Troparia and kontakia for March 31

5th Saturday of Great Lent: of the Akathist to the Theotokos

Troparion — Tone 8

When the archangel understood the mysterious command, / he came to the house of Joseph with haste and proclaimed to the unwedded Lady: / The One Who bowed the heavens by His condescension / is contained wholly and without change in you! / As I behold Him in your womb, taking the form of a servant, I am frightened, but cry: / Rejoice, unwedded Bride!

Kontakion — Tone 8

Victorious leader of triumphant hosts, / we your servants, delivered from evil, sing our grateful thanks to you, Theotokos! / As you possess invincible might set us free from every calamity, / so that we may sing: Rejoice, unwedded Bride!

Repose of Saint Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow, Enlightener of the Aleuts, Apostle to the Americas

Troparion — Tone 4

O holy father Innocent / in obedience to the will of God / you accepted dangers and tribulations / bringing many peoples to the knowledge of truth. / You showed us the way, / now by your prayers help lead us into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Troparion — Tone 2

You evangelized the northern people of America and Asia, / proclaiming the Gospel of Christ to the natives in their own tongues. / O holy hierarch father Innocent, / enlightener of Alaska and all America, whose ways were ordered by the Lord, / pray to Him for the salvation of our souls in His Heavenly Kingdom!

Kontakion — Tone 2

A true celebration of the providence and grace of God / is your life, O holy father Innocent, Apostle to our land. / In hardships and dangers you toiled for the Gospel’s sake / and God delivered and preserved you unharmed. / From obscurity He highly exalted you as an example / that the Lord truly guides a man in the way he should go.

Kontakion — Tone 2

Your life, O holy father Innocent, Apostle to our Land, / proclaims the dispensation and grace of God! / For laboring in dangers and hardships for the Gospel of Christ / you were kept unharmed and exalted in humility. / Pray that He may guide our steps in the way we should go.

Saint Hypatius the Wonderworker, Bishop of Gangra

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 Hypatius, / entreat Christ our God / that our souls may be saved.

Repose of Saint Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia

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 Jonah, / entreat Christ our God / that our souls may be saved.

Venerable Hypatius the Healer of the Kiev Caves

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 Hypatius, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!

Venerable Apollonius, Ascetic, of Egypt

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 Apollonius, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!

Hieromartyr Avdas, Bishop of Persia, and Martyr Benjamin the Deacon

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!

Venerable Hypatius, Abbot of Rufinus in Chalcedon

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 Hypatius, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!

Appearance of the Ivḗron Icon of the Mother of God

Troparion — Tone 1

The audacity of those who hated the Icon of the Lord and the might of the godless came to Nicaea, / and those who were sent there inhumanly tortured a widow who devoutly revered the Icon of the Mother of God; / but by night, she and her son cast the Icon into the sea, crying out: / “Glory to you, O pure one, for the impassable sea has given you its shoulders.1 / Glory to your straight way,2 O you who alone are incor­rupt.”


1 The waves.
2 Psalm 5:8.

Kontakion — Tone 8

Although your holy Icon was cast into the sea by the widow who could not save it from its enemies, O Theotokos, / it has been shown as the Guardian of Mount Athos and the Gate-Keeper of Ivḗron Monastery, / driving the Enemy away and delivering those who honor you from all misfor­tunes and dangers.

Saint Acacius the Confessor

Troparion — Tone 8

Champion of Orthodoxy, teacher of purity and of true worship, / the enlightener of the universe and the adornment of hierarchs: / all-wise father Acacius, your teachings have gleamed with light upon all things. / Intercede before Christ God to save our souls.

Righteous Joseph the Patriarch

Kontakion — Tone 8

(Podoben: “As first-fruits of our nature...” – Kontakion for Sunday of All Saints)
Jacob lamented the loss of Joseph, / but the noble one was seated in a chariot and honored as a king; / for when he refused to be enslaved by the desires of the Egyptian woman, / he was glorified by Him who beholds the hearts of men, / and bestows an incorruptible crown.