Menaion of the Orthodox Church

The 22nd Day of the Month of March

Commemoration of the Holy Hieromartyr Basil, Priest of the Church of Ancyra

At Vespers

On “Lord, I have cried…”, these stichera, in Tone IV, Special Melody: “Called from on high…”

Adorned with the vesture of the priesthood, thou didst serve God like an angel, offering sacrifice unto Him Who appeared in material flesh for our sake, O Basil of great renown. Wherefore, thou wast slaughtered like a perfect lamb, wast a pure sacrifice, and hast now been offered up upon the altar of heaven. For which cause, with joyful voices we ever call thee blessed, crying out to thee: Pray thou unceasingly, that our souls be saved!

When thy skin was flayed off by the unjust judge, thou didst endure pangs, looking forward to an end without pain, O glorious one, and to the honors prepared for those who suffer; and, tempered in fire like steel, thou becamest a well-forged sword of heaven, O most blessed one, cutting down all the hosts of the enemy. Wherefore, rejoicing, every nation of the pious doth honor thee today, O valiant minded athlete, right glorious Basil.

Adorned with divine wounds, bound, thou didst hasten from city to city, thereby binding the tyrant and setting aright the steps of thy feet; and when thou didst enter the city of Cæsaria, wherein thou didst receive thy blessed end, thou didst straightway ascend, crowned, to the city of heaven. And now thou standest before God the King. Him do thou entreat, that He save and enlighten our souls.

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

In that I have fallen, accursed, into the abyss of many falls through my despondency and slothfulness, wretch that I am, I am now stuck fast in doubt and despair. Be thou to me help and cleansing and salvation, O all-pure one, bestowing upon me most compassionate consolation. Thee do I beseech, and to thee do I pray; and I fall down and cry out to thee with faith: Let me not utterly become a joy to the deceiver!

Or this Stavrotheotokion, in the same melody

“Weep not for me, O Mother, beholding thy Son and God hanging upon the Tree, Who hath suspended the earth without support upon the waters and hath fashioned all creation; for I shall arise and be glorified, and I shall crush the kingdom of hades with might and destroy its power; and I shall deliver the prisoners from its malice, for I am compassionate, and shall lead them to my Father, in that I love mankind.”

At Matins

Canon of the hieromartyr, the acrostic whereof is: “I praise thy pangs, O great martyr”, the composition of Joseph, in Tone VI

Ode I

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!

Ardently loving the glory of Thy kingdom, O King of all, the glorious Basil suffered on earth. Through him vouchsafe us the kingdom of heaven.

Thy right laudable life, honorable manner of living, and the aspects of thy struggle showed thee to be an heir of God and made of thee a citizen of heaven, O glorious one.

Having made thyself subject to the Lord, O all-wise one, thou didst subdue the enemy and trample him underfoot by thy good life, doing splendid battle with him, O martyr Basil.

With the outpouring of thy blood thou didst truly drown the whole army of the noetic Pharaoh; and thou didst hasten to the land where the cloud of athletes ever rejoiceth, O wise one.

Theotokion: He Who is the only-begotten of the Father made His abode in thine all-pure womb as He desired; and He became man, wishing to save men in His goodness.

Ode III

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.

Suspended aloft like a lamb upon a tree, O most blessed one, thou didst endure laceration with steadfast resolve and didst put down the assaults of the enemy by the power of the divine Spirit.

In the beauties of thy wounds thou wast shown to be most comely of soul and body, O martyr, uttering cries of thanksgiving to the Judge of thy contest with a pure mind.

Seeking great renown, O wise one, thou didst endure great struggles with most wise demeanor, and didst bring down him who doth ever greatly vaunt himself.

Imprisoned in a dungeon as a godly observer of the precepts of God, O divinely wise one, thou hast opened the path of doctrine unto the faithful, which leadeth to the broad plain of understanding.

Theotokion: Isaiah, perceiving thy conception from afar, O Maiden, declared it, crying out: Lo! a Virgin shall conceive God in her womb!

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

Thou wast the adornment of the Church, the might of piety and the destroyer of ungodliness, O Basil; and, having endured tortures like one of the incorporeal ones, thou didst join the incorporeal ones, rejoicing, O glorious martyr. Entreat Christ God, that He grant our souls great mercy.

Glory…, Now and ever…: Theotokion

Taking flesh in thy womb without separating Himself from the divine Essence, the one Lord remained God while becoming man, preserving thee, His Mother, an immaculate Virgin as thou wast before giving birth. Him do thou earnestly entreat, that He grant us great mercy.

Stavrotheotokion

The unblemished Ewe-lamb, the incorrupt Virgin Mother, beholding the Word hanging upon the Cross, Who had sprung forth from her without pain, cried out, lamenting maternally: “Woe is me, O my Child! How is it that Thou sufferest of Thine own will, desiring to deliver man from the indignity of the passions?”

Ode IV

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.

Beholding thy divine countenance luminous with spiritual radiance, O martyr, the ungodly one marvelled; but as a servant of darkness he was mindlessly insane.

Adorned with higher wisdom, thou didst make fools of the pagan sages with the power of God; and having suffered patiently, thou didst receive a crown of victory.

The Word Who was stretched out upon the Cross and bestoweth dispassion upon the faithful by His sufferings, O Basil, strengthened thee when thou wast stretched out and all thy members severed.

