Mighty Defender, and Commander, I, your City, sing hymns of
thanksgiving for the vic-tory ascribed to you!
From all terrors have
you rescued me, Theotokos. I entreat you, for your power is
invincible
from all dangers that may threaten me, deliver me, that I
may cry to you: Hail to you, O unwedded bride
FIRST STASIS
An Angel of the first rank was sent from heaven to say
to the Theotokos: Rejoice!
(3) And perceiving You, O Lord, taking
bodily form,
he stood in awe and with his bodiless voice cried aloud
to her as follows:
Rejoice, through whom joy shall shine forth; rejoice, through whom the curse shall vanish
Rejoice, fallen Adam's restoration; re-joice, redemption of Eve's
tears.
Rejoice, height that is too difficult for human thought to
ascend; rejoice,
depth that is too strenuous for Angels' eyes to
perceiveRejoice,
for you are the throne of the King; rejoice, for you
hold him Who sustains everything.
Rejoice, star that shows forth the
Sun; rejoice,
womb in which God became incar-nate.Rejoice, through
whom creation is re-newed;
rejoice, through whom the Creator becomes
an infant.
Rejoice, O Unwedded Bride.People: Rejoice, O Unwedded Bride
Boldly and without fear, the holy maiden spoke to Gabriel, knowing
her own chastity:
The incredible tidings of your voice appear
difficult for my soul to accept.
For how do you speak of childbirth
from a seedless conception, crying: Alleluia.People: Alleluia.
Curious to know knowledge that is knowable to no one,
the Virgin
cried out to the ministering angel: How is it pos-sible for a son
to
be born of pure loins? Tell me. To whom the angel answered in fear,
crying out:Rejoice, initiate of ineffable counsel; re-joice, faith of
silent beseechers.
Rejoice, introduction to Christ's mira-cles;
rejoice, consummation of his doctrinal articles.
Rejoice, heavenly
ladder by which God came down;
rejoice, bridge leading those from
earth to heaven.
Rejoice, marvel greatly renowned among the Angels;
rejoice, wound bitterly la-mented by demons.
Rejoice, for you ineffably gave birth to the light;
rejoice, for the
mystery you taught to no one.
Rejoice, surpassing the knowledge of
scholars;
rejoice, dawn that illumines the minds of believers.
Rejoice, O Unwedded Bride.People: Rejoice, O Unwedded Bride.
Divine
power of the Most High overshad-owed the unwedded Maiden
that she
might conceive, and made her luxuriant womb appear
as a fertile field
for everyone who desires to reap salvation
while chant-ing thusly:
Alleluia.People: Alleluia
Enshrining God in her womb, the Virgin hastened to visit Elizabeth,
whose own babe at once knowing her greeting, rejoiced and leaping up
as if in song, cried out to the Theotokos:Rejoice, branch of an
unwithered shoot;
rejoice, land of unblemished fruit.Rejoice, you who
cultivate the husband
and who loves humankind; rejoice, for you gave
birth to the gardener
of our life.Rejoice, arable land yielding an
abun-dance of compassion;
rejoice, table laden an abundance of
grace.Rejoice,
for you make flourish the mead-ows of luxury; rejoice,
for you prepare a safe harbor for our souls.
Rejoice, intercession's
acceptable in-cense; rejoice,
expiation for all the world.Rejoice,
goodwill of God to mortals;
re-joice, boldness of mortals before
God.Rejoice,
O Unwedded Bride. People: Rejoice, O Unwedded Bride.
Fraught within with confusion, brought about by doubtful thoughts,
the wise Jo-seph was troubled as he looked upon you the unwedded,
and
suspected you, O Blame-less one. But when he learned of your
con-ception
by the Holy Spirit, he said: Alleluia.People: Alleluia
SECOND STASIS
Gloriously, angels sang hymns to the in-carnate
presence of Christ,
and the shepherds heard; and hastening as to a
shepherd,
they beheld him as a spotless lamb who had been pastured
in
the womb of Mary, to whom they sang praises saying:
Rejoice, mother of
the Lamb and Shep-herd; rejoice, sheepfold of spiritual
sheep.
Rejoice, defense against invisible ene-mies; rejoice,
key to
the doors of Paradise.Rejoice, for heavenly things are exulting with
the earth;
rejoice, earthly things that are dancing with the heavenly
ones.
