Akathist to St. Silouan the Athonite

St. Silouan the Athonite (source)

  

AKATHIST TO OUR VENERABLE AND GODBEARING FATHER SAINT SILOUAN THE ATHONITE

Whose memory the Church celebrates on September 24th, the day of his repose

KONTAKION I
O chosen ascetic and earthly angel of Christ, all-blessed father Silouan, most excellent emulator of the fathers of Athos in vigils, fasting and humility! Through thy thirst for God and burning love for Him thou didst acquire abundant grace for thy soul, O most blessed one. Imitating Christ, thou didst crucify thyself with tearful prayer for those languishing in hades, for the living and for those yet to come. Of this thy love deprive us not, who amid the vale of sin ask thine intercession before God and cry out with compunction: Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of love in thy prayer for the world!
  
OIKOS I
The Creator of angels and Lord of hosts chose thee beforehand from thy mother’s womb, and, as saith the Psalmist, gave thee a deep heart, O God-bearing father Silouan, that as in a most excellent receptacle thou mightest place the uncontainable name of God Most High, and through the power of God and divine grace mightest most earnestly follow the life of the angels. And praising the wondrous struggle of thine earthly labors, we reverently cry out to thee:
Rejoice, fruit of the chaste purity of pious parents;
rejoice, fragrant flower of the unfading beauty of their struggle of faith!
Rejoice, thou who with all thy soul didst love the piety of thy parents;

rejoice, thou who wast pleased to emulate their chastity and love for God!

Rejoice, thou who from childhood wast wondrously filled with the wisdom to

seek joy in God;

rejoice, thou who like a deer didst yearn for the well-spring of grace

divine!
Rejoice, thou who didst sweeten thy youthful mind with the word of God, as with
sweet honey;

rejoice, thou who didst root thy heart wholly in the will of God!

Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of love in thy prayer for
the world!   

KONTAKION II

The all-blessed Theotokos beheld thee sunk in the depths of sin, when delight in sin had entered into the belly of thy youth like a fetid serpent; and, grieving maternally, she wondrously cried out to thee: “Most painful is it for me to see thee defiling thyself with sinful acts!” And when thou didst realize that she was suffering for thy falls into sin, thou didst manfully cast the serpent of sin out, vanquishing it by repentance and prayer, and ever chanting to the Lord Who loveth us a hymn of gratitude for His all-pure Mother: Alleluia!    

OIKOS II

The knowledge of God overshadowed thee when thou wast vouchsafed to hear the voice of the Mother of the Lord of hosts, O Silouan chosen of God, and thy heart was filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, by Whose activity thou didst escape the vanity of the world like a doe from a snare, fleeing unto Mount Athos, the garden of the Mother of God who had wondrously summoned thee, that thou mightest cleave unto God with filial love. And, seeing the wondrous intention of the Mistress of the world for thee, we cry out to thee with compunction:

Rejoice, thou who wast called forth from the darkness of sin into the light of the truth of Christ by the all-pure one herself;

rejoice, thou who wast wondrously chosen to be a faithful husbandman of her earthly garden!

Rejoice, succulent grapes of the land of Russia, springing forth in abundance on Mount Athos;
rejoice, untiring conscience who broke the sting of sin by penitent prayer!

Rejoice, thou who didst minister unto God like an angel in the Holy Monastery of Saint Panteleimon; rejoice, thou who by labor, fasting and stillness didst gloriously subdue the enemy who fought against thee!
Rejoice, thou who by humble-mindedness didst trample all the wiles of the devil underfoot;

rejoice, thou who didst gloriously acquire immaculate faith by thy thirst

for God!

Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of love in thy prayer for the world!

  

KONTAKION III

The power of the Most High truly preserved thee when the spirit of hades and death attacked thee and assailed thy soul with sinful delusions, O God-loving Silouan. But when thou wast afflicted and didst imagine that God was beyond entreaty, the Lord Who loveth mankind visited thee in the ineffable effulgence of Tabor, O most blessed one, and strengthened thee with the fire of the grace of the Holy Spirit. And receiving a new birth, like Paul, with fear and joy thou didst cry out unto God:

Alleluia!

  

OIKOS III

Possessed of a wealth of grace, thou wast taken up by the Spirit into the heavens, where thou didst hear unspeakable words. Truly, who can describe those joys, O all-blessed father Silouan? For when, beyond the forms of the world, in contemplation of the indescribable beauties of the Godhead, thou wast vouchsafed to gaze upon the face of Christ God Who loveth infinitely and forgiveth all, thou wast filled to overflowing with the ineffable love of God. And, marveling at thine ineffable divine vision, we cry out:

Rejoice, thou who in the struggle of the faith of Christ wast vouchsafed visitation and consolation;

rejoice, thou who wast counted worthy to behold the beauty of His ineffable glory!
Rejoice, thou who by the Holy Spirit wast transported to the heavenly Eden of wondrous beauty;

rejoice, thou who there wast given to drink abundantly of the gracious gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter!

Rejoice, partaker of the ineffable beauty of paradise;rejoice, beloved of God who wast favored by Him with compassions of heavenly beauty!
Rejoice, thou who dost earnestly mediate these graces for the whole human race;
rejoice, thou who like an unsleeping guardian dost wake us for the dawn of eternal life!
Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of love in thy prayer for the world!
    

KONTAKION IVThe devil, the slayer of man, who from time immemorial hath sought to destroy the righteous, loosed a storm of grievous temptations upon thee, O father Silouan, but thou wast taught by the Holy Spirit to keep thy mind in hell but despair not. Anticipating the wiles of the devil by vigilance and humility, thou didst vanquish him; and put to shame by thee, he plainly admitted that he is a liar. Thus didst thou preserve thy soul for God, like a meek dove from the snares, unceasingly chanting unto Him: Alleluia!   

  

St. Silouan the Athonite (source)

  
OIKOS IV

Hearing of thee that thou wast miraculously summoned from the vanity of the world to the monastic struggle, and that thou didst produce goodly fruit through the grace of God, O venerable one, not only young monks, but elders also, well tried in the struggle, had recourse unto thee and delighted in thy deeds and words as in honey; and thus attaining the angelic life, they emulated the Lord. Wherefore we too, seeing thee adorned with humble-mindedness, cry out to thee with joy:
Rejoice, inexhaustible well of humble- mindedness and chastity;

rejoice, fragrant and unfading lily of the earthly Eden!

Rejoice, thou who with love didst bear the easy yoke of Christ in thy struggle;

rejoice, thou who by prayer didst establish thy mind, heart and will in God!
Rejoice, thou who didst diligently preserve the purity of thy soul and body;

rejoice, thou who by unceasing prayer didst ascend the heights of dispassion!

Rejoice, most earnest follower of the canons of the holy fathers;

rejoice, thou who dost unceasingly proclaim to us the heavenly homeland

and the love of God!

Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of love in thy prayer for the world!

