Service to Our Venerable Father Sergius of Radonezh, Abbot and Builder of the Lavra of the Holy Trinity

We sing “Blessed is the man”, the first antiphon.

At “Lord, I have cried”, the stichera

on 8, Tone 5.

To the venerable Sergius.

O God-bearing father, blessed Sergius, companion in counsel and in dwelling of the angels, sharer with the prophets, the holy apostles and the martyrs, and co-heir of the unfading Light, who shinest with divine radiance, for thou standest boldly before Him, illumined by grace, and ever beholdest His glory and delightest for ever in His goodness: entreat Christ, be our intercessor with Christ, that He may send down upon the Churches unity, peace and great mercy.

O God-bearing father, blessed Sergius, star of the desert, radiance of divine love and enlightener of monks, unshaken pillar of patience, strength and beam of the Church, all-radiant lamp and luminary of the whole world, treasury of the virtues, who didst make the empty desert a city and show it forth as a paradise: entreat Christ, be our intercessor with Christ, that He may send down upon the Churches unity, peace and great mercy.

O God-bearing father, blessed Sergius, boast of monks and strength of the right faith, chosen servant of the Holy Trinity, peer of the angels, raised from earth to heaven by the guidance of monks, inheritor of the Kingdom, citizen of heaven by angelic song, crowned with the saints and illumined in the light of the vision of God, and intercessor by thy holy prayer for all who honour thee: entreat Christ, be our intercessor with Christ, that He may send down upon the Churches unity, peace and great mercy.

O God-bearing father, blessed Sergius, fellow-minister of the angels, abyss of understanding, beholder of things ineffable, father of fathers, head of monks and guide of hermits, who rejoicest before the all-holy Trinity, illumined with great radiance, and art the helper of those who entreat thee: entreat Christ, be our intercessor with Christ, that He may send down upon the Churches unity, peace and great mercy.

ვითარიმე ქებისა გჳრგჳნი შეუთხზნათ ქრისტჱს ეკლესიისა სიმტკიცესა და ყოველთა განმაბრწყინვებელსა სწავლითა, შემწესა და მოძღუარსა კეთილსახურთა მეფეთა და მთავართასა და შუამდგომელსა მათსა წინაშე ღმრთისა, და განმაძლიერებელსა და მაკურთხეველსა კეთილმორწმუნისა მჴედრობისასა, ყოვლადქებულსა სერგის, რომლისა მიერ ურიცხუნი ლაშქარნი მტერთანი ქრისტემან დაამხუნა, რომელსა აქუს დიდი წყალობაჲ. 2-გზის

With what hymns of praise shall we sing of him who is like a star radiant with God, shining forth by his dwelling in the desert, a plant of paradise bearing good fruit, a great helper and teacher, the reprover of all the wicked and slothful, for whose sake Christ cast down their uprisings, and who hath great mercy?

With what songs of praise shall we sing of the adorner of the Church, the shepherd and teacher of monks, who appeared like the sun to the land of Russia and taught love of God and the fatherland, in whom we set our hope, that in the unity of faith and love we may confess him as the guide and stronghold of all the Orthodox, who hath great mercy?

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Now be glad, O lovers of the monastic life, and with songs of praise let us sing and extol the boast of priests and the glory of Russia, the fountain of wonders and the great intercessor and advocate of the faithful: Rejoice, all-radiant lampstand, who didst enlighten the ends of Russia with wonders; rejoice, divine joy of the afflicted and fervent intercessor of those in trials, O venerable and wonderworking father Sergius: entreat Christ God without ceasing for us who with faith and love ever honour thy joyful and all-blessed repose.

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Who will not call thee blessed, O all-holy Virgin? Who will not praise thine all-pure childbearing? For the only-begotten Son, who shone forth timelessly from the Father, came forth ineffably incarnate from thee, the pure one; being God by nature, and for our sake becoming man by nature, not divided into two persons, but known in two natures without confusion. Entreat Him, O honoured and all-blessed one, for the salvation of our souls.

1. The reading from the Wisdom of Solomon. (The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God…)

2. The reading from the Wisdom of Solomon. (The righteous live for evermore, and with the Lord…)

It is written under 9 March.

