Festal Service to the Holy and Right-believing Queen Tamar
We sing “Blessed is the man”, the first antiphon.
At “Lord, I have cried”, the stichera
Thou didst grant, O Lover of mankind, to the sovereign of the Georgians the wisdom of Solomon, the meekness of David and apostolic piety, whereby she governed her kingdom well, by Thee who art King of kings and Lord of all who hold dominion; with her we glorify the dispensation of Thy Godhead, O Jesus Almighty and Saviour of our souls.
Thou didst become a fruitful branch, O God-wise one, sprung from roots of servants of God, and didst well accomplish action, contemplation and love, and surpassed the struggles of the kings of old and of the new; thou didst confess Christ as God and King, Benefactor and Deliverer, Conqueror of all principalities and of the highest powers, O holy Tamar; wherefore thy Christ-loving reign was made to prosper by Jesus the Almighty and the Saviour of our souls.
As thy heart, made wise to judge thy people, was in the hand of God, so now soften our hardened hearts by thy sweet mercy and direct our steps towards the divine commandments, that He may arm us with His invincible hand against all enemies visible and invisible — Jesus the Almighty and the Saviour of our souls.
How now shall our minds and mouths utter good words — praise, acclaim and glory — worthy of thy victorious crowning and mighty dominion: praiseworthy meekness, loving tenderness, compassionate mercy, guileless innocence, sincerity without falsehood, goodness toward all, generosity without pride, and the head of all good things, the fear of God and unswerving service of Him? Wherefore thou wast made worthy of the Kingdom of heaven, which was granted thee by Jesus the Almighty and the Saviour of our souls.
O sovereign blessed and exalted by the Lord, rejoice: the mercy of God shall never depart from thee, for thou hast fought the good fight, finished the course and kept the faith, made perfect by good works; wherefore thou didst receive the crown of righteousness, which was bestowed on thee in return for thy holy labours by Jesus the Almighty and the Saviour of our souls.
Glory… Tone 2
გონებაჲ შენი უვნებლობითა განაბრწყინვე და საღმრთოჲთა სიმდაბლითა განაშუენე, ერისა შენისა სულიერად აღმაშენებელო ჴელმწიფეო, რამეთუ მეუფებდი რაჲ ზეგარდამოჲთა მით მადლითა, აღამაღლებდი ჯუარსა საღმრთოჲსა ძლევისასა, რომლისა მიერ წარსწყმიდნე მტერნი იგი მბრძოლნი ქრისტჱსნი და მშჳდობასა შინა განამტკიცენ მართლმადიდებელთა სარწმუნოებაჲ, რომლისათჳსცა მზემან სიმართლისამან განგანათლა შენ და მნათობად ცის-კიდეთა გამოგაჩინა.
Both now…
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.
At the entrance, the prokeimenon of the day and three readings
The reading from the Third Book of Kings (chapter 8).
The reading from the prophecy of Isaiah (chapter 1).
The reading from the prophecy of Isaiah (chapter 1).
See 21 May (Old Style), the day of the memory of Saints Constantine and Helen.
At the Litia, the sticheron of the church and of the saint, Tone 1
Thy wondrous deeds, radiant in vision and in action, have become an example to all the faithful, for everyone under the sun telleth of the goodness of thy virtues, of thy advocacy for the poor and thy nurture of orphans and widows; wherefore we who hope in thee find thee a helper, and magnify thee without ceasing in hymns of praise.
When Christ the King crowned thee with the crown of kingship as a victor in the contest, thou didst yet more increase thy struggles: fasting and vigil beyond measure, prayer and love for the poor, love and patience; and thou didst make sweet to thyself all the fruits of the Spirit, according to the word of the holy apostle Paul, which are the holy virtues; wherefore we magnify thee without ceasing.