 

KONTAKION V

The Lord gave thee divine grace as a star pointing the way and enlightening thy mind, O God-loving father Silouan, and thereby He strengthened thee for the struggle of salvation, as He did Elias at the brook Chē΄-rĭth. And, wondrously fed with the inexhaustible treasures of the Holy Spirit, in youth and old age, from the morning watch until night, in thy prayers for the whole world thou didst unceasingly sound forth unto God like a melodious flute: Alleluia!    

OIKOS V

We see thee in thy goodly struggle, O all- blessed father Silouan, seeking the love of God as a babe seeketh its mother’s milk, aflame with His love and crying out with tears: “Be thou mindful of the love of the Lord, O my soul, and warm thou my heart, for who can give me such heat as the love of God, which will give me rest neither by day or by night?” Wherefore, let us constrain our hearts and soften our souls with the warmth of love for Thee, God most compassionate, and let us cry out to Silouan with compunction:

Rejoice, thou who didst constantly thirst for the righteousness of God, more than for sweet honey;
rejoice, thou who didst emulate the angels in thy love for the Lord!

Rejoice, thou who dost offer up the incense of pure prayer like a flame of fire;

rejoice, thou who hast adorned things above and things below with the

beauty of angelic reverence!

Rejoice, for thou didst make thy heart like the bush unconsumed by the fire;

rejoice, for thine arms, like those of Moses for the chosen people, were

stretched forth before the Lord for all!

Rejoice, for thou didst love to desire the judgments of God for all time, and didst seek His statutes.

rejoice, for thou didst unceasingly cry out to Him: O God, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance!

Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of love in thy prayer for the world!

  

KONTAKION VI

Thou wast shown to be a constant preacher of stillness, O favored one of God, when lovingly the Lord Who loveth mankind desired to test thee by depriving thee of the visitation of the most Holy Spirit. Sensing thyself bereft of His grace, like Adam who lamented the loss of paradise thou didst tearfully cry out with contrite heart: “O Lord, before Thou didst seek me out and grant me to delight in Thy Holy Spirit, and my soul loved Thee. But now my soul grieveth after Thee.” And thus lamenting, though trusting in the loving-kindness of God, thou didst cry out to Him:

Alleluia!

  

OIKOS VI

Thou didst shine forth as a new beholder of mysteries, O God-loving father Silouan, and by prayer and tears didst again acquire the grace of the Holy Spirit, through which thy heart was filled to overflowing with ineffable love. And comprehending the power of this grace, thou didst cry out with the boldness of Elias: “O Lord, not to me alone, but grant the whole world to recognize Thy love and be saved!” And having thee as a tireless advocate before God, we cry out to thee with compunction:

Rejoice, for through the crucifixion of prayer for the dead, the living and those yet to come, thou becamest an open heaven;

rejoice, for by such love thou didst win the kingdom of heaven for thy soul!

Rejoice, wondrous embodiment of purity of faith and innocence;

rejoice, thou who didst acquire the full forgiveness of Christ for thy neighbors’ falls into sin!
Rejoice, faithful fellow struggler with the saints of God, the wondrous sanctification of the world;

rejoice, faithful novice of the all-blessed Abbess of Athos and receptacle of the gifts of the Holy Spirit!

Rejoice, sweetly melodious harp of Mount Athos, proclaiming the life which is to come;
rejoice, tireless toiler in her garden, who dost strengthen the weak for the struggle!

Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of 1ove in thy prayer for the world!

  

KONTAKION VII

Desiring to reveal in thee a new lamp of grace, O venerable father Silouan, the Lord Who loveth mankind transplanted thee like an olive shoot from the root of the land of Russia to the wilderness of Athos; and, bedewing thee with the grace of the Holy Spirit, He rendered thee most fruitful: for by thy deeds and words, as with life-creating oil, thou didst guide all to purity and chastity, piety and brotherly love. And, bound with the bond of love, and making what is baser subject to that which is higher, they chanted unto God: Alleluia!  

  

St. Silouan the Athonite (source)

  
OIKOS VII

The Lord revealed thee as a new fellow ascetic of the desert dwellers, a guide and teacher of monks and lay folk, O all-blessed Silouan. For, while yet living in the world, thou didst teach the full forgiveness of Christ to a certain soldier, who was scandalized by the fall of his wife into sin and raged with anger, and thus thou didst preserve the Mystery of Matrimony, the Little Church, from destruction. And calling on monks who had fallen into despondency to acquire peace of soul, and guiding them to the fear of God, thou didst lead them to repentance, and didst thus prepare all to be dwellers in paradise. Knowing thee as one who thus concerned thyself for the salvation of all, with love we cry out to thee as is due:
Rejoice, diligent fellow struggler with the desert-lovers in seeking God;

rejoice, earnest establisher of brotherly love and fervent advocate for all!

Rejoice, faithful companion on the path of life, amid misfortunes and perils;

rejoice, unfeigned servant amid sicknesses and griefs, and sorrows of soul!

Rejoice, proclaimer of the love of God, calling all to reconciliation with God and our neighbors; rejoice, thou who in bearing witness that the Lord is good dost strengthen in the hope of forgiveness souls weakened by sin! 

Rejoice, faithful ascetic of the earthly Eden, tearfully mediating salvation for the world;
rejoice, thou who desirest to descend into hades for all unrepentant sinners;

Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of lover in thy prayer for the world!

  

KONTAKION VIII

A strange wonder did the Lord reveal to thee, O all-blessed father Silouan, when He miraculously showed thee thy spiritual father, the elder Abraámius, transfigured in His own image and shining more brightly than the eye can bear; and so He hath taught us to treat the Mystery of Repentance with honor. And, seeing thee entrusting thine own will to thy spiritual father as to the Lord Himself, and thus cutting off thine evil desires through humility and repentance, we learn thus to entrust ourselves to the will of God through the pastors of the Church, and so to escape the wrath of God and the coming judgment before our departure, crying out to the triune God: Alleluia!  

  
OIKOS VIII

O all-wondrous favorite of God, who acquired the humility of Christ with all thy heart and soul, and who crucified thyself to the world for Him, thy Beloved, thou didst cry out, weeping: “O Jesus most sweet! Thou hast resurrected my soul, that I may love Thee and my neighbor. Wherefore, grant me to pour forth tears for the whole world, that all men may come to know Thee, that they may delight in Thy peace and behold the light of Thy countenance.” And we who have wasted our life in sins and are saved by thee bless thee thus:
Rejoice, tireless toiler with her who is our earnest helper, in making supplications for the world;
rejoice, thou who, like Jeremiah who wept for the people, hast bedewed the Holy Mountain with tears!

Rejoice, all-wondrous ascetic of Athos, who by thy supplication dost sanctify the whole world;

rejoice, thou who as a solicitous father dost mediate with tears before God for all who are perishing amid sins!

Rejoice, beloved favorite of Christ God, joy and amazement of the angels;

rejoice, radiant effulgence of the North, purely transplanted from Holy Russia to the desert of Athos!

Rejoice, thou who in humility and obedience didst show forth a model of angelic beauty;

rejoice, thou who by the fervor of thy supplication didst desire to make us also dwellings of the divine Spirit!

Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of love in thy prayer for the world!

