Menaion of the Orthodox Church

The 6th Day of the Month of February

Commemoration of Our Father among the Saints, Bucolus, Bishop of Smyrna

If this day fall outside the Great Fast, the service of the Afterfeast of the Meeting and of the saint. But if this day fall within the Great Fast, then only that of the saint.

At Vespers

On “Lord, I have cried…”, the stichera of the feast, in Tone I, Special Melody: “Joy of the ranks of heaven…”

The Creator of all, our Deliverer, is borne into the temple by His Virgin Mother; wherefore, the elder, receiving Him, cried out with joy: “Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, O Good One, as Thou hast willed!”

Symeon, taking from the Virgin into his arms Him Who was begotten before all the ages, cried out: “I have beheld, O Savior, the light of Thy glory which shineth upon the ends of the earth! Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, O Good One, for I have seen Thee today!”

Symeon, taking in his arms the Savior Who in the fullness of time was born for the salvation of men, cried out, rejoicing: “I have seen the Light of the gentiles, the Glory of Israel! Now lettest Thou me depart from things here, by Thy command, as Thou hast said, in that Thou art God.

And these stichera of the holy hierarch, in Tone VI, Special Melody: “On the third day…”

Shining with the light of beneficent virtues, O most sacred one, thou wast mystically set as a light upon the candlestand of the divine Church, illumining it with thy sacred teachings, O father.

The Holy Spirit, sanctifying thee, O sacred Bucolus, through thee imparteth sanctity, enlightenment and deliverance to those who approach with faith, O God-bearer.

Preaching the utter goodness of our God, O wise one, thou dost bless afflicted people with grace, leading them to the Savior, as a most sacred priest.

Glory…, Now and ever…, of the feast, in Tone V

Examine ye the Scriptures, as Christ our God said in the Gospels, for therein do we find Him born, wrapped in swaddling bands, laid in a manger, fed with milk, receiving circumcision, and carried by Symeon, not in a semblance or guise, but appearing in truth to the world. To Him do we cry out: O preëternal God, glory be to Thee!

But if this day fall within the Great Fast: Glory…, Now and ever…: Theotokion; or this Stavrotheotokion, in the same tone & melody

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

At the Aposticha, these stichera of the feast, in Tone II, Special Melody: “O house of Ephratha…”

Bearing the Creator and Master as a Babe in her arms, the pure and all-pure Virgin entereth the temple.

Stichos: Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, O Master, according to Thy word.

Receive, O Symeon, the Lord of glory as thou wast told by the Holy Spirit. For, lo! He is come!

Stichos: A Light of revelation to the gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.

O good God, now have mine eyes beheld Thy promise! O Thou Who lovest mankind, speed thou to release me, Thy servant!

Glory…, Now and ever…, the composition of Germanus, in Tone V

The Ancient of days, having become a babe, is borne into the temple by the Virgin Mother, fulfilling the prescription of His own law; and, receiving Him, Symeon said: “Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, O Holy One!”

Troparion of the hierarch, in Tone IV

The truth of things revealed thee to thy flock as a rule of faith, a model of meekness and a teacher of abstinence. Wherefore, thou hast acquired exalted things through humility and riches through poverty. O father Bucolus, entreat Christ God, that our souls be saved.

Glory…, Now and ever…: Troparion of the feast, in Tone I

Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos, full of grace, for from thee hath shone forth Christ our God, the Sun of righteousness, Who doth illumine those in darkness. Be glad, thou also, O righteous elder who receivest in thine arms the Deliverer of our souls, Who granteth us resurrection.

At Matins

After the first chanting of the Psalter, this Sessional hymn, in Tone I, Special Melody: “When the stone had been sealed by the Jews…”

Thou, the Life of all, having become a babe for my sake, wast borne into the temple; and Thou, Who of old didst inscribe the law on tablets on Mount Sinai, didst place Thyself under the law, that Thou mayest release all from the ancient bondage to the law. Glory to Thy loving-kindness, O Savior! Glory to Thy kingdom! Glory to Thy dispensation, O Thou Who alone lovest mankind!

Glory…, Now and ever…: The foregoing is repeated.

After the second chanting of the Psalter, this Sessional hymn, in Tone V, Special Melody: “The Word Who with the Father is equally without beginning…”

Thou wast borne into the temple, the Creator, Master and Maker of the law, fulfilling the rites thereof, O Savior; and Thou, O only Compassionate One, Who fillest all with awe and sustainest all creation, didst desire, in Thy good will, to be carried in the flesh in the arms of Symeon, that Thou mayest reveal Thy light unto us.

