CANON TO ST. SISOIS THE GREAT

Ode 1.

Irmos.  Let us sing to the Lord.

By your intercessions quicken me, for I have slain myself by my passions, Father, and you with great boldness stand before Christ, the life of the living.

With divine love, Father, you beat off the desires of the flesh and followed with longing after him who called you, blessed Sisois.

Having received immaterial radiance, within your heart, Father, you were illumined and you utterly destroyed all the mist of the passions.

Save me, for I am buffeted by the surging fury of all pleasures, and you bore the Savior, the tranquility of the whole world, all-immaculate Virgin.

Ode 3.

Irmos.  You are the steadfastness.

You severely subjected your flesh to your mind, O saint, and your soul was not humiliated by slavery to the passions.

You wisely cultivated the ground of your soul with labors, O saint, causing it to burst into flower with the fruit of impassibility and miracles.

You put on mortification, O glorious among the followers of the life-giving Christ; wherefore he gives you the grace to raise even the dead. 

We hymn you as the hallowed place and noetic table, O pure Mother of God, for you received Christ, who is the bread and life of all.

Ode 4

Irmos.  I have heard, O Lord.

Deluged with a heavy rain of grace, Father, you poured forth rivers of miracles, cleansing from defilements those who run to you in faith, O blessed saint.

Having purified your soul by making intercessions all night and by standing in prayer all day, you became a dwelling of the Trinity.

Fleeing the world, you went deep into the desert, Father, where you awaited him who saves you from faint-heartedness and affliction.

Habakkuk of old foresaw you as the unhewn mountain, all-immaculate Virgin, from which God appeared and renewed us corrupt sinners.

Ode 5

Irmos:  Rising at dawn we cry to thee.

Having become a temple of the three-sunned Divinity, you drove out of your soul the images of the passions.

Having mortified the understanding of your flesh, inspired saint, in cooperation with grace you raised the dead.

As you bore the sun of grace, Mother of God, impassable Virgin, illumine me, for I am plunged in darkness.

Ode 6

Irmos.  Be merciful to me, Savior.

You escaped the utter destruction of the noetic sea-monster, Father, having acquired self-control, prayer, genuine love, mighty humility and steadfast affection for Christ.

Christ guided your steps to him; the powerful one made you powerful to trample safely on the heads of serpents and scorpions, inspired and all-blessed saint.

By your inclination to God, you were plainly reckoned a god; by an absolute love for the light, you became a light, an earthly angel and a heavenly man, inspired Father.  

Mary, pure treasure of virginity, cleanse my mind of the darkness of the passions and fill my heart with grace and righteousness, all-immaculate Virgin.

Ode 7.

Irmos:  The youths of the Hebrews.

You displayed all the splendor of the Spirit in your purified mind and you are a luminary of those who shout faithfully, Blessed are you, O Lord our God, unto the ages.

With the divine fire of self-control, you burned up the thorns of sin and you approached the noetic light, crying out, Blessed are you, O Lord our God, unto the ages.

Save me, Mother of the Savior, for I am oppressed by a sea of sins, and rescue me from all kinds of evils inflicted on me by the enemy, so that saved, I may magnify your protection.

Ode 8.

Irmos.  Sevenfold the furnace.

By continuous prayers and intercessions, you drove the defilement of the passions from your soul and you cleansed the sight of your mind.  Wherefore, you were deemed worthy to foresee prophetically things to come, Sisois, reverently singing, Ye people, exalt Christ above all forever.

You lived angelically in your body, O saint, and you put to flight the forces of the enemy; therefore, you joyfully made your home in the immaterial life, Father, where with the ranks of angels, you now cry out, Ye priests, bless, ye people exalt Christ above all forever.

Cleanse me by your holy intercessions to God, for my soul runs riot with the passions, and deliver me from the captivity which holds me fast, inspired Father, so that I may chant purely:  Ye youths bless, ye priests, hymn, ye people, exalt Christ above all forever.

Sanctified by the Spirit, you received in your womb the Creator of human nature and you bore him indescribably, pure Maiden, whom we unceasingly hymn as we shout, Ye youths bless, ye priests, hymn, ye people, exalt Christ above all forever.

Ode 9.

Irmos.  All who heard shuddered.

An awe-inspiring wonder took place at the time of your death:  your face flashed like lightning more brightly than the sun, Father, when the choirs of the saints stood by to receive your spirit and bring it to God, your Creator.

As you now delight in the divine beauties of Heaven, O blessed one, and are deified by your adoption, and have become brilliant with the radiant splendors streaming from there, by your supplications deliver from the murky filth of the passions those who celebrate your radiant memory faithfully.

Father, you were just and blameless, abstaining from every evil; as an innocent saint you served God in holiness; the Trinity therefore rested on your heart, and you now more clearly delight in him with a far-seen radiance, admirable one.

There is altogether no salvation in me because of my deeds, all-immaculate Virgin; for by travelling the enemy’s path, I am filled with darkness, but as you caused the light from light to rise for us, illumine me and save me; do not disdain me, for I am perishing terribly.

