Festal Service to the Holy Great-martyr Abo of Tbilisi, on the 8th of January
At Great Vespers
We sing “Blessed is the man”, the first antiphon.
At “Lord, I have cried”
Stichera of the feast, on 3:
By John Konkozisdze, Tone 4:
God, the Creator of creatures, uncircumscribed and incomprehensible, invisible and ineffable, who in wisdom made and fashioned from the waters this earth with all its power, and the firmament, and caused to shine therein this light of the sun's radiance, and bestowed this life upon men, hath willed again to renew our life from the waters, and thundereth with a voice from on high for the renewal of our souls.
By Stephen Sananoisdze, Tone 4:
Thou didst come to fulfil all righteousness, O only-begotten Word; Thou who coverest the heaven with clouds wast stripped in the Jordan; Thou didst come in humility to be baptised, Thou the Luminary Thyself, the uncreated Light; in whose likeness Thy martyr Abo was stripped and, by the shedding of his blood, offered himself to Thee as a sacrifice.
By Gregory of Khandzta, Tone 5:
Rejoice, O Forerunner and herald of the divine coming! Behold, today Christ hath come from Galilee to the Jordan, the Lamb of God, the holy Lamb, made ready for our sake to die willingly on the Cross, who hath taken away the sins of the world. Prepare thyself now, O Jordan, to wash His spotless body, who had no need of washing for cleansing, but willeth to cleanse the waters. Him let us worship, through whom the world hath found great mercy today.
Stichera of the saint, on 5:
By John Konkozisdze
Thou didst waste thy body with fasting, O saint, and didst cleanse thy soul; then thou wast filled with the grace of God and didst hasten to martyrdom, as a calf to be offered to God as a whole burnt offering; and thou didst confess boldly before the tyrants and name thyself a Christian, and saidst: I fear not your tortures, O godless ones, and I worship my God, known in Trinity.
When thou didst learn of the completion of thy struggles, O saint, and of thy departure from the bonds of the flesh and thy going to God, then thou didst grow yet stronger and didst begin to sing, as they sing over the dead, and with the thief thou didst cry: Remember me, O Jesus, at Thy second coming in glory; and thou didst offer thyself as a sacrifice, like a priest according to the rite, and wast made worthy of the Kingdom without end.
Great is the grace of Thy gifts, O Master, which Thou hast bestowed upon Thy saints who have pleased Thee worthily, O Christ; who today didst reveal Thy martyr Abo by sending down fire from heaven, and didst show all men the glory of those who struggle for Thy sake. Now we entreat Thee: through their intercessions grant us peace and Thy mercy, that we may ever sing Thy name.
By Stephen Sananoisdze
Thou wast stripped in the Jordan; Thou didst come in humility to be baptised, Thou the Luminary Thyself, the uncreated Light; in whose likeness Thy martyr Abo was stripped and, by the shedding of his blood, offered himself to Thee as a sacrifice.
აგარის ნათესავთა, ძირთა მათ უნაყოფოთა, ნერგთა მათგან ეკლოვანთა, ვითარცა ვარდი შუენიერი ფერითა მეწამულითა, გამოჩნდა, ნეტარი აბო, და სულნელყო ეკლესიაჲ ქართველთაჲ ნელსაცხებელთა წილ, სხურებითა სისხლთაჲთა, ამას შინა მორწმუნენი ვაქებდეთ ღუაწლთა მათ მისთა.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Rejoice, thou who wast moved by the search for truth and didst discern the better from the worse; rejoice, thou who didst leave thine own land and choose the lot of the Theotokos; rejoice, thou who didst cleanse thy heart well with the true faith and, in the days of the Ishmaelites' glory, didst take up the Cross of Christ upon thy shoulders; rejoice, confessor of the faith persecuted by them, who didst love the people afflicted under their tribute; rejoice, thou who didst spread divine teachings among thy kinsmen; intercede for us who glorify thee, O blessed Abo.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Today Thou didst bow Thy head before the Forerunner and didst crush the heads of the serpents; Thou didst come to the river and enlighten all, that we may magnify Thee, the Saviour and Enlightener of our souls.
1. The reading from the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 43. (Thus saith the Lord: All the nations are gathered together…)
2. The reading from the Wisdom of Solomon. (The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God…)
3. The reading from the Wisdom of Solomon (The righteous live for evermore, and with the Lord…)
By Gregory of Khandzta.
Thou didst appear as a shining star, the enlightener of Kartli, O blessed one, and thy struggle shone forth more brightly than the light of the sun, like lightning, O wise one, known to the worlds on high and seen by all the ends of heaven, when thou didst become an image of the Lord's Baptism, and, stripped, didst go down into the font of light and wast twice baptised, with water and with blood, O courageous Abo! Entreat God now to grant our souls great mercy today.
