Menaion of the Orthodox Church

The 11th Day of the Month of April

Commemoration of the Holy Hieromartyr Antypas, Bishop of Pergamum

At Vespers

On “Lord, I have cried…”, these stichera, in Tone IV, Special Melody: “Thou hast given a sign…”

O Antypas, thou wast a sacred martyr, a right acceptable hierarch, a true shepherd, a steadfast pillar, a foundation of piety, a bulwark of the Church, the adornment of hierarchs, a well-spring of miracles; wherefore, we piously bless thee with hymns and celebrate thy divine festival today.

As an excellent helmsman, O glorious one, thou didst steer the ship of the Church with the rudder of thy words, sailing over the waves of falsehood without being drowned by the most vile machinations of the alien one; and having suffered mightily and vanquished the enemy, thou didst pass over to Christ, Whose sufferings thou didst emulate.

Thy relics ever pour forth myrrh, O divinely inspired hierarch, and thou wast truly the sweet fragrance of Christ, setting at nought the foul stench of falsehood by thy patient opposition, as an athlete, O martyr. Wherefore, we pray: Having acquired boldness before the Lord, be thou mindful of those who remember thee with faith.

Glory…, Now and ever…: Theotokion

Rain down upon me the depths of thy mercy, O Mistress, and as thou art merciful, O Maiden, give drink to my heart, which is consumed by the burning heat of the passions. Cause it unceasingly to exude drops of compunction, I pray, O pure one, that thereby I may be vouchsafed the consolation which those who weep sincerely shall receive.

Stavrotheotokion

Beholding Christ, Who loveth mankind, crucified, His side pierced by a spear, the all-pure one cried out, weeping: “What is this, O my Son? How have the thankless people rewarded thee for the good things Thou didst do for them? And dost Thou hasten to leave me childless, O most Beloved? I marvel at Thy voluntary crucifixion, O Compassionate One!”

Troparion, in Tone IV

As thou didst share in the ways of the apostles and didst occupy their throne, thou didst find thine activity to be a passage to division vision, O divinely inspired one. Wherefore, ordering the word of truth, thou didst suffer for the Faith even to the shedding of thy blood. O hieromartyr Antypas, entreat Christ God, that our souls be saved.

Or this Troparion, in the same tone

Thou didst demolish the false idols, O Antypas, and, trampling the power of the devil underfoot, didst boldly confess Christ in the face of those who fought against God. Wherefore, dwelling in the highest with the ranks of the angels, sending up glorification to the Master of all, thou offerest supplication of thanksgiving for us, granting us the grace of healing: wherefore, we honor thee. O hieromartyr Antypas, entreat Christ God, that He save our souls.

At Matins

Canon of the hieromartyr, the acrostic whereof is: “I honor Antypas, radiant among the martyrs”, the composition of Joseph, in Tone IV

Ode I

Irmos: Having traversed the depths of the Red Sea with dryshod feet, Israel of old vanquished the might of Amalek in the wilderness by Moses’ arms stretched out in the form of the Cross.

Illumined by the radiance of the grace of the threefold Sun, O martyr Antypas, illumine thou those who celebrate this, thy radiant feastday, delivering us from the darkness of the passions.

The Word of God showed thee forth as a true witness of His sufferings, O most wise one, who dost destroy impiety and vanquish all the wickedness of the demons.

Having mortified the wisdom of thy flesh with much asceticism, thou wast arrayed in the sacred vesture of the divine priesthood; and thou didst offer in unbloody sacrifice Him Who became mortal for thy sake.

Theotokion: With the radiance of thy light illumine my heart, which is stuck fast in the night of passions and temptations, O most immaculate Maiden who ineffably shone forth the Sun of righteousness upon all.

Ode III

Irmos: Thy Church rejoiceth in Thee, O Christ, crying aloud: Thou art my strength, O Lord, my refuge and my consolation!

Thou didst pour forth rivers of doctrine, giving drink to the faithful, and didst dry up the turbulent waters of polytheism.

Thou didst fell the might of the persecutors with the might of Christ, O blessed one, didst suffer patiently and hast received the crown of martyrdom.

Thou didst enlighten those who worshipped demons to worship the true God Who, in the richness of His compassion, bore mortal flesh, O venerable one.

Theotokion: Thou gavest birth to the Deliverer Who delivereth men from the captivity of the enemy, O pure one. Wherefore, we piously glorify thee.

Sessional hymn, in Tone III, Special Melody: “Of the divine Faith…”

Enkindled with the divine coals of the love of God, O martyr Antypas, thou didst quench the flame of ungodliness; and, thrust into a heated cauldron, thou didst depart into never-waning Light. O venerable father, entreat Christ God, that He grant us remission of sins.

Glory…, Now and ever…: Theotokion

Without separating Himself from the divine Essence when He took flesh in thy womb, the one Lord remained God though He became man; and even after thy birthgiving He preserved thee, His Virgin Mother, as immaculate as thou wast before giving birth. Him do thou earnestly beseech, that He grant us great mercy.

Stavrotheotokion

The unblemished ewe-lamb of the Word, the incorrupt Virgin Mother, beholding Him Who sprang forth from her without pain suspended upon the Cross, cried out, lamenting maternally: “Woe is me, O my Child! How is it that Thou dost suffer willingly, desiring to deliver man from the indignity of the passions?”

Ode IV

Irmos: Beholding Thee lifted up upon the Cross, O Sun of righteousness, the Church stood rooted in place, crying out as is meet: Glory to Thy power, O Lord!

