Akathist to Our Venerable Father David 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.
To the guide and father of heaven-imitating Gareja, given from on high, who adorned the Church of Georgia with the brilliance of wonders, we sing with praises and entreat thee in hope of thy all-powerful help: accept this our praise of thanksgiving and commend us to God, that He may turn from us the dread of the divine judgment for our iniquities and direct on the path of the commandments those who praise thee: Rejoice, venerable father David of Gareja, unfailing fountain of grace and healing!
When the Mother of God became the protector and shelter of our people, she sent John the Syrian to strengthen the Georgians in the faith; and thou, being among his disciples, didst venerate with them the Tunic of the Lord and the honourable Pillar, and ye settled at Zedazeni to the glory of God; now help us before Him, that He may keep our Church and establish the priests together with the people unshakeably, that we may all strive together for the glory of God and praise thee according to our strength:
Rejoice, fruitful tree of the heavenly paradise; rejoice, radiance of divine love; rejoice, boast of strugglers and strength of the right faith; rejoice, multiplier of the army of Christ; rejoice, most holy star of the desert; rejoice, second enlightener of the Church of Iberia; rejoice, constant protector of thy flock; rejoice, manifest sun, luminary of all Georgia; Rejoice, venerable father David of Gareja, unfailing fountain of grace and healing!
When thy teacher John saw the strengthening of the foul idolaters and heretics in our land, he blessed his twelve disciples to preach and spread the true faith; and when he sent thee to Tbilisi to preach and cast out demons, thou didst settle in a cave near it, and when by prayer thou hadst brought forth a wonderworking spring, the sick, the blind and the childless drank of it with hope, and receiving consolation through thee they glorified God: Alleluia.
When thou didst fearlessly preach the word of the true God, the magi could not endure such labours of thine and shamelessly slandered thee with adultery; but thou didst touch that harlot with thy staff and command the infant to reveal its father, and it cried out from its mother’s womb and named the blacksmith as its father, and the woman in pain brought forth a stone; and all who saw this confessed Christ as the true God, who had given such grace to His servant, and offered thee thankful praise as a great father and teacher:
Rejoice, wise preacher of the teaching of the apostles and fathers; rejoice, knower of hidden things, abyss of understanding; rejoice, thou who by harsh struggle didst quench the embers of the devil’s delusion; rejoice, thou who for the glory of the name of Christ didst undo the sorcery of the magi; rejoice, thou who didst victoriously expose the false law of the Mazdeans; rejoice, thou who didst stop the mouths of evil-plotters and undo their treachery; rejoice, thou who didst put to shame the assembly of unbelievers; rejoice, thou who didst drive away the darkness of the fire-worshippers; rejoice, thou who didst make Tbilisi shine with divine light; Rejoice, venerable father David of Gareja, unfailing fountain of grace and healing!
Kindled with divine longing, thou didst withdraw with thy disciple from the tumults of the world, and, guided by the Holy Spirit, didst flee to that harsh desert, to gain that unending delight by passing affliction; but Lucian was afraid, for that land lacked food and water and for a long time had been full of reptiles and wild beasts; but thou didst strengthen him and say: “God is merciful and sweetly feedeth those who fear Him and praise Him”: Alleluia.
Guided by angels, ye settled in the rocky cave, finding food from the grasses and water gathered from the rain in the clefts, and ye glorified God, the Giver of all good things; now be our intercessor before Him, that He may feed our soul with the bread of understanding and grant us to walk in comeliness in this world, that we may not bow to lawlessness and may be made worthy to offer thee a hymn:
Rejoice, great of soul and enlightened by the light of the knowledge of God; rejoice, thou who wast made wise to know the power of the holy Scriptures; rejoice, thou who wast armed with courage of mind and innocence of heart; rejoice, thou who didst wall thyself about with faith and fasting; rejoice, thou who didst courageously take upon thee harsh struggles and trials; rejoice, thou who with the river of thy tears didst water the waterless desert; rejoice, conqueror of demons by unceasing prayer; rejoice, thou who didst wholly uproot the roots of evil desires; rejoice, thou who didst expose the manifold snares of the enemy; Rejoice, venerable father David of Gareja, unfailing fountain of grace and healing!
