Akathist to the Holy Glorious Martyr and Right-believing King Luarsab
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, now and ever and unto 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.
Priest: For Thine is the kingdom…
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 who flee to thee adorn with praises the valiant Luarsab, adorned with the crown of kingship and martyrdom, radiant with invincible struggle, and we entreat thy holiness: accept this our unworthy hymn, O glorious one, and deprive us not of thy help, but offer intercession for us to the Deliverer and ask forgiveness of sins for those who praise thee in faith: Rejoice, nobly victorious king and martyr, valiant Luarsab!
O thine all-ineffable love for Christ, valiant soldier of God! For instead of kingship thou didst receive reviling, instead of thrones persecution, and instead of a crown scourging, and thou didst mightily put to shame the delusion of the Persians; therefore we who keep thine all-radiant memory cry to thee with faith and longing:
Rejoice, all-radiant boast of the right faith; rejoice, dwelling of true struggle; rejoice, rational adamant of patience; rejoice, thunder of divine preaching; rejoice, thou who by firm faith didst expose the ungodliness of tyrants; rejoice, shield that guardest piety; rejoice, sword that cuttest off impiety; rejoice, branch of the vine of Christ that didst bear the fruit of martyrdom; rejoice, beautiful flower of the radiant garden of David; rejoice, champion and intercessor of the Georgian army; rejoice, uncaptured gate of the Church of Iberia; rejoice, glory and strength of our fatherland; Rejoice, nobly victorious king and martyr, valiant Luarsab!
When the savage and bloodthirsty Shah Abbas had crushed and taken captive the dwellers of Kakheti and set out against Kartli, then thou, good shepherd, didst leave thy fatherland and thy dwelling, and like the Deliverer didst resolve to lay down thyself and thy life for the deliverance of the Christians; therefore we stir every tongue to glorify and praise thee: Alleluia.
Thou didst not spare the valour of thy youth, nor the glory and honour of kingship, but grieved rather and wast pained at heart over the profaning of holy icons and crosses and the destruction of holy churches; and trusting in the true God and heavenly King, thou didst stand before the merciless Abbas and ask peace for thy kingdom; therefore our mind is now stirred to radiant praise of thy struggles:
Rejoice, thou who didst spring from the root of Jesse; rejoice, thou who wast enlightened by the grace of the Holy Spirit; rejoice, thou who wast made wise and strengthened by the Lord; rejoice, thou who wast revealed by the strength of courage and valour; rejoice, thou who didst shine forth by the godliness of martyrdom; rejoice, thou who art called a son of the prophet David; rejoice, thou who wast sent as shepherd and struggler for thy beloved people; rejoice, thou who by the courage and valour of thy struggle wast like thy forefathers, the great Luarsab and Simon; rejoice, thou who wast offered to God as an unpaid sacrifice; rejoice, thou who didst enter the kingdom of heaven by the narrow gate; rejoice, thou who art adorned in the choir of martyrs; rejoice, thou who didst shine among the holy angels; rejoice, thou who art ever remembered by the Iberians; Rejoice, nobly victorious king and martyr, valiant Luarsab!
When thou didst stand, O blessed one, before that godless khan, at first with flattering words he promised thee great honour and favour, and calling thee to forsake the law of Christ, he craftily thought to seduce thee into turning to his own law; but his craft was in vain, and he did not succeed in the desire of his heart, for thou didst boldly confess the Son with the Father and give glory to the Holy Trinity: Alleluia.
The words of the false prophet did not trouble thy mind, but instead thou didst answer: “Were all the earth mine, I would not take upon me obedience to thy words; for I have received enlightenment from my King and God, and on Him have I set my hope, and besides Him I know no other god”; therefore we, the sons of the Orthodox Church, cry out in amazement and say:
Rejoice, thou who didst keep the nobility of thy soul; rejoice, smiter of the blasphemers of the cross of Christ; rejoice, thou who by hope in God didst shatter the sharpened sword of the enemy; rejoice, planter of honour and courage; rejoice, deliverer of those seized by many trials and surrounded by cares; rejoice, good shepherd of thy God-protected people; rejoice, thou who didst hold back the wrath of God; rejoice, thou who didst cast down those exalted in pride; rejoice, thou who tramplest on evil thoughts; rejoice, thou who grantest honour to the faithful; rejoice, thou who makest the double-minded tremble and humblest them; rejoice, thou who exaltest this Georgian race too with surpassing joy; Rejoice, nobly victorious king and martyr, valiant Luarsab!