Thou didst shine forth as an heir of the promise and wast called a son of the heavenly calling; thou didst become a child of Abraham, O blessed one! As a second Isaac, brought willingly to the slaughter as an offering to the Lord, the Church knew thee as a spiritual fragrance, O worthy one; and with the tongue of her children she proclaimeth the courage of thy struggles, she who is now adorned as with purple and radiantly arrayed with thy blood, O martyr! Entreat God now to grant our souls great mercy today.
By Stephen Sananoisdze
After this day made radiant with light, the Lord's feast of the Baptism of Christ the Lord, the bright memory of the martyr Abo is come; let us kiss with love the courage of his struggles and adorn his holy memory.
The tongue grows weak to recount thy struggles, O saint, for at the last seal of persecution thou wast found equal to the first martyrs by the shedding of thy blood, O courageous one, and with them thou rejoicest in the Kingdom, O worthy one; now guide us too on the path of peace to those longed-for dwellings, O blessed Abo.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
By John Konkozisdze
O Saviour, by Thy holy Baptism we have learnt of the union of the Spirit with the waters; filled with Him, the all-praised Abo today drank with Thee the cup of death; and as Thou didst enlighten me by the Baptism in the Jordan, so now renew in me the spirit of wisdom, that I may worthily adorn the feast of Redemption and honour the martyr as is due.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Rejoice, O Virgin, cloud and chariot of the Word; rejoice, O holy dwelling of God, beyond the mind and beyond every bound; rejoice, O unwedded one, who didst conceive by the Spirit God who is above all gods; rejoice, thou who didst give birth without seed and didst give suck without corruption; rejoice, ever-virgin and blessed one.
By John Konkozisdze
Verse: Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.
It was impossible to touch that untouchable and immaterial coal of the Godhead; therefore the Son and Only-begotten, the Sinless One, took flesh to be washed; and to Him Abo offered himself today.
Verse: Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord; he will delight greatly in His commandments.
Thou wast united in spirit, O blessed one, with the sons of the promise on the path of the heavenly calling; therefore the Saviour bestowed on thee from on high the crown of victory, O courageous Abo,
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Today our land is beautifully adorned, and the city of Tbilisi rejoiceth, as though crowned with a crown by thee, O most renowned martyr Abo, and the feast of thy memory shineth radiantly.
Both now…, of the feast
Rejoice, thou who wast chosen by God the Father on high and called by the Only-begotten Son, illumined by the Holy Spirit and united with the choir of the bodiless in heaven, praised among the martyrs and the righteous; beautiful adornment of the churches, boast of the martyrs, joy of kings, helper of the faithful, valiant champion Abo: entreat God now to grant great mercy to our souls.
Glory… Both now…, of the feast
After the first kathisma:
By Basil of Khandzta:
O ye confessors of the Trinity, faithful men, who keep this day of the Lord arrayed in light, let us sing with divine praise the memory of Abo, the new martyr.
Thou who art above nature didst put on my nature, O only-begotten Word of God, and wast baptised in the flesh, O Sinless One; in whose likeness the courageous Abo was baptised with water and with the shedding of blood.
უვარისმყოფელთა ქრისტეანეთა, უშჯულოთა ისმაიტელთა, ნაშობთა შორის ბნელისაჲთა ვარსკულავად მნათობად გამოჰბრწყინდი, მჴნეო მოწამეო აბო, და საღმრთოჲთანათლითა განანათლენ ქართლისა მყოფნი.
After the second kathisma, the sessional hymn of the feast; after the Magnification, the sessional hymn of the saint (see the Festal Menaion)
From my youth unclean passions war mightily against me; therefore I entreat Thee: be my helper and save me, O Good One.
Glory…
Ye that hate Zion, be put to shame by the Lord, and like withered grass shall Gehenna devour you.
Both now…
By the Holy Spirit every soul is quickened and exalted in purity, and is made radiant by the Trinity, one in essence, in a manner befitting God and mystically.
Prokeimenon, Tone 7: Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.
Verse: What shall I render unto the Lord for all that He hath rendered unto me?
“Let every breath…” The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 10, verse 16 (The Lord said to His disciples: Behold, I send you forth…); it ends at verse 23 (…he shall be saved).
After Psalm 50, the sticheron of the saint (see the Festal Menaion).
1. Hymns of the Theophany and of Abo, the invincible martyr clothed in his struggle, once an Ishmaelite, a Georgian, by John Konkozisdze
2. Hymns of the Theophany and of Abo, once an Ishmaelite, a Georgian, by Stephen of Chqondidi, Sananoisdze
3. Hymns of the Baptism and of the holy martyr Abo, by Gregory of Khandzta.
By John Konkozisdze, Tone 4
Irmos: The impassable sea, which of old became dry land at Thy command, O ineffable God, received the people of Israel, who prepared for Thee a hymn of victory.