3. The reading from the Wisdom of Solomon (Though the righteous be prevented with death, yet shall he be in rest…)

It is written under 7 May.

In this spiritual and all-hymned assembly, called by the Holy Spirit, O ye peoples gathered with eagerness, let us sing and rejoice worthily in the memory of our God-bearing father, the ascetic Sergius.

O angel on earth and man of God in heaven, fair adorner of the world and good in sweetness, O father Sergius, we praise thee, whom God foreknew as a zealous fulfiller of His will; and while thou wast yet in thy mother's womb He proclaimed to all the earth by thy threefold cry that thou wouldst be a true servant of the Trinity.

By the blessing of the God-bearing elder the God-loving child received abundantly the gifts of understanding and was at once made wise to know the power of the holy Scriptures; and by radiant struggle thou didst receive as a reward and a gift the grace of opening the mind and of giving understanding to children, O father Sergius, and thou bestowest it abundantly on all who ask eagerly and entreat earnestly.

Thou didst forsake the world, O saint, and take up the cross, in which thou didst glory, O thrice-blessed father Sergius; and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the foreknowledge of God thou didst direct thy steps to the region of Radonezh, and didst raise in the desert a monastery and a church in the name of the Holy Trinity for the salvation of souls and as a refuge for many; and the brethren gathered in it attained a great measure by their humility, and cast out evil spirits, and healed all the sick, and sang thy praise in hymns as a great shepherd and preacher of the faith.

Thou didst appear, O father Sergius, as the chief of monks and maker of cities in the empty deserts, and thou healest the passions of our infirmity for those who sing to thee with faith: Rejoice, all-radiant star of the north, enlightener, lamp and shepherd of monks; rejoice, boast of the fasters by thy good works and joyful radiance of all the world; intercede for those who sing thy praise.

Adorned with priestly vesture in a manner befitting God, thou didst preach the Gospel of the Kingdom and didst enrich the holy Church of Russia by thy divine struggle; enlightened by it, we now magnify thee, the heavenly man and earthly angel, the adornment of the world and the eye of ascetics, who didst multiply the flock of Christ and wast a guide to ascetics in righteousness and holiness, and dost intercede with God for our souls.

Thy memory endureth unto the ages, O venerable father Sergius, and the meekness of thy heart, O servant of God Most High, O blessed one; though thou hast departed from us, O good shepherd, yet thou hast not left us, being united with us in good love, a fellow-citizen with God and the angels in heaven: with them entreat Him to have mercy on our souls.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Though thou wast raised from the flesh to God whom thou didst long for, thou didst not leave thy disciples and those who love thee as orphans, for thou didst bestow thine all-praised divine relics on the Church as a light and a crown of graces; and we venerate them, who had lain long ages hidden in thy lavra, but thou didst reveal them by a wondrous vision to drive away evil spirits. We keep the feast of their uncovering year by year and entreat thee: since thou hast boldness before the all-merciful King, remember before Him us who ever fall down before thy fatherly grace and help, and by thine intercession deliver our people, beset by trials and afflictions.

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.

From youth thou hadst a lofty life, confirmed by the witness of the holy Scriptures, O father, a true faith and a merciful heart, humility and reverence, and eyes of the mind that saw all things wisely, O rule and boast of monks, O thrice-blessed father Sergius!

Verse: Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.

Thou didst still by holiness the surging billows of this world, and that desert, the lair of beasts and the abode of demons, thou didst change into a dwelling for men, and didst build for them a glorious church to the glory of the all-holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, before whom cease not to intercede for those who entreat thee.

Verse: Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord; he will delight greatly in His commandments.

God adorned thee with the light of wonders and the radiance of divine graces, O thrice-blessed Sergius, and filled thy soul with wisdom; and as a living spring and an unfailing well thou pourest forth healings for the flock of Christ and makest wise the children who love learning and flee to thee.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

O venerable father, thou didst give no sleep to thine eyes nor slumber to thine eyelids until thou hadst freed thy soul and flesh from the passions; and when a spiritual dwelling had been prepared in thee, Christ came with the Father and made His abode in thee, and thou didst please the consubstantial Trinity, O God-bearing Sergius: entreat Him for our souls.