   

KONTAKION IX

All the angelic beings and the multitude of ascetics marveled at thy humility and love for mankind, O Silouan our father, when, assuming the position of steward, thou didst emulate the chaste Joseph of Egypt. Having concern not only for the brethren of the holy monastery, but also for the lay workers who toiled there, as sons of God, thou didst cry out in their behalf to God Who loveth each of His creatures: “O Lord, send Thou Thy Holy Spirit, and comfort the troubled souls of these, Thy poor people.” For thus pointing out the beauty of each obedience undertaken with humility of mind, thou didst cry out to God unceasingly: Alleluia!  

OIKOS IX

Even the most eloquent of orators are unable to describe the power of thy love, O all-wondrous father Silouan; for with tears thou didst thirst to extinguish all enmity and disorder among men and to reconcile everyone unto God, crying out to the Master of the world: “O Lord, I yearn to be Thine, and to crucify myself with Thee for the whole world, that all may be saved!” And to the brethren thou didst cry out: “My children, pray for thine enemies, for they are our brethren, our life; and only the devil is the enemy of peace.” And guided by thee toward brotherly love and love of mankind, we cry out to thee:

Rejoice, thou who in thy goodness didst make thyself like Christ on Golgotha;

rejoice, thou who didst crucify thyself for thine enemies, not through thy hands, but thy heart and soul!

Rejoice, thou who carest for thy neighbor and didst not lose the beauty of grace-filled stillness;

rejoice, thou who, loving thy neighbor, didst acquire the power of unceasing prayer!

Rejoice, thou who through fasting and prayer didst utterly deflect the darts of the evil one;

rejoice, thou who hast taught us to overcome the evil wiles and machinations of the devil!

Rejoice, thou who, laboriously grinding thy flesh in the mill of Christ, like sacred grain, didst sweeten thy heart with prayer;

rejoice, thou who with the bread of life didst abundantly feed the workmen

of the garden of the Queen of heaven!

Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of love in thy prayer for the world!

  

KONTAKION X

Seeking the salvation of thy soul, and desiring to cleave unto Christ most sweet, thou didst humbly flee from the land of thy fathers to the Holy Mountain, where in abstinence and stillness, industriousness and love for mankind, thou didst acquire angelic beauty, O most blessed one. And thus thou didst attain a goodly end at the all-blessed dawn, when all the desert-lovers of the communities of Athos chant the midnight hymn to the Creator, and didst surrender thy soul, which was nourished by the life-creating Body and Blood of the Lord, into His divine hands, that with all the saints thou mightest unceasingly chant to the Word, Who is holier than the saints: Alleluia!  

  

St. Silouan the Athonite (Source)

  
OIKOS X

In life, faith and love thou wast a most zealous servant of the King of heaven, Whom the cherubim, the seraphim and the councils of the saints glorify, O venerable one; and like a right fragrant lily thou standest with all the elect of the all-pure Theotokos at the throne of the All- holy Trinity. Be thou, O most blessed one, a most zealous mediator before God for the peace and prosperity of the land of thy fathers, and an angel of untiring prayer and a fervent intercessor for the Holy Church, that delivered by thee from tribulations, we may cry out to thee in thanksgiving:

Rejoice, angel of the Russian land, who didst labor most excellently on the Holy Mountain;

rejoice, most fervent advocate, who for us hast crucified thyself with love at the throne of God!

Rejoice, earnest mediator before God for the people of the land of thy fathers;

rejoice, speedy intercessor for the brethren of the garden of Athos who weaken in the struggle!

Rejoice, thou who didst bear without complaint the wounds of thy Lord on thy body;

rejoice, thou who didst entrust to Him thy pure soul, rendered white by tears of repentance!

Rejoice, faithful husbandman of the garden of Christ, who wast summoned by the Lord to Sion on high;

rejoice, for, crowned there with glory and honor, thou holdest converse

with the saints and angels!

Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of love in thy prayer for the world!

  

KONTAKION XI

A right laudatory hymn do we offer thee, O father Silouan, favorite of God; for with burning love for the Lord Who hungered for the salvation of the world and put the devil to shame by His humility, thou didst faithfully follow Him, and adorned with the right fruitful gifts of the Holy Spirit, didst perfume the wilderness of Athos with pure prayer, graciously showing us the ideal of the angelic life. For thus likening the Holy Mountain to paradise, thou didst put the enemy to shame, and didst acquire the kingdom of heaven for thy soul, struggling to cleave unto God with love, and crying out to Him: Alleluia!  

OIKOS XI

In our days— during thy lifetime and after thy death—the Lord hath revealed thee to the whole world as a bearer of the light-bestowing light and grace of the Holy Spirit, that, gazing upon thee, who art resplendent in the incorrupt beauty of thine earthly struggles and offerest supplications for us like the cherubim at the throne of God, we are assured of our hope of salvation and most diligently follow thy right moral life. Sweetly do we submit our will to the love of God, that thus the glorification of the name of the Lord, Who loveth us, may be made steadfast in our bodies and souls. Wherefore, strengthened by thee in faith, with love we cry out to thee:

Rejoice, thou who by the struggles of a right moral life dost strengthen us in love of God;

rejoice, zealous denouncer of immorality, who teachest us to preserve the Mysteries and canons of the Orthodox Faith!

Rejoice, thou who wast earnestly zealous to embrace the desert-dwelling of Peter the Athonite in fasting and stillness;

rejoice, thou who didst faithfully emulate Abba Athanasius in care for the goodly morals of monastics!

Rejoice, new luminary of the Faith, who in our days dost point out the true path to God;

rejoice, thou who bearest true witness unto all concerning the abundance of the grace of the Holy Spirit in the Orthodox Church!

Rejoice, faithful servant of Christ, who standest as is meet before the throne of His glory;

rejoice, thou who dost earnestly ask for us a peaceful ending to our life and a good defense before the fearful Judgment Seat of Christ!

Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of love in thy prayer for the world!

   

KONTAKION XII

Christ our God poured forth the indescribable power of grace upon thee, O venerable one, that in the heavens, where everything liveth and moveth in the joy of the Holy Spirit, He might show thee to be in the choir of Athonite ascetics, offering up supplications with all the saints in behalf of all born on earth. And knowing thee to be thus, we pray: Pour forth fervent prayer unto the Lord, O most blessed one, that, moved to mercy, He may make His Holy Church steadfast forever, for our salvation, may preserve in every way the desert-lovers of the earthly Eden, and strengthen them, that the name of God may be glorified forever by those on earth and those in heaven, who chant: Alleluia!  

OIKOS XII

Hymning thine all-glorious memory, O God- bearing father Silouan, as is meet we bless the pangs and labors which thou didst most diligently endure in vigils and fasting with all the chosen ones of the Mother of God. For who can reckon the labors and sighs we tearfully offer up in prayers for the world, and whereby the Lord changeth His wrath over our sins into mercy, and in His love for mankind doth not disavow the oath He swore, that the Holy Church will be established until the end of time? Wherefore, thankful for this thine intercession, we cry out to thee with compunction:

Rejoice, diligent follower of the leading of the Holy Spirit;

rejoice, thou who dost gaze upon the face of Christ, the Peace and Wisdom of God!