Thou who didst enlighten me by the Baptism in the Jordan, renew now in me the spirit of wisdom, that I may worthily adorn the feast of Redemption and honour the martyr as is due.
O Saviour, by Thy holy Baptism we have learnt of the union of the Spirit with the waters; filled with Him, the all-praised Abo today drank with Thee the cup of death.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
შეგინებულისა მის სარწმუნოებისა მოძღუართა სამსჯავროდ მიგცეს, ღირსო, ვითარცა პავლე ჰრომედ ჰურიათა მათ და უშჯულომან მძლავრმან განაჩინა შენთჳს სიკუდილი საწადელი.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The golden censer, the pot of manna and Aaron's rod foretold thee, and the ark of the divine words was a figure of thee, O Mother of God.
Irmos: Of old Israel walked over the billows of the Red Sea, and Moses, stretching out his hands in the form of the Cross, overthrew the might of Amalek in the wilderness.
O Jesus, Word of God, teach us the word of wisdom, that we may praise Thy holy Baptism and worthily sing of the invincible struggles of the martyr Abo, the good contender.
For His sake who today was stripped in the flesh in the Jordan, the blessed martyr Abo put off the old man with his deeds and put on the power of Christ.
Come today, all ye nations, with the dwellers of Kartli, and behold Abo, the victor of the contest, radiantly adorned with the blood of martyrdom; let us sing his praise worthily in songs.
Thou didst worship the thrice-radiant Trinity by baptism — by blood, by fire and by the Spirit — O glorious martyr Abo, and thou intercedest for our souls.
Theotokion
To the Mother of the Light thou didst commit thy soul, O martyr, having shed thy blood for love of her Son, O glorious Abo.
Irmos: The multitude of chariots with their horsemen Thou didst cast into the depths of the Red Sea by the strength of Thine arm, O Christ, and Thou didst save the Israelites, and they sang a new song of victory.
For the Theophany: Though the Creator, the Word of God, put on manhood and therein was baptised for our sake, yet the Godhead and the manhood were not mingled in nature, but united.
Though the invisible Spirit was seen today in bodily form as a dove at the Baptism of Christ, yet He had not a bodily form by nature, but in likeness.
For Abo: After the great day of the illuminating feast of the Lord's Baptism, let us now, O peoples, adorn also the memory of the champion, the new martyr Abo.
When the prince of Kartli came to Babylon, then blessed Abo, an Ishmaelite by religion, received him by the providence of God, and through him came to understand the power of Christ.
განიზრახა გულისჴმის-ყოფით მედგრობაჲ შჯულისა თჳსისა მამაულისაჲ ქრისტჱსმოყუარემან აბო და მყის დაუტევა სიცბილი იგი პირველი, და აღიარა ქრისტჱს ღმრთეებაჲ.
Theotokion
The choir of the prophets foretold thee of old as the divine mountain and the impassable gate; therefore we pray thee: open to us the divine doors of repentance, O Virgin.
Irmos: Being compassionate by nature, O Saviour, Thou hast strengthened with the Godhead our weak nature which Thou didst put on, and it crieth: None is holy as Thou, O Lover of mankind.
Thy flesh, united in holiness with the Godhead, was free from sin; yet by Thy Baptism Thou didst ordain for men the putting off of sin through the waters, O Saviour.
The invisible ministers of the Trinity stood about the divine font at the Saviour's Baptism, praising in holiness the only-begotten Son, baptised in the flesh for our sake.
By the voice of the Father, by the descent of the Spirit and by the turning back of the Jordan the Forerunner proclaimed Thee the Son of God, for whose sake blessed Abo hastened to death today.
Like the patriarch who went forth from the land of the Chaldeans, and as a martyr of the sufferings of Christ, thou art worthily glorified by the praises of the faithful, O all-praised one,
Theotokion
Thou didst appear as an unsown field that multiplieth wheat, and through thee we have reaped the ear of life; and we who partake of it receive immortality.
Irmos: The Church rejoiceth in Thee, O Christ, and thus she crieth: Thou art my hope; strengthen me, O Creator.
Thou wast baptised with the Saviour, going down into the font of the contest, as our Deliverer into the Jordan, and by the shedding of thy blood thou didst wash thy body, when thou wast slain mercilessly by the sword.
With thy blood, as with purple, thou hast adorned the Church of the Gentiles, O invincible warrior of Christ, and hast gathered into her in unity all who sing of thy struggles.
არცხვინე, ნეტარო, ნაშობთა მათ მჴევლისაჲთა უღმრთოთა და დაუყუენ პირნი მათნი მგმობარნი საღმრთოჲთა მით სიბრძნითა ზეგარდამოჲთა, რაჟამს ჰქადაგე სამებაჲ ერთ-ღმრთეებაჲ.
Theotokion
We entreat thee, O Mother of God, through the intercessions of the holy martyr: ever deliver from the snare of the enemy us who flee to thy protection.