Glory…, Now and ever…: The foregoing is repeated.

Canon of the feast, with 8 Troparia, including the irmos; and that of the saint, with 4 Troparia.

Ode I

Canon of the Meeting, the acrostic whereof is: “Joyously the elder embraceth Christ”, the composition of Cosmas of Maïuma, in Tone III

Irmos: The sun once passed over dry land born of the deep, for the water became firm as a wall on either side when the people traversed the sea, chanting in God-pleasing manner: Let us sing unto the Lord, for gloriously hath He been glorified!

Let the clouds pour forth rain, for Christ the Sun, Who is borne aloft upon a light cloud, is brought to the temple as a babe on the arm of the unblemished one. Wherefore, O ye faithful, let us cry aloud: Let us sing unto the Lord, for gloriously hath He been glorified!

Be strong, ye hands of Symeon feeble with age; and ye weary legs of the elder, move quickly and straight to meet Christ, joining chorus with the incorporeal ones, chanting: Let us sing unto the Lord, for gloriously hath He been glorified!

O ye heavens stretched out in wisdom, be glad; and rejoice, O thou earth! For Christ the Artificer, having come forth from the most blessed womb of His Mother, is borne by the Virgin Mother to God the Father as a babe, He Who was before all the ages, for gloriously hath He been glorified!

Canon of the holy hierarch, the acrostic whereof is: “I sing the glory of the great Bucolus”, the composition of Joseph, in Tone VI

Irmos: Traversing the deep on foot, as though it were dry land, and seeing the tyrant Pharaoh drowned, Israel cried aloud: Let us chant unto God a hymn of victory!

Ever illumined with divine splendors and sacred and luminous radiance, O father, enlighten the soul of me who honor thy splendid festival.

The noetic Sun, showing thee to be a star of great brilliance, hath illumined the earth with the splendors of thy virtues, O most wise Bucolus, thou holy hierarch of Christ.

Showing forth a life ever sanctified and pure and untouched by defilement, O wise and all-glorious Bucolus, thou wast known on earth as a hallowed vessel of Christ.

Theotokion: The All-good One, Who is the Only-begotten of the Father and as God became incarnate in thy womb, O pure one, hath deified men in the multitude of His compassions.

Ode III

Canon of the Feast

Irmos: O Lord, Thou confirmation of those who trust in Thee, establish the Church which Thou hast acquired with Thy precious blood.

He that was first begotten of the Father before the ages hath appeared as the first-born Babe of the undefiled Virgin, stretching forth His hand unto Adam.

God the Word hath appeared as a babe, setting aright the first-created man, who through deception had become childish of mind.

The Creator, having become a Babe without undergoing change, hath shown forth our nature, the product of the earth to which it doth return again, to be like unto divinity.

Canon of the Holy Hierarch

Irmos: There is none as holy as Thee, O Lord my God, Who hast uplifted the horn of Thy faithful and established us on the rock of the confession of Thee, O Good One.

Becoming a child of the day and the light by thy godly labors, O holy hierarch, thou hast manifestly made thine abode now among the saints, shining with grace.

Piously preaching the one Essence of the Trinity, thou didst uproot from the earth the falsehood of polytheism, as an honorable hierarch, a true minister of the Word.

Thou didst show the path of life unto all who were deceived by the assault of the enemy, and, as a shepherd of the Word, didst bring them, saved, to the Word, the Chief Shepherd.

Theotokion: Be thou a refuge and guardian to me who am ever constantly assailed by the cruel threefold waves of the passions on the sea of life, O only pure Ever-virgin.

Sessional hymn of the saint, in Tone IV, Special Melody: “Having been lifted up…”

Shining with the light of the priesthood, thou didst illumine the people, O holy hierarch, and didst destroy the darkness of idolatry, dispelling the gloom of the passion with the radiance of healings; and thou hast passed over to the radiance which never waneth, praying earnestly for us who honor thee, O blessed Bucolus.

Glory…, Now and ever…: Sessional hymn of the feast, in the same tone, Special Melody: “Joseph marvelled…”

Thou didst become a babe for my sake, O Ancient of days, and didst partake of cleansing, O most pure God, that Thou mightest assure me of the flesh thou didst receive from the Virgin. And Symeon, taught thereby, recognized Thee as God appearing in the flesh, and the elder kissed Thee, our Life, and, rejoicing, cried out: “Release me, for I have seen Thee, the Life of all!”

