Troparia and kontakia for September 4

Martyr Gorazd of Prague, Bohemia and Moravo-Cilezsk

Troparion — Tone 4

Orthodox leader and restorer of the Moravian Church, / Godly chief shepherd, Father Gorazd! / With joy, you suffered for the Truth. / Pray to our gracious God to save our souls!

Kontakion — Tone 2

Amid currents of uncertainty, you remained in truth like the hardest diamond, / and you preached to your native land Orthodoxy -- the way of salvation. / After a God-favored life as a teacher of the Gospel, O high priest and shepherd, / you patiently and bravely received the martyrs’ crown from Christ the Savior. / O Martyr, Enlightener, Father Gorazd, pray for us in the Kingdom of God.

Hieromartyr Babylas, Bishop of Antioch, and those with him

Troparion — Tone 4

Your holy martyrs O Lord, / through their sufferings have received incorruptible crowns from You, our God. / For having Your strength, they laid low their adversaries, / and shattered the powerless boldness of demons. / Through their intercessions, save our souls!

Kontakion — Tone 4

You guarded the mighty works of faith in your heart, / therefore, you did not fear the tyrant; / preserve us as well, Hieromartyr Babylas, good servant of Christ.

Holy Prophet and God-seer Moses

Troparion — Tone 2

You ascended to the heights of the virtues, Prophet Moses; / therefore, you were deemed worthy to see the glory of God. / Having received the grace-filled tablets of the Law, / and bearing the grace of the writing within yourself, / you were the honorable praise of prophets, / and a great mystery of piety.

Kontakion — Tone 2

The choir of prophets rejoices with Moses and Aaron today, / for the fulfillment of their prophecy is in our midst. / The Cross, by which You have saved us, shines forth today. / By their prayers, O Christ God, have mercy on us.

Uncovering of the relics of Saint Joasaph, Bishop of Belgorod

Troparion — Tone 3

O Hierarch, beloved by God, you were a rule of faith and an example of mercy for the people, / through vigil, fasting and prayer, you shone forth as a radiant lamp and were glorified by God. / Resting with your incorrupt body, and standing before the Throne of God, / you gush forth most glorious miracles. / Pray to Christ God that He may confirm our land in Orthodoxy and piety, and save our souls.

Troparion — Tone 2

O divinely-chosen Hierarch of Christ, Ioasaph, / from childhood you were an extraordinary man of prayer. / By your pious life, you appeared as a rule of faith and an example of mercy; / and to those who come to you with faith, you gush forth abundant healing. / Pray to Christ God that He may confirm our land in Orthodoxy, peace and piety, and save our souls.

Kontakion — Tone 8

Who can tell of the various struggles of your life? / Who can count the various mercies of God which you manifested? / Knowing well your boldness before the Most Pure Theotokos and the all-generous God, we call upon you with compunctionate hearts: / "Do not deprive us of your help and intercession, O Hierarch of Christ and wonderworker Ioasaph."

Martyr Hermione, daughter of Saint Philip the Deacon

Troparion — Tone 2

(Podoben: “Be quick to anticipate...”)
O pure one, you were an unsullied virgin, remaining chaste, and wedded to the Word, / Who was born of the Pure Virgin, according to the flesh; / thus you received divine grace for the labors of godliness, / to enlighten those in error; / therefore, O Hermione, Christ has glorified you.

Kontakion — Tone 1

(Podoben: “The Angelic choirs...”)
As the fruitful offspring and unfading flower of Philip, / renowned among the holy Deacons, / you received divine grace, O most wondrous Hermione; / and you contended as a virgin, / offering your pure struggles to Christ our God Who glorified you.

Martyr Babylas of Nicomedia and 84 children with him

Troparion — Tone 4

Your holy martyr Babylas and his companions, O Lord, / through their sufferings have received incorruptible crowns from You, our God. / For having Your strength, they laid low their adversaries, / and shattered the powerless boldness of demons. / Through their intercessions, save our souls.