Irmos: O Thou who didst found the earth upon the waters and didst give it abundant fruitfulness, establish Thy Church, O Christ, upon the unshaken rock of Thy commandments, O Thou who alone art good and lovest mankind.
For the Theophany: The Jordan knew Christ as God and trembled before the all-unshakeable power; it ceased from its roaring, and in silence learnt with reverence to wash the Master's flesh of God, the Creator of all.
The invisible ministers of the Trinity stood about the divine font at the Saviour's Baptism, praising in holiness the only-begotten Son, baptised in the flesh for our sake.
For Abo: Out of the dark air of barren clouds the martyr of Christ shone forth as a star of heaven; and in the lands of the north blessed Abo shone like the sun and giveth light to the dwellers of Kartli.
A fragrant flower appeared from barren roots with a crimson hue, and the Holy Spirit caught him up in mind to heaven, and there showed him the delight of the saints in the flowering paradise.
მჴეცთა მათ მძჳნვარეთა და სისხლისა მჭამელთა, მარადის მტერთა სულისა წმიდისათა, რაჟამს გულისჴმა ყვეს სარწმუნოებაჲ მიუქცეველი, რომელი აქუნდა ნეტარსა აბოს, განიზრახეს მათ წარწყმედაჲ მისი.
Theotokion
Thou who standest at the right hand of Christ as a Queen arrayed in vesture of gold, O thou who art full of divine joy, ask for us the heavenly Kingdom by thine intercession, O all-holy Virgin.
After the most glorious Theophany of Christ cometh thy holy memory, as an assembly following upon that assembly in time, coming radiantly year by year, O invincible Abo, warrior of Christ; wherefore, gathered in it in spirit, we glorify God Almighty, who chose thee as a fragrant rose, and showed thee forth as His own martyr, and adorned thee with the crown of victory; and thus we cry to thee: Entreat Christ God to grant remission of sins to those who with longing keep thy holy memory. (Twice)
Glory… Both now…, of the feast
Irmos: When Habakkuk beheld the mysterious counsel, Thy birth from the Virgin, O Creator, he marvelled and cried out in fear: Glory to Thy power, O Lord.
We who have been buried with Christ are made like Him by Baptism; let us withdraw from corrupt thoughts, and so keep the seal of illumination that looseth death.
O Forerunner, who didst purify thine inner eyes with divine vision, Abo today zealously followed Him who was baptised by thee, and for His sake endured death.
Thou didst come to love the spiritual law, which set thee free from the condemnation of death, and in the likeness of the Baptism of Christ thou didst truly become a son of Abraham.
Theotokion
Thee, the Ever-virgin, truly the Theotokos, do we sing, of whom the bush was a figure, which Moses beheld on Mount Sinai, burning with fire.
Irmos: When the Church beheld the Sun of righteousness lifted up on the Cross, she stood in her proper rank and thus cried out: Glory to Thy power, O Lord.
The bond of love bound the mind of the martyr to endure countless torments, whereby he cast down the boast of the godless.
Thou didst leave the turmoil of thy fathers’ stubbornness and follow Christ, O holy one, and by taking sufferings upon thyself thou becamest like Him, O most blessed one.
Thou wast a stranger and a sojourner to the divine law, O courageous martyr, but thou didst make haste and become a member of the household of its commandments, O worthy one.
Thou didst follow the voice of the Godhead and seal His commandment upon thy heart, O holy Abo; entreat Him for the forgiveness of our transgressions.
Theotokion
O Mother of the never-setting Sun, Virgin Mary, through the intercession of the blessed martyr protect us, who are given over to bitter distress, from enemies visible and invisible.
Irmos: Hearing of Thy glorious coming, O Christ, Habakkuk marvelled and cried out with fear: Thou wentest forth for the salvation of Thy people, to save Thine anointed.
For the Theophany: The teeth of the serpent envenomed the first-formed man, created in the image of God; but Christ, by His washing in the Jordan, made the image white again
When the Baptist beheld the Light without beginning, Christ coming to be baptised, he knew Him as God and called Him the Lamb, who was to be slain for the world.
For Abo: The lawless sought to seize the martyr of Christ, but he gave himself up willingly into their hands, as the Deliverer gave Himself to death into the hands of His enemies.
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” — so didst thou cry, O martyr of Christ, before the lawless tyrants, and for this thou didst shed thy blood.
Holy Abo learnt worthily from books and teachers the faith and the ordinance of the law, and with joy glorified the Father with the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Theotokion
Help me, O holy Theotokos, who am ever drowned in the pleasures of the flesh and groan every day as I lie upon the bed of despondency.
Irmos: Thou art my portion, O Christ, for Thou alone hast delivered me from the gloom and darkness of folly by the light of the Godhead, and to Thee I cry: Grant us Thy peace.
