Akathist Hymn to the Holy Right-believing King Vakhtang Gorgasali
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.
The king valiant in struggle and warrior of great renown, the chosen of Christ, the glorious Vakhtang Gorgasali, brave and invincible, we the faithful adorn with praises and offer a hymn of thanksgiving; and thou, since thou hast boldness towards God, heal us by thy help, O worthy one, and show to those who sing to thee the unerring way that leadeth up to heaven: Rejoice, king wondrous among men and glorious ascetic, holy Vakhtang Gorgasali!
When the throne of Parnavaz and the sceptre of Mirian were entrusted to thee, thou didst reign wisely and raise high the cross of divine victory, by which thou didst destroy the enemies who warred against Christ and establish in peace the true faith of the Orthodox; but now the enemies of truth strive to make thy people, holy and beloved, a people of darkness; but do thou still the raging storm of trials and keep us from heresy and an alien law, that, keeping watch in the right faith, we may be made worthy to offer a hymn:
Rejoice, thou who wast brought up from childhood on the Holy Scriptures; rejoice, thou who wast instructed by God-inspired books; rejoice, thou who wast brought up in holiness and filled with spiritual wisdom; rejoice, thou who wast kindled with love for thy native land; rejoice, thou who wast armed with hope in the Lord and manly courage; rejoice, thou who art walled about by Orthodoxy; rejoice, thou who wast anointed with royal oil from thy youth; rejoice, thou who wast blessed and exalted by the Lord; rejoice, thou who wast made wise above the orators by divine and human philosophy; rejoice, thou who wast sanctified by mercy and enlightened in thy thoughts; rejoice, thou who art called the leader and father of the kings of the Targamosians; rejoice, thou who art adorned with the twofold crown of kingship and of venerable martyrdom; Rejoice, king wondrous among men and glorious ascetic, holy Vakhtang Gorgasali!
When the throne of thy fathers and forefathers was entrusted to thee, though thou wast young in years, thou didst show matchless courage and thyself led the vanguard, yet thou didst boast not in thine own strength but in the power of God, and as David overcame Goliath, so thou didst overcome the greatest of the giants of the Ossetes, Tarkhan and Baqatar; then thou didst cry to thine army, and having overcome the Ossetes and Khazars in fiercest battles, thou didst deliver thy sister taken captive by them and give glory to the Holy Trinity: Alleluia.
Being the husband of the shah’s daughter and the sister’s son of Varaz-Bakur, eristavi of Ran, thou didst go with them to war against the Greeks, for with great valour thou didst seek Egrisi and Abkhazia, which they had seized; but when thou didst command thine army not even to touch the churches and all their servants, Nino of Cappadocia, equal to the apostles, enlightener of the Georgians, appeared to thee in a vision in sleep and told thee not to war against the right-believing; and thou, O wise one, receiving the admonition from on high, through the mediation of the priest Peter and the elder Samuel didst restore peace with the Greeks; therefore we praise thee and glorify thee:
Rejoice, thou who didst courageously take upon thee struggles and trials; rejoice, thou who didst bear the Cross of Christ upon thy shoulders; rejoice, thou who didst carry an armoured horse on thy shoulders from Mtskheta up to Armazi; rejoice, thou fair of form and mighty in strength, who didst overtake a deer on foot; rejoice, thou who by courage of spirit gavest an example to the faint-hearted and the slack; rejoice, teacher of soldierly valour; rejoice, thou who strikest terror into evil-plotters and ravagers of the land; rejoice, hero of Elbrus, giant who didst bend the mountain of the Caucasus; rejoice, brave and invincible one, who didst shut the gate of Darial; rejoice, thou who didst humble the pride and insolence of the Ossetes and Khazars; rejoice, thou who by hope in God didst shatter the whetted sword of the enemy; rejoice, crusher of the might of those insolent barbarians; Rejoice, king wondrous among men and glorious ascetic, holy Vakhtang Gorgasali!
Hastening to uproot the tares sown in thy kingdom, as a youth yet like an aged and wise man, thou didst gather the all-blessed assembly of the servants of God and cast down the idol-temples of the Mazdeans in Mtskheta, and didst drive away all the wrong-believing like wolves and keep thy flock uncorrupted; so now also quench the stirring of the wicked and make powerless the tongues of heretics, raise high the crown of the rightly confessing, and grant peace to our people, that we may walk wisely in the way of truth and unceasingly sing to the Lord: Alleluia.
