Afterfeast of the Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
Troparion — Tone 4
Your Nativity, O Christ our God, / has shone to the world the Light of knowledge; / for by it, those who worshipped the stars / were taught by a star to adore You, / the Sun of Righteousness,1 / and to know You, the Dayspring2 from on High. / O Lord, glory to You!
Kontakion — Tone 3
(Original Melody)
Today the Virgin gives birth to the Transcendent One, / and the earth offers a cave to the Unapproachable One! / Angels with shepherds glorify Him. / The wise men journey with a star, / since for our sake the Pre-Eternal God was born as a young Child.3
1 Malachi 4:2.
2 The beginning of day, dawn.
3 Literally: Since for our sake, God before the ages was born as a young Child.
14,000 Infants (the Holy Innocents) slain by Herod at Bethlehem
Troparion — Tone 1
As acceptable victims and freshly plucked flowers, / as divine first-fruits and newborn lambs, / you were offered to Christ who was born as a child, holy innocents. / You mocked Herod’s wickedness; / now we beseech you: / “Unceasingly pray for our souls.”
Kontakion — Tone 6
When the King was born in Bethlehem, the Magi came from the east. / Having been guided by the star on high, they brought Him gifts. / But in his exceeding wrath, Herod mowed down the infants as wheat; / lamenting that the rule of his kingdom had come to an end.
Venerable Marcellus, Abbot of the Monastery of the “Unsleeping Ones”
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 Marcellus, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!
Venerable Mark the Grave-Digger, Theophilus, and John, of the Kiev Near 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 fathers Mark, Theophilus, and John, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!
Venerable Theophilos and Jacob, wonderworkers of Omuch
Troparion — Tone 4
O God of our Fathers, / always dealing with us according to Your kindness, / do not withdraw Your mercy from us, / but through their prayers, / direct our lives in peace.
Kontakion — Tone 2
(Podoben: “Seeking the highest...”)
Passing through a multitude of waves unharmed, / you drowned your bodiless enemies in the streams of your tears, O godly-wise and Venerable Fathers Theophilos and Jacob. / Since you have received the gift of miracles; / pray unceasingly for all of us.
Venerable Thaddeus the Confessor of the Studion
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 Thaddeus, your teachings have gleamed with light upon all things. / Intercede before Christ God to save our souls.
All Orthodox Christians who died as martyrs for the glory of Christ by hunger, thirst, freezing, and by the sword
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 Basilisk the Hesychast of Siberia
Troparion — Tone 4
Loving Christ from your youth, O venerable one, / you loved and followed Him all your life. / Settling in the Siberian wilderness, you offered unceasing prayer to your beloved Christ. / O venerable Basilisk, remember us, your children, / who come to you with love, and who honor your holy memory.
Troparion — Tone 8
Flourishing in the Siberian lands, which you illumined by your exploit of silence, / you loved the life of the desert until the end, O blessed one; / and like precious pearls, you received from the Lord the gift of heartfelt prayer, / and you left us this treasure as an inheritance; / accepting it unto salvation we cry to you, O Venerable Basilisk, our Father: / “Entreat Christ God to save our souls.”