The course of the laws of nature was stilled when the uncircumscribed God by His Baptism granted to men the washing away of hidden defilements, and gave us blessedness once more from the holy font.
The voice of the divine Word, the preacher of repentance, rejoiceth in God made man for the fulfilment of the mystery of our salvation; for whose sake the martyr Abo gaineth a second birth by his own blood.
Thou didst make thy mind, O worthy one, a knower of the good things of God, and thy word a herald of Christ, and by the purification of thy soul thou didst adorn the image of God; wherefore thou rejoicest, adorned with an unfading crown.
Theotokion
The sayings of the prophets were fulfilled in thee, for thou didst conceive in thy womb, O worthy one, the Creator, and didst bear for us in the flesh the Son without beginning, who is the holy Emmanuel, the Giver of peace.
Irmos: Thou, O Lord, art the Light that cometh into the world, enlightening the hearts of Thy faithful who worship Thee.
Thou, O Lord, didst put the deceiver to shame at the Jordan; Thou didst also strengthen the heart of the martyr Abo, who confessed Thee.
Thou wast seized as an evildoer, O blessed Abo, but thou didst deliver souls enslaved by the evil enemy.
Thou didst gain a threefold baptism, O martyr, by water, by spirit and by blood, and after these thy contest shone forth through fire.
Thou didst waste thyself with fasting like the great Anthony, O holy Abo, and didst mortify the flesh, and wast made worthy of the crown of martyrdom.
Theotokion
The Virgin Mary went before thee on the way that led to Kartli and made thee a teacher of the faithful people, O blessed Abo; wherefore cease not to intercede for those who praise thee.
Irmos: O Thou who clothest Thyself with light as with a garment, to Thee I flee and to Thee I cry: Enlighten my darkened soul, for Thou alone art plenteous in mercy.
For the Theophany: He who opened the floodgates of heaven and brought down the waters above upon the earth is today washed in the flesh in the waters of the Jordan.
He who made this great and wide sea, and whose hands formed the dry land, is baptised today — the Light that knoweth no evening, the self-radiant Being.
For Abo: Abo said to his kinsmen: It is good to forsake the darkness and to hasten to the light of the knowledge of God, to serve the Trinity.
ესმა რაჲ ესე ერსა ისმაიტელთასა, აღეგზნეს ცეცხლებრ გულისწყრომითა და მჴეცებრ იღრჭენდეს კბილთა, რაჲთა მისცენ იგი მოსიკუდიდ, აბო ქრისტჱს მოწამჱ.
He counted as nothing the fury of the lawless, nor was he dismayed at all, for he loved Christ and ceased not from reading the divine books.
Theotokion
He whom the mind cannot comprehend put on flesh, O thou who art full of grace, and received thee as His own dwelling, and saved mankind.
Irmos: Into the depths of sin have I been plunged, as Jonah into the abyss of the sea, and I cry to Thee, O good Lover of mankind: Bring me up, as Thou didst him, out of corruption.
The Son of God by nature called us brethren by grace when He took our nature, and for our cleansing the Sinless One underwent cleansing at the hands of the Forerunner.
Truly this feast is the beginning of the world's salvation: the voice of the Father and the descent of the Spirit proclaim to us God made man, for whose sake Abo taketh death upon himself.
O Thou who didst become the firstborn from the dead and didst make the way of death a fountain of life for the faithful, today for Thy sake the martyr Abo received by the sword that life-giving cup.
Theotokion
Thou didst become the dwelling of God, O unwedded Virgin; He upon whom the choirs of the bodiless cannot gaze, thy womb wondrously contained.
Irmos: The prophet Jonah cried out from the abyss and foreshowed the figure of the three-day burial, saying: Deliver me from corruption, O Jesus, King of powers.
ღაღადებდა კადნიერად სანატრელი აბო და ეტყოდა უშჯულოთა ისმაიტელთა: განმეშორენით მე, ჵ, უკეთურნო, და გამოვიძინე ღმრთისა მცნებანი.
Thou didst strip thyself by acquiring the virtues, O worthy one, and didst flourish with the crown of a perfect struggle, and thus didst thou cry out, O courageous one: My hope is Christ God.
In a perfect contest the martyr Abo showed himself valiant; he filled the Church with the fragrance of myrrh and sanctified the people chosen by divine grace.
Blessed Abo learned worthily from books and teachers the rule and law of the faith, and with joy he glorified the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Theotokion
As the Virgin received the “Rejoice”, so didst thou receive a heavenly voice concerning thy sufferings, and as a lamb from the earth thou wast offered to the immortal Lamb.
Irmos: The waves have compassed me about, and the belly of the whale hath become my tomb, and I cry to Thee: Deliver me, O Lover of mankind, and save me, O most merciful Lord.
For the Theophany: From heaven the Father called over the abyss of the Jordan to the abyss of wisdom, the Son made flesh; and the Jordan heard it: This is My Son by nature, of equal essence, without beginning.
