Akathist to the Holy Thirteen Syrian Fathers
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, through the prayers of Thy most pure Mother and of all the saints, have mercy on us. Amen.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, who art everywhere present and fillest all things with Thy grace, Treasury of good things and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every stain, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (Thrice, with three small bows)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O Lord, deliver us and release us from our sins; O Master, pardon our iniquities; O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Thy name’s sake.
Lord, have mercy. (Thrice)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Lord, have mercy. (Twelve times)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O come, let us worship and fall down before God our King. (Prostration) O come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King and God. (Prostration) O come, let us worship and fall down before Christ Himself, our King and our God. (Prostration)
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy great mercy; and according to the multitude of thy compassions blot out my transgression. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I am conscious of mine iniquity; and my sin is continually before me. Against thee only have I sinned, and done evil before thee: that thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. For, behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins did my mother conceive me. For, behold, thou lovest truth: thou hast manifested to me the secret and hidden things of thy wisdom. Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be purified: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. Thou shalt cause me to hear gladness and joy: the afflicted bones shall rejoice. Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit in my inward parts. Cast me not away from thy presence; and remove not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of thy salvation: establish me with thy directing Spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and ungodly men shall turn to thee. Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation: and my tongue shall joyfully declare thy righteousness. O Lord, thou shalt open my lips; and my mouth shall declare thy praise. For if thou desiredst sacrifice, I would have given it: thou wilt not take pleasure in whole-burnt-offerings. Sacrifice to God is a broken spirit: a broken and humbled heart God will not despise. Do good, O Lord, to Sion in thy good pleasure; and let the walls of Jerusalem be built. Then shalt thou be pleased with a sacrifice of righteousness, offering, and whole-burnt-sacrifices: then shall they offer calves upon thine altar.
O victorious strugglers girded with the word of God, we who keep the feast of your joyful memory sing thus to you, heralds of the chosen freedom: Rejoice, ye who water the myriads thirsting for salvation in the caves, and watchtowers that raise up wondrous monasticism, holy Thirteen Syrian Fathers!
O companions in the tents of those first great monks, ye dried up the torrents of godlessness by the teaching of God, and in the furnace of temptations ye bedewed us with streams of delight; therefore the organs of our minds are stirred to sound forth to you thus:
Rejoice, unerring guide of thy twelve disciples and eye of Zedazeni seen on high, John; rejoice, dawn of Nekresi, Abibus; rejoice, Anthony, joined by solitude to the multitude of the saints; rejoice, David, who didst turn the desert of Gareja into a city of monks; rejoice, beauty of Iqalto, Zenon; rejoice, valour of Stepantsminda, Thaddeus; rejoice, sweet voice of Tsilkani, Ise; rejoice, wings of Alaverdi, Joseph; rejoice, brilliance of Samtavisi, Isidore; rejoice, radiance of Ulumbo, Michael; rejoice, sweet-sounding pipe of Breti, Piros; rejoice, divine father of Khirsa, Stephen; rejoice, Shio, who from the cave didst ascend to the heavens; Rejoice, ye who water the myriads thirsting for salvation in the caves, and watchtowers that raise up wondrous monasticism, holy Thirteen Syrian Fathers!
O guests at the wedding of the insatiable supper and fillers of the cups of wisdom, from your clusters was pressed the sweetness of the life that passeth not away: Alleluia.
O followers of voluntary humility, zealous for the unfailing treasure, you, the teachers of the divine course, we magnify thus:
Rejoice, ye who lived by the knowledge of light; rejoice, preachers of the kingdom; rejoice, interpreters of the apostolic word; rejoice, warriors of invisible battles; rejoice, treasurers of saving gifts; rejoice, doers of the virtues; rejoice, tablets of the law; rejoice, breakers of whited rational sepulchres; rejoice, quenchers of our torments; rejoice, images of self-mastery; rejoice, for the Lord taketh no pleasure in the legs of a man; rejoice, for the Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear Him and in them that hope in His mercy; Rejoice, ye who water the myriads thirsting for salvation in the caves, and watchtowers that raise up wondrous monasticism, holy Thirteen Syrian Fathers!