Rejoice, never-silent voice of the Apos-tles; rejoice,
unconquered courage of the Martyrs.Rejoice, faith's unshakable
foundation;
rejoice, shining revelation of grace.Rejoice, through
whom Hades is di-vested;
rejoice, through whom we have been vested in
glory.Rejoice, O Unwedded Bride
People: Rejoice, O Unwedded Bride
High above, the star leading to God was beheld by the Magi,
who
followed its brightness; and holding it as a lantern,
they searched
for the powerful King, and reach-ing the Unreachable,
they rejoiced
and cried to him: Alleluia.People: Alleluia
In the hands of the Virgin, the Chaldean children saw him who
fashioned human-kind.
And perceiving him to be the Lord, even though
he had taken the form of a slave,
they hastened to pay tribute with
gifts and to greet the blessed Lady:Rejoice,
mother of an unsetting
star; re-joice, dawn of the mystic day.
Rejoice, who extinguished the
furnace of error; rejoice,
who enlighten initiates of the
Trinity.
Rejoice, deposer of the inhuman tyrant from his rule;
rejoice, discloser of the Lord Christ who loves humankind.
Rejoice,
redeemer from pagan religions; rejoice, deliverer from the mire of
sin.
Rejoice, for you have caused the wor-ship of fire to cease;
rejoice, releaser from the flames of passions.
Rejoice, guide of the faithful to chastity; rejoice, gladness of all
generations.
Rejoice, O Unwedded Bride.People: Rejoice, O Unwedded
Bride.
King’s messengers, the Magi returned to Babylon having become the
God-bearing heralds.
For they fulfilled Your prophecy and proclaimed
You as the Christ to all,
abandoning Herod as frivolous who did not
know to sing:
Alleluia.People: Alleluia.Lighting in Egypt the lamp of
truth,
You dispelled the darkness of error; for her idols, O Savior,
unable to endure your strength fell,
while they who were deliv-ered
from them cried to the Theotokos:
Rejoice, the restoration of
humankind; rejoice, the downfall of demons.
Rejoice, crusher of the
delusion of error; rejoice, uncoverer of the deceit of idolatry
Rejoice, sea that drowned the invisible Pharaoh;
rejoice, rock that
refreshed those thirsty for lifeRejoice,
pillar of fire that guides
those in darkness; rejoice,
protection of the world wider than a
cloud.
Rejoice, replacer of manna; rejoice, minister of sacred
joy.
Rejoice, land of promises; rejoice, from whom flow milk and
honey.
Rejoice, O Unwedded Bride.People: Rejoice, O Unwedded
Bride.
Master, You were presented as a babe to Symeon on the threshold
of being transported out of this present beguiling age,
but also
perceived by him to be perfect God; for which cause
he marveled at
Your ineffable wisdom, crying: Alleluia.People: Alleluia.
THIRD STASIS New was the Creation that revealed the Creator
by
showing himself to us whom he created, sprouting up from
an unseeded
womb, while preserving it just as it was, unspoiled,
so that
beholding the miracle we might extol her by saying:Rejoice,
flower of
incorruption; rejoice, crown of chastity.Rejoice, illuminator of the
impress.
of the resurrection; rejoice, for the angelical life you
exemplified.
Rejoice, tree with luscious fruit by which the faithful
are sustained;
rejoice, foliaged tree of beautiful shade beneath
which many are sheltered.
Rejoice, you who were pregnant with the
guide for the wayward;
rejoice, you who gave birth to the redeemer of
cap-tives
Rejoice, by whom the righteous Judge is pacified; rejoice,
forgiveness of many of-fenders.
Rejoice, robe of those without hope;
re-joice, tender love that defeats every long-ing;
Rejoice, O
Unwedded Bride.People: Rejoice, O Unwedded Bride.
Our minds are
transported to Heaven, seeing the strange childbirth;
let us be
estranged from the mundane.
For this pur-pose the most high God
appeared on earth as a lowly man,
wishing to attract to heaven those
who cry to Him: Alleluia.People: Alleluia.
Present below completely
but in no way absent from on high was the
uncir-cumscribable Word.
For this was divine condescension and not a change of place.
He was
born of a God-chosen virgin who heard this:
Rejoice, uncontainable
land of God; re-joice, doorway of sacred mystery.
Rejoice,
unbelievable myth for the un-faithful; rejoice, unequivocal boast of
the faithful.
Rejoice, all-holy vehicle of Him who rides the Cherubim;
rejoice, exquisite domicile
of Him who mounts the Seraphim.Rejoice,
bringer of opposites to har-mony;
rejoice, joiner of virginity and
child-birth.Rejoice, through whom sin was nulli-fied;
rejoice,
through whom Paradise was opened.Rejoice, key of Christ's kingdom;
re-joice, the hope of eternal blessings.Rejoice, O Unwedded
Bride.People:
Rejoice, O Unwedded Bride
Quite amazed were the Angel Hosts by the great deed of Your
incarnation.