When thy lawless kinsmen heard that thou hadst driven out the fire-worshippers, they raged against thee in pride and marched with a countless army, wishing to subdue the Georgians; but thou, understanding their evil design, wast not struck with fear of the Persians, but didst encourage a band of lion-like men, and, armed and emboldened for battle, thou didst fight against the lawless for four months; so now also deliver us, O holy one, from all the peoples gathered to war against us, and shelter us from the many snares of enemies visible and invisible, that with thanksgiving we may weave a manifest hymn for thee and offer it to thee:
Rejoice, thou who for the glory of the name of Christ didst cast down the altars of demons; rejoice, bold destroyer of the idol-temples of savagery; rejoice, thou who didst drive away the darkness of slackness; rejoice, thou who didst drive out the teachers of the false law; rejoice, thou who didst put to shame the fire-worshipping Mazdeans; rejoice, thou who didst scatter the darkness of paganism among thy kinsmen; rejoice, destroyer of the sorcery and divination of the magi, who didst expose their mockery by victory; rejoice, thou who didst smite the servants of the devil with the sword of reproof; rejoice, thou who didst courageously expose a law woven by human cunning; rejoice, thou who didst cleanse from the stench of lawlessness; rejoice, thou who didst deliver many souls from captivity and bondage to oppressors; rejoice, healer of the many wounds of thy people; Rejoice, king wondrous among men and glorious ascetic, holy Vakhtang Gorgasali!
When thou didst wage a glorious war against the Persians, with a sword of diamond thou didst fiercely cut down their army, as a lion the wild asses, and didst conquer by hope in the Crucified; and they cried to one another: “Dur az gorg-aslan”, that is, “Beware the wolf’s head”, for the likeness of a wolf-lion was on thy golden helmet, and from that time thou, invincible among kings, wast named Gorgasali, and the banner of the Kartlosians was called “of Vakhtang Gorgasali”; therefore we are filled with joy and offer this divine hymn to God: Alleluia.
In the time of battle and the time of war the Persians seized the tutor of thy wife, Razhden, their own kinsman, who had slain many Persian giants in battle, and commanded him to renounce the faith; but he fearlessly opened the door of martyrdom and made a way for the martyrs who followed to run their course; and thou didst find his precious body, buried secretly by a priest at Tsromi, and with a litany and singing thou didst lay it in the episcopal church built by thee at Nikozi, that we may ever praise Razhden, glorious among the protomartyrs, and call thy valour blessed:
Rejoice, star that showeth the way to those who seek salvation; rejoice, thou who didst bridle the Persians and justly turn them back; rejoice, thou who by firm hope didst destroy the malice of adversaries; rejoice, thou who didst cast down the blasphemers of the Cross of Christ; rejoice, thou who didst put to shame those who hate righteousness and call evil good; rejoice, constant fellow-fighter and protector of the Orthodox armies; rejoice, righteous judge of the helpless and protector of widows and orphans; rejoice, intercessor for the poor and clother of the naked; rejoice, thou who teachest us to live watchfully and soberly; rejoice, thou who didst bind the people of the Targamosians in one mind, one soul and one will; rejoice, thou who didst turn strife and enmity among fellow believers into love and peace; rejoice, thou who didst turn thine enemies and adversaries into friends; Rejoice, king wondrous among men and glorious ascetic, holy Vakhtang Gorgasali!
Reigning by grace from on high as a valiant ascetic and mighty sovereign, thou didst arm thine arms too for the destruction of those who oppose God and didst fearlessly guard thy people, holy and royal, and thou didst join Klarjeti and Abkhazia again to thy land and widen the borders of Iberia; but now a great affliction hath come upon us and we are greatly shaken and afraid, for enemies have set upon us because of our sins and have seized our ancient lands; but do thou gather the scattered patrimonies and deliver the right-believing peoples from mutual enmity, that we may not become a laughing-stock to the godless and the heathen, nor bow to lawlessness, as we praise God in faith: Alleluia.
