Menaion of the Orthodox Church

The 26th Day of the Month of November

Commemoration of Our Venerable Father Alypius the Stylite of Adrianopolis

At Vespers

On “Lord, I have cried…,” 3 stichera from the Octoechos, or for the Theotokos, and three stichera for the saint, in Tone I, Special Melody: “O all-praised martyrs…”

O most blessed Alypius, from thy childhood thou didst offer thy life to Christ our God, and, strengthened by Him, thou didst submit the passions of thy flesh to thy mind, subjecting what is worse to that which is higher. Wherefore, pray thou that the Lord grant our souls peace and great mercy.

O divinely wise Alypius, thou wast shown to be a magnificent beacon, illumining the earth with the splendors of thy wonders and thy godly deeds. Wherefore, after thy repose the unwaning Light received thee. Wherefore, pray thou, that Christ grant to our souls peace and great mercy.

Thou wast an immovable pillar for monks, O wise one, standing higher than thy pillar, vexed by the heat of the day and cold and by many ascetic feats. Wherefore, thou didst receive the divine gifts of the Spirit to heal infirmities and to drive out the most cruel passions. Pray thou now, that Christ grant our souls peace and great mercy.

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

Rejoice, O bush unburnt! Rejoice, thou who alone gavest birth unto the Angel of great Counsel! Rejoice, thou choice of the honored Trinity! Rejoice, confirmation of mortals! Rejoice, thou who gavest rise unto the uncultivated Grain of paradise: the King and Lord, Who withereth the shoots of malice!

Or this Stavrotheotokion, in the same tone and melody

The unblemished Ewe-lamb and Mistress, as she beheld her Lamb on the Cross, bereft of form and beauty, lamenting, said: “Woe is me! Whither hath Thy beauty set, O Thou Who art most sweet? Where is Thy splendor? Where the shining grace of Thine image, O my Son most beloved?”

Troparion, in Tone I

Thou wast a pillar of endurance, O venerable one, emulating the forefathers: Job in sufferings and Joseph in temptations, and the life of the incorporeal ones while yet in thy body. O Alypius, our father, entreat Christ God, that our souls be saved.

At Matins

Both canons from the Octoechos, and that of the venerable one, the acrostic whereof is: “Rejoicing, I praise the pangs of Alypius,” the composition of Joseph, in Tone V

Ode I

Irmos: Bringing battles to nought with His upraised arm, Christ hath overthrown horse and rider in the Red Sea, and hath saved Israel, who chanteth a hymn of victory.

Full of grace, O Alypius, do thou fill my soul with joy to praise thy life and manner of living, wherein struggling, thou didst fill all the angels with gladness.

God consecrated thee like a second Samuel from thy mother’s womb, O blessed Alypius, causing thee, as a divine prophet, to see things to come, O right glorious one.

That God might reveal the splendor which thou didst possess in latter times, having struggled well, O venerable one, in manner past understanding He filled the house with divine light when thou wast born.

Theotokion: The saying of the honored prophet hath come to pass; for, lo! the Virgin hath given birth in the flesh unto God, Who fashioned man anew who before was crushed by sins and transgressions.

Ode III

Irmos: O Christ Who by Thy command fixed the earth upon naught and suspended its weight unsupported: establish Thou Thy Church upon the immovable rock of Thy commandments, O Thou Who alone art good and lovest mankind.

Set like a candle upon the candlestick of loftier activity, O father, with thy splendid virtues hast thou illumined with pious wisdom every soul which approacheth thee with faith, delivering it from the darkness of sin.

Directing the sacred movements of thy mind toward the keeping of the divine commandments of the Spirit, thou wast shown to be an angel on earth, leading an angelic way of life in the flesh, O God-bearing father Alypius.

Thou didst wisely show thyself to be a recluse from the tumults of life, O venerable Alypius, and didst eagerly undertake the contests of the sojourn of asceticism, showing thy heart to be a dwelling-place of the Spirit.

Theotokion: O pure Virgin, thou palace of the Word, show forth my soul to be a habitation of the Spirit, and give me to drink of the water of the life-creating Wellspring, for I am parched by the burning heat of sin; and let me glorify thee as is meet.

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

By the radiance of faith and the light of spiritual activity wast thou shown to be truly an equal of the angels on earth, O venerable Alypius; and thou didst manfully show the strength of thy mind, vanquishing the assaults of the passions by fasting. Wherefore, as thou livest even after thy repose, pray that we be saved.

Glory…, Now and ever…, Theotokion

O most immaculate Virgin, who gavest birth unto the transcendent God, unceasingly entreat Him with the incorporeal ones, that before the end He grant remission of transgressions and amendment of life unto us who, with faith and love, hymn thee as is meet, O only all-hymned one.

Or this Stavrotheotokion

O all-immaculate Virgin Mother of Christ God, a sword pierced thine all-holy soul when thou beheldest thy Son and God crucified of His own will. Him do thou never cease to entreat, O blessed one, that He grant us forgiveness of transgressions.

Ode IV

Irmos: Perceiving Thy divine condescension prophetically, O Christ, Habbakuk cried out to Thee with trembling: Thou art come for the salvation of Thy people, to save Thine anointed ones!

Possessed of true love and compassion, steadfast faith and hope, and a guileless manner of life, O father, thou wast a favorite of Christ.

Standing upon thy pillar, unmoved by the assaults of the adversary, thou didst vanquish a horde of demons and wast an immovable foundation for the wavering, O most blessed one.

Full of divine waters, thou didst bedew souls wasting away in the burning heat of grievous sin, O divinely wise and most rich Alypius.

Thou wast shown to be truly terrible and unapproachable to all the demons, O Alypius, inflicting upon them a wound by thy sacred prayers and driving them far away.

