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For you loosened the bond when you rose, And to the mortal race you granted a nature, such that we too might live all our days, and sing of you, the immortal, evermore. 515 Λ∆ʹ. Another Thanksgiving. To you be thanks, O king of all, and maker of all. To you be thanks; who by a word the intelligible things, and by a command the visible, established when they were not before, and from the unseen revealed. Your throne is attended by pure singers of hymns, Ten thousands from this side, and thousands again from that, The fiery chorus of the angelic host, imperishable from the beginning, The peoples of the first-born, and the chorus of the shining stars; The spirits of divine men, and the souls of the just, All gathered together, and attending your throne, With both joy and fear they sing continuously A pure hymn, unceasingly hymned, or rather, unceasing; To you be thanks, O king of all, and maker of all. This is the pure hymn of the heavenly chorus. Yes, I too pray, imperishable Father, and bend the knee 516 of my heart, immortal Father, and my mind within is prostrate before you; and my head bows to the earth as I beseech; and I lie as a suppliant, and pour out tears. For I am not worthy to look up towards heaven But may you pity me, Father of mercies, be gracious To your wretched servant; and save me, stretching out your hand From the claws of death, having purified all my thoughts. Do not strip me of your Spirit, but rather still more Pour strength and courage into my breast; So that with both heart and lips I may sing beautifully of you. Just as you stood by my father, your servant, Grant to me also a pure life, and a pure end, And to obtain a good hope, and mercy, and grace; And blot out all the sins I committed from my youth, 517 As a good king; because to you is grace all our days, To you is grace all our days, and for all ages. ΛΕʹ. Invocation before the reading of the Scriptures. Hear, Father of Christ, overseer of all, these prayers of ours; and grant a song to your servant, A divine one. For driving my step onto the sacred path is this man, who has known the self-begotten God among the living, And Christ, the king who wards off evil for mortals; Who once, pitying the race of mortals suffering terribly, At the Father's prompting, willingly changed his form. And the immortal God became mortal, so that all who were toiling in Tartarus he might release from their bonds by his blood. Come now, from the sacred and pure book 518 nourish your soul with the God-inspired words. For there you might behold the servants of truth Proclaiming life with a heaven-high voice. Λʹ. Provisions for a journey. Christ, Lord, who are all good things to your mortals, and in all things have been made a straight path, Who by fire and cloud led the host, who also found a way In the divided sea for your friends, but covered Pharaoh, And you gave strange bread from heaven, and then from the rock You caused a stream to gush from the steep cliff, a great wonder, in the desert; Halting the might of hostile men, when he held apart, Prefiguring the cross, Moses' hands, my defense. And the moon and the sun checked their course. And as the river 519 gave way to those who hastened, and a path upon the earth was made easy, which you yourself promised and ordained. And you yourself showed the heavenly path to mortals At the last, and you mixed the new path with the ancient, When, being mixed as God and mortal, journeying upon our earth, again from there you were raised to heaven, and you will come to those who long for you more brightly than before. You yourself also walked upon the sea, and at your feet the wave fell, though hard-pressed by fierce winds. But, blessed one, come and be my fellow traveler as I call today, and grant a good journey, and a good angel, an escort, a defender, a helper, so that from all evils of the day and night you may keep me far away, And granting a good end to the journey to one who toils, setting out from home, and may you bring me back home again 520 to a life shared with my kin and friends

