Menaion of the Orthodox Church

The 22nd Day of the Month of June

THE COMMEMORATION OF THE HOLY HIEROMARTYR EUSEBIUS, BISHOP OF SAMOSATA

At Vespers

At “Lord, I have cried…,” these stichera, in Tone VIII, Special Melody: “What shall we call you…”

What shall we call thee, O glorious one? True hierarch and sacred teacher, confirmation of the Orthodox, and eye of the Church, beacon which shineth forth a noetic light, one glorious among the martyrs, champion of truth, and great denouncer of falsehood. Pray thou that our souls be saved!

What shall we call thee, O holy hierarch? River issuing forth from the noetic Eden, watering the earth with spiritual dews; cup full of divine water which drowneth the partisans of Arius; pillar of fire guiding the new people by divine grace. Pray thou that our souls be saved!

What shall I call thee, O Eusebius? Bestower of piety and destroyer of ungodliness; adornment of passion-bearers and joy of priests; sickle which cutteth down the tares and gathereth in the wheat of heaven; ever-flowing fount of miracles relieving the burning heat of infirmities. Pray thou that our souls be saved!

If Alleluia be chanted at Matins instead of “God is the Lord…”, we chant these stichera of the Theotokos before the foregoing stichera of the hieromartyr, in the same tone & melody

Strange and awesome is the mystery of thy seedless birthgiving, O Virgin who in majesty dost transcend all human thought. For unto us hast thou given birth in the flesh unto the Word Who did not put off the Father’s essence, upon Whom the many-eyed cherubim dare not gaze and before Whom all the ranks of the holy angels tremble.

To whom hast thou likened thyself, O my wretched soul, who in no wise rousing thyself to repentance dost not fear the fire which awaiteth the wicked? Arise, and call upon her who alone is quick to help, and cry out: O Virgin Mother, entreat thy Son and our God, that He deliver me from the wiles of the deceiver!

O Mistress, thou help of all, as thou gavest birth unto the Lord Who loveth mankind, send down upon me a drop of thy mercy, and extend thy helping hand to me who am ever tempest-tossed on the abyss of darkness and am overwhelmed by the three-fold waves of the evils of life; and vouchsafe me the portion of the elect and the righteous.

Glory…, Now and ever…: Theotokion, in the same tone and melody

O all-immaculate and pure one who gavest birth to the unbearable Fire Who consumeth sins and bedeweth the faithful: By thy prayers do thou utterly consume the tinder of my boundless offenses, and with dew cool thou my soul which wasteth away through the passions, that I, thy servant, may magnify thy mercy and power with a loud voice.

Stavrotheotokion

The Ewe-lamb, as she beheld the Lamb stretched out of His own will upon the Tree of the Cross, cried out maternally with lamentation, fraught with pain: “O my Son, what is this strange sight? How is it that Thou diest, O Long-suffering One Who, as Lord, grantest life to all, bestowing resurrection upon mortals? I glorify Thy great condescension, O my God!”

At Matins

The canon of the hieromartyr, the acrostic whereof is: “I honor the namesake of piety,” the composition of Joseph, in Tone VIII

Ode I

Irmos: That which had been hewn down cut through the undivided, and the sun saw land which it had not seen before; the water engulfed the cruel enemy, and Israel traversed the impassable, and chanted the hymn: Let us sing to the Lord, for gloriously is He glorified!

Illumined with perfect light, numbered among the sacred choirs and adorned with the glory of martyrdom, O blessed one, preserve those who celebrate thy memory with faith, O blessed Eusebius, rendering Christ merciful.

Sweetly aflame with desire for Christ from thy youth, thou didst subject thy flesh to thy soul with sacred powers, showing thyself to be a sacred vessel, O all-blessed one; and, anointed with the chrism of grace, thou didst shepherd thy people in sanctity, O venerable one.

The Holy Spirit appointed thee as a chief shepherd who drove away the gloom of the heretics with thy brilliant words, O wise one, and clearly pointeth out the right path, whereunto thou art a beacon for the hearts of us that enter upon it.

Theotokion: O blessed one, who gavest birth unto God: Bless those who bless thee, O all-pure one; guide them toward the good entries; fill them with divine blessings, and strengthen them to chant: Let us chant unto the Lord, for gloriously hath He been glorified!

Ode III

Irmos: Plant Thou the fear of Thee in the hearts of Thy servants, O Lord, and be Thou the confirmation of us who call upon Thee in truth.

Thou wast meek and guileless, humble-minded and gentle, and full of divine love; and at thy repose thou wast adorned with the crowns of martyrdom.

Arrayed in garments of thy blood, O sacred Eusebius, thou didst ascend to the holy places, splendidly crowned with the glory of the saints.

Denouncing the partisans of Arius, O blessed one, thou didst lay thyself open to persecution and a violent death. Wherefore, thou hast been vouchsafed immortal glory.

Theotokion: By the will of the Father and the coming of the divine Spirit thou didst give birth unto the Word, O all-holy Virgin Mother, thou glory of hierarchs. Wherefore we hymn thee.

Sessional hymn, in Tone IV, Special Melody: “Go thou quickly before…”

Having made thy life radiant with the beauties of the virtues, thou wast named pastor and honored hierarch, O all-blessed Eusebius; and with the blood of thy martyrdom didst thou adorn thyself and mount on high to the immaterial choirs. With them, O father, entreat Christ in our behalf, that He have mercy upon our souls.

Glory…, Now and ever…: Theotokion

O pure and all-immaculate one who knewest not wedlock, who alone gavest birth in time to the timeless Son and Word of God: With the saints and the honored patriarchs, the martyrs, prophets and the venerable, beseech Him to grant us cleansing and great mercy.