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

O unwedded Virgin, who didst ineffably conceive God in thy womb, O Mother of God Most High, accept the supplication of thy servants, O all-immaculate one, who grantest to all the cleansing of sins; accept our supplication also, and ask great mercy for us.

Thou didst struggle in virtue as a victorious soldier of Christ and didst scorn all the vanity of the world, but by prayer and vigil becamest an example to thy disciples and wast shown a rule for monks and a radiant luminary for all the world: now we entreat thee, as one who hath boldness before the all-holy Trinity, keep unshaken all the Orthodox people that rejoice in thy radiant memory, O venerable father Sergius.

Thou didst appear as a citizen of the desert, an angel in the flesh and a wonderworker, O venerable and wonderworking father Sergius; thou didst receive from heaven the grace of fasting, vigil and prayer, and thou healest the sicknesses and the souls of those who flee to thee with faith. Glory to Him who gave thee strength; glory to Him who crowned thee; glory to Him who worketh through thee wonders for all.

The troparion of the venerable one. Glory… The same. Both now…

The mystery hidden from eternity and unknown to the angels, O Theotokos, was revealed through thee to those on earth: God incarnate in unconfused union, who willingly accepted the Cross for our sake, and thereby raised up the first-formed and saved our souls from death.

Thou didst complete a life of piety on earth, and didst appear as a rule for monks and a radiant light for all the world, O God-bearing father, and thou enlightenest those who swiftly flee to thee, O holy Sergius; now also make the true light to shine in our hearts, and be the unceasing intercessor of those who praise thee. (Twice)

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

By visions from on high thou didst make to shine forth for us from the grave a precious treasure — thy holy relics, wealth free of price and unfailing, gold radiant with God — and didst fill the land of Russia and all the Orthodox people with divine joy.

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

The mystery hidden from all ages is revealed to the Archangel, that he may declare it with trembling to the Virgin; and he bringeth glad tidings to her who is blessed among women; with him let us cry out: Rejoice, thou who art full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Thou shinest with light unapproachable, and as a star thou didst shine forth in the desert of Radonezh and multiply the flock of Christ, O venerable father; ask deliverance from transgressions for those who keep thy memory, since thou standest before God.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

God, the beholder of minds, foresaw the purity of thy soul; wherefore He shed light upon thy mind and filled thee with divine wisdom, and granted thee to speak of hidden mysteries.

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

O all-immaculate and holy one, thou didst conceive by the divine Spirit God the Maker and Creator of all, and didst bear Him without corruption; wherefore we magnify thee and sing thy praise, O Virgin, as the palace of the King of all and the helper of the world.

Like John the Baptist thou didst make the desert thy dwelling, O venerable one, and didst live in poverty, for thou hadst no bodily food at all, O blessed one, but wast nourished by the Holy Spirit; wherefore thou didst raise up countless souls to imitate thee and didst gather them to glorify God and give thanks for thy courage. O glory of the desert of Radonezh, entreat Christ God to grant remission of sins to those who with longing keep the feast of thy memory.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

O good servant, kind and faithful, good labourer in the vineyard of Christ, thou didst bear the burden of the day with courage and valour, and didst multiply the talent given thee; wherefore the gates of heaven were opened to thee, O venerable one, and thou didst enter into the joy of thy good Lord; and now be the unceasing intercessor of those who praise thee, O father Sergius, that we also, moved by divine longing, may call thee blessed without ceasing.

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

The Word of the Father, who is co-eternal with Him, taketh from thee the beginning of our nature, O Theotokos; the Timeless One entereth into time, the Word becometh flesh, and the Son of God is called thy Son. O this incomprehensible mystery! Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.

From my youth unclean passions war mightily against me; therefore I entreat Thee: be my helper and save me, O Good One.

Ye that hate Zion, be put to shame by the Lord, and like withered grass shall Gehenna devour you.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

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.

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 Luke, chapter 6, verse 17 (At that time Jesus stood…); it ends at verse 23 (…your reward is great in heaven…).

After Psalm 50, the sticheron.

Idiomelon, Tone 6.

The report of thy good deeds hath gone out into all the earth, O God-wise father; wherefore in heaven thou hast found the reward of thy labours, and hast destroyed the hosts of demons and attained the rank of the angels, whose blameless life thou didst rival, O venerable Sergius; having boldness before God, ask peace for our souls.