But if this day fall within the Great Fast: Glory…, Now and ever…: Theotokion

He Who sitteth upon the throne of the cherubim and abideth in the bosom of the Father doth sit in thy womb as upon a throne, O Lady; for, truly God incarnate, He reigneth over all nations, and with understanding to Him do we now chant. Him do thou also entreat, that thy servants be saved.

Or this Stavrotheotokion

She who in days past gave birth in the flesh unto Thee Who wast begotten of the unoriginate Father, O Christ, beholding Thee upon the Cross, cried out: Woe is me, O Jesus, my most beloved! How is it that Thou Who art glorified as God by the angels art now crucified by iniquitous men, O my Son? I praise Thee, O Long-suffering One!

Ode IV

Canon of the Feast

Irmos: Thy virtue hath covered the heavens, O Christ; for having issued forth from Thine immaculate Mother, the ark of Thy holiness, Thou hast appeared in the Temple of Thy glory as a babe borne in arms, and all things have been filled with Thy praise.

Rejoicing, the Theotokos cried out: O Symeon, initiate of ineffable mysteries, take in thine arms Christ, the Word become a babe, of Whom thou wast informed of old by the Holy Spirit, and cry out to Him: All things are filled with Thy praise!

O Symeon, rejoicing, take up Christ, the little Child, on Whom thou hast set thy hope, the Consolation of the Israel of God, the Creator and Master of the law, Who fulfilleth the order of the law; and cry aloud unto Him: All things are filled with Thy praise!

Beholding the Word Who is without beginning, the Author of all, borne as a babe in the flesh by the Virgin as on the throne of the cherubim, Symeon marvelled and cried out to Him: All things are filled with Thy praise!

Canon of the Holy Hierarch

Irmos: Christ is my power, my God and my Lord, the honored Church doth sing, crying out in godly manner with a pure mind, keeping festival in the Lord.

Knowing beforehand the beauty of thy soul and thy purity of mind, O divinely blessed one, with sanctity God ordained thee a wise sacred preacher.

Illumined by the Spirit, thou hast illumined those who are in the darkness of deception, O all-glorious holy hierarch, and through baptism hast made them children of the day.

The glorious Theologian chose thee, who didst shine with grace, and with divine admonitions laid hands upon thee; and he ordained thee a sacred priest, O most wise Bucolus.

Theotokion: With his mind Moses beheld thee prefigured in sanctity in the bush which revealed mystically the Fire which was to dwell in thy womb, O Ever-virgin Theotokos.

Ode V

Canon of the Feast

Irmos: In a vision Isaiah beheld God exalted upon a throne borne aloft by angels of glory, and he cried: Woe is me! for I have beheld beforehand the incarnate God, the unwaning Light, Who reigneth with peace!

The divine elder, comprehending the glory that was manifested of old to the prophet, beholding the Word held in His Mother’s arms, cried out: “Rejoice, O pure one, for as a throne dost thou hold God, the Light unwaning, Who reigneth with peace!”

The elder, bowing low and divinely touching the feet of the Mother of God who knew not wedlock, said: “O pure one, thou dost bear Fire! I fear to hold the infant God, the Light unwaning, Who reigneth with peace!”

“Isaiah was purified by the burning ember brought by the seraph,” the elder cried to the Mother of God, “and thou dost illumine me, giving me Him Whom thou dost bear in thine arms as with tongs, the Light unwaning, Who reigneth with peace.”

Canon of the Holy Hierarch

Irmos: With Thy divine light illumine the souls of those who with love rise at dawn unto Thee, O Good One, that they may know Thee, O Word of God, to be the true God Who calleth all forth from the darkness of sin.

Arrayed with sanctity in the sacred vesture of the hierarchy, O honored hierarch Bucolus, thou didst illumine the ungodly, preaching the uncreated Unity in three Persons.

Thou didst snatch men from the mouth of the spiritual wolf by the teachings of thy divinely eloquent mouth; and with thy theology, O father, thou didst close the gaping mouths of the heretics.

The vile Marcion was vanquished by thy sacred words and all wickedness was cast out, O glorious Bucolus, the fœtid mire thereof being shaken off.