Today the rivers are silent and the airs resound; the clouds of the firmament drop down that divine dew. The speaking one and the speechless, John and the Jordan, were joined together and with fear washed the sinless flesh of the Deliverer.
For Abo: When the time of Abo's struggle was come, at once the servants of the lawless judge arrived; they seized the martyr of Christ and, bound with fetters, delivered him to judgement without justice and beat him in the likeness of the Deliverer.
The blessed one rejoiced to be beaten without judgement in prison for Christ's sake, and began without ceasing to cry with sighs to Christ: “Behold, with joy I lay down my soul for Thee: receive it, O Saviour!”
Christ made known to him the hour of his end, and gave courage to his heart and firmness to his mind; then he said to those with him: “Ye shall see me no more, for I desire to depart and to be with Christ.”
Theotokion
A sword pierced thy heart when thou didst behold thy Son upon the Cross, O spotless Virgin, and His divine side wounded by the spear, and thou didst lament bitterly.
Today the Church keepeth festival for thy precious memory and gathereth the children of the font to praise and glorify thy struggle and invincible courage, O Abo, eye of the martyrs.
Ikos, Tone 4 (see the Festal Menaion)
Irmos: The God-bearing ones served not the creature rather than the Creator, but despised the burning torment of fire, and thus they said: O exalted God of our fathers, blessed art Thou above all.
About the font of redemption, today at the life-giving river Jordan, the ranks of the bodiless stood round, singing the praise of Him who was baptised: O God, Master of the ages, blessed art Thou.
The martyr accomplished with Thee the baptism of water and of the Spirit, and drank the cup of Thy sufferings, and cried out in song: O exalted God of our fathers, blessed art Thou above all.
In mind thou didst pass over to the higher life, to the union of the saints, and didst count the gaining of evil things as madness, and saidst: O exalted God of our fathers, blessed art Thou above all.
Theotokion
From the spiritual words we have learnt the power of the Trinity, and we all confess one Godhead, and in song we say: O exalted God of our fathers, blessed art Thou above all.
Irmos: In the furnace the youths of Abraham's race, bound by the magi for the sake of the divine laws, were joined in song and cried out in the flame: Blessed art Thou, O God, in the temple of Thy holiness.
მოიძულე შენ, სიცრუვით შეთხზული იგი ისმაიტელთა მოძღურებაჲ და შეიყუარე ქრისტჱს მცნებაჲ და სიხარულითა ღაღადებდი: კურთხეულ ხარ შენ, უფალო, ღმერთო მამათა ჩუენთაო.
Thou wast, O blessed one, a skilful blender of fragrant ointments; but quickly thou didst leave it and go with longing after the fragrance of Christ’s myrrh, and thou didst run, becoming like Him in His sufferings.
The tyrant said to thee with flattery: Why hast thou forsaken our law, and opposest us with a law that we have not learnt? Now thy body shall be worn down with many torments.
Thou didst count their fury as nothing, O blessed Abo, nor wast thou dismayed at all, for thou didst love Christ and, aflame with divine zeal, didst swiftly follow in His steps.
Theotokion
O Virgin Theotokos, holy Abo entreateth thee: Keep the faithful people from every assault of enemies and grant victory to our people.
Irmos: The most exalted God of our fathers quenched the blazing furnace for the youths, and they cried aloud: O God, blessed art Thou.
For the Theophany: The Creator repented of the creation of man, and in wrath blotted out the generations by water in Noah's day; but now by that same water the Deliverer hath blotted out our sins.
The hook of the Godhead clothed itself in our nature as in an earthly worm, and therewith caught in the waters the dragon who lieth in wait for our heel.
აბოჲსთჳს: აღეგზნეს გულისწყრომითა უღმრთონი ისმაიტელნი ჰაბოჲსათჳს მოღუაწისა და ეტყოდეს მსაჯულსა: „წარწყმიდე მაცთური ესე, მჴდომი შჯულისა ჩუენისაჲ!“
He was led willingly as a lamb to the slaughter for Christ on the path of martyrdom: he rejoiced with gladness, bowed his neck to the sword, and committed his spirit to the Lord.
Confessor of the Son, glorifier of the Father, praiser of the Spirit, thou wast slain like a lamb by the hands of the envious and offered as a sacrifice to God; entreat Him to have mercy on our souls.
Theotokion
Through thee, O radiant cloud, the unsetting Sun hath shone forth upon us, Christ our God, who enlighteneth those in the darkness of ignorance, O Theotokos.
Irmos: He who was born of the Virgin delivered of old the radiant youths from the furnace, who prefigured our salvation from error; and, clothed in light, let us say with them: Let all sing to the Lord and supremely exalt Him unto the ages.