Thou didst not receive thy calling from men, O judge of righteousness, but by election from above Christ the King chose thee, and thereby granted thee authority and dominion over a precious people, as to thy great-grandfather, our holy and blessed King David the Builder, with whom we now behold thee in the Kingdom of heaven; and we glorify Christ God, who made your holy feast shine brighter than the light of the sun, that it may fervently enlighten those who flee to you.
Thou wast more generous, sweet, merciful and humble-minded than all kings, O honoured and wise sovereign; by thy life thou didst cut away the roots of sin, and wast a lamp and an enlightener of the faithful, and together with thy other virtues learned in the laws of the Church; wherefore we praise thy wisdom, O holy Tamar, and cry to thee with faith and hope: Entreat Christ God to grant remission of sins to those who keep the feast of thy memory.
So didst thou love God, O lover of mercy, in thy exaltation and greatness, that thou didst yet more build and pour out mercy upon the churches and monasteries of Hellas and of the Holy Mountain, of Petritsoni, Thrace and Constantinople, of the Roman lands and of Cyprus — Galia — and of all the country of the Black Mountain; nor didst thou neglect any of the cathedral churches of Georgia, but didst fill them with great bounty, with mercy like the mercy of Jesus our God; wherefore God did not hide thy labours, but by the caves thou didst hew and the buildings thou didst raise proclaimed the radiance of thy struggles, and showed thee forth as a helper and protector to all who entreat thee.
სკიპტრაჲ შენი თჳთ-მპყრობელობისაჲ ზღუდედ უბრძოლველად გჳვის ქართველთა ერსა, ქრისტჱს სისხლითა მოსყიდულთა და განთავისუფლებულთა, და ერად საზეპუროდ აღნიშნულთა და აღწერილთა, ჵ, დიდებულო მჴნეო ჴელმწიფეო, რამეთუ ესრჱთ გუექადაგა, გუებრძანა და განგუეჩინა შჳლთა აღმოსავლეთისათა და ძეთა მართლმადიდებელთა.
With what crown of praise shall we wreathe thy surpassing virtues, O Tamar, thrice-blessed sovereign — thy generosity and humility, thy courage and valour, thy victories and mercies — which thou didst offer to God as a spiritual sacrifice and as incense radiant with God? And thou didst appear as a banisher of evil spirits and a sleepless protectress, that thou mightest save us and heal the many wounds of our people.
Glory… Tone 5
Today this assembly gathered by God rejoiceth and honoureth thy holy memory, calling thee all-praised: Rejoice, blessed among kings and of good remembrance; rejoice, chosen for goodness and beauty, enlightener of those who entreat thee in faith, O holy Tamar, who didst teach many fathers and mothers the measure of goodness and the yoke of marriage; rejoice, thou who madest the churches radiant and didst exalt thy people with surpassing joy, O great sovereign: entreat Christ God without ceasing to send down upon the Churches unity and peace, and upon our people great mercy.
Both now…, Theotokion.
Thine all-precious memory maketh the ends of the earth radiant with the light of the knowledge of God, O wise sovereign who sweetenest God-wise minds, for among kings thou didst appear pious in the struggle of courage and didst keep the laws of the heavenly King; wherefore the goodness of thy reign was pleasing to our King, and He showed thee forth to sovereigns as the radiance of name and glory.
Verse: I have exalted one chosen out of My people; I have found David My servant.
When thou, anointed by the grace of the Holy Spirit, didst ascend the royal throne given thee by the hand of thy Lord, thou wast a stranger to the temptations of the world and didst appear as an invincible champion and helper of piety; wherefore we who thus hope in thee find thee a helper, O glorious and courageous sovereign, and ever cry to thee, O all-honoured one: Rejoice, Tamar, radiant adornment of the Orthodox.
Verse: Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness.