Simeon, fastened to his fiery pillar, called you forth from the abysses of virtues, shining radiantly for Iberia: Alleluia.
O singers of the one Godhead and trumpets of the right faith, to whom the deserts cry well, imitating such psalmists we too give glory:
Rejoice, pillars of faith; rejoice, temples built upon the living stone; rejoice, most spacious assemblies of simplicity; rejoice, manifesters of true solitude; rejoice, bees of the lofty meadow; rejoice, ye who were made worthy of divine visions; rejoice, unfailing sweetnesses; rejoice, warmth that never cooleth; rejoice, ye who rejoice with the saints; rejoice, comforters of those who weep; rejoice, narrators of the word of grace; rejoice, wonderworking fathers; Rejoice, ye who water the myriads thirsting for salvation in the caves, and watchtowers that raise up wondrous monasticism, holy Thirteen Syrian Fathers!
O ye who adorned the harsh deserts with psalms and songs, the ornaments of your good struggle are sealed in the heavens: Alleluia.
O beloved fathers and labourers in arduous fields, whose divine harvest, now ripened, we share today, we who seek the table that is never emptied magnify you thus, God-given cupbearers of the incorruptible cup:
Rejoice, ye who were wasted in the flesh; rejoice, ye who were illumined in spirit; rejoice, God-bearers from your childhood; rejoice, ye who were brought up in longing for Christ; rejoice, vessels of God; rejoice, loosers of our bonds; rejoice, ye who deliver our feet from snares; rejoice, fragrances flowing down from heaven; rejoice, fruitfulness of the barren; rejoice, freedom of captives; rejoice, raising of the fallen; rejoice, healing of the sick; Rejoice, ye who water the myriads thirsting for salvation in the caves, and watchtowers that raise up wondrous monasticism, holy Thirteen Syrian Fathers!
O ye who made spiritual quails to spring up, and speakers of the ascent to heaven, satisfy with rational bread us who are hard pressed by the famine of this passing world: Alleluia.
O foretellers of the treasures to come, who daily illumine our senses, gathered with fear and love to praise you we sound forth to you thus:
Rejoice, ye who attained to the lofty life; rejoice, ye who grew up by a divine mind; rejoice, ye who were scorched by the heat of the deserts; rejoice, ye who were refreshed by the remembrance of Jesus; rejoice, ye who spoke by the Holy Spirit; rejoice, conquerors of the order of nature; rejoice, ye who soared up in the air of blessedness; rejoice, clusters of the vine on high; rejoice, ye who by your radiance are exalted above the light of the sun; rejoice, joys of the whole world; rejoice, ye who were nurtured on hymnody as on milk; rejoice, ye who rose above the fierce powers of the air; Rejoice, ye who water the myriads thirsting for salvation in the caves, and watchtowers that raise up wondrous monasticism, holy Thirteen Syrian Fathers!
Behold, O Christians, the wise virgins made ready to meet the Bridegroom, for whose sake let us not cease to say: Alleluia.
O dwellings of divine gifts and partakers of unwaning glory, we who perceive that surpassing light according to our strength sound forth to you thus:
Rejoice, ye who of your own will entered the furnace of struggle; rejoice, ye who in that furnace were bedewed by the grace of God; rejoice, monks who spoke of God; rejoice, flowerings of the deserts; rejoice, mines of blessing; rejoice, Paschas of the Church; rejoice, cell-companions of the first desert-dwellers; rejoice, feasts that pass not away; rejoice, opened gates of virtue; rejoice, strengtheners of many souls; rejoice, weapons of Christians; rejoice, ever-blessed strugglers; Rejoice, ye who water the myriads thirsting for salvation in the caves, and watchtowers that raise up wondrous monasticism, holy Thirteen Syrian Fathers!
To you who were blessed by divine mourning, whose fruitful spiritual poverty the cymbalists of humility now treasure on earth, we cry with unceasing voice: Alleluia.