FIRST CANON TO ST. PAISIOS BY METROPOLITAN JOEL OF EDESSA

ODE I

Irmos.  Of old, the wonder-working staff of Moses submerged the charioteer of the Pharoah, having as a prefiguration of the Cross struck and divided the sea, but saved fugitive Israel, travelling on foot, who raised to God a hymn of praise.

I wish to hymn with my whole heart the revered Paisius the wondrous, and I beg, my all-powerful Christ, for the power to celebrate in song his life and his numerous wonders, O Lord.

Reverently you lived on Earth, famous saint, as another angel; having subdued your flesh and the stirring passions, you have become a father of graces and a receptacle of God for the Orthodox, Paisius, procuring for all what they need.

By your supplications you rendered the maker of all creation favorable on behalf of those in distress and affliction, O saint, and you were appointed to teach many men to lead a holier life, Paisius, boast of the Holy Mountain.

Awash in the ocean of our passions, I am engulfed, Mother of God, desperately poor and wretched, wherefore I also cry out to you:  By your prayers, end the commotion of my passions, guardian of the Holy Mountain.

Ode III

Irmos.  As you in the beginning made firm the heavens with understanding and established the earth upon the waters, make me fast on the rock of your commandments, O Christ, for there is no other than you, only holy, compassionate one.

You bravely despised the unclean one, holy saint, for your mind was fortified by freedom from arrogance.  After you put on the breastplate of grace by your prayers, you put to flight the crew of the enemy, Paisius.

By your unceasing prayers to the Master of all, you offer earnest prayers, Father Paisius, that those who call on you be delivered from dangers; hear me also as I seek deliverance from oppressive misfortunes.

Having received strength from above, you help the souls of the departed by your intercessions, all-blessed one, for you said to the faithful that you would pray for them after their departure on the grounds that they would have greater need than did the living, O Paisius.

When the Creator became incarnate of your pure blood, he
overthrew ancient Belial and graciously gave to mortals the remission of their sins, all-immaculate Virgin, and the liberation of their souls.

Kathisma.  Tone 4.  Quickly anticipate.
Your holy soul has become a workshop of prayer, Paisius, by continuous prayer and divine supplications, for you lived long in your cell, Father, and you were a shining pillar, interceding with Christ, the almighty creator of all things.

Theotokion.  Same melody.
O Virgin who has not known man, you have become by your birth-giving the hope of Christians, the glory and boast of the Orthodox faithful, the ornament of the angels; wherefore, O Lady, you have the greatest boldness before the throne of your Son, ever pleading on behalf of those who honor you.

ODE IV

Irmos.  You are my might and power, O Lord!  You are my God!  You are my exultation, who did not leave the bosom of your Father to visit our poverty.  Wherefore with the Prophet Habakkuk I cry to you:  “Glory to your power, O compassionate God!”

Having received strength from Heaven, you bravely endured the weaknesses of the flesh, O godly-minded Paisius, and you uttered songs of doxology to Christ; wherefore you have also received the gift of healing souls and bodies.

Carefully you followed the teaching of the Fathers, and you confessed Christ bravely in Thessalonica, all-blessed one; sharing with other monks as an angel in a godly-minded way, you gave to men an example of faith.

Immaterial light often surrounded your face, Father Paisius, and you were raised over the Earth, holding your hands, which had been lifted up to the Lord; wherefore also those who saw your form in the brightness were wholly astounded, all-praiseworthy.

In your belly the almighty God dwelt, Mother of God. Reviving the mass of mortals from corruption, he annulled the curse, made death of no effect and utterly humbled the pride of the gloomy adversary, Belial.

ODE V

Irmos.  Why have you thrust me from your presence, O light inaccessible?  And why has the alien darkness covered me, a wretched man?  But correct me and guide my ways to the light of your commandments, I pray.

You foresaw with certainty the life and deeds of those who came to you, Father Paisius, and you gave to each everything appropriate for their salvation, showing to all your concern and mercy.

As one who was gentle and poor, a very attentive practitioner of prayer, the friend of peace, an unshaken lover of love and the friend of God, you distinguished yourself as a defender of men, divinely wise Paisius.

You admonished those rashly speaking men deceived by the heresies of terrible Belial, with Orthodox instructions and teachings and with signs and wonders, O Saint.

Eve, our first mother, anciently took upon herself the curse of our race, but you, O Mother of God, bore joy and peace by your birthgiving for all. Therefore, we your servants hold you as the champion of men, O Queen.

ODE VI

Irmos.  Be merciful to me, O Savior, for many are my transgressions, and lead me up from the abyss of sins, I pray—for I have cried out to you—and hear me, O God of my salvation.

Chastely you lived on Earth, O Saint, chastely also among the faithful, whom you tended with your words; therefore you have become, O Father, an exemplar of piety and of purity of life.