Theotokion: Heal thou the sufferings of my soul and illumine my mind and heart, O Mistress, who gavest birth unto the all-good God, Christ the Bestower of light.

Ode V

Irmos: O Thou Who art clothed in light as with a garment: I rise at dawn unto Thee, and to Thee do I cry: enlighten Thou my gloom-enshrouded soul, O Christ, in that Thou alone art compassionate!

Placing thyself wholly in the hands of the Almighty, O father, and suffering greatly by standing without shelter for many years, through rain and the heat of day, thou didst earnestly endure.

Training thyself in hymnody and entreaty, O venerable one, in thy purity of mind thou didst receive the grace of the radiance of the threefold Sun and hast emitted the brilliant light of healings.

Confining thy body to thy pillar, O father, full of light, thou didst permit thyself to pass unhindered to Him Whom thou didst desire.

Theotokion: Thou gavest birth, O holy Maiden, unto our holy God, Who, in His loving-kindness, became man and sanctifieth those who hallow Him with faith and fear.

Ode VI

Irmos: O Christ Master, still Thou the sea of the passions which rageth with a soul-destroying tempest, and lead me up from corruption, in that Thou art compassionate.

Openly smiting with stones thee who made thy stand on the pillar like a steadfast stone, the spirits of wickedness were in nowise able to shake thee.

With patience didst thou endure for the Lord, Who gave thee true patience and delivered thee from all difficulties.

Most gloriously was a light seen above thy pillar every day, illumining thy spiritual senses, O venerable wonderworker.

Theotokion: All of us who are in sorrow have thee as a mighty consolation, a refuge and a renowned aid, O Theotokos. Save thou thy servants from misfortunes.

Kontakion, in Tone VIII, Special Melody: “As the first-fruits…”

Today the Church glorifieth and hymneth thee, O Alypius, as a cause of virtues and the adornment of fasters. In accordance with thy name thy supplications grant deliverance from grievous transgressions unto those who with love honor thy brave deeds and struggles.

Ikos: Come, ye priests and princes, ye monastics and all ye divinely wise people, let us marvel at the godly life of Alypius, which equaled that of the angels, and let us emulate his deeds, that by his entreaties we may be counted worthy of his portion, O ye who love the feasts of the Church; for he happily chanteth a heavenly hymn unto God in accordance with his name.

Ode VII

Irmos: The supremely exalted Lord of our fathers quenched the flame and bedewed the children, who sang together: Blessed art Thou, O God!

The most patient and mighty Alypius, beset by winter over many years, was most gloriously warmed by the fervor of the Spirit.

Possessed of a way of life which led thee toward the heights of heaven, thou didst disdain the body as something which was destined to decompose; and when it began to putrefy, thou didst pay no heed to thy pain.

Spurning all love of pleasure, O father, thou didst suffer, contending against winter and the heat of day, chanting whilst exposed to the elements: Blessed is the God of our fathers!

Theotokion: The Unapproachable One received noetic and animate flesh of thee, O Ever-virgin, that He might save those who chant: Blessed art Thou, O God!

Ode VIII

Irmos: The children, forming a universal chorus in the furnace, chanted to Thee, the Creator of all: Hymn the Lord, all ye works, and exalt Him supremely for all ages!

A new Samuel wast thou shown to be, O father Alypius, foreseeing the future with purity of mind and foretelling to all, as a prophet of God, the things revealed to thee by the Lord.

Let Alypius, the favorite of Christ, be honored: the luminous pillar of the Church, the immovable bulwark, the indestructible rampart of all men who believe in God.

Thou didst sleep well the needful sleep of the just, O father, having first lulled to sleep the multifarious passions by entreaties and vigils. Wherefore, we have become rich, having thee now as an ever-vigilant intercessor.

Theotokion: Thine Offspring hath now rendered fruitless the sin engendered by the malice of the serpent, O only Virgin, who hast abolished the curse. Wherefore, we honor thee for all ages.

Ode IX

Irmos: Rejoice, O Isaiah! The Virgin hath conceived in her womb and borne a Son, Immanuel, both God and man. Orient is His name; and, magnifying Him, we call the Virgin blessed.

From earliest infancy thy sacred life was revealed to Christ, shining with the light of the virtues, O blessed one; and thy death was precious in the sight of God, O father Alypius, instructor of monastics.

Like an all-radiant beacon, thou dost illumine the whole earth, driving away the wicked passions, dispelling the darkness of sin, and enlightening those who hymn thee with the divine splendors of healings.

Contending most diligently like an athlete, O wise father, thou didst unflaggingly make thy stand upon thy pillar for fifty-three years, beset by winter, frost and the heat of day.

Thy holy commemoration sanctifieth by the Holy Spirit us who keep it in sacred manner and hymn thee thereon with faith, O wise father, as the helper and intercessor of our souls.

Theotokion: Enlightenment do thou grant me, who languish in the darkness of the passions, who am wretched and sinful; and deliver me from my wicked deeds and from the flame which lieth before me, O all-pure Mistress, thou intercessor for those who hymn thee.

Exapostilarion, Special Melody: “Hearken, ye women…”

By the power of Christ thou didst pass through struggles beyond the power of man, O venerable one; for thou didst stand for fifty-three years upon thy pillar, beset from every quarter, O wise Alypius. And now thou hast found the goal of all good things, O blessed one.

Theotokion

Thou art mine intercessor and steadfast refuge, O pure one; thou art my helper and protection; and, falling down before thee, I cry: Deliver me from mine ailments, in that thou art the greatest of all; and from everlasting fire rescue me, who place my hope in thee, O Virgin.