Friday, November 29, 2019

Supplicatory Canon to St. Nicholas Planas, Champion of the Married

Ode I
Irmos.  After crossing the sea as if it were dry ground and escaping the wickedness of Egypt, the Israelite cried out:  Let us sing to God, our redeemer.

Now that you have fallen asleep in the Lord in a holy manner, Father Nicholas Planas, you have become the companion of the saints, and I entreat you to beseech God to deliver me from sins and misfortunes.

Being as zealous as the Fathers, O Father Nicholas Planas, you performed the divine sacrifice, completing the liturgy and praying as many times as there were days.

Since you were bathed with tears of earthly compunction, O Father Nicholas Planas, pray to the Lord to grant forgiveness of sins to those who have asked you, O holy one.

You joyfully put the sins of all men on your shoulders, O Father Nicholas Planas, and you helped all men zealously, ever praying to the Mother of God.

Ode III
Irmos.  You covered the vault of the sky with a roof, O Lord, and built the church; confirm me in your love, O summit of desires, support of the faithful and only clement Lord.

You, with Nicodemus, were the second blossom of Paradise on the island of Naxos and now with him you earnestly entreat your God and Master to give grace and mercy to the Naxians.

Holiest, fervent father of Vouliagmeni and of the temple of the Forerunner, by your holy and sacerdotal intercessions entreat your God to give us illumination and divine mercy.

Imitating the life of the seraphim and the other ranks of angels, you lived on earth as a poor man and not as one enmeshed in earthly things, and you distributed your wealth to your relatives and emptied out your wallet to the poor.

You were a consolation to all sinners and you offered prayers fervently to the Mother of God in the church of Elisha; you performed vigils and as one inspired you lifted up every man from the earth.

Ode IV
Irmos.  I have heard, O Lord, the mystery of your dispensation; I have meditated on your works and glorified your divinity.

You prolonged every pain in the recesses of your soul when you remained without a wife, O saint, and you yearned after the solitary life.

You renounced, Nicholas, every ordinary desire of the flesh and you lived as an angel on earth with complete self-control.

Although you lived amid the roar of many waters, Father Nicholas, sometimes with dry feet you reached the church of Elisha and kept vigil.

For the greatest number of hours, all-holy saint, you were offering up your divine intercessions to God and you begged for the fervent entreaty of the Mother of God.

Ode V
Irmos.  Illumine us with your commandments, O Lord, and by your lofty arm grant us your peace, O merciful God.

Only gracious, all-merciful and compassionate Lord, by the intercessions of Nicholas Planas grant me your peace now and the forgiveness of my sins.

Merciful and compassionate Lord, by the fervent prayers of your saint grant your mercy and the forgiveness of trespasses now to all men.

You hearkened to the law, O good one; prescribe the laws for me by your divine instructions so that I may find the unerring road of Christ.

I beg of you, my gracious Queen and Lady, to give me your goodwill and divine affection by the prayers of Nicholas.

Ode VI
Irmos.  I will pour out my supplication to the Lord and to him will I declare my afflictions, for my soul has been filled with troubles and my life has approached Hades, so like Jonah I pray:  Raise me up from death, O God.

O Father Nicholas, beseech the Forerunner and the prophet Elisha, for whom you, all-blessed one, performed services with fiery zeal every day when you prayed as a priest, and grant to all men the intercession of the prophets and the saints, all-holy one.

I beg you by your intercessions to deliver me, for I have fallen into the enemy’s net; keep me safe and sound in this present life, O saint, and pray that I may attain to the summit of blessings.

Set me free from the passions and from various temptations and diseases, as many as now afflict my body, for it is mortal, corrupt and wretched; give me strength, might and health and divine assistance.

O Virgin that is hymned by all, our all-holy intercessor, since we are piteously needy, by the fervent intercessions of Nicholas give to all of us pardon, forgiveness of trespasses and your divine assistance, so that we may flee the enjoyment of the world.

Prayers following Ode VI
Nicholas, as the recipient of the abundant grace of the Lord, pour upon us Naxians the same grace and illumine the hearts of all.