Or this Stavrotheotokion

As she beheld Thee suspended upon the Cross, O Word of God, Thine all-pure Mother exclaimed, lamenting maternally: “What is this new and strange wonder, O my Son? How is it that Thou tastest of death, O Life of all, Who, in that Thou art compassionate, hast desired to give life to the dead?”

Ode IV

Irmos: O Word, with divine vision the prophet perceived Thee Who wast to become incarnate of the Theotokos alone, the mountain overshadowed; and with fear he glorified Thy power.

O wise one, thou didst cause the decay of deception to cease by the salt of thine excellent teachings, and thou didst heal those who were afflicted with the heresy of ungodliness, O blessed Eusebius.

Guiding thy people to the harbor of salvation, thou didst drown the false belief of Arius with the flood of thy blood, O pastor and martyr, thou adornment of hierarchs!

Thou hast shone forth in the world like a brilliant star, shedding light upon the thoughts of the Orthodox with sacred splendor, O all-blessed one. Wherefore, we faithfully bless thee.

Theotokion: With lips, tongue and heart I confess thee to be the Mother of the Creator, and I entreat thee: Illumine my soul which hath become darkened by mine offenses.

Ode V

Irmos: O Lord Who by divine knowledge brought the ends of the earth into the light out of the night of ignorance, enlighten me with the dawning of Thy love for mankind.

Establishing the wisdom of the Orthodox by thy teachings, O blessed one, thou didst endure imprisonment for piety’s sake.

We know thee to be a pillar of Orthodoxy and a wellspring of healings, O most wise hierarch, thou confirmation of the Church.

Sorely smiting the iniquitous with thy divine precepts, O Eusebius, thou didst endure an unjust death at the hands of the iniquitous.

Theotokion: O Theotokos, thou art acknowledged to be the shining candlestick bearing the divine Lamp which enlighteneth all the ends of the earth.

Ode VI

Irmos: I pour forth my prayer unto the Lord, and to Him do I declare my grief; for my soul is full of evil and my life hath drawn nigh unto hell, and like Jonah I pray: Lead me up from corruption, O God!

Thou didst preach the consubstantial Word, the Son Who with the Father is without beginning; and thou didst destroy the vain philosophizing of the madness of vile Arius, O Eusebius, thou impregnable and steadfast bulwark of the pious.

With the outpouring of thy precious blood thou didst dye for thyself a robe of royal purple, and with gladness thou hast entered the divine Kingdom, to stand before the King of the ages, O most blessed Eusebius.

Thou didst show thyself to be like a rose, like a fragrant lily, like the paradise of God, having the Tree of Life, the Lord and Fashioner of all, in the midst thereof, O Eusebius; and now thou fillest us with the fragrance of the divine Spirit.

Theotokion: The divinely eloquent prophets, perceiving the unfathomable depth of thy mystery, O Maiden, clearly proclaimed it through images and divine prophecies; for, in manner past recounting, thou didst give flesh to the Word of the Father, O pure one.

Kontakion, in Tone IV, Special Melody: “Thou hast appeared today…”

Having lived piously in the rank of hierarch and traversed the path of martyrdom, thou didst extinguish the burnt offerings of the idolators, O holy hierarch Eusebius. But as thou hast boldness before Christ God, entreat Him, that our souls be saved.

Ode VII

Irmos: In the furnace the Hebrew children boldly trod the flame underfoot and transformed the fire into dew, crying out: Blessed art Thou, O Lord God, forever!

Devoting thy time to hymns and supplications, O holy hierarch, thou didst slay the passions and show thyself to be a watchful guardian for us, the faithful, who piously hymn thee and keep thy memory.

Revealed as both martyr and holy hierarch, in divine manner hast thou inherited the blessings of heaven; and standing before the throne of the Creator hast thou cried aloud: Blessed art Thou, O Lord God, forever!

Thou didst shine forth as the dawn, proclaiming Jesus Christ Who shone forth from the Father before the morning star, O beacon of the Church, adornment of hierarchs and ornament of athletes.

Theotokion: By thy birthgiving thou dost most gloriously restore the laws of nature, O Virgin, and dost cleanse us who are become corrupt through evil transgressions. Wherefore, we praise thee as is meet.

Ode VIII

Irmos: Trampling down the fire and flame in the furnace, the divinely eloquent youths did chant: Bless the Lord, O ye works of the Lord!

As a holy hierarch and martyr, O sacred preacher Eusebius, with the holy hierarchs and martyrs, entreat the Savior of all that He open unto us His mercy.

Living blessedly, thou didst shepherd thy sacred flock with the staff of thy words and didst drive away the wild beasts of heresy, O most blessed one.

Denouncing those who were afflicted with the drunkenness of deception and those who vainly propounded heresy, thou wast slain by them, O Eusebius, having suffered steadfastly.

Theotokion: As thou art more highly exalted than the heights of heaven, thou didst give birth unto the exalted Word Who hath raised up from earth fallen human nature, O all-hymned one.

Ode IX

Irmos: Saved by thee, O pure Virgin, we confess thee to be in truth the Theotokos, magnifying thee with the incorporeal choirs.

Thou wast vouchsafed to behold things afar off for which thy sacred soul did long, O father; and, rejoicing, thou hast made thine abode in unwaning splendor.

By thy divine eloquence, good works and the most honorable splendors of thy sufferings wast thou shown to be adorned, O blessed Eusebius.

Let us form a joyous chorus, praising the sacred Eusebius who was adorned with the beauty of piety.

Thy shrine imparteth the grace of healing, and thine holy memory illumineth the world like a great sun, O Eusebius.

Theotokion: O right beloved Virgin, bless thou my soul which hath been afflicted by sin, O thou who gavest birth in the flesh unto our all-good God.