O the ineffable love of thine for Christ, Vakhtang, beauty of kings and ascetics! For thy heart longed to venerate all the holy places where the feet of the Lord had stood, and, coming to holy Golgotha and Sion, the mother of churches, thou didst give great wealth to the churches and the poor; and, visiting the monasteries of the desert and those who dwelt by the Jordan, thou didst bestow much consolation on them; so now also help us and guard all the cities and villages of Iberia from the invasion of foreigners, that we may rejoice in spirit, O holy one, and praise thy mighty power:
Rejoice, thou who wast sent to shepherd thy people and labour for them; rejoice, thou who by the power of God puttest to shame the wrong-believing and drivest away the evil designs of enemies; rejoice, strength of the weak and overthrower of the mighty; rejoice, planter of honour and courage; rejoice, thou who quenchest the furnace of afflictions and sorrows; rejoice, thou who stillest trials and storms; rejoice, thou who overthrowest soul-destroying teachings and holdest back the wrath of God; rejoice, thou who exaltest the lowly and humblest the proud; rejoice, uniter of neighbours and smiter of enemies; rejoice, deliverer from the wiles of men and the guile of the devil; rejoice, deliverer of the condemned from death; rejoice, instructor of the stiff-necked and the disobedient of mind; Rejoice, king wondrous among men and glorious ascetic, holy Vakhtang Gorgasali!
Truly wondrous is the height of thy graces and mercies, O Vakhtang Gorgasali, great among kings, for thou didst worthily fulfil the desire of the holy King Mirian, and in Jerusalem thou didst raise in godly splendour the Monastery of the Cross; and coming to thy land thou didst build glorious churches and monasteries, and didst renew and adorn the church of the Apostles, the Life-giving Pillar; so now also look upon us and fill us with divine watchfulness, that we may weep for the multitude of our sins and praise Christ unceasingly: Alleluia.
Wounded with the Orthodox faith, thou didst write to the emperor and ask for Peter as Catholicos of Kartli, to govern himself the apostolic Church of the Georgians, and thou didst appoint Samuel bishop in Mtskheta to the glory of God; but when the chief hierarch Michael heard this, he forgot the fear of God, and, puffed up with pride, he cursed thee and all thine army; and thou, though innocent, King Vakhtang, didst go to him to fall humbly at the feet of the archbishop, but he put his foot to thy mouth and insolently broke thy tooth; then thou didst wondrously endure the ineffable insult, and didst send the harsh hierarch to Constantinople to be judged, and there they condemned that merciless one and sent him at once to the monastery of the Sleepless; therefore we praise thy magnanimous love for mankind, O blessed one, and cry with longing:
Rejoice, thou who raisest up the fallen Christian spirit; rejoice, thou who fillest with spiritual joy the Christians terrified by the godless; rejoice, restorer of the independence and strength of the Church; rejoice, raiser of towers and fortress-cities impregnable and unassailable to enemies; rejoice, builder of churches and monasteries on high rocks and in those holy places; rejoice, consolation of monks, who humblest those who harm the soul; rejoice, thou who didst settle thy kinsmen in Jerusalem; rejoice, thou who didst plant among the Georgians love for the holy places; rejoice, multiplier of episcopal sees; rejoice, benefactor of the clergy and giver of offerings to the churches; rejoice, thou who teachest sin-loving men the sweetness of self-restraint; rejoice, thou who spreadest the joy of grace in God-loving hearts; Rejoice, king wondrous among men and glorious ascetic, holy Vakhtang Gorgasali!
Thou didst magnify thy kingdom, blessed by God, by a divine manner of life and radiantly adorn the Church of Kartli by thy struggle; therefore God magnified thy victories and good successes and established the prosperity of thy people, as it is said: blessed is the people of a wise king; and thy people, kept unharmed, grateful to the all-merciful God, praised thee and sent up this divine hymn: Alleluia.
Neither the change of years nor the circumstances of the times could consign thy labours to oblivion, for thou gavest thyself no rest, and didst found Tbilisi, our glorious city, and lay as its spiritual foundation holy churches after the likeness of Jerusalem: Gethsemane on the rock of Metekhi, the Holy Cross as Golgotha, Bethlehem at Narikala and Sioni on the right bank of the river Mtkvari; therefore thy love stirreth us, and we entreat thee, O worthy one, that we may be made worthy to sing to thee:
Rejoice, reprover of those who dishonour the Cross; rejoice, thou who deliverest thy people from the paths of perdition; rejoice, thou who blessest right-believing authorities and armies; rejoice, reprover of oppressors and of rulers and judges who hate mankind, and merciful one to those unjustly persecuted by them; rejoice, thou who turnest the erring onto the path of truth; rejoice, hater of cruelty and treachery; rejoice, thou who softenest hearts turned to stone and hardened; rejoice, thou who leadest men to the service of the fatherland and to good order; rejoice, thou who bringest wrath upon leaders and chiefs of the people who have turned from the faith and work lawlessness; rejoice, crusher of defilers of holy things and corrupters of Christianity; rejoice, conqueror of raging haters of God; rejoice, thou who didst smite the pitiakhsh Varsken, apostate from the law of his fathers and traitor; Rejoice, king wondrous among men and glorious ascetic, holy Vakhtang Gorgasali!