Knowing beforehand the mercilessness of that tyrant Shah Abbas, thou didst bid the priests bring the life-giving Body and Blood, and lifting up thy hands thou didst cry to God: “For Thy sake I am put to death, O Christ my God, as a sheep for the slaughter; and now make me worthy to partake of Thy holy Mysteries”; and having partaken with fear and reverence, thou didst offer thanksgiving to the Creator of all: Alleluia.
When the godless one heard thy wise words, he was filled with great wrath and commanded that thy feet and hands be bound and thou be cast into prison, that he might turn thee by many kinds of torment; but thou wast like adamant, unshaken like a rock, and fearless like a lion in its den; therefore thy memory hath made the Church of Iberia radiant and gathered us all to sing to thee:
Rejoice, thou who didst expose the delusion of the Hagarenes by victory; rejoice, thou who by fasting teachest men to hate the bitterness and sweetness of the passions; rejoice, thou who with the weapon of thy words didst wound the tormentors; rejoice, thou who didst count temporal beauty as nothing; rejoice, comforter of all the right-believing; rejoice, thou who puttest to shame those who glorify evil; rejoice, utter destroyer of the fury of tyrants; rejoice, exalter of the right faith; rejoice, thou who didst root out the multitude of passions like tares; rejoice, thou who through repentance movest sinners to prayer; rejoice, thou who by divine boldness didst destroy ungodly teachings; rejoice, thou who breakest the power of the visible and invisible enemy; Rejoice, nobly victorious king and martyr, valiant Luarsab!
When they shut thee up in prison, thou didst bless God and ask help of Him, that He might make thee worthy to attain and inherit the endless light with all the saints; and above all thou wast an imitator and divine zealot of the illustrious among kings and first martyr, the valiant Archil; therefore your memory is glorified together in the Church: Alleluia.
Imitating the kings who suffered before thee, thou wast not shaken at all by the battles of the enemy, but by the courage of thy soul and the wisdom of thy mind thou didst put on faith like a coat of mail, and according to the teaching of the apostles didst boldly preach Christ God; therefore the Georgian people rejoiceth in thy memory and crieth to thee thus:
Rejoice, thou who didst confirm that unlying promise; rejoice, thou who didst take up the cross of Christ and cast the Saracens down to the ground; rejoice, planter of love for God, king and fatherland; rejoice, thou who by faith didst calm those carried away by insolence; rejoice, thou who didst boldly overthrow the delusion of foreigners; rejoice, deliverer from all our guilt and sins; rejoice, thou who rousest the slack to good conduct; rejoice, thou who swiftly drivest away grievous calamities; rejoice, deliverer of those condemned to death; rejoice, thou who castest down and utterly bringest to nought the host of demons; rejoice, thou who givest courage to those seized by the sleep of sloth; rejoice, strengthener of the spiritual courage of the Iberians; Rejoice, nobly victorious king and martyr, valiant Luarsab!
When the tyrants saw thy beautiful and radiant face, like gold melted in the furnace, they were greatly amazed, for they had worn down thy body with torments of every kind, yet could not shake that unshakeable firmness of thine; therefore it befitteth us to awake and all gather with zeal to offer the hymn: Alleluia.
Every day the teachers of a false law said to thee: “O king, spare thy youth and beauty and be not disobedient to the command of Shah Abbas, lest he put thee to death by a bitter death; but forsake thy faith and believe in Muhammad”; but thou didst count the threats of the lawless as nothing, and didst put to shame and undo every temptation of the crafty; therefore thy people rejoiceth that thou didst spring up in it and crieth to thee thus:
Rejoice, thou who didst set thy hope on God; rejoice, thou who didst endure manifold torments in the nature of corruptible flesh; rejoice, thou who by truth didst destroy falsehood; rejoice, thou who calmest sorrows and trials; rejoice, thou who didst undo the many contrived devices of the enemy; rejoice, banisher of unclean spirits; rejoice, preacher of the glory of God and revealer of righteousness; rejoice, thou who by the courage of thy nature didst cast down the pride of the lawless; rejoice, thou who askest mercy of God for sinners; rejoice, conqueror of enemies by courage; rejoice, thou who greatly lovest armies and hosts; rejoice, thou who settest those who flee to thee on the path of the Lord’s commandments; Rejoice, nobly victorious king and martyr, valiant Luarsab!