Prosomoion.  Tone VI.  Having set aside all.
Having renounced from childhood your whole heart for the sake of God, all-blessed Nicholas Planas, you longed to live most nobly and you followed after the poverty of the priesthood, fulfilled the service and the profession of the spiritual father, and you excelled in the most numerous miracles and all-night vigils; therefore we celebrate you, our holy,  Heaven-revealing priest and father.


O holy Father, willingly listen to us who hymn you and accept the entreaties and thanksgivings of the Naxians, O famous saint, and give to all men joy and the health for which they long.

Having departed from the streams of life, Father, you also followed the footsteps of the Lord and Savior of the world and you offered your holy soul to him, imitating the fathers. 

As a lamp in the darkness you showed that your heart was lit up ceaselessly with longing for the Lord and as a priest you were a wonderworking and mystical officiant of the liturgy.

Receive my entreaties, though I am a thrice-wretched sinner, O all-pure Mother, by the intercessions of Nicholas Planas of Naxos, and bring my request now to your son so that I may be delivered from deception.

Ode VIII
Irmos.  The king of Heaven whom the hosts of angels hymn, hymn and exalt him above all forever.

Because you humbled your body, Father, by fasts, by sleeping on the ground, by vigils and by many other toils, you lived among angels.

When you were venerating the icons of the saints on the walls, you looked at your small body and laughed at it, so that they were moved to stretch out their feet for you to kiss.

Let us peoples of Naxos and Paros in like manner worship in the temple of Nicholas, to which we have gathered together now in manifest affection for you.

See, Virgin Mother of God, Mary, the children of Nicholas of Planas and give them your divine protection.

Ode IX
Irmos.  O Mother of God, we who have been saved through you fittingly confess you, and with the incorporeal choirs magnify you, O pure Virgin.

Worthily we the people of Naxos and Athens as your fellow countrymen and friends of Christ our God hymn you unceasingly.

Your fame, Father Planas, has gone equally far past the boundaries of Naxos and Athens and all have run to you with confidence.

Give me your grace, most holy father; I beg of you for mercy, divine Planas, that my oppressive sins may be blotted out.

Virgin Mother of God, pure Mary, with Nicholas acceptably entreat Christ our God that I perform his divine commands.


ENDNOTES FOR THE CIRCUMSPECT
At the time I did this translation, I was doing it strictly for my private use and so did not preserve the URL of the Greek original.  It looks like https://wwwfyllades.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/cf80ceb1cf81ceb1cebacebbceb7cf84ceb9cebacf8ccf82-cebaceb1cebdcf8ecebd-ceb5e1bcb0cf82-cf84e1bdb8cebd-e1bc85ceb3ceb9cebfcebd-cebdceb9ceba.pdf is the same.  
I thank Zoilos for his ever-illuminating comments on my translations from the Greek.

Ode I.
"C
ompleting the liturgy and praying as many times as there were days."  The saint is said to have performed the liturgy every day for fifty years.

Ode V.
"Unerring" (ἄσφαλτος) looks like the word for asphalt, but is really an adjective with a confusing hodge-podge of definitions:  probus, bonus (Stephanos); unfehlbar, fehlerlos (Lexikon zur byzantinischen Gräzität); solid, stable, well-built (Montanari).

Ode VI.
"Enjoyment" (εὐπάθεια) seems the easiest way out of a semantic thicket.  Montanari offers pleasant sensation, enjoyment, joy, pleasure, sensitivity, passivity, and Kyriakides is largely in agreement.  Lampe defines as happiness, spiritual well-being, benefit and passibility.  Stephanus defines as "natura quae facile affici potest" (a nature which is easily affected, whence Kyriakides' susceptibility).  Perhaps most of these definitions would be captured by a sense of well-being based on a sensitivity to pleasant sensations.

Prosomoia
"Heaven-revealing" is my best bet on ορανοφάντωρ, for LBG can offer nothing better than Ofenbarer des Himmels.  Logeion suggests shining up to Heaven (Pape agrees) and disclosing Heaven (Lampe agrees).  The Worterbuch altgriechisch-deutsch at de-academic.com proposes am Himmel erscheinend (appearing in the sky or Heaven).  If this latter definition is correct, then this word is probably an attempt to find a creative way to say "dwelling in Heaven."



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