Rejoice, humble ascetic of Christ, joy and boast of the Mother of God, before all those in heaven and those on earth;  

rejoice, tireless advocate for the world, our consolation and hope of salvation!

Rejoice, heir of the kingdom of Christ, who didst adorn Mount Athos with thy struggle;

rejoice, faithful mover of our salvation, who hast sanctified for us the path which leadeth to God!

Rejoice, gilded clarion proclaiming the glory of God with all the saints and angels;

rejoice, thou who wast crowned by God with a diadem of immortality, and in thy supplications hast not forsaken us!

Rejoice, O father Silouan, inextinguishable burning of love in thy prayer for the world!

  

KONTAKION XIII

O all-wondrous Silouan, favorite of God, gracious scion of the land of Russia, boast and adornment of the desert-lovers of Mount Athos! Accept from us this meager entreaty, and ask thou of Christ our God, Who was crucified for the world, that He may have mercy on all of us, His children, and may bind us with the grace of the Holy Spirit in the bond of His love, and may lead us to Himself by the judgments which He knoweth, that by thy supplications we may appear unashamed on the day of judgment before the face of His glory, and may be vouchsafed with all the saints and angels to chant the hymn of victory: Alleluia!   

(Kontakion XIII is recited thrice, whereupon Oikos I and Kontakion I are repeated.)

   

St. Silouan the Athonite (source)

 

________________________________________________________________________

A PRAYER TO OUR VENERABLE FATHER SILOUAN THE ATHONITE

 

(Which prayer is said kneeling.)

Let us pray to our venerable father Silouan.

O holy father Silouan, pray unto God for us.

O all-wondrous father Silouan, favorite of God! By the grace given thee by God to pray with tears for the whole world — the dead, the living and those yet to come — never cease to make entreaty to the Lord for us who earnestly fall down before thee and with compunction beseech thine intercession. Move thou to prayer, O most blessed one, the earnest Helper of the Christian race, the all-blessed Theotokos and Ever-virgin Mary, who wondrously summoned thee to be a faithful husbandman in her earthly garden, where the chosen of God implore Him to be merciful and long-suffering toward our sins, that He not be mindful of our injustices and iniquities, but that in His ineffable goodness our Lord Jesus Christ may take pity and save us in His great mercy. Yea, O favorite of God, with the all-blessed Mistress of the world, the most holy Abbess of Athos, and the holy ascetics of her earthly portion, ask of the Word, Who is holier than all the saints, that Mount Athos and its God-loving desert-dwellers may be preserved in peace from all misfortunes and the assaults, of the enemy, that, delivered by the angels from evils, and strengthened by the Holy Spirit in faith and brotherly love, until the end of time they may offer up supplications for the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church, and may show unto all the path to salvation, that the earthly Church and that of heaven may unceasingly glorify the Creator and Father of lights, illumining and sanctifying the world in the eternal righteousness and goodness of God. For the peoples of the whole world ask, a prosperous and peaceful life, the spirit of humble-mindedness and brotherly love, good morals and salvation, and the spirit of the fear of God, that the hearts of men may not be infected with malice and iniquity, which are able to uproot the love of God in men and cast them into God-opposing enmity and fratricide, but that the name of God may be sanctified in the power of divine love and righteousness on earth and in heaven, that His holy will may be manifest, among men, and that peace and the kingdom of God may

reign on earth. Likewise, O favorite of God, for our homeland, beg the peace we desire and the blessing of heaven, that, protected by the almighty veil of the Mother of God, it may be delivered from wrath, famine, plague, earthquake, flood, fire, the sword, foreign invasion, civil war, sudden death, and from all enemies, visible and invisible; and thus, through the power of the life-giving Cross, may be the most sacred dwelling- place of the all-blessed Theotokos until the end of time, and may be established in the superabundant love of God. And for all of us who are sunk in the darkness of sin, who have neither fervent repentance nor the fear of God, and thus immeasurably offend the Lord Who loveth us, O most blessed one, ask of our most compassionate God that He divinely visit and enliven our souls with His omnipotent grace, and that He abolish in our hearts all malice and the pride of life, despondency and negligence. Again we pray that when we are fortified by the grace of the most Holy Spirit and warmed by the love of God, we may be strengthened in love of mankind and our brethren, in humble-mindedness and prayerful crucifixion for one another and for all, and in the righteousness and grace-filled love of God, and may draw nigh unto Him like children: that thus doing His most holy will, we may tread the path of this transitory life unashamed, in all piety and purity, and with all the saints of the heavenly kingdom may be vouchsafed the wedding-banquet of the Lamb. From all those in heaven and on earth be glory, honor and worship unto Him, and His unoriginate Father and His all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.

Amen.

  

APOLYTIKION

Tone 3

The work of the Archimandrite Zacharias

Having knowledge of the Holy Spirit, thou didst attain unto Adam’s lamentation and didst yearn after Christ insatiably. Keeping thy mind steadfastly in hell thou didst show love for us men that was past nature. Holy Father Silouan, ever pray unto God that we be granted great mercy.

ANOTHER APOLYTIKION

Tone 4

The work of the Hieromonk Paul

By prayer thou didst receive Christ for thy teacher in the way of humility, and the Spirit bare witness to salvation in thy heart; wherefore, all peoples called unto hope, rejoice in the day of thy memorial. O sacred father Silouan, pray unto Christ our God for the salvation of our souls.

(source)

 

St. Silouan the Athonite (source)

     

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!

Venerating the Relics of St. Matrona of Moscow

Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!

This is a short video showing Metropolitan of Neophytos of Morphou (Cyprus), on a recent pilgrimage to Russia (November 5th, 2012). In Moscow, he is shown visiting the famed Monastery that houses the wonderworking Relics of St. Matrona the Blind, and he enters, venerating with reverence, and reads a prayer in Greek. From this we can see the great crowds of pilgrims that come to venerate St. Matrona on a daily basis, the great beauty of her Monastery, and the devotion of the faithful from around the world and from many different cultures for one of the great Saints of the 20th Century and a beloved child of God. May we have her intercessions! (source)

   

Christ is risen from the dead, by death, trampling down upon death, and to those in the tombs, He has granted life!

Truly, the Lord is risen!

"A Diplomacy of Icons"

"A Diplomacy of Icons", as thousands walk in a litany of prayer at the recent visit of the wondrous icons of Panagia Soumela and Panagia of Kazan to St. Petersburg (source)

   

Most-holy Theotokos, save us!

Chernobyl, the Revelation, and the Church of the Prophet Elijah

The Church of the Prophet Elias (Elijah) in Chernobyl (source)

  

The only church in Chernobyl dedicated to the Old Testament Prophet Elijah is first mentioned by chronicles in the 16^th century. Following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in April 1986 the church was closed. Services in it were resumed in 2001. The church contains the revered icons of “The Saviour of Chernobyl” and of St. Nicholas the Wonder-Worker...

  

In April 2011, on the 25^th anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophe, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia visited Chernobyl. The head of the Russian Orthodox Church served a funeral service (panikhida) there for the repose of the accident victims. The Patriarch then noted that the containment and stoppage of the nuclear power station accident “became a great moral feat for thousands of people” and called upon the gathered people not to forget the Chernobyl disaster victims.

