Akathist Hymn to the Holy Martyrs, the Six Thousand Monks of Gareja
Through the prayers of our holy fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, 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)
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.
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 God our King. O come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King and God. O come, let us worship and fall down before Christ Himself, our King and our God.
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.
We sing to you, renowned companies of divine martyrs among the saints, and will not cease to entreat you: since ye have great boldness before God, make His goodness merciful towards us, that He may grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to those who revere you and sing: Rejoice, ye who shone with the struggle of martyrs, venerable fathers of Gareja!
Having become angels in the flesh, ye hated the passing delights of the world and by the shedding of your blood inherited the eternal abode which ye longed to reach, where there is no sorrow but joy, and with the holy priests and martyrs ye reign before God; now cease not to entreat Him to snatch us from the hands of Beliar, the corrupter of souls, and to grant victory over the demons and their devices to those who praise and magnify you:
Rejoice, holy company and chosen choir, adorned by the Holy Spirit; rejoice, ye who were gathered by divine grace; rejoice, ye who were joined in brotherly unity; rejoice, ye of one soul in spirit, established by divine counsel; rejoice, ye armed with hope in the Lord and manly courage; rejoice, lambs of God who followed in the steps of the good Shepherd; rejoice, ye who fearlessly entered the arena of struggle; rejoice, ye who were offered upon the altar of sacrifice; rejoice, ye who adorned the Church of Iberia with your precious blood; Rejoice, ye who shone with the struggle of martyrs, venerable fathers of Gareja!
Ye shone forth like brilliant luminaries, O blessed ones, when the strength of the kingdom of Georgia was brought low, and, arming yourselves with the armour of monasticism, all your days ye served God in holiness and commended to Him your people and fatherland; and when your service had pleased Him, He made you ready as His incorruptible lambs, that all might be strengthened by your struggle and moved to praise and sing to Him: Alleluia.
When ye had kept with reverence the forty days of the fast, an angel of God appeared to Arsenius, abbot of the Lavra of David, and made known to him your coming slaughter by the sword; and he, telling you all, O venerable ones, gave you the choice of death for Christ or escape from the enemy; and only two brothers fled to the mountains, but ye were not shaken and made ready for the contest; therefore we boast and cry to you thus:
Rejoice, ye who were kindled with the love of God; rejoice, ye who sweetly bear the yoke of Christ; rejoice, ye who were clothed in humility as in a garment of light; rejoice, ye who glorified God unceasingly with prayer at every hour; rejoice, ye who were purified by the reverence of fasting; rejoice, ye who were adorned with a good life; rejoice, ye who reached the perfect measure of virtue; rejoice, ye who, being in the flesh, lived as the bodiless; rejoice, two-edged swords that cut off the darkness of godlessness; Rejoice, ye who shone with the struggle of martyrs, venerable fathers of Gareja!
When according to custom ye gathered in the church of the Resurrection to offer the morning prayer, ye began the litany and with candles scattered that impenetrable darkness; and the lawless Persians saw the gleaming of the multitude of candles and set out to destroy you; but ye for love of God chose death and praised Him unceasingly: Alleluia.
When the armies of the lawless came to Gareja, they fell upon you in the church and said in anger: “Forsake Christ, whom ye confess, and receive the law of our prophet; and if ye will not hear us, we will destroy you with the sword”; but ye answered fearlessly: “Behold, we are ready to be offered to God and to stand before His altar”; and we marvel at your love for the contest and are moved to song:
Rejoice, ye who were walled about with the weapon of the Cross; rejoice, ye who hated this world; rejoice, seekers of that incorruptible eternal wealth; rejoice, imitators of the holy and blessed fathers; rejoice, true confessors of the right faith; rejoice, ye who quenched the furnace of the desert with the dew of patience; rejoice, ye who humbled the insolence of the haters of God; rejoice, ye who by strength of spirit covered human weakness; rejoice, ye who lead our minds up to heaven; Rejoice, ye who shone with the struggle of martyrs, venerable fathers of Gareja!
Those invaders surrounded you, O fathers, and pressed you to lose that immortal life for the sake of a vain one; but ye said boldly: “We will not accept the law-giving of that false prophet of yours, nor will we forsake Christ, for whose name we went out from the world and settled in this desert, and whom we glorify in faith”: Alleluia.
