Dear brothers and sisters, Sunday’s celebration of the Triumph of Orthodoxy reminded me that I had been remiss in sharing the canon to St John of Damascus with one of our parishioners, so I am posting the canon to this great Church Father below, hoping that parishioners might do a little on-line research into this holy father and his defence of sacred imagery in the life and worship of the Church.
Canon of the Venerable One, Tone II
Ode I, Irmos: In the deep of old the infinite Power overwhelmed Pharaoh’s whole army. * But the Incarnate Word annihilated pernicious sin. * Exceedingly glorious is the Lord, * for gloriously hath He been glorified.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
To me who desirest to begin thy praises, grant me now thy honeyed voice, O venerable one, wherewith thou didst with hymns illumine the Orthodox Church which honoureth thy memory, O father John.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
To me who desirest to begin thy praises, grant me now thy honeyed voice, O venerable one, wherewith thou didst with hymns illumine the Orthodox Church which honoureth thy memory, O father John.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Perceiving the nature of things most excellently, as a wise judge keen of intellect, thou didst prefer eternal things to those which do not last; for thou didst trade transitory things for those which are abiding, O John, where Christ hath now glorified thee.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Thou hast been shown to surpass all creation, visible and invisible, O pure Ever-virgin; for thou gavest birth to the Creator, in that it was His good pleasure to become incarnate in thy womb. Him do thou entreat with boldness, that He save those who hymn thee.
Ode III, Irmos: The desert of the barren Church of the nations * blossomed like a lily * at Thy coming, O Lord, * therein hath my heart been established.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Thou didst distribute thy wealth, thereby giving it back to God; wherefore, the kingdom in the heavens hath been prepared for thee, and thou hast now received abundant rewards, O John.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Thou didst distribute thy wealth, thereby giving it back to God; wherefore, the kingdom in the heavens hath been prepared for thee, and thou hast now received abundant rewards, O John.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Receiving a talant of wisdom, O John, thou didst adorn the Church of Christ, adorning it with thy deeds; and, departing this life, thou hast increased it exceedingly.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The ranks of angels were astonished, O most pure one, and the hearts of mortals were filled with awe at thy birthgiving. Wherefore, we honour thee, the Theotokos, with faith.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Sedalion of the venerable one, Tone III: Thou hast been shown to us to be a melodious and sanctified trumpet, O most sacred one, sounding forth in hymnody the teachings of the Lord and Saviour to the ends of the earth; and by thy words thou hast illumined the earth, O venerable John, entreat Christ God, that He grant us great mercy. (Twice)
Stavrotheotokion, Tone III (replaces the Theotokion on Wednesdays and Fridays): The unblemished ewe-lamb of the Word, * the incorrupt Virgin Mother, * beholding Him Who sprang forth from her without pain * suspended upon the Cross, cried out, maternally lamenting: * “Woe is me, O my Child! * How is it that Thou dost suffer willingly, * desiring to redeem mankind ** from the indignity of the passions?”
Ode IV, Irmos: From a Virgin didst Thou come forth, not as an ambassador, * nor as an Angel, * but the very Lord himself incarnate, * and didst save me, the whole man; * wherefore I cry unto Thee: * Glory to Thy power, O Lord!
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Thou didst distribute thy wealth, thereby giving it back to God; wherefore, the kingdom in the heavens hath been prepared for thee, and thou hast now received abundant rewards, O John.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Submitting to the command of Christ, thou didst forsake the beauty, wealth, sweetness and splendour of the world; and taking up thy cross for His sake, O wise John, thou didst follow after Him.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Impoverishing thyself for Christ Who impoverished Himself for the sake of our salvation, thou wast glorified with Him as He promised, and dost now reign with Him Who reigneth for ever, O John.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
All of us, the faithful, know thee to be the haven of salvation and an invincible rampart, O Lady Theotokos; for by thy supplications thou dost deliver our souls from tribulations.
Ode V, Irmos: O Christ God Thou art a mediator between God and man; * for by Thee, O Master, * we have been led from the night of ignorance, * to Thy Father, the Source of light.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Made steadfast in the divine life by the fear of Christ, O father John, thou didst subject all thy carnal mind to thy spirit, cleansing thy senses.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Made steadfast in the divine life by the fear of Christ, O father John, thou didst subject all thy carnal mind to thy spirit, cleansing thy senses.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Having assiduously purified body, mind and soul of all defilement, O divinely wise one, thou didst receive the splendour of the threefold Sun, Who hath enriched thee with radiant gifts.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Entreat thy Son and Lord, O pure Virgin; that He grant deliverance from the assaults of the adversary to all captives and peace to those who place their hope on thee.