The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear plant happened on April 26, 1986, due to an explosion in the fourth power-generating unit. As a result of the disaster 19 Russian regions with a total area of about 60,000 square kilometers (23,166 sq. mi.) and a population of 2.6 million people, and 46,500 square kilometers (17,954 sq. mi.) of the neighboring territory of Belarus (23% of its total area) suffered from the radioactive fallout. The overall area of radiation pollution in the Ukraine was 50,000 square kilometers (19,305 sq.mi.) in 12 regions. 

   

 Icon of Christ "The Savior of Chernobyl", with the Theotokos and the Archangel Michael, the cross-shaped tree, the Star mentioned in the Revelation, and personifications of the victims and the first aid workers (source)

   

The icon “The Saviour of Chernobyl,” in Prophet Elijah Church, painted (written) after the disaster, has a unique history. According to the web site of the Church of St. Theodosius in Kiev, the icon’s prototype appeared several times in dreams to Yuri Andreev, an atomic energy worker who received an enormous dosage of radiation at the time of the accident. Andreev dismissed the visions as simple dreams, or even heresy, but eventually decided to ask Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev (now recently-reposed) if it would be possible to have an icon made showing the Saviour, together with the people of Chernobyl who risked or sacrificed their lives to save others from the radiation. Metropolitan Vladimir gave his blessing. The icon depicts The Saviour, the Mother of God, and the Archangel Michael at the top of the icon. At the bottom left are the souls of the victims who died from the accident; on the bottom right are the workers who knowingly stayed in the deadly radiation in order to contain the accident. Between them is a pine tree, shaped like a trident, that stood at Chernobyl. “Workers of the Chernobyl nuclear plant were all non-believers,” said Andreev, as reported by The Voice of Russia, “until they witnessed something which can only be interpreted as the power of God. In the very first seconds after the explosion on the fourth reactor a cloud with uranium particles moved towards the neighboring town of Pripyat,” only 1800 meters (1 mile) away. “A pine stood in the way of the radioactive cloud. Before it reached the tree, the cloud broke into two halves and instead of covering the town, it passed it by a mere several meters from residential areas. No one can explain this to this day."
   

During WWII, the pine had been used by fascists to hang Russian soldiers on.

   

The Icon has been the source of miraculous healings, according to the St. Theodosius Church web-site. During the consecration of the icon, a miracle occurred witnessed by thousands of people: a dove flew over the icon, a rainbow appeared in the sky in the shape of a halo (though there had been no rain), and then an Orthodox Cross appeared in the sky, with the sun in the center of it.

(source)

   

The tree in the shape of the Holy Cross at Chernobyl (source)

  

20 April 2011, 18:33

The only church open in Chernobyl zone shows the minimum radiation level

Kiev, April 20, Interfax - During 25 years from the date of Chernobyl accident the radiation level in the area of St. Elijah Church, the only church operating in the exclusion zone, was well below the level across the zone, Chernobyl disaster liquidators state.

"Even in the hardest days of nineteen eighty six the area around St. Elijah Church was clean (from radiation - IF), not to mention that the church itself was also clean," president of the Ukrainian Chernobyl Union Yury Andreyev said in a Kiev-Moscow video conference on Wednesday.

Now the territory adjacent to the church has the background level of 6 microroentgen per hour compared with 18 in Kiev.

Andreyev also said many disaster liquidators had been atheists. "We came to believe later

after observing suchdevelopments which could be explained only by God's will," he says.

In particular, according to him, a few seconds after the explosion in the fourth unit of the Chernobyl PP the cloud containing uranium particles started moving in the direction of Pripyat, a city located about 1,800 meters from the plant. There was a pine-tree on its way (it is featured on a well-known ic

on Chernobyl's Savior.)

"The cloud stopped short of this pine, divided into two parts by some unknown reason and

continued moving to the left and right sides of the city instead of covering its residential areas.

The radiation level in contamination areas was four or five roentgen per hour, and the city showed only half a milliroentgen," Andreyev said.

(source)

 

St. Paisios the Athonite, depicted being blessed by Christ, together with his heavenly patrons: St. Euphemia and St. Arsenios of Cappadocia (source)

  

St. Paisios the Athonite (+1994) said: "There, in the Revelation, St. John the Theologian mentions that he saw a great star, burning, fall from heaven, polluting, making bitter, and fatally poisoning the water and the springs of the waters...

And the name of the star is Wormwood! (in Ukranian, Chernobyl)!" (Revelation 8:11)

(source)

   

Icon depicting the Revelation to St. John the Theologian (source)

  

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!

St. Paisios of the Mount Athos recognized by the Patriarchate of Russia

Christ is risen! Truly He is risen!

Icon of St. Paisios of the Holy Mountain with Russian inscription (source)

  

After the canonization of Elder Paisios the Athonite by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, yesterday, the Holy Synod of the Russian Church decided to include him in their synaxarion as well.

 

The message from the Holy Synod of the Russian Patriarchate notes:

"With thanks to God, we received the notice of the glorification among the Saints of Paisios the Athonite. We have included the name of St. Paisios from Athos in the synaxarion of the Russian Orthodox Church, and planned to celebrate his memory June 29th / July 12th, as planned by the Orthodox Church of Constantinople."

(source)

 

Note that this occurs very commonly. For example, the Russian Patriarchate recently acknowledged Sts. Meletios the New, Nikephoros the Leper, and Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia.

  

Christ is risen from the dead, by dead, trampling down upon death, and to those in the tombs, He has granted life!

Truly the Lord is risen!

Excerpt from Metropolitan Avgoustinos Kantiotes on the Precious Cross

Christ crucified (source)

  

Excerpt from a talk of Metropolitan Avgoustinos (Kantiotes) of Florina (+2010), at a summer camp in 1988.

  

“But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Galacians 6:14)
  

My beloved children, I wanted to offer you a few words, similar to those that I said when you came, and which I hope that you will pay attention to. The occasion is given to me by the group that appeared here, carrying high the precious Cross, with the inscription: “By this [sign], we conquer.”
  

I will speak of the Cross, and at the end I will give you a small cross as a keepsake. I will talk to you about the Cross, which is the symbol of struggle and of victory, it is the weapon of Christianity. The Apostle Paul includes this at the end of his epistle to the Ephesians, where he speaks about thr spiritual armor of the Christians. And as you are not just plantings of the Lord, but also strugglers and fellow fighters against the world, yourselves and satan, therefore, I will offer you some words regarding the Cross, due to their timeliness, I hope that you will give them greater care.
  

The Cross, my beloved children, the Cross is everywhere. It was at the summit of Hagia Sophia. It was illumined in the evening and enlightened the Bosporus, until the dark day when the Turks uprooted it, and in its place, placed the crescent moon. Let us hope that, “again with time and seasons”, that we might raise it again on the dome of Hagia Sophia. The Cross is on the domes of all churches. In the Holy Altar, the icon of Christ on the Cross takes center place, and under its shadow, stands the Holy Table and the Chalice and Paten and the Gospel. The Cross is on the graves. The Cross is on the Greek flag. The Cross is everywhere.
  