Theotokion: Jesus, the transcendent God, Who by His will bringeth all things into existence and was born of thy womb, O most immaculate one, reneweth the laws of nature.

Ode VI

Canon of the Feast

Irmos: The elder, beholding with his own eyes the salvation which was come to me from God, cried out to Thee, O Christ! Thou art my God!

In Sion wast Thou set as a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense for the disobedient, and the inviolate salvation of the faithful.

Manifestly bearing the lineaments of Him Who begot Thee before the ages, Thou hast now been clothed in the weakness of mortals in Thy loving-kindness.

Now Thou lettest depart in peace him who worshipped Thee as the Son of the Most High, the Son of the Virgin, God become a Child.

Canon of the Holy Hierarch

Irmos: Beholding the sea of life surging with the tempest of temptations, fleeing to Thy calm haven I cry unto Thee: Lead up my life from corruption, O greatly Merciful One!

Possessing exalted humility, purity of mind, love unfeigned, and pure faith and love, the glorious Bucolus was shown to be a habitation of the Trinity.

Into the mysteries doth the Spirit lead thee, O all-lauded Bucolus, who didst greatly adorn the sacred cathedra of Smyrna and by thine own hand thou didst make Polycarp pastor thereof after thee.

Understanding thy name in the Spirit, O all-wise one, by grace thou didst lead to the cathedra one who, after thee, would be a guide of the reason-endowed sheep, shining with the radiance of the virtues.

Theotokion: O Mistress, thou portal of grace who hast opened the gate of heaven to men, do thou most radiantly open to me the doors of repentance and free me from the gate of death.

Kontakion of the feast, in Tone I

O Thou Who didst hallow the Virgin’s womb by Thy birth and didst bless the hands of Symeon as was meet, by anticipation Thou hast now saved even us, O Christ God. But in the midst of battle grant peace to Thy community, and strengthen the hierarchs whom Thou hast loved, O Thou Who alone lovest mankind.

Ikos: Let us make haste to the Theotokos, desiring to behold her Son borne to Symeon. Looking upon Him from heaven, the bodiless hosts are amazed, saying: “Things wondrous, most glorious, unapproachable and ineffable do we behold: for He Who created Adam is borne as an infant; He Whom nought can contain is held in the elder’s arms; He Who is in the infinite bosom of His Father is of His own will limited by the flesh, but not in His divinity, He Who alone loveth mankind.”

Ode VII

Canon of the Feast

Irmos: We hymn Thee, God the Word Who bedewed the theologizing children in the fire and dwelt within the incorrupt Virgin, and piously we chant: Blessed is the God of our fathers!

“I go to announce the glad tidings unto Adam who dwelleth in hades and unto Eve,” cried Symeon, joining chorus with the prophets, singing: Blessed is the God of our fathers!

God Who doth deliver the mortal race shall go even unto hades; He shall grant remission to all, sight to the blind, and even the mute shall chant: Blessed is the God of our fathers!

And Symeon foretold to the Virgin: “A sword shall pierce thy heart, O incorrupt one, beholding thy Son upon the Cross, to Whom we cry out: Blessed is the God of our fathers!”

Canon of the Holy Hierarch

Irmos: The Angel caused the furnace to pour forth dew upon the pious youths, and the command of God, which consumed the Chaldæans, prevailed upon the tyrant to cry out: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!

Giving understanding to the ignorant and setting aright those who had stumbled through deception, O father, thou hast saved and led to God the pure who piously chant to Him: O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!

Thy cheeks which preached the incarnation of Him Who, in His ineffable loving-kindness, shone forth upon us, were adorned, O most blessed one; and to Him didst thou cry out earnestly: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!

Restraining the passions of thy body by abstinence, O glorious one, thou didst show thyself unaffected by the assaults of the deceiver, and now dost truly chant: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!

Theotokion: Delivered from the ancient condemnation by thy birthgiving, O most immaculate one, we who because of thee have been saved hymn thee as our Mistress, O Virgin, crying out with faith and saying: Blessed art Thou who gavest birth to God in the flesh!

Ode VIII

Canon of the Feast

Irmos: United in the unbearable fire, yet unharmed by its flame, the pious youths chanted a divine hymn in intercession: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord, and exalt Him supremely for all ages!

O people of Israel, beholding your glory, Emmanuel, the Babe born of the Virgin, join ye chorus now in the presence of the Ark of God, chanting: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord, and exalt Him supremely for all ages!