When the grasses withered from the heat, fear again seized Lucian, for ye were beset by famine; but thou, as a faithful soldier of Christ, didst entreat thy disciple that the grace of patience might not fail in him, and with a pure heart, ready to obey God, didst praise Him in spirit and in truth: Alleluia.
Comforting Lucian, thou didst trust wholly in God, and as He fed Elijah by a raven, so He heard thy prayer from on high and sent you three hinds with their fawns to serve you; and, turning the milk into curd by the sign of the Cross, ye partook and gave thanks to the merciful God; and He brought forth for you a spring from the rock in the cave, which to this day unfailingly poureth forth grace and healing and stirreth us to praise and glorify thee:
Rejoice, chosen servant of the Trinity; rejoice, spotless angel of the earth; rejoice, wondrous man of heaven; rejoice, image of patience and purity; rejoice, glorious preacher of humility; rejoice, unshaken monument of courage; rejoice, teacher of the Georgian people; rejoice, strength and beam of the Church; rejoice, lamp of the desert and renowned luminary of Kakheti; Rejoice, venerable father David of Gareja, unfailing fountain of grace and healing!
When a fierce dragon that had settled in certain clefts of the rock devoured one of the fawns, and the terrified hinds ran to thee, thou didst drive it away by the power given thee by God, and on the plain of Karaia it was burned by the Lord with a stroke of lightning; and Lucian, seeing this wonder, struck with awe, cried out with joy: “Holy father, God is wondrous in His saints”, and praised His might: Alleluia.
Having attained by thy struggle and the grace of the Lord to the perfect measure of the virtues, thou didst pray for the whole world, and above all didst send up supplication for the Georgians, that by the right faith they might overcome those who oppose the truth and ever win victory over the crafty enemy; now we too make thee our intercessor before God, that He may look upon us and until the end of the age guard Iberia and the people of Iberia, that we may not fall away from the true faith and may zealously praise thy deeds, worthy of praise:
Rejoice, thou who didst make thy soul Christ’s own dwelling; rejoice, thou who didst take His Cross upon thy shoulders; rejoice, thou who didst take upon thee the angelic struggle; rejoice, thou who by thy struggle didst quench the fiery darts of the evil one; rejoice, thou who didst plant the vineyard of Christ in the desert of Gareja and bring forth clusters overflowing; rejoice, treasury of wisdom, teacher of the knowledge of God; rejoice, all-radiant candle that scattereth the darkness of uncleanness; rejoice, thou who didst multiply teachings profitable to the soul; rejoice, thou who strengthenest those shaken by demonic trials; Rejoice, venerable father David of Gareja, unfailing fountain of grace and healing!
When the Lord willed the growth in the right faith of those who dwelt in Kakheti, He showed your dwelling to hunters who, chasing the hinds, saw Lucian milking them as if they were reared in a house; and thou didst say to those who fell down to venerate thee: “Hunt ye other game, for these have been granted by the Lord for our weakness”, and they cried out in amazement: “Great is the glory of the Lord”: Alleluia.
Caught by the wisdom of God, those men departed and proclaimed thy holiness and the power of thy wonders, for for a long time no one had known of your dwelling; and behold, a multitude of people flocked from every side to see thee; and thou, seeing into the thoughts of all, didst instruct and strengthen them in the virtues, and some thou didst stir to the desire of monasticism; and, hewing out caves in the rocks, they lived three years in solitude and called thee blessed as a blessed father:
Rejoice, spiritual shepherd, who gatherest the scattered sheep; rejoice, thou who receivest suffering souls; rejoice, thou who smitest the servants of the devil with the sword of reproof; rejoice, candle that enlighteneth the wise and burneth the foolish; rejoice, teacher of repentance to sinners; rejoice, thou who waterest with divine teaching those who thirst in spirit; rejoice, thou who strengthenest the aged and makest the young wise; rejoice, thou who confirmest monks in their struggle; rejoice, thou who bringest our lukewarm faith to life; Rejoice, venerable father David of Gareja, unfailing fountain of grace and healing!