The Word of God turned the burning of the furnace to refreshment for the youths, and today by His Baptism He hath given to the nature of the waters the power to burn away the sins of the baptised, who cry: Let all sing to the Lord and supremely exalt Him unto the ages.
O the goodness of the Creator! For the sake of His creatures He went before them and first Himself accomplished the way that leadeth to life, that those renewed by Baptism might partake of life; wherefore the martyr Abo hastened fervently to death for His sake.
Thy body, purified by labours, burned with the union of divine fire, O worthy one, but the envious burned it with fire; and we honour it, saying: Let all sing to the Lord and supremely exalt Him unto the ages.
Theotokion
We know God without beginning as the first Being, the Cause of all creation, and we proclaim Him the Begetter of the co-equal Word and the One from whom the Spirit proceedeth, and we say: Let all sing to the Lord and supremely exalt Him unto the ages.
Irmos: O Deliverer of all, mighty God, Thou didst deliver the youths cast into the fire when Thou didst bedew them, and from the furnace they cried: Bless the Lord today, ye works of the Lord.
Thou didst despise the glory and delight of the world, O courageous victor of the contest, and didst love Christ, and now thou dwellest with Him; intercede for us who entreat thee, O blessed one.
Thou hadst as thy weapon the Cross of Christ, firm hope and love; by that faith thou wast strengthened, and thou didst cry: Bless God, all ye His works.
ხრიდეს თავთა გულის წყრომით ღმრთის მბრძოლნი იგი აბოჲსთჳს და ეტყოდეს მსაჯულსა: მოკალ განდგომილი იგი და შემაჩუენებელი მუჰმედ მოციქულისა.
Thou wast illumined in spirit, O courageous one; thou didst light the candles and sing, as one who offereth, a priest chanting over spotless sacrifices, and with joy thou didst become the escort of thine own self.
Theotokion
Holy Abo was offered as an acceptable sacrifice for love of thy Son, O Virgin Mary; by his intercessions shelter the land of Iberia from the snares of Satan.
Irmos: To Thee, the only Creator of all, the youths cried aloud a spiritual hymn: All ye works, sing to the Lord and exalt Him unto the ages.
For the Theophany: Let us praise the Jordan as higher than all rivers, for today the Holy Spirit sanctified it, and it became the font of the divine flesh of Christ.
Thou didst create Adam radiant in Thine image, O Christ, but the deceiver beguiled and darkened him; yet Thou didst come and make him radiant again by Baptism, and didst darken the deceiver.
For Abo: The faithful cast off the fear of the godless and with longing kissed the spotless martyr when they saw him perfected for Christ through a good confession.
A gleaming star appeared from heaven in the dark night, a luminary bright as the sun, over the body of the martyr of Christ, in honour of the struggles of the courageous champion Abo.
They gathered the bones of the valiant Abo and cast them into the great river Mtkvari, but they shone in the waters like most radiant stars.
Theotokion
God, who took flesh of thee for our sake, hath shown thee, the holy and all-immaculate one, to be the divine intercessor of all our race, O Virgin; wherefore we the faithful sing thy praise aloud.
Irmos: All the tribes of the earth rejoice today in spirit, and the choirs of the heavenly bodiless ones keep festival with glory for the conception of the all-immaculate one, and they say: Rejoice for ever, O Virgin Mary, in the Kingdom.
Thou didst come forth as a shoot from the root of Jesse in holiness, and today in the Jordan Thou didst crush in victory the head of the dragon and didst come up thence as a lion, according to the Scripture, having dominion over the generations whose likeness Thou didst take in becoming man.
For the sake of the delights promised by Christ thou didst accept death with joy, and didst go to reign with Him as a sharer in His sufferings, O martyr; truly that heavenly light, which came to honour thee, proclaimeth to us thy worth.
I confess to Thee, O Jesus, my weakness, for we are unworthy to receive Thee, O Wisdom of God; but by a word drive away the wound of the heart and show me forth today as one who praiseth the Lord's feast and the festival of the martyr Abo.
Our mind is moved by love of thee, O martyr; wherefore accept this small gift which we have brought according to our strength: forgive our boldness and ask for us today deliverance from Christ, we who worthily magnify thee in songs.
Theotokion
Despise not Thy people, poor and humbled, but let Thy right hand, mighty and exalted, be their help, O Thou who wast born of the Virgin; deliver us from bondage to our enemies and grant victory to our people.
Irmos: Thy giving birth is incorrupt, O Virgin; God came forth from thy womb incarnate and dwelt among men; therefore we all ever magnify thee, O Theotokos.
Thou didst cry out with the voice of David, O Abo, and with the wise thief didst call mightily: Remember me, O Saviour, in the Kingdom! Now intercede for them that sing thy praise.
When that sweet Judge cometh and sitteth on the thrones of His Kingdom, O martyr, then entreat Him for us who sing thy praise, for the forgiveness of our transgressions.
