Menaion of the Orthodox Church

The 24th Day of the Month of January

Commemoration of Our Venerable Mother Xenia

At Vespers

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

Having first transformed thy love and made thyself steadfast by the higher activity of the mind, thou didst depart from the crookedness of the vanity of pleasures, O blessed one, and, becoming a stranger, didst walk aright by the hard ascent of the virtues.

Hastening to the divine haven, thou didst calmly pass through the tumult of the waves of life, and didst steer the ship of thy soul through the bitterness of pleasures without foundering, O most honored one, laden with mystic freight.

Becoming a stranger in godly emulation of Him Who for our sake came down from on high to raise up the fallen, thou didst abide, O wise one, unknown among thy kin; and thou ever prayest to God, O Xenia, in behalf of the pious.

Glory…, Now and ever…: Theotokion

All-glorious art thou among generations of generations, O Virgin Mother and Maiden, Mary the Theotokos, who gavest birth in the flesh to the Son of the unoriginate Father, Who is truly equally eternal with the Spirit. Him do thou beseech, that we be saved.

Stavrotheotokion

When she beheld the Lamb lifted up upon the Cross, the immaculate Virgin cried out, weeping: “O my Child most sweet, what is this new and all-glorious sight? How is it that Thou Who holdest all things in Thy hand hast been nailed to the Tree in the flesh?”

Troparion, in Tone VIII

In thee, O mother, that which was created according to the image of God was manifestly saved; for, taking up thy cross, thou didst follow after Christ; and, praying, thou didst learn to disdain the flesh, for it passeth away, but to care for thy soul as a thing immortal. Wherefore, with the angels thy spirit doth rejoice, O venerable Xenia.

At Matins

Both canons from the Octoechos, with 8 Troparia, including the irmos of the first; and that of the venerable one, with 4 Troparia.

Canon of the venerable one, in Tone VIII

Ode I

Irmos: O ye people, let us send up a hymn unto our wondrous God, Who freed Israel from bondage, singing and crying out a hymn of victory unto Thee Who alone art Master.

By thy right pleasing supplications unite me to God, for I have become a stranger to every virtue and have estranged myself from Him through mine unseemly deeds, O honored and venerable Xenia, for I praise thy strange life.

Noetic fire set thee alight like right flammable tinder, and moved thee to renounce the delusion of the world and a fleshly bridegroom with most manly understanding, and to wed thyself to the Lord in purity.

Comprehending a strange life which abideth in the heavens and passeth not away, thou didst adopt a name in accordance with thine activity, and didst hasten after thine immortal Bridegroom like a thirsting deer.

Theotokion: With hymns let us praise the most pure Mary, the joyous Mother of God, the divine shelter, the right calm haven, the salvation of all the faithful.

Ode III

Irmos: O Lord Who in the beginning established the heavens and founded the earth upon many waters, make me steadfast for the chanting of Thy glorification.

Thou didst cling to divine love, O honored one, prevailing upon thy pure soul to accept the oblivion of the pangs of asceticism and nature.

Delighting in the beauties of the immortal Betrothed, thou didst cause the beauty of the flesh to wither away, and didst show thyself to be most beautiful, making thine abode in the divine bridal-chamber.

Having acquired the golden wings of the virtues, thou didst soar aloft to the heights of heaven, O blessed one, like an incorrupt dove.

Theotokion: O Virgin, thou radiant cloud of the noetic and all-radiant Sun Who shone forth from thy womb: Illumine the souls of those who hymn thee.

Sessional hymn, in Tone VIII, Special Melody: “Of the Wisdom…”

Loving the Word of God the Father, Who had appeared on earth in His loving-kindness, O blessed one, thou didst follow Him as thy Bridegroom, and didst straightway abandon thy corruptible bridegroom, leaving behind corruptible wealth; wherefore, living as a stranger, in accordance with thy name, thou didst mortify the passions and hast received the inheritance of the living, O divinely inspired one. Entreat Christ God, that He grant remission of transgressions unto those who celebrate thy holy memory with love.

Glory…, Now and ever…: Theotokion

Tripped up by wicked thoughts, I have fallen into the abyss of sin, and groaning, I cry out to thee from the depths of my heart, O all-pure one: Show forth the wonder of thy rich mercy upon me, and the unfathomable abyss of thy loving-kindness, and the incalculable wealth of thy compassion; and grant me repentance and forgiveness of sins, that I may cry out to thee with love: Entreat Christ God, that He grant me remission of transgressions, for thee do I, thy servant, have as my hope!

Stavrotheotokion

Beholding the Lamb, Shepherd and Deliverer upon the Cross, the ewe-lamb cried out, weeping, and, bitterly lamenting, exclaimed: “The world rejoiceth, receiving deliverance through Thee, but my womb doth burn, beholding Thy crucifixion, which Thou dost endure in the loving-kindness of Thy mercy. O long-suffering Lord, abyss and inexhaustible wellspring of mercy, take pity, and grant remission of offenses unto those who hymn Thy divine sufferings with faith!”

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.

Thou didst bring to Christ as a dowry thy purity, the mortification of thy members and the pangs of abstinence; and thou hast received the kingdom of heaven and everlasting delight.

Providing in thyself a model for the good, thou didst draw many souls to salvation, removing them from passionate attachment to the world, O divinely wise and right wondrous Xenia.

Bedewing thy couch with tears, O venerable one, and eating thy bread with ashes, thou hast received consolation which waxeth not old, and the delight of paradise.