The opposition of the all-iniquitous did not shake the pillar of thy heart, O martyred passion-bearer; wherefore, afire with zeal for the Faith, thou didst shown thyself to be mightier than fire.

Awakening those held fast in the slumber of impiety, O all-lauded one, by the teachings of the Holy Spirit thou didst raise them up to an understanding of true knowledge.

Thou didst bring low the loftiness of the demons, yearning for God with exaltation, O Antypas, deified by divine ascents and known to be a God-seer.

Theotokion: Thou wast preserved after giving birth as thou wast before birthgiving, O incorrupt Virgin Mother; for thou gavest birth to the Creator of all, Who through thee voluntarily took upon Himself a human body.

Ode V

Irmos: Thou hast come, O my Lord, as a light into the world: a holy light turning from the darkness of ignorance those who hymn Thee with faith.

Thou didst ascend the mountain of the virtues, O blessed one, didst enter into the understanding of uttermost darkness, and didst converse with God.

With the nets of thy words, O holy hierarch, thou didst draw lost men forth from the abyss of ungodliness, and didst save them by grace.

Thou gavest thy body over as food for the fire, O holy hierarch, richly receiving divine dew from God.

Theotokion: The Lord, Who is all-divine in godly form, assuming my form made His abode within thy womb, O most immaculate one.

Ode VI

Irmos: I will sacrifice to Thee with a voice of praise, O Lord, the Church crieth unto Thee, cleansed of the blood of demons by the blood which, for mercy’s sake, flowed from Thy side.

Having crucified thy members by asceticism and struggled in fasting, O blessed Antypas, thou wast crowned with the struggles of martyrdom, which thou didst undergo with firmness of mind.

Thou didst stand before the tribunal, preaching the incarnation of Him Who abased Himself for thy sake, Who stood before the tribunal of Pilate and hath slain the enemy by the Cross, O passion-bearer.

The Church, wherein thy patient body lieth, O blessed martyr, is the healing of the sick and emitteth the divine effulgence of the gifts of the Spirit.

Theotokion: Holy is Jesus, O Virgin Maiden, Who made His abode in thy womb, Who resteth in the saints and glorifieth those who glorify Him with true faith.

Kontakion, in Tone IV, Special Melody: “Having been lifted up…”

Thou didst occupy the throne of the apostles and wast the adornment of holy hierarchs, O blessed and sacred Antypas, and having been glorified in martyrdom thou hast shone forth like the sun, illumining all; and thou didst destroy the deep night of ungodliness. Wherefore, we honor thee as a godly hieromartyr and giver of healings.

Ode VII

Irmos: The children of Abraham in the Persian furnace, afire with love of piety more than with the flame, cried out: Blessed art Thou in the temple of Thy glory, O Lord!

Emulating the three young children, O wise Antypas, thou didst stand in the midst of a cruelly heated brazen vessel as they did in the midst of a furnace, crying: Blessed art Thou in the temple of Thy glory, O Lord!

That thou mightest be shown to be a partaker of the Light, enlightened by God thou didst pass through the darkness of the evil demons, crying: Blessed art Thou, O God my Lord!

Through the activity of the Spirit, O martyr Antypas, thou dost assuage the divers sufferings of men, emulating the sufferings of Christ, and crying: Blessed art Thou, O God my Lord!

Theotokion: The Word, Who with the Father is unoriginate, was truly incarnate of thy virginal blood, O Maiden, setting aright our broken state. Blessed art thou among women, O all-immaculate Mistress!

Ode VIII

Irmos: Stretching forth his hands, Daniel shut the lions’ mouths in the pit; and the young lovers of piety, girded about with virtue, quenched the power of the fire, crying out: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord!

Now thou beholdest, not in reflections or indistinct images, but face to face, transcending all shadows, the ultimate of good things, crying out joyously to Him Who hath glorified thee: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord!

O all-wise Antypas, the iniquitous consumed thee with fire as a lamb of the flock of Christ the Chief Shepherd, who tended well the sheep of God; and thou didst chant: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord!

Thou didst set the feet of thy heart firmly upon the rock of the divine commandments, and the winds of cruel torments and the tempests of blandishments did not shake thee, O all-wise Antypas, who chanted: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord!

Theotokion: As the Mother of the Creator of all, as the divine temple of the Almighty, as the ground unploughed which produced the uncultivated Grain, O Virgin Mother, preserve the faithful who cry: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord!

Ode IX

Irmos: Christ, the Chief Cornerstone uncut by human hands, Who united the two disparate natures, was cut from thee, the unquarried mountain, O Virgin. Wherefore, in gladness we magnify thee, O Theotokos.

As a hierarch thou didst finish the sacred race, most sacredly reaching the end of thy most sacred life, O holy hierarch, and, rejoicing, thou didst run to Him Who was beloved of thee, O most sacred martyr Antypas.

Being comely in aspects of the virtues, O most blessed one, thou wast sanctified by the glory of martyrdom, and didst pass over to the beautiful Lord, O God-pleaser, deified by communion with Him.

Afire with love for the Lord, O martyr Antypas, thou didst eagerly enter the heated vessel, and, wholly consumed, O father, thou didst offer thyself to God as a pleasing sacrifice.

The sacred shrine of thy sacred relics, O blessed one, poureth forth the myrrh of healings, dispelling the fœtid passions and manifestly perfuming those who glorify thy memory.

Theotokion: Bearing in thine arms Christ Who beareth all things in His hand, O pure one, entreat Him as God and Master, that He take pity upon us who ever confess thee to be the pure Theotokos, O immaculate one.