When the blessed Dodo heard of thy angelic life, he hastened to thee, and when by thy blessing and care he had built a monastery on the horn of the rock, the multitude of the brethren increased day by day, and all together ye strove for the glory of God, ever offering a worthy hymn: Alleluia.
When thy perfection became renowned among all, they brought to thee on beds the sick and the demon-possessed; and thou, working many wonders, didst heal the suffering and deliver the possessed from the wiles of demons; now commend us too to the good God, that He may snatch us from the hands of Beliar, the corrupter of souls, and grant victory over the demons and their devices to those who praise thee:
Rejoice, thou who didst search out the invisible depths of divine wisdom; rejoice, reprover of those inward hidden passions; rejoice, thou who art sweet and lowly to the obedient and bringest the unrepentant to understanding; rejoice, protector of inexperienced brethren from passionate desires; rejoice, thou who by divine grace makest the ignorant wise; rejoice, cleanser of much-sinning souls; rejoice, thou who loosest those held by sorcery; rejoice, destroyer of the princes of darkness and banisher of demons; Rejoice, venerable father David of Gareja, unfailing fountain of grace and healing!
One day Bubaqar, prince of Rustavi, went out hunting and loosed his hawk upon a partridge, and the bird settled at thy feet, and the hawk came near, and the man followed in its track; and when he asked thy name, O holy one, thou didst preach Christ God to him; and when the barbarian wished to kill thee and rushed upon thee with his sword, his hand at once withered, and, understanding thy holiness, O father, he besought thee for forgiveness, and in a moment thou didst heal him to the glory of God: Alleluia.
The barbarian Bubaqar marvelled at thy power and besought thee to heal his lame son; and thou didst promise help, if God should will it; and when he returned to his house, the child met him wholly sound; and coming to Gareja he was baptised with his household by Dodo, and hewed out for you a church in the rock, and called thee blessed as a wondrous helper:
Rejoice, boast and enlightener of our people; rejoice, thou who feedest with spiritual sweetness those who hasten to thee; rejoice, thou who askest of God mercy for the penitent; rejoice, thou who scatterest the darkness of paganism; rejoice, thou who softenest hardened hearts; rejoice, thou who bestowest abundantly spiritual gifts from the treasuries of the Holy Spirit; rejoice, thou who leadest to the true God all who flee to thee; rejoice, haven of grace and unmercenary physician of the sick; rejoice, thou who raisest up the paralysed and makest the lame to walk; Rejoice, venerable father David of Gareja, unfailing fountain of grace and healing!
With the light of the Trinity thou didst shine on our land, and as a good father thou didst shepherd thy flock well; and many hastened to submit themselves to thee, meek of heart and long-suffering; and when the brethren had multiplied like the birds of heaven, thou didst build for them the desert of Mravalmta in the name of the Baptist, and with them didst give thanks and glorify God, who strengthened you in body and soul: Alleluia.