Irmos: By a wonder the Lord saved His people and of old dried up the surging sea by His word; and today He is born incorruptibly of the Virgin and leadeth us up to heaven, equal in nature to the Father; to Him let us sing.

In this spiritual and all-hymned assembly, called by the Holy Spirit, O ye peoples gathered with eagerness, let us sing and rejoice worthily in the memory of our God-bearing father, the ascetic Sergius.

It was not fitting, O venerable father Sergius, that those who hope in thee should pass over in silence the memory of thy repose; wherefore today the choirs of monks rejoice and the ranks of the fathers are glad at thy feast, and they proclaim the grace of thy good deeds and offer praise to the Lord.

Raise the eyes of our soul to behold the radiance of thy graces, O venerable father, and stir the instrument of the tongue to thy glory, for Christ our God hath glorified thy repose in the feast of His friends; with them we magnify thee: be our intercessor.

By fervent prayer thou didst lay hold of the beginning of wisdom at the very beginning of thy youth, O venerable father, and didst nail thy flesh with the fear of the Lord, O holy Sergius; and thence thou didst rise to that fearless love of the saints and shine forth by the grace of God.

From youth thou didst trample under the feet of the soul the stirring of the passions, O blessed one, and the flattering sweetness of the senses gave thee no delight at all, for thou didst await those unfading sweet delights, O venerable father Sergius.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Thou didst acquire the spring of the Holy Spirit in thy heart, filled with the mystery of wisdom and the riches of grace, O thrice-blessed father: deliver from trials those who honour thee, and grant them healing.

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Heal my soul, fallen through many pains, O all-glorious Theotokos, that with a voice of thanksgiving I may eagerly magnify thee for ever.

Irmos: O God, look upon the hymn of Thy servants, humble the insolence of the deceiver, exalt the Church today, and establish unshaken in Orthodoxy them that trust in Thee.

Thou wast raised on high with the choirs of the bodiless, when thou didst make the struggle of thy labours a chariot for thy soul and didst ascend by practice to the lofty visions, O blessed father, and wast made worthy to behold things invisible, O holy Sergius.

From youth thou didst meditate on the God-inspired books and didst ascend to the summit of perfection when thou hadst cleansed thy mind of the passions, and by the purity of thy soul thou didst become a dwelling for the all-holy Spirit.

Thou didst appear as a harp of the living Spirit, tuned by the powers of the Spirit, O venerable father, and didst shine forth as a star of the desert, and didst lay up the treasure of words like gold in the Church of God, O blessed Sergius.

By fasting thou didst fence in the flesh, O blessed one, and didst put to death the stirrings of the passions by prayer and vigil; wherefore the power of the Holy Spirit made its dwelling in thee and showed thee forth as a luminary to the ends of heaven.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Thou didst become a fruitful branch, O God-bearing one, sprung from roots of servants of God, planted by the streams of the divine Scriptures, and thou didst bring forth as sweet fruit the understanding of them.

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Ezekiel foresaw thee as the gate of light through which the King passed, as He alone knoweth, O incorrupt Virgin; wherefore I entreat thee: open to me the gates of repentance that lead into the Kingdom.

Thou didst make thy days radiant, O blessed one, by mighty struggle in the desert, whereby thou didst draw near to the divine radiance, O father Sergius; ask of Christ the remission of our countless sins for those who keep the feast of thy memory.

Irmos: Of old Habakkuk foretold prophetically the salvation of men and said: In wrath Thou hast remembered mercy; from the shaded mountains Thou camest, O Saviour, the Word, the Creator of this people.

When the grace of God dwelt in thee, it made thee hate the glory of this passing world, and thou didst love humility and mercy, whereby thou didst ascend to the heights of the Kingdom.

God did not hide thy labours, but by signs and wonders proclaimed the radiance of thy struggles, and made thy word and thy sight longed for among all, O Sergius, blessed of God.

When thou camest to that trackless and fearful ravine, thou didst rejoice in mind at the sight of it, O Sergius, as equal to paradise, O venerable one; and thou didst build a lavra by the will of God, and in it didst multiply those like thee, O father, who do the will of God.

