Saint
Nicholas the Wonderworker
Beatitude Verses: Feast 4 from Ode 3, Canon 1; 4 from Ode 6, Canon 2
1 & 2. O blessed Nicholas, as thou art a true
disciple of the Master, thou savest those who have
recourse to thee from grievous misfortunes and bitter death.
3&4. Cleanse Thy servants, granting them
remission of sins, in that Thou art good, through the mediations before Thee of
Nicholas, Thy favorite, O greatly Merciful One.
5. Thou hast been shown to be a new Abraham, O
Nicholas, for, ever offering up the unbloody sacrifice, thou didst bring thy
mind to thy Master as if it were thine only-begotten son; wherefore, thou wast
blessed as a lover of strangers, O father, and becamest
the divine and immaculate habitation of the Trinity.
6. Thou workest strange and awesome miracles, O
Nicholas, interceding in thy speedy supplications for those in peril throughout
the earth and far out upon the sea, showing thyself to the faithful as a
physician of the sick, a feeder of the poor, and the namesake of victory over
the enemy.
7. Foreseeing things yet to come with the eye of thy
mind, thou didst fill all the ends of the earth with right doctrines, and,
declaring to us that the Son is consubstantial with the Father, thou didst set
at nought the savagery of Arius, O pillar of the Orthodox Faith, setting forth
thine honored corrections.
8. Wholly incarnate within thy womb, O all-pure one,
Christ God was born without seed; for, unable to endure the sight of the work
of His hands tormented by the deceiver, He came in the form of a servant to
deliver the human race.
Troparia
Tone 4:
The truth of things hath
revealed thee to thy flock as a rule of faith, /
an icon of meekness and a
teacher of temperance; /
therefore thou hast achieved the heights by humility, /
riches by poverty. /
O Father and Hierarch
Nicholas, /
intercede with Christ God
//
that our souls be saved.
Glory… 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 7th Tone: The
righteous man shall be glad in the Lord, and shall hope in Him.
Choir: The righteous man shall be glad in the Lord, and shall hope in Him.
Reader: Hearken, O
God, unto my prayer, when I make supplication unto Thee.
Choir: The righteous man shall be glad in the Lord,
and shall hope in Him.
Reader: The righteous man shall be glad in the Lord.
Choir: And shall hope in Him.
Reader: The Reading is
from the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Hebrews:
[Hebrews
13:17-21]
Reader: Alleluia in the 4th Tone.
Choir: Alleluia,
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: Thy priests shall be clothed with righteousness, and Thy
righteous shall rejoice.
Choir: Alleluia,
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: For the
Lord hath elected Zion, He hath chosen her to be a habitation for Himself.
Choir: Alleluia,
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Gospel [Luke 6:17-23]
Kontakia
Tone 3: In Myra, O
Saint, thou didst prove to be a minister of things sacred; /
for having fulfilled the Gospel of Christ, O righteous one, /
thou didst lay down thy life for thy people, /
and didst save the innocent from death. //
Wherefore, thou wast sanctified as a great initiate of the grace of God.
Glory… 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.