Having received from God the honour and gift of kingship, thou didst put on the armour of piety and courage of spirit and didst shine forth in works of Orthodoxy; wherefore, as with Solomon, all the kings of the earth served thee and the rich among the people made supplication before thee; and we all proclaim thee as the mother of the Georgian people, and with one voice cry to thee in hymns of praise: Remember before Christ, whom thou didst long for, those who extol thee.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
O how great a glory did thy courage win for thee, O blessed one! For by raising and lifting up the Tree of Life thou didst overthrow the shrines of idols, and by the power of Christ didst destroy and trample all the error of godlessness, and didst bring multitudes of the heathen to the knowledge of God and establish them in Orthodoxy: now ask boldly for us enlightenment, sanctification and great mercy.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O Theotokos, hope of all who entreat thee, from thee we have hope, in thee we glory, on thee is all our hope: be our intercessor with Him who was born of thee, for our souls.
At Matins, “God is the Lord”; the troparion of the saint twice; Glory… Both now… the resurrectional Theotokion.
At the blessing of the loaves, the troparion of St Tamar twice, and “O Theotokos and Virgin”.
წმიდათა შორის საკჳრველო, კეთილმორწმუნეო მეფეო თამარ, რომელმან კლდეთა ზედა მაღალთა აღაშენენ საყდარნი სავედრებელად ღმრთისა, ლოცჳთა შენითა განაძლიერე მჴედრობანი ქრისტჱსმოყუარისა ქართველთა ერისანი, ხოლო მარჯუენითა შენითა დაამხუენ სპანი აგარეანთანი, მისითა მეოხებითა, ქრისტე ღმერთო, აცხოვნენ სულნი ჩუენნი.
After the first kathisma, the sessional hymn
Longing fervently for the Kingdom of heaven, thou didst serve the King and God of all with a spotless mind, O courageous sovereign, and, walking unswervingly in the middle of the royal way, didst guide the peoples towards the divine commandments, drive away the darkness of sin and enlighten the fulness of Christ's faithful; so now ask deliverance for our souls, O blessed Tamar, and guide us to walk the way of the commandments and to be counted worthy with thee of the Kingdom of heaven.
Glory… The same. Both now…, Theotokion.
Thou didst become the divine dwelling of the Word, O only all-holy Mother and Virgin, higher in purity than the angels: me, who more than all have become dust through my transgressions and am defiled in the flesh, cleanse by thine entreaty with the divine waters, and grant me, O holy one, great mercy.
რომელმან წარმართენ ძლევანი საკჳრველნი საჭურველითა ცხოველსმყოფელისა ჯუარისათა და მოსრენ ბანაკნი ქრისტჱს მბრძოლთანი, ითხოვე ქრისტჱს მიერ, შეურყეველად დაცვაჲ ეკლესიათაჲ, და მოცემად ჯუარითა ძლევაჲ ერსა ჩუენსა, და სიმტკიცჱ მორწმუნეთა და ამაღლებაჲ რქისა მათისაჲ, მწვალებელთა მათ ზედა, მშჳდობაჲ სოფელსა და მგალობელთა შენთა დიდი წყალობაჲ.
Glory… The same. Both now…, Theotokion.
Gideon prefigured thy conception, and David interpreted thy childbirth, O Theotokos: for the Word came down into thy womb as rain upon the fleece, and thou, O holy ground, didst bring forth without seed the salvation of the world, Christ our God, O thou full of grace.
Thou who didst spread the mercy of God like the sun over all the dwellers of thy land, and didst teach the Georgians to live in holiness and to walk in righteousness, grant us also by thy surpassing sweetness the understanding of our transgressions, and deliver us always from the snares of the devil and the guile of men, we who with faith call upon thy God-adorned and all-honoured name and magnify thee without ceasing.
Glory… The same. Both now…, Theotokion.
By thy divine childbearing, O holy one, thou didst renew the mortal nature of the earth-born, corrupted in the passions, and didst raise all from death to the life of incorruption; wherefore we duly call thee blessed, O Virgin praised above all.
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.
I have exalted one chosen out of My people.
Verse: Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness.