When Kavad-shah summoned thee to war against the Greeks, thou, valiant warrior of Christ, wouldst not consent to the destruction of Christians and didst make ready to withstand him; so now also behold the snares of countless enemies spread wickedly over our people, and deliver us from mutual oppression and betrayal from within, for the strengthening of a people requireth unity, that, bound in oneness of mind by love for God and the fatherland, we may ever praise the Creator of all: Alleluia.
When they told this matter to that lawless tyrant, he was filled with great wrath and came with a countless army against thy land, for he desired thy death and the ruin of Iberia; but the Lord granted thee help, and, gathering steadfast peoples, like a panther in courage and like a lion in roaring thou didst fall upon those insolent Mazdeans and restore victory to the Georgians; so now also bring to nothing the dreadful wiles of those who strive with the wicked to harm us, and keep us untouched by the ranks and invasions of enemies, that we may find rest and unfading delight, who magnify thee with praises:
Rejoice, boast and glory of the sceptre of kings; rejoice, unshaken tower of righteous judgment; rejoice, good labourer in the struggle of piety; rejoice, thou who wast sent from on high for the sanctification of thy people and the strengthening of Iberia; rejoice, preacher of the faith planted by the apostle Andrew; rejoice, strengthener of the faith brought to growth by the virgin Nino; rejoice, planter of all good conduct and God-pleasing life; rejoice, shield that guardeth piety; rejoice, two-edged sword that cutteth off impiety; rejoice, raiser of the fallen people; rejoice, thou who answerest for foe and friend; rejoice, image of the victoriousness of our forebears; Rejoice, king wondrous among men and glorious ascetic, holy Vakhtang Gorgasali!
The shedding of blood was more desirable to thee, O lamb of Christ, than the throne of the kingdom, and for His sake thou didst put on the crown of martyrdom at the hand of one who had been thy slave, who in the time of battle shot an arrow into thee beneath the arm of thy coat of mail; but thou, as a lion among lions and a giant among giants, wounded in the breast, didst fight on like Gorgasali; and when thou wast greatly weighed down by thy wounds, thou didst charge thy household and people with love for the Greeks and never parting from them, that they might stand firm in the faith and seek death for Christ; therefore we, this assembly of the faithful, rejoice and offer a hymn to the Creator of all: Alleluia.
When thou didst end thy life at Ujarma, O most sweet and longed-for king of the Georgians, they bathed thy much-labouring body with lamentation and laid it with great honour in “the mother of all churches, Svetitskhoveli”; and, placing a gigantic stone upon thy tomb, they carved thy likeness upon it, O brave one, and told all of the valour of thy struggle; and from that time the ranks of priests and companies of the faithful fall down with longing at thy tomb and ask thy help in faith; and we in the blessed Georgian tongue offer thee a gift of joy:
Rejoice, thou who by thy struggle bringest dawn to the darkness of the fatherland; rejoice, bell of spiritual watchfulness; rejoice, planter of love for God and the fatherland; rejoice, thou who cuttest off every evil custom; rejoice, thou who blottest out the stain of superstition; rejoice, defender from the snares of Satan and from the invasion of foreigners; rejoice, thou who quenchest the folly of sorcerers and soothsayers and their foul invocations; rejoice, giver of honour to the faithful and humbler of the double-minded; rejoice, reprover of haters of their brothers and seekers of gain, who dost mightily trample them down; rejoice, thou who didst lay down thy soul first for Christ and then for the fatherland; rejoice, thou who art added to the glorious choir of the fathers who laid down their lives for faith and land; rejoice, thou who instead of a passing reign didst gain from Christ an unfading glory; Rejoice, king wondrous among men and glorious ascetic, holy Vakhtang Gorgasali!
When the God-blessed Iberians and all who dwell in Georgia were bereft of their mighty father and valiant king, they bravely received and zealously fulfilled the God-inspired testament thou didst leave thy people, and chose death for Christ rather than life; but we have forgotten thy testament and become like alien nations fallen away from Christ; but do thou raise us up, fallen through the passions, and deliver us from a faith that is lifeless and lukewarm, that our prayer may not be counted a reproach to us but be offered before God: Alleluia.
