Month of May
THE
26th DAY
Commemoration of Our Father among the Saints
Augustine, Archbishop of Canterbury & Enlightener of the English
Composed by Reader Isaac Lambertson
At Vespers
On
"Lord, I have cried ...", these stichera of the holy hierarch,
in Tone II: Spec. Mel.: "When from the Tree ..." -
Ye Christian people, clap your hands with gladness today, and with hymns
and psalms celebrate the splendid memorial of Augustine the holy hierarch,
the great apostle to the English, who by his peerless preaching and miracles
brought myriads to believe in the one true God; and who having borne the
easy yoke of Christ upon his shoulders, likewise raised up at Canterbury
the Cross of the Lord, wherein all England doth boast with glory.
Sicily was hallowed by thy birth, O blessed one, and Rome was sanctified
by thy monastic struggles; Gaul exulted exceedingly, receiving the impress
of thy beautiful feet; but England hath been gladdened more than all in
thy preaching: for, leaving everything for the sake of Christ, like a
new apostle thou didst proclaim His name among the nations, and didst
win for Him a new flock. Wherefore, O Augustine, the Holy Church ever
honoureth thy sacred memory.
Sent forth by the most holy Gregory to toil in a new and tare-filled field,
with those with thee thou grewest faint of heart because of the magnitude
and perils of the task, O holy Augustine, and thou didst return to Rome
in trepidation; but the blessed hierarch bade thee be of good cheer, and
sent thee back to thy labours, mindful that no man who putteth his hand
to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of heaven.
Glory ... : Idiomelon, the same tone -
When mighty Augustus reigned supreme in Rome, the Word of God came and
dwelt among men, desiring to redeem them from slavery to death and sin;
and when in later times the most blessed Gregory presided over the Church
of Rome, he was filled with pity and compassion on seeing Angles and Saxons
as slaves, and greatly desired to redeem their immortal souls for Christ
his Master: wherefore, he sent the humble Augustine as a shepherd for
them, to free them from Satan's bitter servitude and to make them children
of the Most High, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and
the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe the saving precepts of Christ,
that, deified by vision divine, they might dwell forever amid the bliss
of paradise. Great is Thy mercy, O Thou Who lovest mankind! Glory be to
Thee!
Now & ever ... , from the Pentecostarion; or
theotokion, or this stavrotheotokion, in the same tone: Spec. Mel.: "When
from the Tree ..." -
The light of the sun and moon dimmed, obscured by the noetic Light Who
hung naked upon the Cross; for that which is lesser is ever vanquished
by the greater, and the lower giveth place to the higher. "How then
can it not be fitting for perceptible radiance to hide itself before the
radiant Christ?" the all-pure one asked the worthy bodies of light,
when she gazed upon Thee.
Aposticha from the Pentecostarion or the Octoechos;
and Glory ... , for the holy hierarch: Idiomelon, in Tone IV -
As thy boat was troubled by the waves of the sea when thou didst traverse
the stormy Channel, O Augustine, so was thy soul buffeted by the billows
of temptations; for Satan, the liar and father of lies, desiring to hold
men in vile subjection, sought to turn thee from thy holy purpose. But,
full of the power of the Almighty, O ever-memorable one, thou didst rebuke
and expel him forthwith, unto the salvation of those deceived by his falsehoods.
Now & ever ... , from the Pentecostarion; or
theotokion, or stavrotheotoion, in the same tone: Spec. Mel.: "As
one valiant among the martyrs ..." -
When she beheld Thee nailed to the Cross, O Lord, the Ewe-lamb, Thy Mother,
marvelled and cried out: "What is this that I see, O my Son most
desired? Thus art Thou repaid by the disobedient and iniquitous assembly,
which enjoyed Thy many miracles. But glory to Thine ineffable condescension,
O Master!"
Troparion of the holy hierarch, in Tone IV -
Awed by the grandeur and majesty of the holy Augustine, with reverence
let us honour him with hymns of praise; for, filled with the effulgence
of grace divine, at the behest of the glorious Gregory h e brought the
light of Christ to the English people. Wherefore, he dwelleth now in splendour
with all the choirs of the saints and angels of God.
At Matins
At "God is the Lord ...": If the feast
fall within the period of Pentecost, the troparion of the Pentecostarion,
twice; Glory ... , that of the hierarch; Now & ever ... , as prescribed
by the Pentecostarion. But if the feast fall after the Pentecost period,
the troparion of the hierarch, twice; Glory ... , Now & ever ... :
Theotokion.
Canon from the Pentecostarion, or those from the Octoechos; and that of
the saint, with 4 troparia, the acrostic whereof is "Praise ye the
august Augustine in song", in Tone II -
Ode I
Irmos: At the parting of the waters Israel
crossed over with dryshod feet; and they showed forth the Cross and burial
by their entry, and the divine resurrection by their issuing forth, chanting
in praise a hymn of victory unto the Deliverer.
Pardon mine iniquities, O merciful Deliverer, and disdain not the meagre
praises I offer Thee for the sake of the holy Augustine, who fearlessly
proclaimed thy suffering and resurrection to the heathen and now chanteth
a hymn of victory.
Repentance and atonement didst thou master under the tutelage of the holy
hierarch Gregory in his Monastery of the Holy Apostle Andrew, O blessed
Augustine; wherefore, he sent thee to teach Christian doctrine and the
virtues to the English
.
All Sicily boasteth in thy birth, O glorious Augustine, and the great
city of Rome boasteth that thou didst sojourn therein. But more than these
hath England been gladdened exceedingly by thy preaching and courageous
witness for Christ.
Theotokion: In songs and hymns let us offer
laudation to the all-pure Mother of God and Theotokos, O ye faithful,
crying with the celestial herald: Rejoice, O thou who art full of the
grace of God! The Lord is with thee, now and for all eternity!
Ode III
Irmos: O Christ God, Who didst stretch out
heaven like a tent and found the dry land upon the waters at Thy divine
behest: in the Orthodox Faith establish me who cry aloud: There is holy
save Thee!
Sent forth by the holy Dialogist, O Augustine, the members of thy company
were affrighted on hearing of the perils which confronted them; yet, encouraged
by the great Gregory, thou didst cry: There is none holy save Thee, O
Lord!
Even though thou wast daunted by fearsome rumours, yet didst thou maintain
thy firm commitment to thy holy task, O thou who art most rich, and with
thy company of two score didst boldly traverse Gaul to reach the land
of the Angles and Saxons.
"Ye people of Cé, why do ye call us gods?" cried Augustine;
"We are men of like passions with you, even though ye have seen the
resplendent effulgence of the true God illumine us. Believe on Him alone,
and ye too will be enlightened!"
Theotokion: Eagerly do we hasten to thy miraculous
icons and shrines, O all-pure Maiden, for there do we draw forth strength
of spirit and healing of body and soul, as from ever-flowing springs and
fountains; wherefore, we call thee blessed.
If the feast fall within the period of Pentecost,
the kontakion & ikos of the holy hierarch are chanted here. But if
the feast fall after the Pentecost period, the kontakion & ikos of
the holy hierarch are instead chanted after Ode VI.
Kontakion of the holy hierarch, in Tone VI -
Like Paul, Christ's chosen vessel, thou didst journey afar, preaching
the glad tidings of thy heavenly Master, O Augustine. Wherefore, taking
ship in Gaul, thou didst sail to England, O great hierarch, where, in
obedience to the Lord, thou didst bring the heathen people to knowledge
divine, baptizing them in the name of the Holy Trinity and making them
children of the light and grace.
Ikos: The great city of Canterbury exulteth
exceedingly, having as its guardian and protector the most eminent Augustine,
who ever standeth in heaven before the throne of the Most High, offering
up supplications without ceasing in behalf of the English nation, and
begging pity and mercy of Him for all of us Orthodox Christians, who with
faith venerate his monastic struggles and apostolic labours, and who,
filled with gladness, entreat him earnestly as a father in the Faith,
since through baptism we are become children of the light and grace.
Sessional hymn of the holy hierarch, in Tone VIII:
Spec. Mel.: "Of the Wisdom ..." -
All the cities of England adorn themselves today for the solemn memorial
of the holy hierarch Augustine; for through him was the light of the peerless
Christian Faith brought unto them, and by him were worthy and godly men
made bishops to instruct them in the ways of piety. Wherefore, let all
the lands of the English rejoice today and give thanks to God, that He
hath bestowed upon them so great a guide to lead them to His city on high
by the straight and narrow path of His righteousness.
Glory ... , Now & ever ... : Sessional hymn
from the Pentecostarion; or this theotokion, in the same tone & melody
-
Let us hymn the portal and ark of heaven, the all-holy mountain, the radiant
cloud, the bush unburned, the noetic paradise, the restoration of Eve,
the great treasure of the whole world, for within her was the salvation
of the world and the remission of the ancient transgressions wrought.
Wherefore, let us cry out to her: Entreat thy Son, that He grant remission
of transgressions unto those who piously worship thy most holy Offspring.
Stavrotheotokion -
The ewe-lamb, beholding the Lamb, Shepherd and Deliverer upon the Cross,
exclaimed, weeping, and bitterly lamenting, cried out: "The world
rejoiceth, receiving deliverance through Thee, but my womb doth burn,
beholding Thy crucifixion, which Thou endurest in the loving-kindness
of Thy mercy. O long-suffering Lord, Thou abyss and inexhaustible well-spring
of mercy, have pity and grant remission of offences unto those who with
faith hymn Thy divine sufferings!"
Ode IV
Irmos: In his foresight, the prophet, the
initiate of Thy mysteries, was filled with awe at Thine advent, which
he foretold, crying: The earth is full of Thy praise; for as God Thou
hast not disdained our poverty, but hast come and saved us!
The turbulent Channel didst thou safely, traverse, the angels of God guiding
thy boat from Gaul to the shore afar off, where thou didst come to land
at Ebbsfleet in Kent, which received the imprint of thine apostolic foot,
O godly father Augustine.
"Hither have we been sent, O king, by the successor of the Apostles,"
said Augustine to King Ethelbert, "that thou and thy benighted people
might see the true light of Christ, the great Messiah, Who hath come and
saved us."
Exclaiming psalms and sacred hymns, in procession the holy Augustine and
his companions went forth to greet the king, bearing before them the Cross
of the Saviour and His precious icon; and, ineffably moved, the ruler
granted them shelter and sustenance.
Theotokion: All creation rejoiceth in thee,
O most immaculate Lady; for the preëternal Logos, disdaining not
our poverty, made His abode within thy material womb, taking human flesh
of thy precious blood, that He might save us.
Ode V
Irmos: Washed clean of the poison of the
dark and vile enemy by the cleansing of the Spirit, we have set out upon
a new path which leadeth to joy inaccessible, which only they attain whom
God hath reconciled with Himself.
Utterly forsaking his false gods, King Ethelbert was moved to repentance,
and on the great feast of Pentecost received holy baptism at thy hands,
O Augustine, emerging, reconciled with God, from the layer of regeneration.
Gladly did the holy prelate Virgil of Arles consecrate thee a bishop at
the behest of the great hierarch of Rome, O Augustine, and by his sacred
prayers thou didst eagerly return to thine assigned field, where thou
didst bring countless souls to Christ.
Untold myriads of Saxons didst thou instruct in the Faith and cleanse
of their sins in the holy font of baptism, O most blessed one, on the
great feast of the Nativity of the Lord; and they were like good seed
cast upon fertile soil, producing a rich harvest.
Theotokion: Seeing thee, a virgin, bearing
the Creator of all things within thee, O pure and all-immaculate one,
Joseph was at a loss; but the angel of the Lord told him not to fear,
but to cherish and guard thee, O all-holy one, and thy divine Offspring.
Ode VI
Irmos: Lead me up from the abyss, Jonah cried
to Thee. He is an image of burial and resurrection, which Thou hast given
us, O almighty Saviour.
The king gave thee the old Church of Saint Martin, O sacred one, wherein
thou didst celebrate the divine Eucharist, that Christians might partake
of the Body and Blood of the almighty Saviour.
All his might did the devil exert to prevent thee from turning the temple
of false gods into a Christian church, O Augustine; but at thy prayers
he was utterly expelled.
Unto the great martyr Pancratius didst thou dedicate this new church,
O sacred hierarch; and nigh unto it thou didst found the great Monastery
of the Preëminent Apostles.
Theotokion: Greatly - yea, beyond measure
- dost thou surpass all the incorporeal beings in glory and majesty, O
Virgin Theotokos; for thou ever standest at thy Son's right hand.
If the feast fall within the Pentecost period, the
kontakion & ikos from the Pentecostarion are chanted here; otherwise,
the kontakion & ikos of the holy hierarch (see after Ode III) are
chanted at this point.
Ode VII
Irmos: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers,
Who of old extinguished the thunderous furnace and bedewed the children
with by an outpouring of the Spirit.
Upon the monastic virtues and Orthodox doctrine didst thou found thy soul,
as upon firm rock, O glorious Augustine; wherefore, in chastity and humility
thou wast exalted.
Suffering from blindness and paralysis, a beggar besought healing of thee,
O holy one, and thou didst straightway cure him by the grace of God which
poured forth from thee.
The signs and wonders poured out through thee bore true witness to the
Christian Faith; wherefore, multitudes became children of the Holy Trinity
through thee, O saint.
Theotokion: In thee did the divine Word come to dwell, at the Father's
behest and through the outpouring of the Spirit, O Bride of God; wherefore,
we hymn thee forever.
Ode VIII
Irmos: The inseparable children of the Trinity,
spurning the beauty of the image, and rejecting its soul-destroying deception,
bedewed from heaven cried out to Christ the hymn: Bless the Lord, all
ye works of the Lord!
Neither beatings nor mockery dissuaded thee from preaching in Dorset,
O holy Augustine, and as thou didst pray, they who abused thee were smitten
with sores and boils, until they cried: Bless the Lord, all ye works of
the Lord!
Entering an unpeopled region, O beneficent Augustine, thou didst behold
a glorious vision of the Lord at Cernel, such as Moses beheld in the wilderness
of Sinai; and like him thou wast filled with surpassing radiance.
In thirst didst thou petition the Saviour, and He caused a fountain of
pure water to spring forth for thee in that place, as of old He provided
for the children of Israel during their flight from Pharaoh, O eminent
one.
Theotokion: Nazareth exulteth as thine earthly
residence, O Virgin; Jerusalem rejoiceth as the place of thy nativity
and thy glorious repose; and the Garden of Gethsemane is filled with gladness
by the presence of thy tomb.
Ode IX
Irmos: What is this great and all-glorious
mystery within thee, O daughter of Adam and Mother of the Most High? With
unceasing hymnody we, the faithful, magnify thee, the Theotokos, as the
only bridge to God for the faithful, which we cross without stumbling.
Salvific were all thy works, O glorious one; for, rejecting all vainglory
and pride, thou didst walk humbly in thy ways, bearing the glad tidings
of the word of God to those sitting in darkness, that they might cross
over to the true Light.
Over the length and breadth of the island realms of the Angles, Saxons
and Jutes didst thou journey, O saint, bearing the light of grace to those
who languished in the shadow of death; and they cast away their idols
and embraced the Saviour.
Now let the Holy Church celebrate in England with hymns of praise the
repose of the godly Augustine; for, a faithful husbandman of the divine
vineyard, he laboured greatly for his heavenly Master, and hath received
from Him a rich reward.
Theotokion: "Great things hath the Mighty
One done to me; and holy is His name!" the all-immaculate Virgin
cried out. Wherefore, according to her word, may His mercy be upon all
of us who fear Him, from generation to generation.
Exapostilarion of the holy hierarch: Spec. Mel.:
"Hearken, ye women ..." -
Hearken, ye Christian peoples, and give glory unto the Almighty, Who with
His omnipotent right hand hath crowned the wondrous athlete Augustine
with a never-fading wreath; for he ran the good race and fought the good
fight until the end: wherefore, he abideth in heaven amid splendour divine.
Glory ... , Now & ever ... , from the Pentecostarion;
or this Theotokion -
With sublime effulgence the light of grace shone forth through thy birthgiving,
hath illumined the whole world with its rays and utterly destroyed the
cruel princes of darkness, O all-pure Theotokos, thou boast of the angelic
hosts and salvation of all men, who magnify thee continually, as thou
didst foretell.
Aposticha from the Pentecostarion or Octoechos; and Glory ... , of the
holy hierarch, Idiomelon, in Tone VIII -
Come let us honour the ever-memorable hierarch of Christ, the great high
priest of the Christian Church, the peer of the holy disciples of the
Lord, the great Augustine, enlightener of the English peoples. For, full
of apostolic zeal, he went forth boldly to bring the glad tidings of salvation
to brethren whom he knew not; and like a good shepherd he left behind
the ninety and nine to seek the lambs lost in the mountains of pagan falsehood.
These he found by mighty labours and toils; and as a true pastor, and
not a hireling, he brought them back to the fold of Christ the Chief Shepherd,
entering with gladness into the joy of his Lord.
Now & ever ... , from the Pentecostarion; or
theotokion, or this stavrotheotokion: Spec. Mel.: "O all-glorious
wonder ..." -
"What is this sight which I see, which mine eyes behold, O Master?
Thou Who upholdest all creation hast been lifted up upon a Tree, and Thou
diest, imparting life unto all!" weeping, the Theotokos said when
she beheld the God and man, Who had shone forth from her ineffably, suspended
upon the Cross.
At Liturgy
Prokimenon of the holy hierarch, in Tone I -
My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall be of
understanding.
Stichos: Hear this, all ye nations; give
ear, all ye that inhabit the world.
Epistle to the Hebrews, § 318
[Heb. 7: 26-8: 2]
Brethren: Such a High Priest became us, Who is holy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not
daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own
sins, and then for the people's: for this He did once, when He offered
up Himself. For the law maketh men high priests who have infirmity; but
the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, Who is
consecrated for evermore. Now of the things which we have spoken this
is the sum: We have such a High Priest, Who is set on the right hand of
the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a Minister of the sanctuary,
and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
Alleluia of the holy hierarch, in Tone II -
Stichos: The mouth of the righteous shall
meditate wisdom, and his tongue shall speak of judgment.
Stichos: The law of God is in his heart,
and his steps shall not be tripped.
Gospel according to John, § 36
[Jn. 10: 9-16]
The Lord said to the Jews who came to Him: "I am the door: by Me
if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find
pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:
I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more
abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life
for the sheep. But he who is a hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own
the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth:
and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth,
because he is a hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good
Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine. As the Father knoweth
Me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down My life for the sheep. And
other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring,
and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd."
Communion verse of the holy hierarch -
In everlasting remembrance shall the righteous be, he shall not be afraid
of evil tidings.