O lovers of unsearched heights and fellow-plants in Christ, beholding your plantings with outspread branches we magnify you thus:
Rejoice, evangelists of the divine life; rejoice, utterers of the mysteries of Christ; rejoice, meadows of good learning; rejoice, treasurers of the wondrous harvest of piety; rejoice, rivers of delight; rejoice, ye who quicken our deadened minds; rejoice, ye who make the dumb understanding; rejoice, fields of the word of life; rejoice, ye who blot out turbulent thoughts; rejoice, exposers of the mockeries of delusion; rejoice, for ye took away the darkness of ignorance; rejoice, for by valiant struggle ye cut off the devices of Beliar; Rejoice, ye who water the myriads thirsting for salvation in the caves, and watchtowers that raise up wondrous monasticism, holy Thirteen Syrian Fathers!
O lights of the ends of the world, open for us these eyes darkened by the darkness of this passing age, to behold the Creator: Alleluia.
O mouths of God, organs of the Holy Spirit, we, musicians of the fatherland on high who sing the song of victory, sing to you thus:
Rejoice, pipes breathed upon by God; rejoice, teachers of those entrusted to you; rejoice, heralds of the reign of Christ; rejoice, eyes of the God-bearing; rejoice, palaces built upon the rock; rejoice, good keepers of the divine spirit; rejoice, knowers of things to come; rejoice, expounders of the monastic rule; rejoice, ye who finished your courses; rejoice, ye who are filled with living waters; rejoice, ye who by the grace of God overcame the tyrant; rejoice, ye who drove away the mist of godlessness; Rejoice, ye who water the myriads thirsting for salvation in the caves, and watchtowers that raise up wondrous monasticism, holy Thirteen Syrian Fathers!
O ye who burned up the thorns of the world with the fire of the Spirit, burn up also the ruinous thorns of our errors: Alleluia.
O guides to eternal life, from whom flow springs of life, plant us by the channels of the spiritual waters as God-appointed plants, who cry thus:
Rejoice, servants of the Joyful Light; rejoice, ye fruitful and ever green; rejoice, ye who had one mind in many bodies; rejoice, sureties for all the guilty; rejoice, ye who are moved to intercede for us; rejoice, ye who lived daily a martyr’s life; rejoice, ye who were enriched by poverty; rejoice, ye whose feet were shod with going barefoot; rejoice, blessers of the name of God; rejoice, destroyers of the wisdom of Egypt; rejoice, ye through whose outpouring of the spiritual sun we passed through the night of godlessness; rejoice, ye at whom the powers of heaven marvel; Rejoice, ye who water the myriads thirsting for salvation in the caves, and watchtowers that raise up wondrous monasticism, holy Thirteen Syrian Fathers!
O divine ploughmen of our hardened minds, now on earth there have sprung up green shoots born of your struggles: Alleluia.
The heavenly minds, fragrances that came forth from the kingdom, we who glorify the saints of God magnify thus:
Rejoice, imitators of the wondrous Victor; rejoice, divine priests; rejoice, ye who were offered to God from childhood; rejoice, ye who brought down fire from on high upon rational sacrifices; rejoice, ye who richly received saving gifts; rejoice, ye who fill the world with virtues; rejoice, much-struggling labourers; rejoice, singers of the unwedded Bride; rejoice, ye who glorify God with one mouth and one mind; rejoice, precious stones; rejoice, true lovers of wisdom; rejoice, ye who were given wings by the Holy Spirit; Rejoice, ye who water the myriads thirsting for salvation in the caves, and watchtowers that raise up wondrous monasticism, holy Thirteen Syrian Fathers!
O ye who are numbered with the powers of heaven and received into the immaterial light, cease not to intercede with God for us who thus utter glory: Alleluia.
O true Israelites, ever sensing God, wound our hearts with longing for the Jerusalem on high, who cry thus:
Rejoice, ye who attained to the birthright of the kingdom; rejoice, ye who were purified by perfect love; rejoice, ye who were received to communion at the mystical supper; rejoice, breadgivers of the joyful supper; rejoice, ye who were instructed in the knowledge of God; rejoice, ye who fly with your minds like the bodiless; rejoice, ye who lead our souls up out of Egypt; rejoice, good guides of our steps; rejoice, fellow-travellers of Christians; rejoice, ye who converse with God; rejoice, for God hath put to shame those who afflicted you; rejoice, for the Lord hath brought forth your righteousness as the light; Rejoice, ye who water the myriads thirsting for salvation in the caves, and watchtowers that raise up wondrous monasticism, holy Thirteen Syrian Fathers!
