Troparia and kontakia for April 16

Virgin Martyrs Agape, Irene and Chionia, in Illyria

Troparion — Tone 1

Sisters in the flesh united in the Spirit, / you wrestled with the prince of evil and endured your martyrdom. / Holy and blest Agape, Irene, and Chionia, / pray to Christ our God to save our souls.

Troparion — Tone 4

Completing the course of your life in martyrdom / and having kept the faith, / as lambs endowed with reason / you were led before Christ the Lamb and Shepherd. / Therefore rejoicing now in spirit, / we celebrate your wondrous and holy memory, / magnifying Christ.

Kontakion — Tone 3

Bright mirrors of virginity, / radiant with your martyrdom, / you fill the Church with light and dispel the darkness of evil, / Agape, Irene, and Chionia, Christ’s precious jewels.

Kontakion — Tone 4

Becoming beautiful brides of Christ, / you offered to Him a gift of blood and sacrifice, / O passion-bearing maidens, / Irene, Agape and glorious Chionia, / rightly entering the bridal chamber, / ever filled with ineffable enlightenment. / Therefore celebrating in spirit / your precious and holy memory, / we give glory to the Savior / And cry out in piety: / Pray to the Lord for us.

Martyrs Leonidas, Chariessa, Nice, Galina, Kalista, Nunechia, Basilissa, Theodora, and Irene, of Corinth

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!

Monastic Martyr Christopher of Dionysiou, Mount Athos

Troparion — Tone 1

The image of God was truly preserved in you, O Father, / for you took up the Cross and followed Christ. / By so doing you taught us to disregard the flesh for it passes away / but to care instead for the soul, since it is immortal. / Therefore your spirit, venerable Christopher, rejoices with the angels.

Kontakion — Tone 2

As a venerable and proven ascetic, as an honorable and renowned martyr, / and as a model of the desert life, O most exalted Christopher, / we sing hymns of praise to you, / for you have trampled upon serpents.

Hieromartyr Nikḗtas

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 Niketas, entreat Christ God to save our souls.

Tambov (Utkino) Icon of the Mother of God

Troparion — Tone 4

Today the city of Tambov exalts radiantly, and Christ’s hierarch Pitirim rejoices; / For your icon, O Sovereign Lady, now shines wonderfully, / the hierarch brought it from the capital city of Moscow, / and reveals to the people your wondrous intercession, healing everyone who resorts to you with faith. / Therefore, we humbly cry out to you: “Save us through your Icon, O All-hymned Virgin.”

Kontakion — Tone 3

Now the Angels of God and all the Saints in Heaven rejoice, / beholding your glory, O Most Pure Virgin, / and before your Icon, believers offer you prayers of thanksgiving / for the mercy and compassion you have shown to all of us, and especially to our city. / As of old, O Virgin Theotokos, / save us in the days to come by your intercession.