“I will not sacrifice to demons; neither do I fear death nor any form of torment! I confess the one God Who is known in Trinity!” the sacred Basil cried out.

Theotokion: I hymn thee, the greatly hymned one, O Mistress; and I bless thee, O Virgin, for because of thee all men have been blessed and have been truly delivered from the ancient curse.

Ode V

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.

Desiring to bear the yoke of the Lord most light, thou wast bowed down beneath the weight of irons, O martyr, yet didst humble the neck of the proud enemy who raged against the Creator.

Gladly loaded down with iron chains, O martyr Basil, thou didst hasten from place to place, adorned with them as with jewelry; and thou didst gladden the Judge of thy contest.

With the streams of thy blood thou didst truly dye for thyself a robe of royal purple, O glorious martyr; and adorned with the crown of victory, thou reignest with Christ, rejoicing, O Basil.

Made steadfast by the grace of the Cross, savagely persecuted thou didst endure the long and cruel road, chanting: “Adorned and rejoicing, O Word, I tread the path of thy testimonies!”

Theotokion: With hymns let us honor the only Theotokos, who is more exalted than the cherubim, higher than the heavens, greater than creation, the protection of the wise martyrs.

Ode VI

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!

Elevated by thy sufferings, thou didst cast down the enemy, O great and glorious martyr; and crowned with the wreath of victory, thou didst pass over to God at the end of thy sufferings, O right laudable one.

Emulating Him Who stretched out His hands on the Cross for thy sake, O wise martyr, thou didst patiently endure laceration, and lifted up upon a tree, didst wound the deceiver with thy wounds.

Bound for the sake of Christ, O Basil, thou didst bind the incorporeal enemies; and released from the flesh, thou didst utterly destroy their evil works with grace divine.

Theotokion: I hymn thee, O most hymned one, whom the armies of the ranks of heaven do hymn; and I beseech thee: Heal thou the sufferings of my soul, O pure one, and free me from everlasting fire.

Kontakion, in Tone VIII, Special Melody: “To thee the champion leader…”

Running thy race lawfully, thou didst keep the Faith, O hieromartyr Basil; wherefore, thou hast been counted worthy of crowns of martyrdom and hast shown thyself to be an unshakable pillar of the Church, confessing the Son as equally without beginning with the Father and the Trinity as indivisible, Whom do thou entreat, that those who honor thee may be delivered from misfortunes, that we may cry out to thee: Rejoice, O divinely wise Basil!

Ode VII

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!

Shining with the radiance of divine grace, thou didst pass through the darkness of torments as one who shareth in the never-waning day, O wise one; and thou didst cry out: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!

Thy heart, founded firmly upon the rock of divine understanding, O wise athlete, was not shaken by the winds of temptations, crying out to the Deliverer of all: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!

Madly, the tyrant commanded that the soles of thy feet be flayed, O glorious one, yet even when he saw thee enduring like one of the incorporeal ones, he in no wise understood how to cry: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!

Burning in the furnace of torments, thou didst shine like gold; and as a model of the divine sufferings, O wise Basil, thou didst cry out: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!

Theotokion: Knowing thy virginity to remain incorrupt after giving birth, O Virgin, thou didst cry out to our Savior and God Who was born of thee in manner past understanding: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!

Ode VIII

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!

Wholly intent upon God, thou didst account the pangs of the body to be as a dream; and hence, rejoicing, thou didst pass over to the blessed life which is devoid of pain, O martyred athlete.

Strengthened by the love of the Almighty, thou didst mightily endure the maiming of thy body, and dost choke him who is mighty in malice with the streams of thy blood, O thrice-blessed Basil.

With hymns let the great Basil be praised: the royal adornment of the Church of Christ, the steadfast martyr, the model of the sufferings of the Savior, the confirmation of the faithful.

At thine end, O martyr, thou wast vouchsafed to obtain supernatural glory and never-waning light, the kingdom of heaven, an imperishable crown, life free from grief, and ineffable joy.

Theotokion: Through thee, O all-pure and divinely joyous one, hath the human race been vouchsafed salvation; for thou alone gavest birth for us to the Savior, Whom we exalt supremely for all ages.

Ode IX

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.

Released from the flesh, O thou who art most rich, thou wast vouchsafed to behold the beauteous splendors of the saints; and thou didst join the angelic armies, ever chanting with them: Holy, holy, holy art Thou, O all-accomplishing and omnipotent Trinity!

Seen as a light, as a great sun in the sky of the Church of Christ, O most blessed one, thou dost illumine the souls of all who praise thee with the radiant effulgence of thy sufferings and the divine splendors of thy miracles.

Thou didst adorn thyself most gloriously with the beauties of sufferings, O divinely wise athlete, and dost stand before our comely Christ, wearing now a crown of righteousness. Wherefore, rejoicing, we the faithful honor thee.

The earth hath been hallowed by the divine burial of thy sacred and divine body, O Basil; and the souls of the righteous leap with joy, having thy spirit in their midst, O blessed one. Be thou mindful of us who remember thee for them.

Theotokion: Awesome is the image of thy birthgiving, O Virgin, for God, being born, became incarnate. Him do thou entreat, that He deliver from dread torment all of us who with steadfast faith honor thee, O pure Mother who knewest not wedlock.