Akathist Hymn to the Holy Priest-Martyr Zoticus the Presbyter, Feeder of Orphans
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.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
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 praise thee, the ascetic adorned with the crown of priesthood and martyrdom, and make thee our intercessor before God, for thou hast boldness towards Him, that He may kindle in our hearts the fire of divine zeal and grant us the spirit of holiness and love of mankind, that we may serve well the holy Church and the people, and never cease to praise thee and sing to thee: Rejoice, thou who for love of God and faithfulness to thy neighbour didst lay down thy life, holy Zoticus the presbyter!
Thou didst show forth on earth a life like that of the angels, and, preaching the true faith, didst gain the grace of mercy, and wast called father of widows and orphans and champion of the poor; and when thou didst join to the priesthood the honour of martyrdom, Christ glorified thee with wonders after death and showed thee forth as a most fervent deliverer of all who call upon thee; now intercede for us too before Him, that He may sprinkle us with the dew of thy grace, that we may be able to withstand evil and praise thee according to our strength:
Rejoice, true servant of the Saviour, who didst shine forth in beauty; rejoice, faithful priest of the Church of Christ; rejoice, unsearchable abyss of humility and love; rejoice, inexhaustible sea of love of mankind and ungrudging fountain of mercy; rejoice, impartial judge of righteousness; rejoice, bearer of the cross of an impoverished people; Rejoice, thou who for love of God and faithfulness to thy neighbour didst lay down thy life, holy Zoticus the presbyter!
Being a most distinguished courtier of Constantine the Great, thou didst go with him from Rome to Constantinople and didst serve that pious emperor faithfully; but when thou wast chosen by Christ as His servant, thou, filled with divine zeal, didst leave worldly glory and arise to join His host; now help us too, O blessed one, that all the Orthodox may prosper well and our prayer may rise up before God: Alleluia.
When thou wast ordained presbyter, thou didst perform the divine service with honour, O blessed one, and, showing thy flock the way of life, with compassion of heart thou didst strive every day for the peaceful keeping of widows and orphans, didst comfort the sorrowful and the sick, and didst secretly help the destitute and the imprisoned; so now intercede for us before God, that He may keep us from infirmities and direct to repentance us who extol and praise thee:
Rejoice, many-fruited tree, grown up as a plant of ascetic struggle; rejoice, thou who wast purified in heart and enlightened in soul; rejoice, thou who wast beautified by goodness and love of mankind; rejoice, thou who wast adorned with mercy, humility and meekness; rejoice, thou who didst plant in thy heart the fear of God and the love of neighbour; rejoice, swift helper and upholder of afflicted souls; Rejoice, thou who for love of God and faithfulness to thy neighbour didst lay down thy life, holy Zoticus the presbyter!
Saying, “The service of men is the service of God”, O blessed one, thou didst make thy house also a refuge for widows, orphans and the poor, for thou didst feed them ungrudgingly and guard them from evil sins and infirmities; thou becamest renowned among priests for the height of thy mercy, and men called thee the feeder of orphans; so now nourish my soul with the bread of understanding and grant me to walk seemly in this world, that we may stand firm and unshaken on the way of Christ God and praise His might and power: Alleluia.
In the reign of the emperor Constantius, when leprosy was raging in the royal city, he commanded all the lepers to be drowned in the sea; but thou, hearing this merciless decree, filled with courage by power from on high, didst resolve to rescue them from an unjust death, and, standing before that autocratic emperor, didst ask of him a great sum of money, as though to buy precious stones for his treasury; therefore with a hymn of good praise we extol thee as a merciful father and a true priest:
Rejoice, divine lamb, who didst shepherd the rational sheep; rejoice, spiritual shepherd, who gatherest the scattered sheep; rejoice, thou who like Abraham receivest strangers; rejoice, refuge of the poor and clothing of the naked; rejoice, champion of the oppressed and swift hearer; rejoice, thou who pourest grace-given joy into God-loving hearts; Rejoice, thou who for love of God and faithfulness to thy neighbour didst lay down thy life, holy Zoticus the presbyter!
O wondrous courage and valour! Divinely armed by fervent prayer, thou didst swiftly reach the seashore, and, having ransomed with the royal money the lepers condemned to death, thou didst secretly settle them in thy house and nourish them like a good shepherd; so now also be our surety and advocate before God and the lightener of the weight of our sins, that we may swiftly awake like the Ninevites and all zealously gather to sing to God: Alleluia.