For they beheld the once inaccessible God ac-cessible to
all as a man living among us,
while hearing from everyone:
Alleluia.People: Alleluia.Rhetors of eloquence
we see mute as fish
before you O Theotokos. For they are at a loss to
explain how you had
the power to give birth and yet remained a vir-gin.
But we the
faithful marveling at the mystery cry out with faith:Rejoice,
vessel
of God's wisdom; rejoice, storehouse of God's providence.Rejoice,
revealer of philosophers as fools; rejoice, exposer of the
technologists as irrational.
Rejoice, for the fierce debaters are made
foolish; rejoice, for the creators of the myths have wilted.
Rejoice, breaker of the webs of the Athenians' logic; rejoice,
filler of the nets of the fishermen.Rejoice, drawer of many from the
abyss of ignorance;
rejoice, enlightener of many with
knowledge.Rejoice, ship for those wishing salva-tion;
rejoice, harbor
for life's navigator.Rejoice, O Unwedded Bride. People: Rejoice,
O
Unwedded Bride.Saving the world as his wish, the Creator of all came
down
to it of his own will. And while being the shepherd as God, for
us he appeared like us,
as a man; and hav-ing called his own, like by
like, as God he hears: Alleluia.People: Alleluia
FOURTH STASIS Theotokos and Virgin, you are the for-tress for virgins
and
for all who run to you for refuge. O immaculate Maiden,
for the
Creator of heaven and earth prepared you,
inhabiting your womb and
instructing all to address you thus;
Rejoice, pillar of virginity;
rejoice, the gate of salvation.Rejoice,
initiator of spiritual
renewal; rejoice, provider of godly benevolence.
Rejoice, for through
you were born again those conceived in shame;
rejoice, for you have
admonished those whose in-tellects had been captured.
Rejoice, for you
abolished him who cor-rupts reason; rejoice, for you have given
birth
to the saver of purityRejoice, bridal chamber of seedless mar-riage;
rejoice, you who join the faithful to the Lord.
Rejoice, beautiful nursemaid of virgins; rejoice, bridesmaid of souls
that are holy.
Rejoice, O Unwedded Bride.People: Rejoice, O Unwedded
Bride.Unsuccessful is every hymn
that at-tempts to pay homage to the
multi-tude of Your mercies. For even if we offer
You odes in number
equal to the sands, O holy King, yet we do nothing worthy of
what You
have given us who cry to You: Alleluia.People: Alleluia.Verily, we
see the holy Virgin,
as a light-bearing torch who brings light to
those in darkness. For she lit the spiri-tual light,
and thus leads
everyone to di-vine knowledge, enlightening the mind with the light
of dawn
and is honored by such praises:Rejoice, ray of the spiritual
Sun; rejoice, beam of the unsetting luster.
Rejoice, lightning
completely illuminating souls; rejoice, thunder that stuns the
ene-mies.
Rejoice, for the glowing light you make rise upon the earth;
rejoice,
for you spring forth the flowing river.Rejoice, you who
illustrate the image of the font;
rejoice, you who wash away the
stain of sin.Rejoice, water washing consciences clean;
rejoice, cup
that mixes great joy.Rejoice, sweet smelling fragrance of Christ;
rejoice, life of the mystical feast-ing.Rejoice, O Unwedded
Bride.People:
Rejoice, O Unwedded Bride
Wishing to grant pardon for ancient debts, he who cancels the debts
of all people
came himself and dwelt among those who were estranged
from his divine grace;
and tearing apart the record of sin, he hears
from everyone: Alleluia.People:
Alleluia.Your birth-giving we
extoll, we all praise you as a living temple, O The-otokos.
For the
Lord whose hand sustains the world, having dwelt in your womb,
sanctified
and glorified you, and instructed all people to cry to
you:Rejoice, tabernacle of God the Logos;
re-joice, holy one, holier
than the holies.Rejoice, ark that was gilt by the Spirit;
rejoice,
inexhaustible treasure of life.Rejoice, precious diadem of godly
kings;
rejoice, honored pride of the pious priests
Rejoice, the Church's unshakable tower; rejoice, the kingdom's
unassailable fortress.
Rejoice, through whom trophies of vic-tory are
raised; rejoice, through
whom ene-mies are defeated.Rejoice, healing
of my body; rejoice,
my soul's salvation.Rejoice, O Unwedded
Bride.People: Rejoice, O Unwedded Bride.
Zealously we praise the all-laudable Mother who gave birth to the
Word,
the holiest of all who are holy (3), while accept-ing this
offering now,
deliver everyone from all calamities, and deliver from
future
pun-ishment those who cry out: Alleluia.People: Alleluia.