Accept our unworthy song, O blessed one, and remember not our wickedness, but enlighten the hearts of those who extol thee and remove the darkness of sins from those who sing thy praise.
Theotokion
წინაშე ძისა შენისა, ქალწულო, ჰღაღადებს სისხლი წმიდისა აბოჲსი. შეისმინე ოხაჲ მისი და შემოგჳკრიბენ მამულნი განბნეულნი, და უჩინე მზღუარი, ყოველთა კაცთაგან უსარჩლელი.
Irmos: Dance for joy, O Isaiah: the Virgin hath conceived and borne a Son without beginning, Emmanuel, God and man; the Dayspring is His name. Him do we magnify, and her who bore Him we call blessed.
For the Theophany: He who gathered the waters into one gathering by His divine command and laid up the liquid depths in treasuries — the Word of God — was baptised with water by the Forerunner.
By the Baptism of the Light of the Sun without beginning the harmful evil spirits have been humbled and darkened for ever, and the baptised shine like the sun.
For Abo: The faithful martyr of Christ called from on high, a gleaming lamp, blessed Abo, was hidden here in body by the Ishmaelites, but through Christ he shineth in soul in the Kingdom.
უვარის-მყოფელნი შენნი და მომსრველნი მართალთანი, სიცრუვისა მოქმედნი და ურწმუნონი ისმაიტელნი, ჵ, ქრისტე, მისცენ მწარესა მას საუკუნესა სატანჯუელსა დაუსრულებელსა.
O invincible martyr, thou didst finish thy course well and now dwellest in light ineffable: entreat God to cast down our cunning enemies and grant victory to our devout people.
Theotokion
The prophet beheld thee of old as a radiant lampstand, O all-immaculate one, bearing Christ, the spiritual candle, by whom we who lay in the darkness of the passions have been enlightened; therefore we call thee blessed, O Theotokos, ever-Virgin.
“With the blood of martyrdom…” (see the Festal Menaion)
By John Konkozisdze
Come today, ye faithful, behold the bearer of myrrh, who offered himself as a sacrifice to Him who suffered for our sake, and by the shedding of his blood made the Church more fragrant than all perfumes; and now he entreateth the King of all, our God, for the salvation of our souls from every temptation.
That place of sacrifice upon which thine all-holy body was burned, O blessed one, glory of the martyrs, became like the altar of holy Aaron, when fire came down from above, visibly, O worthy one, with a gleaming light; seeing it, the unbelievers marvelled, and the faithful rejoiced in thy struggles with divine praises.
By Gregory of Khandzta.
When the martyr of Christ, the victor of the contest, stretched out his neck to the sword for Christ's sake, then the bodiless ones cried out from on high: Come up to us, the Lord calleth thee, and rejoice before Him. And when he had committed his spirit to the Lord, the hosts of heaven went before him with joy, they led him up to heaven with singing, and our father Abraham came to meet him and received him into his bosom.
Those who slew thee without judgement, O blessed Abo, were condemned to eternal punishment, to hell and the outer darkness; but thou shinest before God in light for ever. And when the good Judge cometh and sitteth to judge on the thrones of His Kingdom, then be our intercessor before God, O valiant one.
Two verses by Catholicos Anthony (see the Festal Menaion)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
ვითარცა წინაპარნი ჩუენნი მიისწრაფდეს ადგილსა მას, სადაცა დაწუეს გუამი შენი, ნეტარო აბო, ეგრეთვე აწ ტაძრად შენდა მყის სრბად მოვიწევით: მადლის მიცემად ღმრთისა, თაყუანისცემად ჯუარისა მის წმიდისა და ამბორისყოფად ყოვლად პატიოსნისა ხატისა შენისა, ხოლო შენ ძალითა ქრისტჱსითა დაიფარე ქუეყანაჲ ივერიისაჲ წვალებისაგან და სჯულისაგან უცხოჲსა, და მკჳდრნი მისნი ყოვლისაგან ძჳრისხილვისა.
Both now…, of the feast
The Great Doxology, and the Dismissal.
At the Beatitudes: from the canon of the feast, Ode 1 — 4 verses; and from the saint's, Ode 6 — 4 verses.
Prokeimenon, Tone 7: The righteous shall be glad in the Lord and shall hope in Him.
Verse: Hear my voice, O God.
The Epistle: 2 Timothy, chapter 2, verse 1 — My son Timothy, be strong in the grace…; it ends at verse 11 — with eternal glory.
Alleluia, Tone 4: The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, and shall be multiplied like a cedar in Lebanon. Verse: Those that are planted in the house of the Lord
The Gospel according to John, chapter 15, verse 17 — The Lord said to His disciples: These things I command you…; it ends at chapter 16, verse 3 — doeth God service…
Communion hymn: The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance…
Selected from the Collection of Michael Modrekili and compiled by the psalm-reader Tinatin Mchedlishvili.