Being a wise teacher, of good counsel and adorned with divine zeal, thou didst not give sleep to thine eyes nor slumber to thine eyelids until thou hadst finished that God-beautified work: thou didst raise up a paradise of Christ, thy house, as a divine tabernacle of mercy, in which thou didst strengthen the lepers and the infirm by the grace of thy healings; now keep us too from every affliction and from sudden death, that, praising the multitude of thy graces and signs, we may not fall silent in praising thy courage and steadfastness:
Rejoice, fulfiller of the love of Christ; rejoice, unwearying seeker of the lost, who leadest them to God; rejoice, thou who stirrest sinners to prayer and puttest to shame the unrepentant; rejoice, thou who uprootest many vices among the servants of God and the people; rejoice, reprover of the partakers of falsehood and destroyer of unjust judgements; rejoice, rebuker of those who hate righteousness and call evil good; Rejoice, thou who for love of God and faithfulness to thy neighbour didst lay down thy life, holy Zoticus the presbyter!
After the death of Constantine the Great, his son Constantius, a follower of the false teaching of the Arians, was exalted to his throne, and he hated thee for thy faithfulness to the true faith, for with love thou didst teach all to depart from the evil heresy and to care for their souls by almsgiving, prayer and fasting; now also entreat Christ our Saviour to send forth worthy labourers and workers into His harvest, for the enlightenment of all, that they may glorify Him as King and God: Alleluia.
Thou didst appear as an image of virtue and goodness, O God-bearer, and, not fearing the stiff-neckedness of that heretic emperor, thou wast the deliverer of his daughter also when she was stricken with leprosy, and thou didst take her into thy house like a good father, and, after the manner of thy sweetness, didst comfort her and care for her with great compassion; now be a fellow-traveller to us also, and plant in our hearts the fear and hatred of sin and the love of virtue, that we may pass well along the way of this transient life and call thee blessed with love and longing:
Rejoice, thou who by fasting and fervent prayer didst quench the temptations of the devil; rejoice, thou who didst bring down upon thine own head the mercilessness of the mighty; rejoice, thou who didst deliver the helpless and the sick from a merciless death; rejoice, thou who didst rescue many souls from perdition; rejoice, strengthener of those deprived of all human help; rejoice, thou who by giving thyself up for thy kinsmen didst amaze all; Rejoice, thou who for love of God and faithfulness to thy neighbour didst lay down thy life, holy Zoticus the presbyter!
When famine gripped the royal city, the heretics slandered thee, calling thee the cause of all misfortunes, as an Orthodox priest and an opponent of the Arians, and they told the emperor how his father had given thee a great treasure; and when he sought to seize thee, O blessed one, thou wast made wise to exchange the priesthood for martyrdom, and, standing fearlessly before him when he asked thee about the treasure, thou didst lead him into thy house and show him, O holy one, the lepers, and didst say boldly: “Behold the pearls that I bought with the royal money”, and thou didst glorify Christ who made thee wise: Alleluia.
When the emperor saw thy house as the resting-place of countless souls, and the lepers worthy of mercy in place of precious stones, pearls and jacinths, he was kindled the more with wrath and commanded thy holy feet to be bound to unbroken mules, that they might kill thee by dragging thee along the roads; but thou becamest more courageous before the struggle set before thee and didst glorify God with greater fervour; and now be an intercessor for us before Him, that He may crush the insolence of those who are armed with godlessness against the Orthodox, and guide on the way of His commandments us who revere and praise thee:
Rejoice, thou who by the grace of thy reproof didst rouse the people from spiritual sleep; rejoice, thou who by unsearchable wisdom dost instruct the foolish in understanding; rejoice, softener of hearts turned to stone and hardened; rejoice, teacher of the humility of Christ; rejoice, thou who unitest neighbours and pacifiest those at enmity; rejoice, thou who didst hide thy great valour and virtues; Rejoice, thou who for love of God and faithfulness to thy neighbour didst lay down thy life, holy Zoticus the presbyter!
O thy glorious courage, O blessed one! When the mules dragged thee over the field, thy flesh, torn by the stones, was left upon them; but thou didst count as nothing thy suffering for Christ and didst commend thy holy soul to Christ God, who numbered thee with the company of the martyrs and gave thee the grace to help those who revere thee; now look upon us with sweetness, that we may not incline to lawlessness and may be made worthy to glorify God: Alleluia.
O what a wonder God wrought concerning thee! For He made those dumb beasts speak like men, and through them He put Constantius to shame for thy murder; and the emperor and all who were with him marvelled still more when, in the place where thy holy blood was shed, a wonderworking spring gushed forth, and those who drank of it with faith received relief of soul and body, and kissed thy precious wounds with tears and adorned thee with praises:
Rejoice, thou who wast armed with the unswerving courage of ascetic struggle; rejoice, bell of spiritual watchfulness; rejoice, thou who didst courageously bear the trials that befell thee; rejoice, thou who didst endure reproach and torment with prayer; rejoice, thou who in the weak nature of the flesh didst accept fierce torments; rejoice, thou who puttest to shame the raging heretics; Rejoice, thou who for love of God and faithfulness to thy neighbour didst lay down thy life, holy Zoticus the presbyter!