Ode VI, Irmos: I am held fast in the depths of sin O Saviour, * and am overwhelmed by the sea of life, * but as Jonah was delivered from the sea-monster, * so also deliver me from the passions, * and save me.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Illumined by the grace of the Spirit, and clearly enriched by the knowledge of secular things, thou didst generously give thy wealth to the needy, O John.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Illumined by the grace of the Spirit, and clearly enriched by the knowledge of secular things, thou didst generously give thy wealth to the needy, O John.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Like the choirs of heaven didst thou adorn the Church in Orthodox manner, intoning divine harmonious hymns to the Trinity.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Thou gavest birth without knowing a man, O Virgin, and remainest eternally virgin, revealing the true Godhead of thy Son and God in images.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
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 of the venerable one, Tone IV, Spec. Mel. “Having been lifted up upon the Cross …”: Let us hymn John, the honoured and divinely eloquent speaker and hymnographer, * the instructor and teacher of the Church, * the opponent of the enemy; * for taking up the Cross of the Lord as a sword, * he hath cut down all the falsehood of heresies, * and as a fervent intercessor before God ** he bestoweth forgiveness of transgressions upon all.
Ikos: Together let us cry out to the instructor, teacher and priest of the Church, as an initiate of ineffable mysteries: By thy supplications to God open our mouths and grant that we may speak the words of thy doctrines; for thou didst appear in the world as one who shares in the Trinity, shining forth in the world like another sun, illumining all with thy miracles and teachings, like Moses ever instructing in the law of the Lord. And thou wast a luminary in word and deed, praying unceasingly, that forgiveness of transgressions be given to all.
Ode VII, Irmos: The godless order of the lawless tyrant * fanned the roaring flame; * but Christ bedewed the God-fearing children with the Spirit, * therefore He is blessed and supremely exalted.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Afire with zeal, thou didst strike down all the false knowledge of God-opposing heresies with thy splendid writings, O John, manifestly making clear what had been sown of old by the wise and written carefully.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Afire with zeal, thou didst strike down all the false knowledge of God-opposing heresies with thy splendid writings, O John, manifestly making clear what had been sown of old by the wise and written carefully.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
With the discourses and the dogmas compiled by thee, thou didst fervently denounce the blasphemous impiety of the abominable disciples of Manes, who strove to infect the Church of Christ, O John.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O undefiled Virgin, Mother unwedded, we know thee to be more holy than the saints, in that thou alone hast given birth to the immutable God; for thou hast poured forth incorruption upon all the faithful by thy divine birth giving.
Ode VIII, Irmos: In Babylon, the activity of the fire was once divided, * for, by the command of God it consumed the Chaldeans, * but bedewed the faithful, who chant: * Bless ye the Lord, all ye works of the Lord!
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Thou didst openly denounce the division of Nestorius, the confusion of Severus and the monothelite foolishness, O thrice-blessed John, shining forth the radiance of Orthodoxy upon all the ends of the earth in the one true Faith.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Thou didst openly denounce the division of Nestorius, the confusion of Severus and the monothelite foolishness, O thrice-blessed John, shining forth the radiance of Orthodoxy upon all the ends of the earth in the one true Faith.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
The enemy abundantly sowed the tares of heresy in the Church of Christ, that the worship of Christ in His precious icons might be eliminated; but he did not find thee sleeping, O all-blessed John, who uprooted every seed of evil.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Without seed didst thou conceive Him Who is inseparable from the Father and dwelt in thy womb as God and man, and thou hast given birth to Him ineffably, O most pure Theotokos. Wherefore, we confess thee to be the salvation of us all.
Ode IX, Irmos: The Son of the Unoriginate Father, God and Lord, * hath appeared to us incarnate of a Virgin, * to enlighten those in darkness, * and to gather the dispersed; * therefore the all-hymned Theotokos do we magnify.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Thou hast taught all the children of the Church to hymn in an Orthodox fashion the adored Unity in Trinity, and to clearly theologize concerning the divine incarnation of the Word, O John, explaining those things which many find difficult to understand in the sacred Scriptures.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Thou hast taught all the children of the Church to hymn in an Orthodox fashion the adored Unity in Trinity, and to clearly theologize concerning the divine incarnation of the Word, O John, explaining those things which many find difficult to understand in the sacred Scriptures.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Having hymned the ranks of the saints, the pure Theotokos, the forerunner of Christ, the apostles, the prophets, fasters and wise teachers, the righteous and the martyrs, O John, thou dost now abide in their mansions.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
In a manner beyond understanding, O Virgin Theotokos, thou didst become the bridal-chamber of the incarnation of the Word, arrayed and embroidered with the glory of the virtues. Wherefore, we proclaim thee to be the Theotokos, O allimmaculate one.
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Troparion of the venerable one, Tone VIII: Teacher of Orthodoxy, instructor of piety and chastity, * luminary of the Church, God-inspired nourishment of monastics, * O supremely wise John, thou spiritual flute illumining all, ** entreat Christ God that our souls be saved.