“Let every breath…” The Gospel according to John, chapter 10, verse 9 (The Lord said to the Jews who came to Him…); it ends at verse 17 (…and one shepherd…).
After Psalm 50,
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Through the intercessions of Tamar, the God-crowned king of kings, O Merciful One, blot out the multitude of our transgressions.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Through the intercessions of the Theotokos, O Merciful One, blot out the multitude of our transgressions.
“Have mercy on me, O God…”
The memory of Tamar, king of kings, hath shone upon us today like ointment poured forth, for she loved Christ, and established the peoples to serve God with fear and to be faithful to their lords, and raised on earth churches to Him who was crucified for our sake, and received in heaven the crown of hope.
(See the festal service for kings.)
Irmos: Having passed through the water as on dry land and escaped the evils of Egypt, the Israelite cried aloud: Let us sing to our Redeemer and our God.
O Master, Christ our good God, by the entreaties of the pious Queen Tamar deliver me from sin, which now holdeth dominion and reigneth within us, and strengthen me.
Thou who from thy youth didst grow in the divine Scriptures and wast watered by the unfailing stream of graces didst duly order the choirs of the virtues, and by thy good struggle didst multiply the fountain of mercy for those in need.
An understanding beyond comprehension was given thee from thy youth, and thou wast given wings by the love of God, for thou didst love God wholly, with all thy strength, and thy neighbour as thyself, O glorious servant of God, blessed Tamar.
Thou wast simple, humble, meek, merciful and kind, O blessed one, embraced by love, wise and understanding, adorned with every good thing and arrayed in virtues.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As thou art an invincible sovereign clothed in the struggle, all-praised champion of the faith, so be for us who praise thee a tower of strength, and fence us about by thine intercession.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O gate of the divine Dayspring, open to me the doors of repentance, and deliver me from the gates of death-bearing sin by thine intercession, O Theotokos.
Irmos: Be my strength, O Creator of heaven and of earth upon the waters; establish me, O Christ, upon the rock of the Church, for none is holy as Thou, O Lover of mankind.
Thy people keep the feast of thy memory and cry to thee, O holy Tamar: O thou illumined by divine grace, O most comely sovereign, look down upon us from heaven and deliver us from the billows of the world, that we may not be drowned.
By word and deed thou didst glorify the glorious God, and didst meditate greatly on His commandments day and night with a pure mind; and like a pillar of light thy radiant prayer went up to heaven, O blessed Queen Tamar: ask for us great mercy from Christ God.
O dwelling of holiness and root of every virtue, as thy prayer is offered before God, entreat Him to pour out peace upon the earth and joy in heaven.
I have no word worthy to adorn thy radiant virtues, O holy Tamar; but forgive this unworthy one, accept this small and feeble song, and in return grant me grace and mercy.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Be our refuge and helper, O most radiant sovereign, we who with faith and love ever honour thy joyful and all-blessed memory and magnify thee without ceasing.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
I have fallen away from a holy way of life, O all-holy one, and have become like the beasts, and am condemned in every way; O Mother of the Judge, deliver me from all condemnation and save me.
With the oil of gladness Thou didst anoint gloriously and most beautifully Thy companion, O Saviour, who, governing her kingdom with piety, kept well the whole law of life and duly fulfilled all the commandments of God; and, fenced about with prayer and fasting, she hated deceit and loved beauty, for the guardian angels of the God of heaven went before her and sheltered her all the days of her life.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Truly wondrous are thy zeal, thy love and thy piety, O right-believing Queen Tamar, for besides thy other virtues thou didst raise churches and monasteries on high rocks and in holy places to the glory of God and adorn them beautifully, and didst become a luminary brighter than the sun.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O unwedded Theotokos, holy Virgin, only intercessor of the faithful, shelter us from temptations and afflictions and deliver all of us, O spotless one, from evil besetting, for we lay all our hope upon thee; and save our souls by thy divine entreaty.