When the emperor saw these wonders, he was greatly ashamed and commanded thee to be buried with honour; they anointed thy body of many struggles with fragrant ointments, and when they had laid it in a fitting place, thou didst ungrudgingly pour forth healing and true grace; and those oppressed by sicknesses and trials ever hastened to approach thy tomb, and, receiving relief, they thanked thee and glorified Christ, the Judge of thy contest: Alleluia.
Thou didst finish thine earthly course with courage, and, having opened the doors of priest-martyrdom, thou didst stand before the Lord radiantly adorned; and He showed thee forth even after death as merciful to the lepers and the maimed and a helper of those given up for lost, when the emperor built a hospital in memory of thy valour; and those who love thee wrote down thy life and wondrous deeds, that we may all sing to thee as a renowned and wondrous martyr:
Rejoice, courageous and invincible one, who didst lay down thy life for thy kinsmen; rejoice, thou who by the stream of thy blood didst quench the mockery of the mighty; rejoice, thou who didst hold back the lawless judgement and the wrath of God; rejoice, good and watchful shepherd, who didst keep thy flock unharmed; rejoice, thou who art sweet in word and desirable in counsel, who stillest hatred and turmoil; rejoice, thou who art mighty in spirit, conqueror of rulers mighty in the flesh; Rejoice, thou who for love of God and faithfulness to thy neighbour didst lay down thy life, holy Zoticus the presbyter!
Thy wondrous self-sacrifice was spread abroad over all the earth, how thou didst care for widows, orphans and lepers, and didst shed thy holy blood for their salvation; behold now the snares of countless enemies spread wickedly over this our nation, and deliver us from mutual oppression and strife among brothers, that, bound together in one mind by the love of God, we may ever overcome all who fight against us, and, made courageous by thy struggle, may praise Christ God who crowned thee: Alleluia.
Being an honourable priest, Zoticus, thou didst struggle beyond the weakness of human nature, and, having magnified thy name by thy divine way of life, thou wast rightly numbered by the Church with the company of the saints, for thou didst fall short of them neither in faith, nor in struggle, nor in boldness before God; therefore we send thee as intercessor to Him, that He may forgive all our sins and iniquities and make us worthy to praise thy holiness and sing to it:
Rejoice, courageous priest and martyr, who stirrest men to valour; rejoice, teacher of mercy and long-suffering; rejoice, great master of overcoming enemies without battle; rejoice, thou who by thy struggle didst well finish the divine course; rejoice, true image of the piety of the fathers of old; rejoice, beauty of the radiant company of the martyrs; Rejoice, thou who for love of God and faithfulness to thy neighbour didst lay down thy life, holy Zoticus the presbyter!
Grace was given thee by God, O venerable father, to heal the infirm, the paralysed, the withered and the maimed, whom thou didst receive as a friend of Christ; and their fervent prayer and the hot outpouring of the tears of widows and orphans, O holy one, showed thee forth as a spotless divine temple and opened to thee the gates of the kingdom; now thou rejoicest radiantly before God and deliverest from trials those who with faith ask thy help and glorify His might: Alleluia.
By signs even after death thou proclaimest the invincible power of God, made manifest upon those who revere Him, O father; and now we owe Him thanksgiving, for through thee we await deliverance from all afflictions, and above all from our sins and iniquities, and we hope in His great mercy, that through thine intercession He may not cast us off, but may give us victory over enemies visible and invisible and make us worthy to praise thee and sing to thee:
Rejoice, thou who didst labour well in the struggle of the divine service; rejoice, thou who puttest to shame those stirred up to do evil to their neighbours; rejoice, deliverer of many from unspeakable afflictions; rejoice, thou who strengthenest the sick and the bedridden with spiritual courage; rejoice, refuge of the poor, and upholder of the afflicted and the wretched; rejoice, stiller of trials and storms; Rejoice, thou who for love of God and faithfulness to thy neighbour didst lay down thy life, holy Zoticus the presbyter!
We know thee as a temple of the All-Holy Spirit, O venerable father Zoticus, for, showing a most courageous love of struggle, thou didst undergo a martyr’s death in the hope of eternal life; and, reigning before God, ask of Him for us deliverance from the snares of the devil and from the malice of men, that we may live in love and peace and praise God in spirit and in truth: Alleluia.