Thou didst become like God, O blessed one, a father to orphans and food for the hungry, clothing for the naked and helpless, and a physician for the diseases of the sick, O blessed Sergius.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

The Light of the Father made thee shine forth as a radiant lamp for those in the world, and thou didst spread the lustre of thy virtues to the ends of heaven, as His radiance, O venerable father.

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

As a virgin thou didst give birth, and wast not corrupted as a mother; but thou didst become a Mother and remain a Virgin; wherefore we sing to thee: Rejoice, O Theotokos.

Irmos: Thou camest, O Christ, to forgive the dark deceptions of the night; rising early we offer Thee a hymn, as Thou art worthy, that Thou mayest guide us on the way of peace to enter the Kingdom which Thou didst promise us.

Planted in the house of God, thou didst flourish in righteousness, and as a cedar in the desert didst multiply the flock of Christ, rational sheep, worthily and justly, and didst become in truth a light of the world.

As a star thou didst shine forth in the desert, and thou swiftly helpest those who flee to thee with faith; wherefore we call thee blessed and magnify thee in songs as a fervent intercessor.

With the angels thou didst celebrate the service on earth, and with the angels Christ honoured thee, O glorious Sergius, and numbered thee with the apostles and the saints.

Thou didst shine with a radiance beyond nature, O all-praised one, and the angelic look of thy face revealed the abundance of graces hidden in thy soul, O blessed Sergius.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Thou didst yearn for wisdom, O lover of the desert, and didst love her above all things; wherefore she rested upon thee, and through thy lips made a spring of grace to flow forth, sweeter than honey.

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

God sanctified thine all-holy womb, O Bride, when He dwelt therein in holiness; and, lifted up on the Cross, He lifted up creation with Himself.

Irmos: Jonah went down into the depth of the sea and cried to God in supplication: Bring me up from drowning, O Lord; and I, O Christ, cry unto Thee: Overlook the multitude of my transgressions.

The hearts of the Orthodox faithful rejoice, O wondrous Sergius, filled with the Spirit beyond comprehension, for the sweet fragrance of precious incense filled thy cell, and with joy thou didst receive the Theotokos.

The incorruptible ark that contained God chose thee from among many fathers to behold the Mother of God walking as one alive and going bodily with John and Peter, O Sergius chosen of God: cease not, O venerable one, to intercede for those who extol thee.

Offer our supplication to the Mother of God before Christ, with the help of the heavenly hosts and of the apostles Peter and John, O blessed father Sergius; ask peace for the world and great mercy for our souls.

In place of Eden thy people have thy lavra as a paradise opened, and, abundantly filled with the torrent of its delights, they are enlightened and proclaim thy grace aloud.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

O mighty combatant against the assaults of the passions, hidden and manifest, blessed Sergius, since thou hast boldness before God, ask for help, that we may escape the enemy of our souls.

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Thou didst bear for us a new Child, O Theotokos, Him who is before the ages and sitteth timelessly with the Father, who by the Cross renewed men grown old through sin and made them partakers of the Godhead.

Wounded by the love of Christ, thou didst swiftly follow in His footsteps with longing, O venerable one, and didst wholly abhor the pleasures of this world, and didst shine upon thy land like the sun; therefore Christ God adorned thee with the light of miracles and the radiance of divine graces: now remember them that honour thy light-clad memory and cry to thee: Rejoice, O God-wise father Sergius!

When thou didst hear the voice of the Gospel, O father, thou didst forsake the will of the flesh, riches and glory, and didst count this passing world as nothing; thou didst struggle as one without flesh, and with the bodiless thou reignest in the Kingdom unto the ages. By radiant struggle thou didst receive as a reward and a gift the grace of opening the mind and of giving understanding to children, and thou bestowest it abundantly on us who love the feast of thy holy memory and sing: Rejoice, O venerable Sergius, full of the grace of God, heavenly man and earthly angel; rejoice, thou whose mind was opened by prayer and who wast filled beyond comprehension with the gift of the Holy Spirit; rejoice, for thou didst glorify the Holy Trinity before thy birth, in thy life and after thy death; rejoice, pillar of purity, who didst trample every passion; rejoice, for from youth thou didst follow Christ; rejoice, haven of the suffering souls who flee to thee; rejoice, radiant lamp of the Church, who didst lead many monks to Christ; rejoice, praise and boast of thy fatherland; rejoice, for, illumined and foreseeing things to come, thou didst speak of all that was to be with divine purity; rejoice, strengthener by thy prayer of the Christ-loving army; rejoice, thou who by the power of the Most High didst bring wars to an end without war, for the glory of the name of Christ; so now also keep the Orthodox peoples, that we may sing to thee: Rejoice, O God-wise Sergius!