O fair assembly of victors in the contest who followed God, truly led by angels, ye besought the human mercy of the Muhammadans that ye might first partake of the immortal and incorruptible Body of the spotless Lamb, and ye promised to give yourselves willingly into their hands; now entreat the King of heaven to plant in us, as in you, the warmth of faith and to move our tongue to praise your valour and holiness:
Rejoice, watchful guardians of piety; rejoice, ye who shine with invincible struggle; rejoice, ye who were united by wondrous steadfastness; rejoice, ye who were emboldened by the power of the Crucified; rejoice, invincible warriors in the time of the invasion of foreigners; rejoice, ye who by poverty in this passing life gathered much wealth in the heavens; rejoice, ye who ask of the Lord the sweetness of piety for the Georgians; rejoice, blessed flowers of monasticism that pour forth divine fragrance; rejoice, fruitful plants of the desert that fill the fatherland with grace; Rejoice, ye who shone with the struggle of martyrs, venerable fathers of Gareja!
O wondrous thing to hear! For God turned even the wholly merciless to mercy towards you, and did not let the barbarians fall upon you until ye had tasted that life-giving Pascha; and, offering the all-holy gift to God and bringing yourselves with it as a divine sacrifice, when ye had partaken of the incorruptible Body and Blood of Christ God, ye sang and praised His might: Alleluia.
Behold, O divine assembly gathered in the midst of the church: when ye had made ready to partake of the all-holy Passion of Christ, the godless executioners came in and first cut off the head of the abbot of the lavra, and then led you out of the church, honourable servants of God the Word, before whom ye fell down in prayer and to whom ye commended your souls; now commend us too to His love for mankind, that He may not take His help away from us, that we may be saved in love and peace and call you blessed with longing:
Rejoice, invincible hosts of the heavenly King; rejoice, martyrs of truth; rejoice, images of the piety of our forebears; rejoice, ye who made the desert fruitful with a river of tears; rejoice, ye who bore that one fierce trial; rejoice, chosen ones of the Lord, who untroubled gave up your souls to Him; rejoice, branches of the vine of Christ cut off without mercy; rejoice, glories of Gareja and boasts of the Church; rejoice, uncaptured gates of the land of Iberia; Rejoice, ye who shone with the struggle of martyrs, venerable fathers of Gareja!
O fearless courage, good friends and fair brothers! For when the executioners began to slaughter you mercilessly with the sword, ye stood firm amid the godless, and, comforting one another, ye lifted your eyes to heaven and together glorified the Creator of all: Alleluia.
When the lawless slew you in the church, worn out with reverence and fasting, that dwelling of God was filled with your blood; and the hands of the godless murderers shook your souls free from corruptible dust, and for your monastic labours and martyrdom ye received from Christ God a twofold crown as reward; now by your intercession deliver us from enemies invisible and visible, who offer you this praise:
Rejoice, rational rams appointed as a holy sacrifice to Christ the King; rejoice, ye who were slain for His sake in the sanctuary of the church and upon His holy table; rejoice, ye who on the night of the Resurrection trampled down death by death; rejoice, ye who stood together before the heavenly altar; rejoice, priestly fathers and brothers joined one to another by streams of blood; rejoice, partakers with the saints of the endless kingdom; rejoice, ye who by your struggle amazed the bodiless ranks; rejoice, ye who by the fruit of your valour strengthen the spiritual courage of the Iberians; rejoice, ye who instruct in piety hearts shaken by the waves of the world; Rejoice, ye who shone with the struggle of martyrs, venerable fathers of Gareja!
O all-honourable assembly and fold shepherded by the Lamb who sitteth on the Father’s throne! When evil wolves surrounded you and tore you without mercy, some young and some aged, not one of you perished, but all by the unity of the faith came unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ, as intercessors and advocates for your people, and ye praised His might: Alleluia.
When the two brothers had escaped the snare, they saw radiant crowns coming down from heaven, and since two among them were left without wearers, they returned to the monastery, and the lawless seized them and slew them like sheep with the sword; and they scattered your holy bodies in a ravine, and by your grace that waterless land was enriched, and rose bushes sprang up wondrously, bearing witness for many years to the beauty of your struggle and stirring all to sing to you:
Rejoice, ye who were tried in the furnace of fierce pains; rejoice, ye who suffered without mercy at the hands of the lawless; rejoice, ye who were slain like Abel and offered acceptably like Isaac; rejoice, ye who were joined to the companies of your fellows; rejoice, ye who dwell in the kingdom of heaven; rejoice, ye who by the brilliance of your struggles are likened to the two luminaries of the firmament; rejoice, ye who spread over the faithful the sweet light of victory; rejoice, ye who bestow spiritual gifts abundantly; rejoice, helpers of those who entreat you and call on you fervently; Rejoice, ye who shone with the struggle of martyrs, venerable fathers of Gareja!