Gushing forth streams of temperance like a well-spring, you gave drink to the crowd of young people, Paisius, and guided them from dissipation to the channel of grace.

Prudently, discreetly and safely, you maintained the dogmas of Orthodoxy in your life, Paisius of the Holy Mountain, our inspired teacher.

After death you were elevated to the dwellings of your Lord, and you had as a recompense for your labors the graces of the healing diseases and consoling those who suffer, most holy saint.

Kontakion
With our whole heart let us praise in hymns the world-famous ascetic of the Holy Mountain, a newly appearing luminary who guided the faithful to the noblest life and filled them with rivers of gifts, for which they cry, Hail, Father Paisius.

Ikos
You appeared, Paisius, as another angel, at the end of the ages, in Athos, for you lived in a holy fashion on Earth; the equal of the ancient ascetics, you appeared to those with you, who shout to you fervently such things as these:

Hail, divine child of the Farasiotes!
Hail, great bliss of Athos!
Hail, inspired boast of Konitsi!
Hail, ornament of the common life of Souroti!
Hail, fountain copious beyond nature with gifts!
Hail, irrepressible stream of life-saving healings!
Hail, for you make the Monastery of Esphigmenos famous!
Hail, for you dwelt in Mt. Sinai!
Hail, leader of humble mortals!
Hail, holder of many gifts!
Hail, deliverer of those who grieve deeply!
Hail, expounder of monks!
Rejoice, Father Paisius!

ODE VII

Irmos.  Upon a time, the fire in Babylon feared the descent of God; therefore the youths in the furnace, with joyful step, chanted as if dancing in a meadow, “Blessed is the God of our fathers.”

You trained very nobly the gathering of young men by your precepts to choose marriage or to prefer the course of the monks; therefore they also cried with you, chanting, Blessed is the God of our fathers.

You patiently bore, O saint, the diseases of your body, for you held these pains as a delight, Father Paisius; therefore you also received abundant grace to wondrously heal various passions.

You, O saint, were seen to be a man who by your divine conception was superior to the passions of the soul and loftier than the painful diseases of your body, Father Paisius, for you loved Christ God.

Your women’s convent rejoices, having your tomb in Souroti as a treasure of gifts of the Spirit and cries out ever to the King of all:  Blessed is the God of our fathers.

The ranks of the earthborn are set free by the streams of your miracles, all-blameless Virgin, from the deception of Belial, the attack of the passions and afflictions, the various calamities of life and the diseases of the body, O pure one.

ODE VIII

Irmos.  With rage the tyrant of the Chaldeans kindled the furnace sevenfold for the youths, but having seen them saved by a mightier power he cried out to the Creator and Savior:  “Ye youths, bless!  Ye priests, sing hymns!  Ye people, exalt him above all forever!”

Gladly, saintly father, the gatherings of the faithful ran to you on Mount Athos, most holy one, to receive your love and power, for you had many gifts from God, and in these times you were distinguished as a support of men who begged from you a support in life.

Understanding the noblest things during your life, O saint, in Mt. Athos and in other places, they hymn the clement Lord Jesus, because of your emergence as a star in the final age and you dispersed with your words and deeds the darkness of men who had met with disaster, all-blessed one.

You appeared to monks on the Holy Mountain and Sinai, all blessed one, as an exemplar of the ascetic by your all-night vigils and your numerous fasts, for you raise your hands with all your heart to Christ on behalf of men, Godly-minded Paisius, and you are equal in honor to the Fathers.

All-pure Virgin, we who are sick with many diseases, with the cares of life and with passions of soul, with humble hymns, we all earnestly entreat you, the undefiled and incorrupt queen, not to cease your supplications, for you help us who hymn you to climb up from the cistern of our sins.

ODE XI

Irmos.  Heaven was amazed and the ends of the Earth were astounded, for God appeared bodily to men and your womb became more spacious than Heaven; wherefore, Mother of God, the orders of angles and men glorify you.

Delivered from the slime of sins, you cleansed the eye of your soul and through it you saw men’s difficult diseases of soul and body, Paisius, as they truly were and you guided all who came to you, O blessed one, to a better state.

Like the Fathers of old, you scrupulously trod the path of Christ in a manner pleasing to God, wondrous Paisius, and you have become a father equal to Tychon and his fellow ascetics in Athos, and even in this last age, you have left a model of purity for men.

By your sacred mediations guard us who honor you joyfully and hymn your memory reverently, O saint, from the harm of the avenging spirit and from the evil attacks of life and from the squalls of sins, for you have boldness in Heaven, O saint blessed by God.

Virgin Mother of God, drive away the mad attacks of the evil one with your strength, for you wondrously bore Christ who destroyed the pride of the ancient dragon and you crushed his head with your heel as our most splendid champion.

ENDNOTES FOR THE CIRCUMSPECT

This canon is the first of two by Metropolitan Joel of Edessa.  One original may be found here.  I thank Zoilus for patiently proofing my translation.  I hope to add notes in the future.