When thou didst appear as a courageous warrior of Christ in the arena of suffering, the radiance of thy courage brought dawn to the hearts of the lovers of the martyrs; and we entreat thee, priest-martyr Zoticus: help us before God, that He may turn away the wrath risen 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 down by plundering foreign tribes and nations, and may zealously call thee blessed, adorned with the twofold crown of priesthood and martyrdom:
Rejoice, thou who didst receive from the Lord authority over unclean spirits; rejoice, thou who bestowest abundantly spiritual gifts from the treasuries of the Holy Spirit; rejoice, star that showest the way to those who seek salvation; rejoice, swift helper of those who entreat thee and giver of mercy; rejoice, thou who receivest the suffering souls that flee to thee; rejoice, fulfiller of good petitions and bridle of unseemly impulses; Rejoice, thou who for love of God and faithfulness to thy neighbour didst lay down thy life, holy Zoticus the presbyter!
As with Job, God could have delivered thee from every affliction; but, since thou didst burn with the faith of Orthodoxy like precious gold, He gave thee over to the furnaces of torment and made the beauty of thy soul shine forth for all to see; now make the Lord, the righteous Judge, merciful towards us, that we may not turn aside from the way of righteousness and truth, and may glorify the Creator of earth and heaven: Alleluia.
Not for worldly glory didst thou lay down thy life and soul, O blessed Zoticus, but for the flock of Christ; and now ravening wolves have surrounded us to corrupt the rational sheep; but help us, O all-praised one, and, though we are not worthy because of these our sins, as a priest-martyr ask of Christ the unshaken keeping of the churches, and the granting of victory by the Cross to our people, steadfastness to the faithful and great mercy to us who extol and praise thee:
Rejoice, strength of the weak and overthrower of the mighty; rejoice, thou who trippest up the raging and quenchest their folly; rejoice, planter of honour and courage; rejoice, thou who by firm hope destroyest the wickedness of the adversaries; rejoice, instructor of the stiff-necked and the disobedient in mind; rejoice, consolation and upholder of devout priests; Rejoice, thou who for love of God and faithfulness to thy neighbour didst lay down thy life, holy Zoticus the presbyter!
O holy priest-martyr Zoticus! Knowing the multitude of thine intercessions and mercies, we offer thee with love a hymn of thanksgiving, and entreat thee with hope in thy help: now with fatherly boldness intercede for us before God, that He may not judge us according to our iniquities, and may keep us unharmed from evil sins and infirmities, that we may attain to the unwaning light of God and with thee sing to God: Alleluia.
This kontakion thrice; then Ikos 1 and Kontakion 1.
O all-sweet and merciful Zoticus the presbyter, adorned with a martyr’s blood and shedding thy blood for thy neighbour; adornment of fathers, crown of priests and companion of the angels, physician of the sick and unashamed upholder in afflictions, intercessor before God, and refuge, wall and shelter of all the destitute, of those given up for lost, and of those who flee to thee!
O wondrous and truly courageous Zoticus the presbyter, feeder of orphans, who didst strengthen thy life with piety and adorn it divinely with the blood of martyrdom, hearken now to our prayers and with a martyr’s boldness ask of the Lord that He may keep our people from the danger of the enemy and shelter it from heresies and from an alien law, and grant to us, as to thee, the warmth of faith, brotherly love for our neighbour and divine zeal for the fatherland. By thy 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, the most reverend metropolitans, archbishops and bishops and all the priestly and monastic orders, the commanders and the governors of cities, the Christ-loving armed forces, and our benefactors, and all Orthodox Christians.
O victor in the contest, holy priest-martyr Zoticus! In the time of thy life on earth thou didst shelter widows, orphans and the poor from famine, and, delivering the lepers from death, thou didst bring many sinners to repentance and heretics to the truth; and after death thou delightest in the kingdom in the heavens and ever beholdest the ineffable goodness of Christ; now be an intercessor for us before Him, that He may grant glory to the churches, honour to the clergy, good shepherding of the people to the rulers, valour to the soldiers, sinlessness to the laity and chastity to women, and may restore to us godliness, love of righteousness, many children and mercy towards widows and orphans; may He grant us love for a pure life, hatred of unseemly deeds and contrition of heart, crowns with the saints and the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven, that we too with thee may glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
It is truly meet that we should magnify thee, O Theotokos, who art ever-blessed and all-immaculate and the Mother of our God. 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 priest-martyr Zoticus the presbyter, and of all the saints, have mercy on us. Amen.
Author and compiler: Tinatin Mchedlishvili