When those godless men had slaughtered the servants of the holy monastery, O blessed ones, they laid waste and wholly plundered the twelve monasteries of Gareja; and when they had departed to their own land, the brethren living in seclusion gathered your bodies, pierced by spears and dyed purple with blood, and, burying them where ye received death for Christ, they called you blessed and glorified the Giver of your victory: Alleluia.
The Lord Almighty glorified your precious bones, and in that waterless desert, richly watered with your blood, He made fair flowers of many kinds spring up abundantly, and by their fragrance He marked the holy purple of your precious blood; and those who saw it glorified Christ and spoke your praises:
Rejoice, monks glorified from heaven, runners in the courses on high; rejoice, martyrs of Christ, who together bore that fierce trial; rejoice, ye who boldly put to shame the error of the godless; rejoice, ye who finished well the divine course; rejoice, spiritual offerings who shed your blood for love of Christ; rejoice, ye who put off what is corruptible and put on the garment of immortality; rejoice, ye who are joined to the holy priests and blessed fathers; rejoice, ye who stood together before God; rejoice, ye who received from Him authority over unclean spirits; Rejoice, ye who shone with the struggle of martyrs, venerable fathers of Gareja!
Having received a divine end, adorned with victory, ye were raised to heaven, and, made worthy of equal honour and glory, ye were crowned by the right hand of God; now intercede for us before Him, that He may plant in us the fear and hatred of sin and the love of virtue, that we may walk worthily on the path of our forebears and praise the Creator of all: Alleluia.
Your blood, O wondrous martyrs, adorned the apostolic Church of the Georgians; and your precious and myrrh-streaming bones, hewn by the sword, they brought up with a litany, and, building a martyrs’ chapel near the church of the Resurrection of Christ, they laid them in the sanctuary, in that stone winepress; and all who hastened there offered you a praise of thanksgiving:
Rejoice, fruitful clusters of the vine on high, pressed in the winepress of suffering; rejoice, companions of the heavenly hosts, who stand unashamed before the Holy Trinity; rejoice, ye who adorned the New Covenant with your God-accepted blood; rejoice, ye who by your offering in the holy church have come to dwell in the Church of the firstborn; rejoice, ye who by your intercession open the doors of divine mercy; rejoice, ye who by the fruit of your valour strengthen those held fast by the sleep of sloth; rejoice, rational and holy plants that adorned the hills of Gareja and Mravalmta; rejoice, ye who by the power of your relics drive out unclean spirits; rejoice, ye who plant the love of Christ among men; Rejoice, ye who shone with the struggle of martyrs, venerable fathers of Gareja!
Praiseworthy is your all-honourable assembly, chosen and sanctified not by corruptible kinship but by an incorruptible and angelic unity, ye who on the night of the Resurrection offered yourselves to God; and the fountain of your all-holy blood, going forth from His house, the church of the Resurrection of Christ, O blessed ones, watered the deserts of Gareja and moved all to sing to God: Alleluia.
Ye fulfilled the unity of brotherhood by offering yourselves for Christ; and He was pleased to make manifest your divine glory and made your bones a house of refuge for many, granting you the grace of healing and of deliverance from afflictions; and the Church of the Georgians appointed your memory on the Tuesday of Pascha, and as all the people hastened to venerate your all-honourable relics, O worthily blessed ones, ye gave them a share of your joy and moved them to sing to you:
Rejoice, spices, priceless ointments, fragrances of Christ; rejoice, unfading flowers of the spiritual paradise; rejoice, all-radiant champions of our people; rejoice, monuments of faith and seals of steadfastness; rejoice, fervent protectors of the assembly of monastic elders; rejoice, firm towers and ramparts of the desert of David-Gareja; rejoice, intercessors and advocates of the Georgian people; rejoice, glories and strengths of our fatherland; rejoice, precious stones, luminaries of the Church of Iberia; Rejoice, ye who shone with the struggle of martyrs, venerable fathers of Gareja!
David, father and guide of the desert of Gareja, was well pleased that your holy relics should rest around his own tomb, as did those of the holy and blessed Dodo; and behold, we too hasten in faith to his holy lavra, that we may fervently kiss all these holy things and praise Christ, our King and God, who glorified you: Alleluia.