Irmos: I have heard, O Lord, the mystery of Thine ineffable dispensation; I have considered Thy works and confessed Thy Godhead.
Now the assembly of the faithful glorifieth the memory of thy struggles, and Metekhi and Vardzia boast of thy fervent prayers, O Queen Tamar, beholder of the glory of the Kingdom: by thy prayer make us also worthy to behold His glory.
O lamp of many lights of the radiances of God, the Sun of righteousness enlightened thee and showed thee forth as a luminary to the ends of heaven; now enlighten the darkness of our sins, we entreat thee, by thy holiness.
ვითარცა ახოვანმან მოღუაწემან და მძლე-მძლავრმან, აღიჭურვე მკლავნიცა მოწყუედად წინააღმდგომთა ღმრთისათა და ერიცა შენი, დედისა ღმრთისა წილ-ხდომილი და კურთხეული, უშიშად დაიცევ, ხოლო ქუეყანაჲ შენი განავრცენ და აღაყუავენ.
Thou who didst build these glorious monasteries and holy churches as a refuge for thy people didst receive in a manner befitting God the radiance of graces, and didst leave to thy people a God-inspired rule, O blessed Tamar.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Thou wast joined to the host of the heavenly powers, O most radiant sovereign, for thou didst serve God well and give Him rest by deeds pleasing to Him; now open to us the doors of mercy by thine intercession, we entreat thee.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Make my soul bright as the morning, darkened as it is by the multitude of transgressions, O thou who didst bear the Sun of righteousness, ever-Virgin.
Irmos: Enlighten us with Thy light, O Lord, and with Thy high arm grant from heaven Thy peace to us the faithful, O Lover of mankind.
Thou didst fence thyself about with the fear of God, O blessed one, and, completing thy life in holiness, didst order thy kingdom well above all kings and wise men, and didst magnify thy courage and nobility.
We fall down before thee on bended knee and entreat thee with uplifted hands, O all-sweet and longed-for sovereign: by thy sweet mercy deliver from the torments of hell those who entreat thee without ceasing.
Thou didst surpass all women in wisdom and understanding, O sovereign glorious in the struggle of courage; wherefore Christ the King magnified thee and granted thee eternal rest.
Ask, O holy one well-pleasing to God, 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.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
O renowned and longed-for sovereign, by thy surpassing sweetness deliver from every distress and from eternal condemnation those who stand before thine icon and worthily honour thy memory.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Intercede with thy Son, O Theotokos, that He may send down upon us a multitude of mercies, for thou hast boldness.
Irmos: I will pour out my prayer unto the Lord and will ever confess to Him my transgressions, for my soul is filled with evils and my strength hath drawn near to hell; and like Jonah I cry: Bring me up, O my God, from the abyss of sin.
ვითარცა ვარსკულავი ღმრთივბრწყინვალჱ გამოუჩნდი ღელვა-გვემულთა, სოფლისა ზღუასა შინა დანთქმულთა ექმენ მნათობ და ჯუარისა ძალსა მინდობილმან დაამდაბლენ ქედმაღლობაჲ უშჯულოთა მეფეთაჲ, ნეტარო თამარ.
Gathering an assembly of holy fathers, as a courageous champion, thou didst set right all the orders that had been loosened by the negligent, and didst magnify the true faith blessed by God, O wise sovereign.
Save me, who am dead through sins and tossed by the passions, and bring me to the divine haven of the commandments, O boast of women, for thou art a calm haven for the storm-tossed.