Behold, cried Symeon, this One Who is both God and Babe shall be a sign of contradiction. O ye faithful, let us cry out: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord, and exalt Him supremely for all ages!

God the Word, being Life itself and having become a Babe, shall be the downfall of the disobedient, but the restoration of those who chant with faith: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord, and exalt Him supremely for all ages!

Canon of the Holy Hierarch

Irmos: From the flame didst Thou pour forth dew upon the venerable ones, and didst consume the sacrifice of the righteous one with water; for Thou, O Christ, dost do all things soever Thou desirest. Thee do we exalt supremely for all ages!

Thou didst flourish like a palm-tree in the courts of God, and didst fall into the needful sleep of the righteous; and thy divine tomb bringeth delight to those who behold thy wonder, O Bucolus, preacher of God.

God, the hypostatic Word of God, ordaineth thee a sacred hierarch who anointeth the people with sanctity, O holy hierarch and instructor of the people of Smyrna, thou luminary of the whole world.

Thou didst theologize concerning the incarnate Word and didst save many people from folly, as a godly disciple of him who shone forth in theology, O God-bearing Bucolus.

Theotokion: O Theotokos, in sacred manner the divine company of the prophets learned thy mystery, understanding from afar and clearly setting forth the divine signs of thy giving birth to God.

Ode IX

Canon of the Feast

Irmos: In the shadow and the writings of the law do we behold an image, O ye faithful: every male child which openeth the womb is consecrated to God. Wherefore, we magnify the first-born Word of the unoriginate Father, the first-born Son of the Mother who knew not man.

The ancients were wont to offer a pair of new-born doves and two young birds, but the godly elder and the chaste prophetess Anna serve in their stead, magnifying the only-begotten Son of the Father, Who was born of the Virgin and is borne into the temple.

Thou hast imparted unto me the joy of Thy salvation, cried Symeon. Accept Thou Thy servant, for I am weary of the shadow, as a mystic and sacred preacher of the new grace, magnifying Thee in praise!

The aged Anna, chaste and venerable, prophesying in sacred manner, openly confessed the Lord in the temple, and she magnified the Theotokos, proclaiming her to all present.

Canon of the Holy Hierarch

Irmos: It is not possible for men to behold God, upon Whom the ranks of angels dare not gaze; but through thee, O most pure one, hath the Word appeared incarnate unto men; and magnifying Him with the armies of heaven, we call thee blessed.

Thou hast illumined the Church of Christ like a light, like a radiant beam, like a great sun, like a lightning-flash, and hast enlightened the thoughts of the faithful. And thou hast made thine abode where shineth the never-waning light, singing to the uncreated Trinity the thrice-holy hymn.

Having passed beyond the flesh and the world, O performer of sacred acts, rejoicing, thou hast passed over to the ranks of heaven, deified by a most splendid disposition. Wherefore, we on earth celebrate thy memory with faith, O most wise Bucolus.

The earth covereth thy blessed body, which manifestly poureth forth healings and spiritual gifts, and heaven beareth thy spirit with the elect of ages past, truly adorned with divine splendors, O glorious Bucolus.

Theotokion: At the cry of the angel, O pure one, thou gavest birth to Christ, Emmanuel, Who uniteth those below to the angels, O Virgin who alone art blessed, who alone art most lauded, who alone art the cause of our deification.

Exapostilarion of the feast

Set by the Spirit in the sanctuary, the elder doth take the Master of the law in his arms, crying out: “Now loose Thou the bonds of my flesh in peace, as Thou didst say; for with mine eyes have I beheld the revelation of the gentiles and the salvation of Israel!” Thrice

Glory…, Now and ever…: The foregoing is repeated.

At the Aposticha, these stichera of the feast, in Tone II, Special Melody: “O house of Ephratha…”

Today, the Savior is carried as a babe into the temple of the Lord, and the elder taketh Him into his aged arms.

Stichos: Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, O Master, according to Thy word.

The Ancient of days is most gloriously seen as a babe in the flesh on this day, and is borne into the temple.

Stichos: A Light to enlighten the gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.

The most pure one cried out: “O Symeon, receive as a babe in thine arms the Lord of glory, the salvation of the world!”

Glory…, Now and ever…, in the same tone & melody

Great and awesome is the mystery, and strange the dispensation! He Who holdeth all things is formed as a babe, and as a babe is borne in arms.