Behold, a fountain of grace and a multitude of signs, unfailingly rich — the martyr’s resting-place of thy bones — we the faithful have as a wall of steadfastness, a treasury of grace and a banisher of demons; therefore, needing thy help, we long to hasten to Svetitskhoveli, that together with the mantle of Elijah, the Tunic of the Lord and the Life-giving Pillar we may venerate thy tomb too, fervently kiss these holy things and draw up healing, who praise thee:
Rejoice, victory and glory of Iberia; rejoice, unshaken wall of piety; rejoice, pillar of the right faith reaching to heaven; rejoice, sovereign and commander, indestructible monument of valour; rejoice, great master of victory over enemies; rejoice, unshaken tower of courage and pattern of the divine army; rejoice, valiant chosen warrior who rousest courage; rejoice, thou who by thy struggle didst finish well the divine course; rejoice, thou who instead of that honourable crown didst put on a heavenly crown; rejoice, thou who dwellest with the saints in the kingdom and carest for our salvation; rejoice, guardian and protector of the city of Tbilisi by the shelter of thy graces; rejoice, invincible champion of the Georgian people and protector of our Church; rejoice, king valiant among men and glorious ascetic, holy Vakhtang Gorgasali!
Thou wast righteous and God-fearing, O wondrously exalted sovereign, and His grace rested upon thee as upon David the forefather, and as to Solomon He gave thee surpassing wisdom, and with unfailing courage thou didst govern thy people and kingdom well; and thy people, moved to imitate thee, glorified Christ who gave such a king and lord to the people that is the lot of His Mother; therefore we call blessed the ancient glory and might of the Georgians and glorify Him who strengthened you: Alleluia.
Thou didst appear to thy people as a watchful shepherd, and with the rod of thy wisdom and fervent care didst direct them towards the divine commandments; but now ravening wolves have surrounded thy rational flock to destroy it; but help us, O worthy one, and, though we are unworthy because of these our sins, entreat our Deliverer to give us a faithful and righteous shepherd, a pleasing king and leader for His flocks, to care worthily and righteously for the peoples entrusted to him, and to make us who sing to thee flourish with every good thing of soul and body:
Rejoice, good shepherd, who gatherest the scattered sheep and leadest them to the true God; rejoice, restorer of the radiant victories of Parnavaz; rejoice, thou who honourest priests who keep themselves in holiness and reprovest the slothful; rejoice, thou who deliverest thy flock from waves of many kinds; rejoice, thou who instructest in piety hearts shaken by the waves of the world; rejoice, thou who by the fruit of thy valour emboldenest the kings who followed thee; rejoice, thou who castest down and scatterest hierarchs who come in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravening wolves; rejoice, deliverer from the many-woven devices of the enemy; rejoice, candle that enlighteneth the wise and burneth the foolish; rejoice, thou who terrifiest and humblest all who are at enmity with the Iberians; rejoice, thou who askest of the Lord the sweetness of piety for thy people; rejoice, thou who art ever remembered by the Kartlosians; Rejoice, king wondrous among men and glorious ascetic, holy Vakhtang Gorgasali!
O how great a glory thy valour won for thee, O blessed one! For the ancient chronicles of Kartli tell us how thou didst labour for the glory of God and the flourishing of Iberia; intercede now for us before Christ and ask for us that He may turn away the wrath stirred up against us for the multitude of our sins, and like Lazarus raise up our fatherland, Georgia, to its former glory, that we may not be trampled underfoot by plunderers of alien tribes and peoples, and may without hindrance adorn with holy hymns and alleluia the Trinity undivided and unconfused: Alleluia.
Now the people rejoice, the Church exulteth and our land is glad for thy labours accomplished in it; and we, remembering thy wondrous valour and courage of spirit, fervently entreat thee: commend us to Christ our King, who alone is plenteous in mercy, that He may look upon His people who have no answer before Him, and grant us the wisdom to discern good and evil, and give us the power to forgive, that by thy intercession we may be made worthy of grace and mercy and, kept unharmed, may say according to our strength:
Rejoice, beauty of the radiant company of kings, for God anointed thee with the oil of gladness; rejoice, for the right hand of the Most High was thy helper; rejoice, for thou didst set on thy head the crown of wisdom and take in thy hand as a sceptre steadfastness of mind, and didst put on faith as a divine purple; rejoice, thou who didst shine with the strength of courage, for thou wast fearless as one bodiless and didst shatter every weapon of fierce war; rejoice, praiseworthy son of our fatherland, for to the radiance of kingship thou didst join the crown of victory; rejoice, lampstand of Orthodoxy, for thou didst light up the night of the Persian delusion; rejoice, for by thy suffering thou didst honour the throne of thy kingdom and raise up the horn of anointing; rejoice, thou who art numbered with the martyrs of Christ, for thou didst offer thy holy blood to the immortal Christ as an all-precious fragrance and receive that reward of thy labours; rejoice, steadfastness of the Orthodox granted from heaven, for to this day thou hast won the name of immortality; rejoice, thou who hast attained the heavenly citizenship, for thou wast glorified as a chosen warrior and crowned as a pious king; rejoice, guide and lamp of those who seek the truth, for thou givest light to all the ends of our land by the outpouring of unwaning light; rejoice, thou who in afflictions stretchest out a hand that never putteth to shame, for to all who fall down before thee thou grantest an abundant gift from the fountain of unfailing grace; Rejoice, king wondrous among men and glorious ascetic, holy Vakhtang Gorgasali!