Martyrs Theodore, Mianus, Julian, Kion, and Centurionus, of Nicomedia

Troparion — Tone 4

Your holy martyrs O Lord, / through their sufferings have received incorruptible crowns from You, our God. / For having Your strength, they laid low their adversaries, / and shattered the powerless boldness of demons. / Through their intercessions, save our souls!

“Unburnt Bush” Icon of the Mother of God

Troparion — Tone 1

The miracle which Moses witnessed on Sinai in the burning bush / foretold your virginal childbearing, O pure Mother. / We the faithful cry to you: / Hail, O truly living bush! / Hail, O holy mountain! / Hail, O sanctified expanse, Most Holy Theotokos!

Troparion — Tone 4

He Who was seen of old by Moses in the fire of the Unburnt Bush, / foreshadowed the Mystery of His Incarnation from the Virgin Mary, who knew not wedlock, / and now, as the Author of miracles and Fashioner of all creation, / He has glorified her Holy Icon with many miracles, / granting it to the faithful for the healing of illnesses and as a protection from fires. / Therefore, we cry out the Most Blessed one: / “O Hope of Christians, / deliver those who hope in you from cruel misfortunes, fire, and thunder, / and save our souls as one who is greatly merciful.”

Troparion — Tone 4

O Christ God, Who showed Moses / an image of Your Most Pure Mother / in the Bush that burned yet was not consumed, / for she herself was not consumed / when she received in her womb the fire of Divinity. / She remained incorrupt after her pure childbearing. / By her prayers, O greatly merciful one, / deliver us from the flame of passions, / and preserve your people from all harm.

Kontakion — Tone 8

Let us purify the perception of our souls and bodies in order to behold the Divine Mystery, / revealed to the Prophet Moses of old in the Burning Bush, which was not consumed by the fire, / signifying your seedless birthgiving, O Theotokos. / We acknowledge this prophecy, reverently bowing down before you and the Savior Who was born of you, / and we cry out with fear, “Rejoice, O Sovereign Lady, our protection and refuge, and salvation of our souls.”

Kontakion — Tone 8

(Podoben: “O Victorious Leader...”)
Your flock reveres you, O inspired one, as a beholder of the Incarnation of God, / and as one who wrote of the mystery of His condescension. / Since you are a mediator worthy of God, / free us from every danger that we may cry to you: "Rejoice, divinely-speaking Moses."

Second finding of the relics of Saint Metrophanes, Bishop of Voronezh

Troparion — Tone 4

In truth you were revealed to your flock as a rule of faith, / an image of humility and a teacher of abstinence; / your humility exalted you; / your poverty enriched you. / Hierarch Father Metrophanes, / entreat Christ our God / that our souls may be saved.

Hieromartyr Peter, Metropolitan of Serbia

Troparion — Tone 4

By sharing in the ways of the Apostles, / you became a successor to their throne. / Through the practice of virtue, you found the way to divine contemplation, O inspired one of God; / by teaching the word of truth without error, you defended the Faith, / even to the shedding of your blood. / Hieromartyr Peter, entreat Christ God to save our souls.

Hieromartyr Peter, Metropolitan of Dabro-Bosnia

Troparion — Tone 4

By sharing in the ways of the Apostles, / you became a successor to their throne. / Through the practice of virtue, you found the way to divine contemplation, O inspired one of God; / by teaching the word of truth without error, you defended the Faith, / even to the shedding of your blood. / Hieromartyr Peter, entreat Christ God to save our souls.

Venerable Parthenius, Igumen of Kiziltachsk

Troparion — Tone 8

By a flood of tears you made the desert fertile, / and your longing for God brought forth fruits in abundance. / By the radiance of miracles you illumined the whole universe! / O our holy father Parthenius, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!

Venerable Simeon the Wonderworker

Troparion — Tone 8

By a flood of tears you made the desert fertile, / and your longing for God brought forth fruits in abundance. / By the radiance of miracles you illumined the whole universe! / O our holy father Simeon, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!