Irmos: Through love for the Saviour of all the youths counted as nothing the wrath of the God-hating tyrant, and, cast into the fire, they were not burned, and thus they cried: O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou.

Thy people keep the feast of thy memory, O blessed one, and cry to thee: Look down upon us from heaven, O blessed father, and deliver us from the billows of the world, that we may not be drowned, whom thou didst teach to sing: O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou.

Thou didst despise all the vanity of the world, O most glorious worthy one, and didst trample vainglory like clay, and through poverty didst find in heaven the unfailing riches of the Kingdom, ever singing: O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou.

Rejoice, fountain of holy theology and cup overflowing with the love of wisdom, O all-wise one, great luminary of the whole world, who didst teach all to sing thus: O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou.

I have no word worthy to adorn thy radiant virtues, O blessed father; but forgive this unworthy one, accept this small and feeble song, and in return grant me thy grace, O venerable Sergius.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Thou didst cut down the hosts of demons, O God-bearing one, as a valiant soldier of the Saviour, with the sword of labours, and didst burn up their camps as with fire in the furnace of thy prayers: O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou.

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

In the grace of thy prayer, O saint, we glory with mouth and soul, O glorious one, for through thee we are all delivered from trials and billows, from grievous sorrows and from the passions of sin.

Irmos: The youths in Babylon, unburnt, were of old a figure of thee, O all-glorious Virgin, when the fire of the Godhead was born of thee and kept thee unharmed and spotless; all the people ever bless thee.

O sacred assembly and choir of the faithful, come together today and let us sing with divine praises the wise and holy father, Sergius of Radonezh, the beauty of earth and heaven, the crown and true divine goodness.

In the divine places, on the path of the commandments of Christ, thou didst walk blamelessly, O Sergius, for thou didst live as an angel; wherefore the glory of God appeared to thee in the sanctuary with a light like fire, as lightning, and gave thee grace to see the inward hidden passions of unworthy sinful souls.

Thou wast raised on high with the choirs of the bodiless, when thou didst make the struggle of thy labours a chariot for thy soul and didst ascend by practice to the lofty visions, O blessed father, and wast made worthy to behold things invisible, O venerable one.

Christ the King crowned thee with the crown of holiness as a victor in the contest, O blessed father Sergius, and adorned thy holy head with a priceless ornament.

Look down upon us from on high, O God-bearing one, and still the stirrings of the passions, visible and invisible, and drive away from us trials and the assaults of demons, O father Sergius.

Let us bless the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Lord.

When the choir of thy disciples gathered at thy repose, O blessed one, thou wast filled with joy at the sight of them, and didst bless all, and didst teach them faithfully and plainly to sing thus: Bless the Lord, all ye works, and exalt Him unto the ages.

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Thou didst deliver human nature from the curse by thy childbearing, O incorrupt Virgin, for thou didst bear the only Blessed One, who blesseth us and filleth heaven and earth with grace.

We praise, we bless, we worship the Lord, singing and supremely exalting Him unto all the ages.

Irmos: Silence were fitting, since we cannot praise thee worthily today, O Theotokos; yet let us not be silent from fear, but according to our weakness let us offer praise, wherewith we magnify thee.

The tongue of man cannot recount thy struggles, O saint, well-pleasing to God, for thou didst pass through this world worthily, O blessed Sergius, and now, united with the delight of paradise, thou rejoicest with the angels and reignest with Christ for ever.

Multitudes of demons are driven away by thine all-precious bones; wherefore one sorely afflicted by them, when he touched thy tomb with faith, at once found freedom.