What is the Cross? I will not speak of myself, but someone else who loved it very much, and preached it to all the ends of the earth will. This is the Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul, in his epistle to the Galacians, writes: “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Galacians 6:14) With these words, the Apostle tells us what the Cross is. But let us try to explain this.
  

Men have a tendency to boast. Scientists, rich people, great and small people take boast in two-thousand things. It is a rare thing to find a man who is not boasting in something...But while the world boasts in these false boasts, the apostle Paul boasts in another great boast, one exalted, eternal. He takes boast in the Cross of Christ. Why is this?
  

He does not boast in the wood. The wood of the Cross was known even before Christ, but this was not something worthy of praise, but of fear, for upon the cross were crucified the most-incomparably terrible people of the Roman society, who were condemned to the ultimate penalty, the penalty of death. Paul boasts, because upon the Cross was sacrificed our Lord Jesus Christ, and from then on, the wood of condemnation became the wood of blessing. Christ was crucified, not because He did anything wrong, like the other two “who were crucified with Him”, who confessed: “we are receiving our just punishment” (Luke 23:41). No, Christ was sinless, He was innocent, He never worked any offense. And as an innocent person, He should not have been crucified, as I remark in my book: “Towards Golgotha”, which I encourage you to read, but He was crucified on behalf of our sins.
  

All of us—small, great, men, women—we are sinners and on us lies the burden of responsibility and guilt. On behalf of justice for our small and great sins, the debaucheries, the licentiousness, the arrogances, the blasphemies, and the other sins of our age, we should have been punished. Divine righteousness should have ordered that the earth open to swallow us up, and lift up the waters of the rivers and lake from Olympus to the Alps, and with a universal flood to drown everyone.
  

Did God do this? Glory to Your forbearance, O Lord! You did not that which we deserved. You did not punish us. And not only did You not punish us, but You came to this world as a man, and took upon Your shoulders the sins of the whole world, of all the ages, as the One Who “takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), and You redeemed with Your precious Blood the debt of our sins. Christ was punished instead of us. The sinless One for the sinners, the Righteous for the unrighteous. “The blood of Jesus Christ...cleanses us from every sin” (John I 1:7). One drop of the blood of the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross is sufficient to blot out the sins of the whole world. If we could put the sins of all men on one side of a scale, and on the other, only one drop of the blood of Christ, the scale would lean towards the precious Blood!
  

This, therefore, is why we honor the Cross. Because it is the Holy Altar on which was sacrificed our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of this occurs Divine Liturgy, which is the re-enacting, or more properly, the continuation of the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, in order for us to partake within us of the Body and the Blood of Christ. This is the proclamation of the Priest: “Drink of it all of you, this is my blood, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
  

Therefore, when we speak of the Cross, we are not thinking of faith in the sacrifice of the crucified Redeemer of the world, and not simple of the wood of the Cross, like the heretics condemn us of. As the Cross is in for parts, therefore it is the deep and enlightened nous of the Church, extending to the heights, to the depths, to length and width. Therefore, is from the height of the Cross—geometrically speaking—we noetically extend the summit of the wood above, towards heaven, passing the stars, the sun, the moon, we will pass all asteroids, and reach the courts of the Lord, and the Angels will behold the radiance and will chant of the grandeur of the Cross. If again we extend the wood of the Cross down, from the bloodied feet of Christ, we will pass the bark and the layers of earth, and reach the abyss, and the demons will tremble and shake. Finally, if we noetically extend the horizontal wood of the Cross, upon which the Spotless Hands of Christ were nailed to the left and the right, towards the East and the West, we will make the sign of an unending circle, a divine embrace, which desires to embrace and to unite and to make brethren of all men of the East and of the West, of the left and of the right. And if sometime there is some power that could unite the superpowers of America and Russia, which satan divided into to armies and pitted them against each other with fiery weapons. One day, may they gather together and have nothing happen, if, as I said, there were some power to unite them. This power is not the hammer and the sickle, nor the stars and the stripes, nor any other worldly symbol, but he Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us mention a hymn among ourselves:

“O paradoxical wonder!

The length and breadth of the Cross

is equal to heaven,

for with divine grace

it sanctifies the whole world

with it the barbarian nations are conquered,

with it the scepters of rulers are strengthened...”

[Prosomoion from the Praises on the Feast of the Holy Cross]
  

I return to the word of the Apostle Paul: “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Galacians 6:14) In other words, the boast of Paul is the Cross of the Lord. This is the boast, in other words, the deep faith in the Cross of Christ, which made him dead to the world and to sin. In order to understand better what it means to say: “the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world”, I will give you an example. Go to the graves and you will find the grave of the most greedy person, he who would kill for one cent. Put in front of it a sack of gold coins. What will happen? Will he be moved? No, because he is dead. Now go to the grave of the greatest lover of pleasure and licentious person, and place before the grave the most beautiful women. Will he be moved? No, because he is dead. Continue on to the grave of someone who loved positions and power and medals, and give him the greatest staff of authority. Will he extend his hand to take it? No, because he is dead. Therefore, when the Christian, every Christian with deep faith in the Crucified, deadens his sinful mind and nails down his passions, like Paul, then he becomes dead to sin, to the world, and the world to him, and he will confess with joy: “it is no longer I who live, but Christ Who lives in me...” (Galacians 2:20)

  

(amateur translation of text, source)

  

Christ crucified, with the Theotokos (source)

  

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!

Akathist to St. Matrona of Moscow

Christ is risen! Truly He is risen!

St. Matrona of Moscow (source)

   

Akathist to St. Matrona of Moscow, the Venerable Wonderworker
Translated from the Church Slavonic by Mr. Andreas Moran here.

Kontakion 1

Chosen by the Holy Spirit of God from thy swaddling clothes, blessed eldress Matrona, thou didst receive bodily infirmity and blindness from God for thy spiritual cleansing. Thou wast enriched with the gift of foresight and wonderworking, and hast been adorned with an incorruptible crown from the Lord. Wherefore in gratitude we on earth offer unto thee crowns wrought from praises, crying out:

Rejoice, righteous mother Matrona, fervent intercessor for us before God.
   
Ikos 1

As an angel in the flesh didst thou appear on earth, blessed Matrona, fulfilling the will of God. Though born in bodily blindness, yet the Lord, Who maketh wise the blind and loveth the righteous, enlightened thy spiritual eyes, that thou mightest serve His people, and the works of God be made manifest through thee. Wherefore with love we cry unto thee such things as these:

Rejoice, chosen by God from infancy;
Rejoice, thou that wast covered by the grace of the Holy Spirit from thy cradle;
Rejoice, thou that from childhood wast enriched with the gift of miracles;
Rejoice, thou that wast filled with wisdom from God on high;
Rejoice, thou that didst foresee the will of God through spiritual eyes;
Rejoice, thou that puttest to shame the wise of this age that are blinded in mind;
Rejoice, thou that leadest deluded souls unto God;
Rejoice, thou that relievest from grief and from sorrow;
Rejoice, righteous mother Matrona, fervent intercessor for us before God.
   