Entreat Him who loveth the righteous and hath mercy on sinners to accept this small hymn: Alleluia.
O ye who wrote out a great life and passed away by a longed-for end, to you, the unquenchable lights of the caves and mountains, we who need your help sound forth thus:
Rejoice, ye who in the flesh attained to the measure of the bodiless; rejoice, ye who passed over to the Most High; rejoice, ye who were added to the number of the divine fathers; rejoice, ye who rest in the bosom of Abraham; rejoice, dwellers of the land on high; rejoice, ye who were adorned by God; rejoice, divine virgins; rejoice, ye who look upon eternal blessedness; rejoice, images of that first beauty; rejoice, ye from whom we have learned riches of many kinds; rejoice, ye who purchased the imperishable in place of the perishable; rejoice, for now there rejoiceth with you Elijah the deacon, renowned for his struggle together with you; Rejoice, ye who water the myriads thirsting for salvation in the caves, and watchtowers that raise up wondrous monasticism, holy Thirteen Syrian Fathers!
O blessed salt of the world and slaughtered lambs, who entered the unsearchable abyss of virtue, open our lips every day to the glory of God: Alleluia. (This kontakion thrice.)
O companions in the tents of those first great monks, ye dried up the torrents of godlessness by the teaching of God, and in the furnace of temptations ye bedewed us with streams of delight; therefore the organs of our minds are stirred to sound forth to you thus:
Rejoice, unerring guide of thy twelve disciples and eye of Zedazeni seen on high, John; rejoice, dawn of Nekresi, Abibus; rejoice, Anthony, joined by solitude to the multitude of the saints; rejoice, David, who didst turn the desert of Gareja into a city of monks; rejoice, beauty of Iqalto, Zenon; rejoice, valour of Stepantsminda, Thaddeus; rejoice, sweet voice of Tsilkani, Ise; rejoice, wings of Alaverdi, Joseph; rejoice, brilliance of Samtavisi, Isidore; rejoice, radiance of Ulumbo, Michael; rejoice, sweet-sounding pipe of Breti, Piros; rejoice, divine father of Khirsa, Stephen; Rejoice, ye who water the myriads thirsting for salvation in the caves, and watchtowers that raise up wondrous monasticism, holy Thirteen Syrian Fathers!
O victorious strugglers girded with the word of God, we who keep the feast of your joyful memory sing thus to you, heralds of the chosen freedom: Rejoice, ye who water the myriads thirsting for salvation in the caves, and watchtowers that raise up wondrous monasticism, holy Thirteen Syrian Fathers!
O ye who raised up churches in the deserts, unshaken pillars of Orthodoxy, by your prayer enlighten our God-protected people and its rulers, the Most Holy and Most Blessed Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi and Metropolitan of Bichvinta and Tskhum-Abkhazeti, the great lord, our father Ilia, the most reverend metropolitans, archbishops and bishops, the honourable priests, the deacons in Christ, all the monastic orders and all Orthodox Christians.
O holy Thirteen Syrian Fathers, adorned by God: John of Zedazeni, Abibus of Nekresi, Anthony of Martqopi, David of Gareja, Zenon of Iqalto, Thaddeus of Stepantsminda, Ise of Tsilkani, Joseph of Alaverdi, Isidore of Samtavisi, Michael of Ulumbo, Piros of Breti, Stephen of Khirsa and Shio of Mgvime! Commend us, who are moved to sing to you and are gathered in the house of God, to our God and Saviour who receiveth the penitent, that, ever looking towards good things, we may glorify with unceasing praise Him, the incomprehensible and ineffable Creator of all, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
It is truly meet that we should magnify thee, O Theotokos, who art ever-blessed and all-immaculate and the Mother of our God. Thee, more honourable than the Cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim, who without corruption gavest birth to God the Word, the only Theotokos, we magnify in song.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Lord, have mercy. (Thrice)
O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, through the prayers of Thy most pure Mother, of our venerable and God-bearing fathers and of all the saints, have mercy on us. Amen.
Author: Archpriest Mikheil Galdava.