The desert of Gareja proclaimeth your glorious martyrdom, the Church exulteth with joy and appointeth for all the faithful to keep your holy memory with prayer; and we too hasten to Gareja to venerate the shrine of your relics, which, as a fountain of grace and of a multitude of signs, unceasingly poureth forth healing of souls and bodies, and we entreat you: deliver us from all sicknesses and delusions, that, kept unharmed, we may call you blessed as great intercessors and helpers:
Rejoice, ye six thousand martyrs slain in the desert of Gareja; rejoice, ye who together received from Christ the crown of victory; rejoice, ye of great and glorious name, who gained the name of immortality; rejoice, ye who from this holy desert pour out streams of life over our land; rejoice, ye who by the power of God work many wonders; rejoice, ye who drive away diseases and infirmities of many kinds; rejoice, ye who in afflictions stretch out a hand that never putteth to shame; rejoice, ye who lead our minds up to heaven; rejoice, ye who are called blessed by us and remembered with blessing; Rejoice, ye who shone with the struggle of martyrs, venerable fathers of Gareja!
All-desirable and joy-giving is your united angelic life, O flock of rational rams, for not one of you escaped the sword of the enemies of Christ; and now ye have boldness to help those who revere you, and still more do ye intercede for those whom fervour towards the Lord hath settled in the deserts and ravines of Gareja, that with ascetic struggle and a monastic mind they may ever praise you and sing to the Judge of your contest: Alleluia.
As holy David brought grace from Jerusalem to Gareja, so ye too by great virtue and by offering yourselves for Christ gained spiritual grace, and, clothed in garments steeped in blood and pierced without mercy by spears, like the holy fathers and blessed martyrs of the first ages, ye reign in endless good and work the signs and wonders given by God, O venerable ones, and become fellow-fighters and protectors of those who praise and magnify you:
Rejoice, ye who appeared as the crown of martyrs and the army of Christ; rejoice, ye who shone with martyrs’ blood as with purple; rejoice, most radiant lamps that scatter the darkness of godlessness; rejoice, ye who quench the flame of the passions and grievous diseases; rejoice, comforters of the right-believing and shamers of the wrong-believing; rejoice, ye who spread the joy of grace in God-loving hearts; rejoice, ye who teach watchfulness and reprove our sins; rejoice, ye who by signs confound the godless and perverse; rejoice, ye who bring us in peace into the haven of eternal life; Rejoice, ye who shone with the struggle of martyrs, venerable fathers of Gareja!
O renowned companies of divine martyrs among the saints, our venerable fathers of Gareja! We honour your shared struggles and your one death for Christ, by which ye were glorified, and we entreat you: direct our life towards His commandments, that at the resurrection of your all-holy bodies we may rise with you to meet the Lord and be caught up in the clouds in the air, and ever glorify His might with you: Alleluia.
This kontakion thrice; then Ikos 1 and Kontakion 1.
O all-praised martyrs who suffered in the desert of Gareja, adornments of elders, boast of the fathers, crowns of priests and companions of angels, givers of healings, who in afflictions stretch out a hand that never putteth to shame, swift helpers of those who entreat you and givers of mercy!
O all-radiant martyrs of Christ, our blessed and God-bearing fathers of Gareja, who were zealous for God Almighty and, not content with one baptism for the remission of sins, were baptised also in blood! Now commend us, who ever fall down before your firm intercession and help, to Christ our God, that in His boundless mercy He may look upon our people, the lot of His Mother, which beareth the Cross of the Lord upon the earth, and keep it from the snare of the enemy invisible and visible and from strife among brothers, and renew again our faith in Him, and grant us love for our neighbour and faithfulness to the God-given fatherland enriched with your blood. By your mighty power strengthen in their ministry the Most Holy and Most Blessed Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi and Metropolitan of Bichvinta and Tskhum-Abkhazeti, our father Ilia, and keep him in length of days to shepherd our people in all truth and holiness. Enlighten the most reverend metropolitans, archbishops and bishops, the honourable priests, the deacons who serve Christ and all the church servers who live in humility, and keep the Christ-loving laity by your intercession.
O many thousand enlightened stars, swift helpers of those who entreat you and givers of mercy, holy venerable martyrs of Gareja, help us before God, that He may grant our land peace, the churches splendour, the clergy honour and all the laity steadfastness in the virtues, that the corrupting spirit of this age may not rule over us, and that, made worthy of the heavenly citizenship, we may with you unceasingly glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, to whom befitteth all glory, honour and worship, 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 the holy martyrs, the six thousand monks of Gareja, and of all the saints, have mercy on us. Amen.
Compiled by Tinatin Mchedlishvili