Thy disciple, the all-wise Epiphanius, left us thy “Life” in writing as a radiant mirror, and made us beholders of thy radiance, of which he partook in spirit, imitating thee in virtue.

O great hermit of the glorious deserts of Radonezh, cease not now also to labour for us before Christ, for thou canst help in all things all who hope in thy prayers and flee to thine intercession.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Ask, O worthy one, from Christ God for the whole world peaceful preservation, for our people victory and the strengthening of Orthodoxy, and for our souls great mercy abundantly.

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Thou carriest in thy holy hands Him who beareth all things; entreat Him, O holy one, that we may live unharmed by the evil-doing of strangers.

Thou didst appear as a radiant image and receive the Holy Spirit, O venerable father, through whom thou didst make the eyes of the soul radiant with divine vision; and, illumined, foreseeing things to come, thou didst speak of all that was to be with divine purity; now be our intercessor before God, O God-wise Sergius.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

The region of Radonezh rejoiceth, and yet more doth the Lavra of the Holy Trinity now exult because thou didst dwell in it, for it was ever watered by thy tears, and now thy bones lie in it and richly pour forth healings of souls and bodies.

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

We confess thee truly as the Theotokos, O Lady, we who have been saved through thee, for thou didst ineffably bear God, who delivereth from death by the Cross and draweth to Himself the assembly of the venerable, with whom we praise thee, O Virgin.

O God-bearing father, holy Sergius, thou didst take the yoke of Christ upon thy neck and with courage didst crush the assaults of the enemies and show forth the deserts as a city; wherefore we call thee blessed and cry to thee with faith: O glory of the Church of Russia, Christ hath made thee to dwell with the bodiless: be our intercessor. (Twice)

O God-bearing father, holy Sergius, we the faithful gathered in faith honour thee as a great ascetic and cry to thee with faith: O hermit like unto holy Anthony, who didst go forth with joy into the trackless desert and in place of wild beasts didst settle men equal to the angels, be our intercessor before God, that He may save us.

O God-bearing father, holy Sergius, thou didst appear as a rule for monks and the boast of the Orthodox, a sweet and radiant luminary of all the world, and a most skilful and honoured physician for the infirm; for thou didst not fear the terror of the deceiving enemy, but didst break the bows and arrows of the demons and weaken their cruel snares by thy divine teaching. O the gifts given thee, O blessed one, whereby thou didst put the evil demons to shame and make the glory of Christ shine forth!

O God-bearing father, holy Sergius, death is the cause of forgetting; but after thy death thy lavra now proclaimeth thy struggles and loudly preacheth thy labours; and the faithful people, called and come to thy church, rejoicing in thy radiant memory, O saint, recount thy struggles, O Sergius, and with a voice of thanksgiving worship God.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Let us sound the trumpet of hymns, let us leap for joy and be glad, rejoicing in the all-holy feast of our all-praised teacher. Gather together, O ye faithful, and let us adorn and praise with spiritual acclaim our blessed father, as one who hath made rivers of teaching flow forth for us, and let us sing: the infirm, to the healer of sicknesses; the afflicted, to their deliverer; sinners, to their fervent intercessor; the sorrowful, to their comforter; travellers, to their companion; sailors, to their helmsman; and all everywhere, magnifying with faith the hope of all, let us say: Be our intercessor, O God-bearing Sergius, that through thy prayers and petition the Lord God may arm us with His invincible power against all our enemies visible and invisible, and save us.

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Theotokion by Demetre, King of the Georgians, of the Bagrationi line.

Theotokos and all-honoured, Mother and Virgin, lovely lily, to thee the winged angel brought glad tidings; in thee the crowned King delighteth, and Him do kings with many subjects serve.

The Great Doxology, and the Dismissal.

At the Liturgy: at the Beatitudes, from the canon of the venerable one, Odes 3 and 6.

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?

The Epistle: 1 Corinthians, chapter 12, verse 7 (Brethren, to each one of us…); it ends at verse 12 (…to every man severally as He will…).

Alleluia, Tone 6: Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord.

Verse: His seed shall be mighty upon the earth.

The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 11, verse 27 (The Lord said to His disciples…); it ends at chapter 12, verse 1 (…My burden is light…).

Communion hymn: The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance…