26th
Sunday after Pentecost / Venerable Martyr Stephen the New
Beatitudes
on 10 Octoechos 6; Martyr 4, from Ode 3.
1. Through food did the enemy lead Adam forth from
paradise; but by the Cross hath Christ led back to it the thief who cried: Remember me when Thou comest in Thy kingdom!
2. With Adam and the thief I worship Thy
sufferings and glorify Thy resurrection; and I cry out with a splendid
voice: Remember me, O Lord, when Thou
comest in Thy kingdom!
3. O Sinless One, of Thine own will Thou wast
crucified and placed in the Tomb, yet Thou didst arise as God, raising up with
Thyself Adam who crieth out: Remember me when Thou comest in Thy kingdom!
4. Raising up the temple of Thy body by Thy
resurrection on the third day, O Christ God, Thou didst raise up Adam and his
descendants who cry: Remember me when Thou comest in Thy kingdom!
5. Very early, the myrrh-bearing women arrived,
weeping, at Thy tomb, O Christ God; and they found an angel sitting there, clad
in white garments, who said: What seek ye?
Christ is risen! Lament no
longer!
6. When Thine apostles went to the mountain
whither Thou hadst commanded them to go, and saw Thee, O Savior, they worshipped
Thee; and Thou didst send them unto the nations, to teach and baptize them.
7. Thy mind, made beautiful through gazing upon
God, O father, was shown to be most comely, truly filled with every grace, and
partaking of divine splendor.
8. Venerating the precious icon of Christ and
her who gave birth to Him, O blessed one, with the power of the divine Spirit
thou didst despise the vile command of the impious emperor.
9.
The most mindless one, binding with iron fetters thee who dost possess a heart
of iron, sent thee to prison, O most blessed Stephen, as a preserver of the
dogmas of Christ.
10. From thee, the only pure one, was the
all-divine Word incarnate, as is known; and He hath saved from corruption us
who worship His divine condescension, in that He is full of loving-kindness.
Troparia
Tone 1: When
the stone had been sealed by the Jews, /
And the soldiers were
guarding Thine immaculate Body, /
Thou didst arise on the
third day, O Savior, /
granting life unto the
world. /
Wherefore, the Hosts of
the Heavens cried out to Thee, O Life-giver: /
Glory to Thy Resurrection,
O Christ. /
Glory to Thy kingdom. //
Glory to Thy dispensation,
O only Lover of mankind.
[Troparion of the
Glory… Tone 4: Struggling in fasting upon the mountain, /
thou
didst slay the noetic hordes of the enemy with the weapon of the Cross, /
O
most blessed one, /
and
didst manfully arm thyself again for martyrdom, /
slaying
Copronymus with the sword of the Faith. /
And
for both hast thou been crowned by God, //
O
ever-memorable venerable-martyr Stephen.
Both now… Tone
4: The mystery hidden from before the ages /
and unknown even to the angels, /
through thee, O Theotokos, hath been revealed to those on earth: /
God incarnate in unconfused union, /
Who willingly accepted the Cross for our sake /
and thereby raising up the first-formed man, //
hath saved our souls from death.
The Epistle
Reader: The Prokimenon in
the 1st Tone: Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according
as we have hoped in Thee.
Choir: Let Thy mercy, O
Lord, be upon us, according as we have hoped in Thee.
Reader: Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous; praise
is meet for the upright.
Choir: Let Thy mercy, O
Lord, be upon us, according as we have hoped in Thee.
Reader: In the 8th Tone:
The saints shall boast in glory, and they shall rejoice upon their beds.
Choir: The
saints shall boast in glory, and they shall rejoice upon their beds.
Reader: The Reading is
from the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Ephesians:
[Eph. 5:8-19
(§229); II Tim. 1:8-18 (§291)]
Reader: Alleluia in the 1st Tone: O God who givest avengement
unto me and hast subdued people under me.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: It is He that magnifieth the salvation of
His king and worketh mercy for His anointed, for David and for His seed unto
eternity.
Choir: Alleluia,
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: In the 8th
Tone: Blessed is the man
that feareth the Lord; in His commandments shall he greatly delight.
Choir: Alleluia,
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Gospel [Luke 13:10-17 (§71); Matt. 10:23-31 (§37)]
Kontakia
Tone 1: As
God, Thou didst arise from the tomb in glory, /
and Thou didst raise the
world together with Thyself. /
And mortal nature praiseth
Thee as God, /
and death hath vanished. /
And Adam danceth, O
Master, /
and Eve, now freed from
fetters, rejoiceth as she crieth out: /
Thou art He, O Christ, //
that grantest unto all
resurrection.
[Kontakion of the
Glory… Tone 3:
From a barren woman didst
thou, the offshoot of a root, /
grow forth, O venerable
father, /
namesake of the
protomartyr; /
and thou wast shown to be
a great instructor of monks, /
unafraid of the wrath of
the emperor /
who refused to venerate
the image of Christ. /
Wherefore, in dying thou
didst receive the crown of martyrdom, //
O Stephen.
Both now... Tone 6:
O protection of Christians
that cannot be put to shame, /
O mediation unto the
Creator unfailing, /
disdain not the suppliant
voices of sinners, /
but be thou quick, O good
one, to help us who in faith cry unto thee; /
hasten to intercession and
speed thou to make supplication, //
thou who dost ever
protect, O Theotokos, them that honor thee.