Seven years thou didst bear exile and bonds, looking for the crowns; and bitterly oppressed and shut up in prison, thou didst not think of passing earthly cares, but didst ponder the courage and struggle of the holy martyrs, their crown and reward, and didst glorify the King of all: Alleluia.
What shall we say was the beginning of thy courage or of thy nobility, O holy and chosen king? For neither by honour nor by reviling wast thou parted from the love of Christ, but with hope thou didst count persecution a swift union with Him, and ever fenced about by prayer thou didst endure the struggle of martyrdom; therefore give our feebly speaking tongue the strength of fitting praise:
Rejoice, all-radiant lamp and shepherd of the Georgian people; rejoice, preacher of the right faith; rejoice, thou who didst put unbelief to silence; rejoice, unbending wall of piety; rejoice, great and victorious soldier of Christ God against the unbelieving enemies; rejoice, thou who sweetly bearest the divine yoke; rejoice, sword that cuttest off the tares of the delusion of Muhammad; rejoice, strengthener of the Christ-loving Georgian army; rejoice, thou tried sevenfold like pure gold; rejoice, thou who didst gain the crown of victory; rejoice, strength and glory of the sceptre of kings; rejoice, beautiful adornment of the Church of Iberia; Rejoice, nobly victorious king and martyr, valiant Luarsab!
Then that lawless Shah Abbas was filled with the malice of the devil and commanded that thou be strangled with a cord; but thou, learning of the completion of thy struggles and of thy departure from the bonds of the flesh, wast strengthened all the more and didst say: “Leave me, that I may pray to the Lord, and then fulfil what the godless one hath commanded”; and holding the icon of the all-holy Theotokos, thou didst pray before it: Alleluia.
When the executioners surrounded thee like dogs and gnashed their teeth, then thou, O holy one, didst lift up thine eyes to heaven and cry: “Blessed were I if Christ would make me worthy to give myself up to death not once or twice, but many times”, for thy heart longed to depart and be with Christ, and thou didst run swiftly in the arena of the incorruptible struggle; therefore we gather in the church and offer thee the voice of divine praise:
Rejoice, thou who by the light of thy martyrdom didst make the darkness of the fatherland bright; rejoice, thou who establishest men in the virtues; rejoice, deliverer from tumult and war; rejoice, thou who assuagest the flame of the passions and grievous sicknesses; rejoice, thou who enlightenest those who hope in thee with the dawn of miracles; rejoice, preacher of the love of Christ among men; rejoice, thou who hast mercy on those who pray for fatherland and faith; rejoice, conqueror of raging God-haters; rejoice, thou who didst bridle the Persians and turn them back; rejoice, thou who blessest those who rise up in faith, hope and love; rejoice, thou who didst turn many to the true faith; rejoice, thou who by thy struggle didst finish well the divine course; Rejoice, nobly victorious king and martyr, valiant Luarsab!
Taking up wisely the weapon of courage, thou didst go out fearlessly to death and speak thus to the executioners: “Know ye not that the prophet David saith by the Holy Spirit: truly God hath been glorified in the members of the holy martyrs?” and thou didst lift up thy hands clothed with struggle and give glory to God who strengthened thee: Alleluia.
“Behold, now is the accepted time and the well-pleasing day of the Lord, for I leave this temporal world and depart to my King, for whom I longed”, thou didst say with thanksgiving, and didst commend thy soul and thy kingdom to the Lord; then the merciless ones came and strangled thee with a bowstring, and thus completing thy martyrdom, thou wast slain as a sheep for the slaughter, and as a cleansed lamb thou wast offered on the heavenly altar; and now, united with the assembly of the saints, thou art the intercessor of those who flee to thee and sing with longing:
Rejoice, thou who didst take upon thee pain and death; rejoice, thou who didst endure torments for the sake of the heavenly Jerusalem; rejoice, holy and spotless calf, who didst shed thy blood for Christ; rejoice, thou who didst dry the tears of sorrow of the Georgians; rejoice, healer of those wounded by invisible archers; rejoice, thou who by divine grace makest the ignorant wise; rejoice, thou who encouragest the faithful by the fruit of thy courage; rejoice, thou who didst scatter the darkness of godlessness; rejoice, thou who bringest to understanding those blinded by lawlessness; rejoice, thou who by firm faith crushest evil spirits; rejoice, thou who receivest suffering souls that flee to thee; rejoice, thou who turnest men from love of temporal and swiftly passing pleasures; Rejoice, nobly victorious king and martyr, valiant Luarsab!
When the executioners left thy holy body, it was seen by all as a radiant light, and those who saw it turned to faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, while those who touched it were healed of every sickness and infirmity; and made courageous by wondrous signs they were strengthened in spirit and sang aloud to Almighty God: Alleluia.
As our Saviour Jesus Christ said in the holy Gospel: “The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep”, so thou too wast not a hireling, to leave thy sheep and flee, but didst lay down thyself for the land and deliver thy people from devastation; for had thou alone escaped from their hands, then the holy things and places of Kartli would have been ravaged and laid waste; therefore it is fitting to say to thee the “Rejoice” of victory:
Rejoice, planter of good virtues; rejoice, thou who didst seal the divine commandments in thy heart; rejoice, thou who by wisdom of spirit didst courageously endure fierce torments; rejoice, candle that enlightenest the wise and burnest the foolish; rejoice, deliverer from the bonds of our sins; rejoice, overthrower of destroyers of souls; rejoice, thou who humblest the proud; rejoice, thou who exaltest the humble of heart; rejoice, advocate and benefactor of the poor; rejoice, feeder of the hungry and clother of the naked; rejoice, swift helper and advocate of those who honour thee; rejoice, thou who turnest our sorrows into joy; Rejoice, nobly victorious king and martyr, valiant Luarsab!
As thou didst still the fierce calamities stirred up by the Persians against thy people, so reconcile to the good God us too who flee to thee with piety, that He may send down strength, courage, wisdom and victory over all the enemies and oppressors of the Georgians redeemed by the blood of Christ, who glorify thy memory and sing with longing: Alleluia.
Thou who in youth didst count as nothing the delights and sweetness of the world, which lead down to hell and are vain, and by the endurance of torments didst cast down the many-wiled treachery of the enemy, now free those who praise thee from the temptation of the enemy and deliver us from every trial and evil, that, attaining stillness, we may ever sing to thee, O glorious one, and call thee blessed unceasingly:
Rejoice, thou who by thy blood didst magnify the right faith; rejoice, thou who didst enlighten thy people with divine light; rejoice, thou who by thy divine struggle didst amaze the bodiless ranks; rejoice, deliverer from every passion and from the crafty tongue; rejoice, thou who drivest away sicknesses of many kinds and infirmities; rejoice, thou who inclinest in mercy to those who entreat thee and givest courage to those who hope in thee; rejoice, thou who didst enlighten our darkened mind; rejoice, thou who coolest the faithful with divine dew; rejoice, thou who raisest up our defiled mind; rejoice, thou who instead of a passing kingdom didst receive the light that passeth not; rejoice, thou who hast inherited the kingdom with the saints and carest for our salvation; rejoice, for thou hast left us thy memory as a delight; Rejoice, nobly victorious king and martyr, valiant Luarsab!
As thou didst exchange the crown of kingship and the purple robe for the radiance of the kingdom that passeth not, so in imitation of thee princes and soldiers, the lowly and the common folk offered themselves with joy to Christ God, who gave such a king and carer to the people allotted to His Mother, our people, which singeth thus: Alleluia.
Though death is a cause of forgetting, yet neither the changing of years nor the circumstances of the times could consign thy struggles to oblivion, O thou courageous in spirit; but we grieve that thy holy relics now lie there, in the fortress of Shiraz, and we rejoice that thou hast inherited eternal glory, and we unceasingly entreat God that thy relics may be granted us for the healing of our wounds, that all of us who flee in faith may venerate thy blessed shrine and worthily adorn thy memory with praises:
Rejoice, great boast of the line of the Bagratids, to whom the throne of David and the sceptre of Solomon were entrusted; rejoice, good and watchful shepherd, who by thy blood didst guard thy flock; rejoice, unshakeable wall of the faithful Targamosians, who didst adorn the house of the Georgian kings with the blood of martyrdom; rejoice, thou beautiful in goodness and in the radiance of martyrdom, for thou didst make the throne of thy kingship honoured by thy suffering; rejoice, warrior against the adversaries of Christ, for thou didst make that many-wiled Belial foolish and frenzied; rejoice, thou enlightened by good works, for in place of an honourable crown there was set upon thee a sevenfold unfading heavenly crown; rejoice, luminary of the land and of the faith, who didst make the night of Persian delusions bright; rejoice, valiant struggler, for to the radiance of kingship thou didst join the crown of victory; rejoice, all-radiant champion of truth, for thou art glorified with a twofold crown, as an invincible martyr and as a soldier of Christ; rejoice, crown of the Church, for thou didst appear brighter than gold in the furnace of martyrdom; rejoice, thou glorified in heaven and on earth, for the brightness of thy struggle and the radiance of thy courage make radiant the hearts of those who love the martyrs; rejoice, glory of martyrs and radiance of kings, for thy courage, brighter than gold, maketh the name of kings shine and giveth courage to the Georgians; Rejoice, nobly victorious king and martyr, valiant Luarsab!
O king and martyr, radiant in comeliness, valiant Luarsab! Forgive this unworthy one and accept this small and poor hymn, and as one who hast great boldness, ask of Christ God forgiveness of sins and mercy for me, that with a mind made wise we may compose a fitting hymn and offer it to thee: Alleluia.
Say this kontakion thrice, then:
O thine all-ineffable love for Christ, valiant soldier of God! For instead of kingship thou didst receive reviling, instead of thrones persecution, and instead of a crown scourging, and thou didst mightily put to shame the delusion of the Persians; therefore we who keep thine all-radiant memory cry to thee with faith and longing:
Rejoice, all-radiant boast of the faith; rejoice, dwelling of true struggle; rejoice, rational adamant of patience; rejoice, thunder of divine preaching; rejoice, thou who by firm faith didst expose the ungodliness of tyrants; rejoice, shield that guardest piety; rejoice, sword that cuttest off impiety; rejoice, branch of the vine of Christ that didst bear the fruit of martyrdom; rejoice, beautiful flower of the radiant garden of David; rejoice, champion and intercessor of the Georgian army; rejoice, uncaptured gate of the Church of Iberia; rejoice, glory and strength of our fatherland; Rejoice, nobly victorious king and martyr, valiant Luarsab!
We who flee to thee adorn with praises the valiant Luarsab, adorned with the crown of kingship and martyrdom, radiant with invincible struggle, and we entreat thy holiness: accept this our unworthy hymn, O glorious one, and deprive us not of thy help, but offer intercession for us to the Deliverer and ask forgiveness of sins for those who praise thee in faith: Rejoice, nobly victorious king and martyr, valiant Luarsab!
O all-glorious holy martyr of Christ, who didst endure courageously, renowned warrior, invincible in battles and unashamed in afflictions, swift helper of those who entreat thee and giver of mercy, God-crowned King Luarsab!
O radiant and great adornment of the martyrs and most glorious king of Georgia, holy Luarsab! Remember us before God, for love of whom thou didst shed thy blood, O glorious one, and by the radiance of thy holiness quench the mystery of lawlessness stirred up against our beloved people, and shelter us from the assembly of heretics, which is “the abomination of desolation”; grant us victory over them and the confirming of Orthodoxy from Christ God, and renew again our faith in Christ, and grant us unfailing love for God, king and fatherland, and raise up for us the horn of anointing, that we may not become like the senseless beasts, like those idolaters and others so foolish, as those who have fallen away of their own will and forgotten eternal life. 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, the great lord, our father Ilia, the most reverend metropolitans, archbishops and bishops, the honourable priests, the deacons in Christ and all the monastic orders, the members of the Orthodox Church and all right-believing Christians.
O illustrious, valiant and renowned crowned one, brave Luarsab! With a mercy like that of Jesus God intercede before Him, that He may grant glory to the churches, honour to the clergy, good shepherding of the people to rulers, courage to soldiers, sinlessness to the laity and chastity to women; and to us a life of good conduct, adornment with works of mercy, enlightenment through holy prayer, cleansing through confession, radiance through communion, an honourable departure, the inheritance of the kingdom, singing with the angels, reigning with the saints, and with thee glory and thanksgiving; for to Him befitteth all glory, honour and worship, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Author and compiler: Tinatin Mchedlishvili