O holy King Vakhtang Gorgasali, radiant with divine grace! Deliver from the many snares of enemies visible and invisible us who fall down in faith before thy firm intercession and fatherly grace and help, and at the time of judgment deliver us from those bitter eternal torments, that, guided by thee, we may attain to the Jerusalem on high and be made worthy with thee to glorify the all-holy Trinity: Alleluia.
This kontakion thrice, then
When the throne of Parnavaz and the sceptre of Mirian were entrusted to thee, thou didst reign wisely and raise high the cross of divine victory, by which thou didst destroy the enemies who warred against Christ and establish in peace the true faith of the Orthodox; but now the enemies of truth strive to make thy people, holy and beloved, a people of darkness; but do thou still the raging storm of trials and keep us from heresy and an alien law, that, keeping watch in the right faith, we may be made worthy to offer a hymn:
Rejoice, thou who wast brought up from childhood on the Holy Scriptures; rejoice, thou who wast instructed by God-inspired books; rejoice, thou who wast brought up in holiness and filled with spiritual wisdom; rejoice, thou who wast kindled with love for thy native land; rejoice, thou who wast armed with hope in the Lord and manly courage; rejoice, thou who art walled about by Orthodoxy; rejoice, thou who wast anointed with royal oil from thy youth; rejoice, thou who wast blessed and exalted by the Lord; rejoice, thou who wast made wise above the orators by divine and human philosophy; rejoice, thou who wast sanctified by mercy and enlightened in thy thoughts; rejoice, thou who art called the leader and father of the kings of the Targamosians; rejoice, thou who art adorned with the twofold crown of kingship and of venerable martyrdom; Rejoice, king wondrous among men and glorious ascetic, holy Vakhtang Gorgasali!
The king valiant in struggle and warrior of great renown, the chosen of Christ, the glorious Vakhtang Gorgasali, brave and invincible, we the faithful adorn with praises and offer a hymn of thanksgiving; and thou, since thou hast boldness towards God, heal us by thy help, O worthy one, and show to those who sing to thee the unerring way that leadeth up to heaven: Rejoice, king wondrous among men and glorious ascetic, holy Vakhtang Gorgasali!
O unshaken tower of the Church and divine pillar of Orthodoxy, martyr of truth, who didst shed thy blood for Christ and the fatherland, boast of warriors, strength of kings, glory of princes, might of the weak, exalter of the lowly, enricher of the poor, invincible in battles and unashamed in afflictions, swift helper of those who entreat thee and giver of mercy, holy, right-believing, righteous and great King Vakhtang Gorgasali!
O great king clothed in the struggle, holy Vakhtang Gorgasali, with pious boldness entreat Christ God to guard our fatherland from the snare of the enemy and from enmity among brothers, and to look with mercy on our people, the lot of His Mother, which beareth the Cross of the Lord upon the earth, and to renew again our faith and grant us, as to thee, the warmth of faith, brotherly love for neighbour and divine zeal for the fatherland enriched with thy blood, and to raise up for us without hindrance from the root of David the anointed of God, who by firm faith shall wall about all the borders of Georgia and shall exalt and restore our height and strength from the land of forgetfulness, that we may be one flock and the Lord may be our Shepherd. 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 holy Vakhtang Gorgasali, crowned by God from on high! As thou hast power granted by God, intercede before God, 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.
It is truly meet to bless thee, O Theotokos, ever-blessed and all-spotless, and the Mother of our God. More honourable than the Cherubim and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim, who without corruption gavest birth to God the Word, the very Theotokos, thee do we magnify.
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 right-believing King Vakhtang Gorgasali and of all the saints, have mercy on us. Amen.
Author and compiler: Tinatin Mchedlishvili
