throughout all ages.

Ode IX, Irmos: Saved by thee, O pure Virgin, * we confess thee to be truly the Theotokos, * and together with the choirs of the bodiless hosts * thee do we magnify.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

Turn not away from the torrent of my tears, О Virgin who hast given birth unto Christ, and wiped away every tear from every face.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

Fill thou my heart with joy, О Virgin who received the fullness of Joy, setting at naught the grief of sin.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  

With the rays of thy light, О Virgin, illumine those who in an Orthodox manner confess thee to be the Theotokos, dispelling the darkness of ignorance.

Now & ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.  

Heal thou the infirmities of one who hath been brought down to a place of affliction, О Virgin, transforming illness into health.

Preparing for the Dormition

Dear brothers and sisters,

With yesterday’s feast, we began the Dormition Fast, which is a small but strict period  of abstinence before our celebration of the Falling Asleep of the Mother of God and her Assumption into Heaven.

This feast is a powerful echo of the Lord’s Resurrection and, as such, it is our Summer Pascha. This is reflected in the various ceremonies and services celebrated across the Orthodox world for the feast, including the Burial Service of the Mother of God, which mirrors Holy and Great Saturday.

Given this Paschal nature of the feast, it is not surprising that we should prepare with fasting. But, what about our spiritual preparation in terms of prayer?

The spiritual praxis of the Great Fast is shaped by the Lenten Triodion, but the other fasting periods of the year have no such source of a schematised liturgical framework.

However, in the Greek tradition, the Great and Small Supplicatory Canons to the Mother of God are chanted in a pareklisis/ moleben each night up until the eve of the feast, starting with the Small Supplicatory Canon if August 1st (14th New Style) falls on a weekday, but with the Great Supplicatory Canon if August 1st falls on a Saturday or Sunday.

The canon is not chanted on Saturdays, being the eve of the Lord’s Day, and on the Lord’s Day the Great Supplicatory Canon is chanted unless it is the eve of Transfiguration, when the vigil will be celebrated.

Having said all of this, the Great Supplicatory Canon is not traditionally part of Russian liturgical custom, as only the Small Canon was part of the transmitted liturgical tradition at the time it was received form Byzantium.

As I’ve posted before, there are actually fifty-six Supplicatory Canons to the Mother of God in the Octoechos (the book of the eight tones, from which we take the daily variables on our eight-week cycle). In each tone, there is a canon for use at compline for each night of the week.

Reflecting our own Slavic tradition, it would be good if the faithful could integrate either the Supplicatory Canon from our prayerbooks, or the Supplicatory Canon of the day into evening prayers, in preparation for the celebration of the Dormition.

For the Canons of the Octoechos, see:

English: http://st-sergius.org/services/services2A.html

Slavonic: http://st-sergius.org/services/services3.html

The canons are to be found in the compline variables, and we start are currently in Tone 8, returning to Tone 1 on Saturday evening, at vespers.

The refrain between the verses is, of course. ‘Most Holy Theotokos, save us’, with ‘Glory be to the Father etc.’ before the penultimate troparion, and ‘Both now and ever etc…’ before the final troparion in each ode.

These are days in which we should be seeking to draw closer to the Mother of God, as we spiritually approach her Falling Asleep, to joyously celebrate her new life – body and soul – with her Son in Heaven.

Wishing you a good struggle with prayer and fasting. Find time for the Mother of God in these two weeks of fasting, and thank the Lord for her maternal care for the Church and Christian people.

May God bless you –

Hieromonk Mark

Today’s Liturgy and the Blessing of Honey

Dear brothers and sisters,

It was – as always – a great joy to gather today for the Divine Liturgy, followed by the veneration of the Precious Cross and the blessing of honey.

Though yesterday was the feast of the Procession of the Life-Giving Cross and the All-Merciful Saviour, we were unable to have Liturgy, so we ‘caught up’ with August’s first feast of the Saviour at compline yesterday evening and today, after Liturgy.

The icon of the All-Merciful Saviour

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