ნუ დაიჳწყებ ერსა შენსა, დედოფალო, და ღმრთივმისათუალველითა ლოცვითა შენითა ნუ მოიჴსენებ ძჳრსა ჩუენსა, არამედ დაშრიტე აღძრვაჲ უკეთურთაჲ და მწვალებელთა ენანი მოაუძლურენ, ხოლო მართლ-აღმსარებელთა აღამაღლენ გჳრგჳნი და მშჳდობაჲ მოჰმადლე ერსა ქრისტეანეთასა.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Thou who enlightenest the souls of those who with fear and compunction entreat thy holiness, and deliverest from bonds by thy prayer well-pleasing to God, accept also this our poor song, and ask for us from Christ God the remission of sins and mercy, O blessed Tamar.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Heal my heart, that is past healing, weak, held fast by evil and cruelly wounded, O Maiden; count me worthy of healing from thee, and save me who trust in thee by thine intercession, O all-holy one.
Thou didst gain heavenly wisdom and life, and thou shinest like the sun, and by the rays of thy deeds thou enlightenest all who with longing praise thy precious struggles, O thrice-blessed Queen Tamar: grant from heaven to us who love thee and honour thee with longing a prosperous life and deliverance from transgressions.
Thou didst clothe thyself, O glorious one, in mercy as in a robe of state and in good meekness as in purple, and the choirs of all the virtues were set upon thee as a crown, O renowned sovereign of the Georgians; with a perfect mind thou didst serve the Lord, and thus adorned didst enter the Kingdom, and thou blessest Christ God unto the ages.
Irmos: The Hebrew youths walked in the furnace, boldly trampling the fire, and, bedewed, they cried out and said: Blessed art Thou, O Lord God, unto the ages.
მცნებათა შენთა დაცვითა შჯულსა შენსა ერჩდა, მჴსნელო, ძლევამოსილი მეფჱ ქართველთაჲ, ამისთჳს უშჯულონი სპარაზენნი აღმოფხურნა და იტყოდა: კურთხეულ ხარ შენ, უფალო ღმერთო, უკუნისამდე.
O bestower of joy, treasury of wisdom, we, this assembly enlightened by thee, gather with joy on thy feast and glorify the Creator: Blessed art Thou, O Lord God, unto the ages.
Thou didst appear, O glorious servant of Christ, in thy beauty and understanding: make us also worthy to sing thy praises, we who kiss thine all-honoured icon and glorify Christ without ceasing: Blessed art Thou, O Lord God, unto the ages.
Appearing as a worker of the virtues, thou didst well shepherd thy people, the chosen of God, and didst take away from it the abomination of lawlessness; wherefore we send up to God a song of thanksgiving: Blessed art Thou, O Lord God, unto the ages.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Illumined by grace from on high, thou didst drive away the invisible gloom of darkness, and, having put to shame all the enemies of God, didst cry out with eagerness and longing: Blessed art Thou, O Lord God, unto the ages.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Having sinned by my own will and become enslaved to unseemly habits, I flee in despair to thy mercy: save me, O all-holy Theotokos.
Irmos: The Chaldean tyrant in his fury heated the furnace sevenfold for the youths, but, seeing them saved by a higher power, unharmed and untouched by the fire, he cried out to the Creator and Deliverer: Bless Him, ye youths; sing His praises, ye priests; ye people, supremely exalt Him unto the ages.
Entreat the Lord Almighty, O most glorious sovereign, for us, His unworthy servants, that with thee we may sing to the sweet King: sing His praises, ye priests; ye people, supremely exalt Him unto the ages.
Thou didst gain fasting and unceasing prayer, O courageous sovereign, vigil and standing like to the bodiless ones, and thus didst finish thy course and cry eagerly to God: sing His praises, ye priests; ye people, supremely exalt Him unto the ages.
Thou didst give no sleep to thine eyes nor slumber to thine eyelids, but, having cleansed thy soul by prayer and labour, thou wast nailed to the love of Christ and didst raise the song of victory: sing His praises, ye priests; ye people, supremely exalt Him unto the ages.
O gracious sovereign, meek, gentle and humble, courageous, valiant, nobly victorious and unshaken, mouth and tongue, soul, heart and mind praise thee, and with thee we sing to the Creator: sing His praises, ye priests; ye people, supremely exalt Him unto the ages.
Let us bless the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Lord.
