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.