Theotokion: Rejoice, O holy Theotokos, who art from among us! Rejoice, thou who gavest birth to Joy for the world! Rejoice, thou who alone art the help of men, O blessed and holy Theotokos!

Ode V

Irmos: O Christ God, Bestower of light, Who didst dispel the primeval darkness of the abyss: disperse the gloom of my soul, and grant me the light of Thy commandments, O Word, that, rising early, I may glorify Thee.

Like a heifer desiring the divine beauty of the Herdsman, thou didst cry out: “Where now dost Thou tend Thy flock? Tell me: At what place hast thou come to rest? I desire to behold the transcendent vision of Thee, and am wholly consumed!”

“Seeking the beauty of My love, and having shone forth with the virtues,” the Bridegroom cried, “look for Me in the heavens! There do I tend My flock, and thither do I ever call My sheep!”

O honored Xenia, thou wast shown to be a most comely turtle-dove, a most radiant swallow and a noetic nightingale, who eluded the entrapment of spiritual snares and hast flown to the beauty of Christ, which thou desired, O right wondrous one.

Theotokion: O Virgin, in latter days for those on earth thou gavest birth without father to Him Who on high was without mother, but Who assumed our whole nature in His surpassing compassion. Him do thou beseech, that He save from corruption those who hymn thee.

Ode VI

Irmos: Cleanse me, O Savior, for many are my transgressions; and lead me up from the abyss of evils, I pray, for to Thee have I cried, and Thou hast hearkened to me, O God of my salvation.

Glorifying thy strange life and thy superhuman asceticism, O glorious one, He Who had become a stranger for thy sake truly adorned thee with all-glorious signs and wonders, O venerable one.

Crowned with a wreath of the virtues, thou didst hasten to Christ, Whom thou didst desire, and Who, in strange manner past understanding, proclaimed thee with a circlet of stars to those near and those afar, O glorious Xenia.

By thine entreaties, O venerable one, make me thine, for I have wandered far away from the commandments of our God; and make me a stranger to cruel Gehenna and the passions which beset me.

Theotokion: He Who sitteth upon the shoulders of the cherubim without being circumscribed, made His abode, circumscribed within thy womb, though not in His divinity; and He issued forth from thee, saving mankind.

Kontakion, in Tone II, Special Melody: “Thy blood…”

Celebrating thy strange memorial, O Xenia, we who honor thee with love hymn Christ, Who giveth thee the power of healing in all things. To Him do thou ever pray in our behalf.

Ode VII

Irmos: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers, Who bedewed the children in the furnace and preserved her who gave Thee birth a Virgin after birthgiving!

Rome boasteth of thy birth, and Mylassa boasteth yet more greatly, having acquired thy relics, from whence miracles flow forth upon the faithful, O bride of God.

Thou hast been shown to be a river of healings, engulfing the sea of the passions of those who chant: Blessed art Thou, O Lord God of our fathers!

Thou didst lull to sleep the soul-destroying passions during thy many vigils, O blessed one, and didst fall into the sleep which becometh the righteous, praying for the world.

Theotokion: Cease thou never to entreat Him Who was incarnate of thee in manner past recounting, O all-hymned Theotokos, that our souls be delivered from the snares of the enemy.

Ode VIII

Irmos: O Thou Who coverest Thy chambers with waters and settest the sands as a bound for the sea: Thee doth the sun hymn; Thee doth the moon glorify; and unto Thee doth all creation offer a hymn forever, as to the Creator of all.

Betrothing thyself to Christ, the only Man comely in beauty, as is written, thou didst piously acquire all manner of virtues, O glorious one; and thou hast made thine abode in the divine bridal-chamber, receiving the grace of healings as thy marriage portion, for all ages.

“My soul hath cleaved unto Thee, O Christ!” thou didst cry out with love; “Like a thirsting land I seek thee, the living Water, O Lord, and offer Thee showers of tears! With the stream of Thy love do Thou water me, O Savior, for all ages!”

Truly loving Him Who is desire, O maiden, thou didst adorn thyself and wast glorified, cleaving unto the all-glorious God. And thou didst lead to the Savior the holy choir of virgins who emulated thee, and with them dost dance in the mansions on high.

Theotokion: The Word of the Father chose thee alone, the beauty of Jacob, and made His abode within thee; and as was His good pleasure, He Who surpasseth all men in beauty issued forth from thee, cleansing our darkened nature.

Ode IX

Irmos: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, Who hath exalted the horn of salvation for us in the house of David His child, wherein the Dayspring from on high hath visited us, and directed us to the path of peace.

By thy weakness thou didst vanquish the impotent foe, O glorious one, leading a strange life and mortifying the carnal passions; and thou now dwellest in the heavens, where thou hast thy true place of abode, as a pure virgin.

Blessed be the Lord Who hath shown thine honored shrine to be a calm haven of healings, unto us who are ever beset by the abyss and tempest of the passions, O God-bearing Xenia, thou glory of monastics and boast of virgins.

O God-bearing Xenia, we, the faithful, honor thee as the temple of virginity, the pure turtle-dove, the immaculate dove, the bride of Christ comely in beauty and unblemished, a model of the godly virtues and an enclosed garden.

Theotokion: Following thy words, O blessed one, all of us, the generations of generations, ever call thee blessed; for thou, O pure Virgin, didst truly give birth to the blessed God Who truly maketh blessed all who serve Him.