Today, at the holy memory and the national festival of the great king, the faithful people and the assembly of the God-wise lovers of the feast make merry, for the shepherd, the intercessor and the fervent singer to God is a source of joy to the people: sing His praises, ye priests; ye people, supremely exalt Him unto the ages.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Enlighten, O Theotokos, the eyes of my soul, blinded by transgression; calm my mind and heart, troubled in manifold ways, I pray thee; save me who sing: Ye youths and priests, praise Him; ye people, supremely exalt Him unto the ages.
We praise, we bless, we worship the Lord, singing and supremely exalting Him unto all the ages.
Irmos: Heaven was amazed at this, and the ends of the earth marvelled, that God appeared bodily to men, and thy womb became more spacious than the heavens; therefore, O Theotokos, the ranks of angels and of men magnify thee, as is meet.
Thou rejoicest with the choirs of the angels, O all-blessed sovereign, for thou didst struggle courageously in the flesh as one without flesh, and didst enlighten the people entrusted to thee, who are called by the name of Christ, O holy Tamar.
Love and longing for lofty mercy clothed thee like a royal robe, O God-loving anointed of the Lord, for by mercy toward all thou didst gain the mercy of God, and in heaven thou didst receive the crown of hope.
Thou art adorned in every way with crown and radiance, with the royal sceptre, with purple and fine linen, O beautiful glory of sovereigns, and thou reignest with the King of hosts, for thou didst serve God well and give Him rest by deeds pleasing to Him.
At thy repose, O blessed one, thou didst bless all, and with gladness the assembly of angels received thy spotless soul, with whom thou delightest, O most renowned among sceptre-bearers, holy Queen Tamar, and intercedest for our souls.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Now thou gleamest brighter than the radiance of the sun, O sovereign made watchful by the grace of the Spirit: spread over us the radiance of thy prayer and make us partakers of thy light.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Thou didst conceive and bear the Maker and Lord of all, O Virgin, and behold, now thou standest at the right hand of the Father as Queen, O holy one; therefore we entreat thee: deliver me from the portion on the left in the day of judgment and number me with the sheep on the right.
O magnanimous, mighty and prosperous sovereign of the Georgians, riches and glory did not steal thee away, as of old they did many kings, but first thou didst seek the Kingdom of God, and all these things were added unto thee; and now thou art numbered in the radiance of the saints, and bestowest healing and enlightenment upon those who love thy holiness.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
The Master of creation beheld the obedience of thy mind, and, having illumined the understanding of thy soul with the knowledge of God, He made thee faithful in the world and showed thee forth brighter than the sun in the radiance of good works, O blessed sovereign, holy Tamar.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
ხატისა შენისა არა თაყუანის-მცემელნი, ძისა და ღმრთისა შენისა, ქალწულო, სარწმუნოებითა წმიდითა განსდევნენ, ვითარცა უღმრთონი, და გეჰენიასა შინა შთასთხიენ.
With joyful hearts let us run, O ye faithful, to the temple of God; let us behold and receive the grace of Tamar, sprung from the root of David and adorned with the bounty of Abraham; or let us sound the trumpet of hymns, let us leap and be glad, rejoicing in the all-holy feast of our holy sovereign, and let us magnify her most radiant and glorious memory.
Thou didst radiantly receive the grace given by God that enlighteneth souls, and didst instruct thy people in divine word and deed; so forget not us also, O sovereign, and grant us the wisdom to discern good from evil and the strength to forgive, that, bound in one mind by the love of God and of neighbour, we may walk in the way of our fathers and forefathers and ever call thee blessed, O thou truly worthy of praise.
As the lion is known by his claws, so thou, most glorious and blessed among kings, art known by thy countless and wondrous struggles, which the tongue of man cannot worthily recount; but the Church of Iberia rejoiceth and is glad in thy memory, and Qintsvisi and Betania boast and cry aloud by thy grace and glory; and we, beholding Vardzia and the caves hewn in the rock, fearing to keep silent, cry to thee with faith and hope, and magnify thee without ceasing in hymns of praise as the adorner of our land and the builder of churches and monasteries.