Kontakion 2
When thou wast baptised, blessed one, the people and the priest beheld a wonderful pillar like smoke above thy head, and smelled a strong fragrance. Astonished, they wondered what this maid was destined to be, whilst singing unto God: Alleluia.

Ikos 2
Being enlightened in mind, the priest of God Vasily, discerned her whom he baptised to be a vessel of the grace of God, and called thee, righteous Matrona, a holy maiden. In our zeal we bring praises such as these:
Rejoice, thou that wast made fragrant in the holy font by the grace of the Holy Spirit;
Rejoice, for the sign of the cross was imprinted on thy chest;
Rejoice, thou prayerful one given to the people by God;
Rejoice, ever-burning candle, shining before the Lord;
Rejoice, thou that by the gift of miracles from God wast famed upon earth;
Rejoice, thou that by thine unfading crown art crowned by the Lord in heaven;
Rejoice, herald to sinners of the mercies of God;
Rejoice, thou that from the source of living water dost refresh the thirsty;
Rejoice, righteous mother Matrona, fervent intercessor for us before God.
   
Kontakion 3
Thou didst feel the Power of God's grace whilst yet in infancy, blessed Matrona, stretching forth to the holy icons, and with a pure heart and infant lips proclaimed praise unto God: Alleluia.

Ikos 3
Having from God the gift of foresight from infancy, blessed mother, thou knewest the most hidden things in the hearts of them coming to thee, telling the future like the present, and by this set many people on the path of righteousness. Whereby thou didst glorify God, making wise the blind, and we cry out to thee thus:
Rejoice, wondrous seer;
Rejoice, denouncer of hidden sins;
Rejoice, brightest teacher of darkened souls;
Rejoice, merciful guide of them that had gone astray;
Rejoice, star pointing the way to the faithful;
Rejoice, candle giving light in the darkness of this age;
Rejoice, thou that didst serve the one God;
Rejoice, for by the grace of the Holy Spirit thou didst trample down the wiles of the devil;
Rejoice, righteous mother Matrona, fervent intercessor for us before God.
   

St. Matrona of Moscow (source)

   

Kontakion 4
A storm of bewilderment and confusion in the people concerning thy miracles was dispelled, and them that were made wise by God, Who is wondrous in His saints, glorified and praised thee, and with thanksgiving sang unto God: Alleluia.

Ikos 4
Hearing how thou givest help in sicknesses of spirit and body, mother Matrona, people came to thee with hope, and, receiving favourable counsel and healing, gave thanks to God and sang unto thee:
Rejoice, for thou receivest them of a diseased and suffering soul;
Rejoice, for thou bestowest peace upon grieving souls;
Rejoice, enlightener of them that were in delusions;
Rejoice, teacher of piety;
Rejoice, reliever of our sorrows;
Rejoice, consoler in griefs;
Rejoice, blessed unmercenary;
Rejoice, benevolent healer of divers ailments;
Rejoice, righteous mother Matrona, fervent intercessor for us before God.
   
Kontakion 5
As a divinely moving star, blessed mother Matrona, thou didst shine forth in evil times in the land of Russia as a new confessor, and didst bear the yoke of Christ boldly and fearlessly throughout thy life; and strengthened by the grace of God, thou gavest enlightenment to the bewildered, relief to the suffering, and healing to the sick, who thankfully cried unto God: Alleluia.

Ikos 5
Seeing miracles and healings given by thee through the grace of God - the lame walking, the paralytic and bedridden healed, evil spirits cast out of the possessed - many Russian people rushed to thee, mother, as to a source inexhaustible and drank from it profusely, and with tender heart cried out to thee thus:
Rejoice, called to the right path from infancy;
Rejoice, righteous one, bestowed upon us by God;
Rejoice, healer of our ailments;
Rejoice, speedy helper in our needs;
Rejoice, thou that enlightenest us through thine inspired advice;
Rejoice, quick resolver of our bewilderment;
Rejoice, thou that drivest away unclean spirits from the people;
Rejoice, thou that protectest from every evil by thy prayer;
Rejoice, righteous mother Matrona, fervent intercessor for us before God.
   
Kontakion 6
Herald of the holiness and righteousness of thy life, blessed mother, the holy and righteous Father John of Kronstadt appeared to be when he saw thee in the church, and he called thee his heir and eighth pillar of Russia. And all that heard this glorified the Lord, proclaiming to Him: Alleluia.

Ikos 6
Through thy prayers, mother Matrona, the light of God's grace shone in hearts of them having no knowledge of God and burdened by many sins which angered Him. And seeing the miracles performed by thee, they turned to the Lord, crying to thee in gratitude thus:
Rejoice, thou whose feats glorify God;
Rejoice, revealer to us of the glory of God;
Rejoice, guide of the faithless to the right path;
Rejoice, thou that cleansest by thy prayers those defiled by sins;
Rejoice, thou that callest us to repentance;
Rejoice, thou that dost admonish us to thank the Lord for all things;
Rejoice, thou who dost teach us to love the divine Church;
Rejoice, gatherer of the scattered sheep within the walls of the Church;
Rejoice, righteous mother Matrona, fervent intercessor for us before God.
   
Kontakion 7
Wishing worthily to glorify the Most Holy Lady Theotokos, mother Matrona, thou didst order the people to have her depicted in the most honourable icon called "Seeker of the Perishing" and place it in God’s church in thy village, that all who look upon the bright face of the most pure one, might tenderly praise her, and to the Lord also cry out: Alleluia!
   
Ikos 7
The Lord gave thee as a new protectress, prayerful mediator, and intercessor with God, to the Russian people in the hard times when many forsook the holy Church; and thou, mother, by word and deed, didst set on the right path the fainthearted and deceived, revealing the wonderful miracles of God. Wherefore we hymn thee thus:
Rejoice, thou that dost feel ceaseless compassion for the country of Russia;
Rejoice, intercessor for our salvation;
Rejoice, thou that movest to compassion God the righteous Judge;
Rejoice, protectress of the diseased and wronged;
Rejoice, helper of the weak and desperate;
Rejoice, ceaseless warrior against the spirits of malice;
Rejoice, for at thee the demon chiefs do tremble;
Rejoice, for at thee angels and people rejoice;
Rejoice, righteous mother Matrona, fervent intercessor for us before God.
   
Kontakion 8
Strange it was for the weak in faith and the unwise that, though born blind, thou couldest see and know not only the present, but also the future, for they knew not that the power of God is fulfilled in human weakness. And we, blessed mother, seeing the wisdom of God manifested in thee, cry out to God: Alleluia.

Ikos 8
Many vexations and offences, exiles and reproaches didst thou bear, blessed mother, not complaining of these, but in all things thanking God. For these things and for teaching us each with patience to carry his cross, we praise thee thus:
Rejoice, thou that prayed without ceasing;
Rejoice, thou that drove away spiritual wickedness by fasting and prayer;
Rejoice, thou that hast gained graceful peace;
Rejoice, for by thy love many about thee were saved;
Rejoice, for thy life of service to many;
Rejoice, for after thy repose people are ever helped by thee;
Rejoice, for now thou fervently heedest our petitions;
Rejoice, thou that leavest not them that put their trust in thy care;
Rejoice, righteous mother Matrona, fervent intercessor for us before God.
   