Moved to venerate the Life-giving Tomb of the Lord, thou didst entrust to Lucian the care of thy flock and didst go on foot with the brethren to Jerusalem; and when thou camest to its borders, thou didst venerate from afar, not daring to tread on the footprints of Christ, and, wetting the earth with tears, thou didst take up three stones with prayer and return, giving thanks to God; entreat Him now, O blessed elder, to deliver us from a faith that is lifeless and lukewarm, that all the Orthodox may prosper and we may call thee blessed according to our strength:
Rejoice, rule and blessed seal of the monastic life; rejoice, father of monks, unconquered by delusions of many forms; rejoice, shepherd of rational sheep, who feedest them by divine word and deed; rejoice, thou who spreadest the joy of grace in God-loving hearts; rejoice, thou who by courage and strength of spirit gavest an example to the faint-hearted and impatient; rejoice, teacher of divine zeal and reverence; rejoice, thou who by thy ineffable holiness sanctifiest many; rejoice, good guide of spiritual strugglers; rejoice, helper of true fasters and comforter of the sorrowful; Rejoice, venerable father David of Gareja, unfailing fountain of grace and healing!
When thou wast filled with spiritual grace, blessed David, the Lord willed to reveal thy holiness, and by an angel made known to the patriarch Elias how thou hadst taken away all the grace of Jerusalem; and he sent swift runners to seek thee, and they swiftly overtook thee and besought thee not to leave that holy city bereft of grace; and, taking two stones, they left one to thee, and thou didst cry out in awe: “Glory to Thee, O God, who hast made us worthy to find mercy!”: Alleluia.
Thou didst bring the third part of the grace of the Holy Land to the desert of Gareja, father David; from that time three pilgrimages there were made equal to one visit to Jerusalem; and when thy companions made this wonder known, all hastened to venerate that wondrous stone, which even now poureth forth graces and wonders and stirreth many to the service of God and to the praise of thy holiness:
Rejoice, thou who wast magnified by good and soul-profiting struggle; rejoice, candle that shone upon the lofty lampstand of monasticism; rejoice, thou who wast likened to Abba Anthony; rejoice, thou who art called the father of many fathers; rejoice, thou who didst fill our land with the fragrance of prayers; rejoice, thou who establishest in piety hearts shaken by the waves of the world; rejoice, protector from the attacks and harms of invisible enemies; rejoice, thou who for the consolation of the brethren didst sweeten a bitter spring; rejoice, thou who didst imprint the love of Christ on the hearts of many; Rejoice, venerable father David of Gareja, unfailing fountain of grace and healing!
Lover of stillness and solitude, from time to time thou didst go out to visit the brethren living in seclusion, and, armed with the grace of the Spirit, thou didst ungrudgingly give them to drink of the water of life; by prayer thou didst strengthen the infirm and drive out evil spirits by the power given by God; now pour out on us too the grace of thy all-holy prayer, that we may flee a sinful life and not cease to praise and glorify God: Alleluia.
When thou hadst reached old age and knew thy departure from the flesh, thou didst strengthen thy disciples, and, having partaken of the holy Sacrifice of Christ God, didst commend thy spirit with prayer into His hands; and He at once glorified thee, multiplying signs and healings through thee, and opened the eyes of a blind man who touched thy holy body; and when they buried thee in the cell of thy dwelling, they laid that stone of grace upon thy breast, and thou didst heal many infirm who fell down at thy tomb, and they praised thee with joy as a wondrous intercessor:
Rejoice, ascetic who didst speak well of God, for thou didst truly appear as a heavenly champion to our people when thou didst dwell in Iberia; rejoice, sweet of word and longed-for in counsel, for thou didst lay a firm foundation for those who desire the divine life; rejoice, faithful servant of Christ, for, passing to heaven into those eternal mansions and joined with the angels and choirs of the saints, thou didst shine with glory; rejoice, for after thee many monasteries of brethren were founded, and the desert of Gareja became a city of monks; rejoice, strength of the Orthodox, for the people of Iberia gained thee as a good intercessor and named thy desert “David’s”; rejoice, most wondrous ascetic, for we cannot forget that divine manner of life of thine; rejoice, for every year the holy Church appointeth for us thy memory, on the Thursday after the Ascension of Christ; rejoice, for our people keepeth thy grace-filled memory with hymns and spiritual songs; rejoice, boast of true Christians and joy of monks, who hast the grace to help those who revere thee; Rejoice, venerable father David of Gareja, unfailing fountain of grace and healing!