სუფევდი რაჲ სამეფოთა და სამფლობელოთა შინა შენთა სიმჴნითა და სიქველითა დავითიანითა, იქმენ უბრძნეს ბრძნისა მის სოლომონისა, რამეთუ არა შეშინდი შენ შიშისაგან მაცთურისა მტერისა, არამედ მშჳლდი და ისარნი ეშმაკთანი შემუსრენ ლოცჳთა მჴურვალითა, და ენაჲ გესლოვანი უღმრთოთა მწვალებელთაჲ დაჴსენ ძალითა საღმრთოჲთა, რომლისა მიერ აღამაღლე გჳრგჳნი მართლმადიდებელთაჲ და განადიდე სარწმუნოებაჲ ჭეშმარიტი და ღმრთივკურთხეული, ხოლო აწ იხარებს სული შენი წინაშე წმიდისა სამებისა და განიცდი დიდებასა გამოუთქუმელსა, ნეტარო თამარ.
Thou who didst pass thy glorious life on earth in humility, meekness and generosity, and didst govern with love for mankind our people entrusted to thee, forget not us also now, O blessed one, who are enslaved under oppression and bound by want and poverty; but turn God's wrath into mercy for us, grant that our evil life may be made pleasing to God, change sorrow into joy and receive ignorance into understanding, that in unity of faith and love we may confess thee as the guide and enlightener of our people and call thee blessed without ceasing.
By divine works thou didst become a temple of Christ and wast likened to the good shepherd, for thou didst receive the commandments of God as chosen ground, and didst bring forth the good fruit of good works, which nourisheth our mind by the likeness of thy life; wherefore thy people keep the feast of thy memory and cry to thee: Look upon us, O holy one well-pleasing to God, blessed Tamar, and ask of Christ God for those who sing thy praise deliverance from the fierce billows which the envious enemy raiseth against us; and by thy prayer loose the deceit of the devil, and make us worthy with thee of joy without end.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Rejoice, peerless great sovereign, who didst arm thyself with the weapon of the Cross, with the hope of faith and the love of steadfastness, and didst shatter every weapon of fierce war; rejoice, renewer and establisher of the radiant victories of David for the name of Christ; rejoice, unfailing fountain of Orthodoxy that watereth the ends of the earth; rejoice, boast of women, who by the divine Spirit didst teach children obedience to their parents and parents mercy to their beloved children; rejoice, thou who madest the radiance of Christian kings to shine and didst bind thy kingdoms together in one mind, O thrice-blessed holy Tamar: we who trust in thee ask of God peace and great mercy.
Both now…, Theotokion.
By Demetre, King of Georgia, of the Bagrationi line.
Thou art a vineyard newly blossomed, a goodly shoot planted in Eden, a fragrant poplar grown in paradise; God hath adorned thee, and none surpasseth thee, O praised one; thou art thyself the radiant sun.
The Great Doxology — sung in full.
The litany and the dismissal.
At the Liturgy.
At the Beatitudes, from the canon of the saint, Odes 3 and 6, on 8.
Prokeimenon, Tone 4: I have exalted one chosen out of My people; I have found David My servant.
Verse: Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness.
The Epistle: Romans, chapter 13, verse 1
Brethren, let every soul be subject unto the higher powers.
It ends at verse 11
Therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Alleluia, Tone 1
In Thy strength shall the king rejoice, O Lord, and in Thy salvation shall he exult greatly.
Verse: Lord, remember David, and all his meekness.
The Gospel according to John, chapter 10, verse 1
The Lord said to the Jews who came to Him…
It ends at verse 10
…and shall find pasture…
Communion hymn: The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.
Author and compiler: Tinatin Mchedlishvili