 St. Matrona of Moscow (source)

   Kontakion 9
All manner of sorrows and diseases thou didst bear, mother Matrona, ever leading the struggle with the forces of darkness, denouncing their machinations and guile, and expelling demons from the possessed; and up to the end of thy days thou didst help them in sufferings, illnesses and grievings, ever singing unto God: Alleluia.

Ikos 9
Eloquent orators are not able worthily to glorify thy holy life, nor the miracles wrought by thee through the power of God, most marvellous eldress. And we, wishing by hymns to praise God in His saints, and with heartfelt love inspired, dare to sing to thee thus:
Rejoice, thou that didst choose the narrow path and strait gates;
Rejoice, thou that shone by many virtues;
Rejoice, thou that didst reject all in life that is passing;
Rejoice, thou adorned with the precious crown of humility;
Rejoice, thou bird of heaven, that didst live the Gospel on earth;
Rejoice, thou that followed the Son of God Who had not where to lay His head;
Rejoice, thou rejoicing now in the mansions of paradise;
Rejoice, thou whose mercy is never failing to us sinners who pray to thee;
Rejoice, righteous mother Matrona, fervent intercessor for us before God.
   
Kontakion 10
Wishing to save many people from bodily sufferings and spiritual sicknesses, thou didst stay all night in prayer, O righteous one of God, beseeching for them help and strengthening of our Lord Jesus Christ, singing to Him: Alleluia.

Ikos 10
A rampart and protection wert thou in the days of thy life, blessed mother, to all who resorted to thee, and after death thou ceaselessly intercedest before God for the people who in faith run toward to thy tomb. Wherefore, hearken now unto us sinners, by sorrows, sickness and many griefs consumed, and hasten to help by thy prayers all that cry unto thee:
Rejoice, speedy intercessor for the distressed;
Rejoice, comforter of them bearing hardships;
Rejoice, guardian of worthy marriage;
Rejoice, pacifier of all that persist in strife;
Rejoice, defender of them brought unjustly to trial;
Rejoice, merciful advocate before God for those guilty before an earthly judgment;
Rejoice, refuge of them deprived of shelter;
Rejoice, protectress of all that call upon thee;
Rejoice, righteous mother Matrona, fervent intercessor for us before God.
    
Kontakion 11
Thou didst hear angelic singing, worthy mother Matrona, whilst yet living on earth. And teach us, the unworthy, how we should glorify God in the Trinity worshipping Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to Whom also the heavenly host unceasingly sing with a great voice: Alleluia.

Ikos 11
Thy life shineth with luminous light, blessed Matrona, enlightening the darkness of this too-busy world, and thou dost draw unto thee our souls. Wherefore we, by the ray of the grace of God, will be enlightened, and our mournful way in this temporal life shall pass in a manner pleasing to God, and thus attain unto the kingdom of God, where thou, mother, now takest up thine abode, hearing our voice calling to thee:
Rejoice, ever-burning candle of God;
Rejoice, precious pearl, illuminating us by the light of thy holiness;
Rejoice, sweet-smelling flower that by the Holy Spirit coverest us with fragrance;
Rejoice, rock of faith, stablishing the fainthearted in piety;
Rejoice, brightest star pointing out to us the right way;
Rejoice, good warrior of Christ, by the sword of prayer frightening demonic hosts;
Rejoice, for throughout thy life thou wast holy and undefiled;
Rejoice, for thy death is precious in the sight of the Lord;
Rejoice, righteous mother Matrona, fervent intercessor for us before God.
  
Kontakion 12
The grace of God, already richly perceived even from the cradle, O blessed mother, will be with thee all the days of thy life. We believe without doubt, that also after thy repose this grace is with thee abundantly. Wherefore, falling down before thee, we pray: deprive not us still wandering on earth of thy help and intercession, beseeching the Lord to have mercy on all who sing unto Him: Alleluia.

Ikos 12
Singing of thy many and marvellous wonders, mother Matrona, we glorify God Who gave thee to the city of Moscow and to the Russian land in the days of atheism and persecution as a staunch pillar of piety and faith. Now, blessed mother, with grateful heart we hymn thee thus:
Rejoice, for thou hast attained the peace of Christ in thy soul;
Rejoice, for many people about thee thou didst lead to God;
Rejoice, for in thy feeble body, the power of God's grace was shown;
Rejoice, for in the finding of thine honourable relics, God’s mercy to us is revealed;
Rejoice, thou that dost bloom in the assembly of the saints of Moscow;
Rejoice, glorious adornment of the city of Moscow;
Rejoice, constant intercessor for the Russian land before God;
Rejoice, thou that callest all to repentance and prayer for the Russian land;
Rejoice, righteous mother Matrona, fervent intercessor for us before God.
   Kontakion 13
O blessed mother, hear now our hymns of praise which we sing to thee, and ask for us of the Lord Jesus Christ, the remission of sins, a Christian death, and peaceful repose, and a good answer at His dread judgment, and that we shall be blessed with thee in the dwellings of Paradise to glorify the Holy Trinity, crying: Alleluia.

Repeat Ikos 1 and Kontakion 1

 St. Matrona of Moscow (source)

   Prayer
Blessed mother Matrona, thy soul in heaven standeth before the throne of God, thy body resteth upon earth, and thou bestowest divers miracles through grace given thee from on High. Look down with thy merciful eye upon us sinners who pass our days in sorrows, sicknesses and sinful temptations. Console us who are in despair. Heal our grievous ailments which God allowed because of our sins. Deliver us from many misfortunes and attacks of evil spirits. Beseech our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive us all our trespasses, transgressions and falls, and our sins committed from our youth up to the present day and hour. And by thy prayers obtain for us grace and great mercy, that we may glorify the Trinity, one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Troparion, Tone 2
Let us the faithful today praise blessed eldress Matrona made wise by God; flower of the land of Tula and glorious adornment of the city of Moscow, for whom daylight was unknown but who wast enlightened by the light of Christ and enriched by the gifts of insight and healing: Thou wast a sojourner and wanderer upon earth, but now in the heavenly chambers thou standest before the throne of God and intercedest for our souls.

Kontakion, Tone 7
Thou wast chosen from thy mother’s womb for service to Christ, righteous Matrona, treading a path of sorrows and griefs, but showing firm faith and piety which were pleasing to God. Wherefore, we venerate thy memory, and we beseech thee, blessed eldress: help us to dwell in God’s love.

Magnification
We magnify thee, O holy righteous blessed Matrona, and honour thy holy memory, thou that dost pray for us to Christ our God. 
   

 Sts. Xenia of St. Petersburg and Matrona of Moscow, two great ascetics and wonderworkers of Russia, who help many throughout the world (source)

   
Christ is risen from the dead, by dead, trampling down upon death, and to those in the tombs, He has granted life! Truly the Lord is risen!