Since thou didst enlighten this region of Kakheti with divine grace, “David-Gareja” boasteth of thy labours accomplished in it, and loudly proclaimeth thy fervent prayers; now we too long to hasten to thy holy lavra, O father, for it holdeth thy resting-place as a spiritual wealth and a divine treasure, in which thy holy bones lie and ever work wonders and drive out demons, that we may glorify with joy God who glorifieth His saints: Alleluia.
The glorious Mtatsminda proclaimeth thy labours, O David, beauty of the fathers, and, rejoicing and enriched by thy grace, the holy church of “Mamadaviti” spreadeth spiritual fragrances upon our hearts and minds and calleth all the faithful to draw near in prayer to the first place of thy struggle, O thou who now rejoicest before the all-holy Trinity, illumined with great radiance, and art the helper of those who praise thee:
Rejoice, thou who wast sent by the Theotokos as a rampart of the law and an enlightener of our people; rejoice, chief of monks, who in waterless deserts didst multiply men equal to the angels in place of wild beasts; rejoice, strengthener of the spiritual courage of the Iberians; rejoice, thou who wast loved sweetly by them and called father; rejoice, thou who didst finish well the course of the contest; rejoice, thou who by thy intercession openest the doors of divine mercy; rejoice, thou who bringest us in peace into the haven of eternal life; rejoice, thou who by the water thou didst bring forth at Mtatsminda healest blindness of soul and body; rejoice, giver of children to the barren; rejoice, thou who art ever remembered by the Georgian people; Rejoice, venerable father David of Gareja, unfailing fountain of grace and healing!
O father of elders, boast of monks and guide of solitaries, all-blessed David of Gareja! Cease not to pray to God to deliver our souls from bondage to the dark devil and from captivity to the passions, and to give us understanding of good and evil, that we may pass well along the road of this passing life and at the time of judgment escape those bitter eternal torments, that, guided by thee, we may attain to the Jerusalem on high and be made worthy to glorify the all-holy Trinity: Alleluia.
This kontakion (thrice), then Ikos 1 and Kontakion 1.
O treasury of wisdom and dawn-bright star of the desert, our venerable father David of Gareja! Disciple and companion of holy John of Zedazeni; monument of ascetic struggle and firm rock of faith; adornment of elders and all-radiant luminary of the Church, crown of the fathers and boast of Gareja; giver of healings and our intercessor before the Saviour and His most pure Mother!
O our wonderworking father, holy David of Gareja, radiant in piety among the desert-dwellers! Thou who by God’s providence from on high camest to the desert as a haven of souls and a multiplier of monasteries, by the God-given power of driving out unclean spirits didst cast out demons, heal the sick and swiftly help all who were afflicted by sorrows; and when thou wast raised from the flesh before God, thou didst bestow thy all-praised relics on the holy Church as a light and a crown of graces; and, falling down on our knees at thy tomb, with our whole soul we offer thee our supplication: be our intercessor before our God and Saviour, that He may renew His grace and mercy for our people, the lot of His Mother, which beareth the Cross of the Lord upon the earth, that He may destroy every delusion of godlessness and cast down all the enemies and adversaries of Christianity, and grant us repentance and forgiveness of sins and deliver us from the snare of the devil and the malice of men. By the all-powerful grace of thy prayer strengthen the Most Holy and Most Blessed Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi and Metropolitan of Bichvinta and Tskhum-Abkhazeti, our father (name), 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 thy intercession.
O ascetic who didst turn waterless deserts into cities and wast a good ruler of monks, our venerable father David of Gareja! Thou who didst choose the angelic life and put on the holy monastic schema, remember us now before God, since thou hast great boldness towards Him, 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 thee 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 our venerable and God-bearing father David of Gareja and of all the saints, have mercy on us. Amen.
Compiled by Tinatin Mchedlishvili.