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γὰρ ἔλυσας δεσμὸν ἀναστὰς, Καὶ βροτέῃ γενεῇ φύσιν ὤπασας, οἷα καὶ ἡμᾶς Ζώειν ἤματα πάντα, σὲ δ' ἄμβροτον αἰὲν ἀείδειν. 515 Λ∆ʹ. Εὐχαριστήριον ἄλλο. Σοὶ χάρις, ὦ πάντων βασιλεῦ, πάντων δὲ ποιητά. Σοὶ χάρις· ὃς τὰ νοητὰ λόγῳ, τά θ' ὁρατὰ κελεύσει Στῆσας τ' οὐ πρὶν ἐόντα, καὶ ἐξ ἀφανοῦς κατέδειξας. Σὸν θρόνον ἀμφιέπουσιν ἀκήρατοι ὑμνητῆρες, Ἔνθεν μυριάδες, καὶ χιλιάδες πάλιν ἔνθεν, Ἀγγελικῆς στρατιῆς πυρόεις χορὸς, ἄφθιτοι ἀρχὴν Λαοὶ πρωτοτόκων, καὶ λαμπομένων χορὸς ἄστρων· Πνεύματα θεσπεσίων ἀνδρῶν, ψυχαί τε δικαίων, Πάντες ὁμηγερέες, καὶ σὸν θρόνον ἀμφιέποντες, Γηθοσύνῃ τε, φόβῳ τε διηνεκὲς ἀείδουσι Ὕμνον ἀνυμνείοντες ἀκήρατον, ἢ καὶ ἄπαυστον· Σοὶ χάρις, ὦ πάντων βασιλεῦ, πάντων δὲ ποιητά. Οὗτος ἀκήρατος ὕμνος ἐπ' οὐρανίοιο χοροῖο. Ναὶ λίτομαι κἀγὼ, Πάτερ ἄφθιτε, καὶ γόνυ κάμπτω 516 Ἡμετέρης κραδίης, Πάτερ ἄμβροτε, καὶ νόος ἔνδον Πρηνής σου προπάροιθε· κάρη δέ μοι ἐς χθόνα νεύει Λισσομένῳ· κεῖμαι δ' ἱκέτης, καὶ δάκρυα χεύω. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἄξιός εἰμι πρὸς οὐρανὸν ἀντία λεύσσειν Ἀλλὰ σύ μ' οἰκτείροις, ἐλέους Πάτερ, ἵλαος ἔσσο Σῷ κινυρῷ θεράποντι· σάου δέ με χεῖρα τανύσσας Ἐξ ὀνύχων θανάτοιο, νοήματα πάντα καθήρας. Μή μ' ἀπογυμνώσῃς σοῦ Πνεύματος, ἀλλ' ἔτι μᾶλλον Χεῦε μένος καὶ θάρσος ἐνὶ στήθεσσιν ἐμοῖσιν· Ὄφρα σε καὶ κραδίῃ, καὶ χείλεσι καλὸν ἀείσω. Ὥσπερ ἐμῷ γενετῆρι, σῷ θεράποντι παρέστης, ∆ὸς καὶ ἐμοὶ καθαρὸν βίοτον, καθαράν τε τελευτὴν, Ἐλπωρήν τε τυχεῖν ἀγαθὴν, ἔλεόν τε, χάριν τε· Πάντα δ' ἀμαλδύνει, ὅσα ἤλιτον ἐκ νεότητος, 517 Ὡς ἀγαθὸς βασιλεύς· ὅτι σοὶ χάρις ἤματα πάντα, Σοὶ χάρις ἤματα πάντα, καὶ εἰς αἰῶνας ἅπαντας. ΛΕʹ. Ἐπίκλησις πρὸ τῆς τῶν Γραφῶν ἀναγνώσεως. Κλῦθι, Πάτερ Χριστοῦ πανεπίσκοπε, τῶνδε λιτάων Ἡμετέρων· μολπὴν δὲ χαρίζεο σῷ θεράποντι Θεσπεσίην. Ζαθέην γὰρ ἐς ἀτραπὸν ἴχνος ἐλαύνων Οὗτος, ὃς αὐτογένεθλον ἐνὶ ζωοῖς θεὸν ἔγνω, Καὶ Χριστὸν θνητοῖσιν ἀλεξίκακον βασιλῆα· Ὅς ποτ' ἐποικτείρας μερόπων γένος αἰνὰ παθόντων Πατρὸς ὑπ' ἐννεσίῃσιν ἑκὼν ἠλλάξατο μορφήν. Γίγνετο δὲ θνητὸς Θεὸς ἄφθιτος, εἰς ὅ κε πάντας Ταρταρέων μογέοντας ὑφ' αἵματι λύσατο δεσμῶν. ∆εῦρ' ἴθι νῦν, ἱερῆς καὶ ἀκηρασίης ἀπὸ βίβλου 518 Ψυχὴν σὴν ἀτίταλλε θεοπνεύστοις ἐνὶ μύθοις. Ἔνθα γὰρ ἀθρήσειας ἀληθείης θεράποντας Ζωὴν ἀγγελέοντας ὑπ' οὐρανομήκεϊ φωνῇ. Λʹ. Ἐνόδια. Χριστὲ ἄναξ, ὃς πάντα πέλεις σοῖσιν μερόπεσσιν Ἐσθλὰ, καὶ ἐν πάντεσσιν ὁδὸς ἰθεῖα τέτυξαι, Ὃς πυρὶ καὶ νεφέλῃ στρατὸν ἤγαγες, ὅς θ' ὁδὸν εὗρες Ἐν πελάγει τμηθέντι φίλοις, Φαραὼ δ' ἐκάλυψας, Ἄρτον δ' οὐρανόθεν ξένον ὤπασας, ἐκ δ' ἄρα πέτρης Ἔβλυσας ἀκροτόμοιο ῥόον, μέγα θαῦμ', ἐν ἐρήμῳ· ∆υσμενέων ἀνδρῶν στῆσας μένος, εὖτε διέσχε, Σταυρὸν ὑποσκιάων, Μωσῆς χέρας, ἄλκαρ ἐμεῖο. Μήνη δ' ἠέλιός τε δρόμον σχέθον. Ὡς δὲ ῥέεθρον 519 Εἶξεν ἐπειγομένοισιν, ὁδὸς δ' ἐπὶ γαῖαν ἐτύχθη Ῥηϊδίη, τὴν αὐτὸς ὑπέσχεο καὶ κατένευσας. Αὐτὸς δ' οὐρανίην οἶμον μερόπεσσιν ἔδειξας Ὕστατον, ἀρχαίῃ δὲ νέην ἐπέμιξας ἀταρπὸν, Εὖτε Θεὸς θνητός τε κραθεὶς, ἐπὶ γαῖαν ὁδεύσας Ἡμετέρην, αὖθις δὲ πρὸς οὐρανὸν ἔνθεν ἀερθεὶς, Ἵξεαι ἐλδομένοισι φαάντερος, ἢ τὸ πάροιθεν. Αὐτὸς καὶ πελάγους ἐπεβήσαο, σοῖς δὲ πόδεσσιν Οἶδμα πέσεν, χαλεποῖσι βιαζόμενον ἀνέμοισιν. Ἀλλὰ μάκαρ, καὶ ἐμοί γε συνέμπορος ἐλθὲ καλεῦντι Σήμερον, εὐοδίην δὲ πόροις, καὶ ἄγγελον ἐσθλὸν, Πομπὸν, ἀλεξητῆρα, βοηθόον, ὄφρα με πάντων Ἠματίων νυχίων τε κακῶν ἄπο τηλόθ' ἐέργων, Καὶ τέλος ἐσθλὸν ὁδοῖο χαριζόμενος μογέοντι, Οἴκοθεν ἀρτεμέοντα, καὶ οἴκαδέ μ' αὖθις ἀγινοῖ 520 Πηοῖσίν τε φίλοις τε ὁμὸν βίον