3rd Sunday of Great Lent: Veneration of the Cross
Troparion — Tone 4
O Lord, save Your people, / and bless Your inheritance. / Grant victories to the Orthodox Christians, / over their adversaries. / And by virtue of Your Cross / preserve Your habitation!
Kontakion — Tone 7
Now the flaming sword no longer guards the gates of Eden; / it has mysteriously been quenched by the wood of the Cross! / The sting of death and the victory of hell have been vanquished; / for You, O my Savior, have come and cried to those in hell: / “Enter again into paradise.”
Martyr Matrona of Thessalonica
Troparion — Tone 3
With undaunted spirit you preserved the Faith, / and your soul, Matrona, was not enslaved by the cruelty of your torturers. / You excelled in contest, slaying the crafty one / and were mystically wedded to the Lord of creation. / Fervently entreat him to deliver us from all harm!
Kontakion — Tone 4
Filled with the light of the Spirit, O Matrona, / you regarded your prison cell as a bridal chamber; / and from it you hastened to your radiant dwelling in the heavens, crying out: / “In divine love for You, O Word, I gladly endured scourgings.”
Martyrs Manuel and Theodosius
Troparion — Tone 4
Your holy martyrs Manuel and Theodosius, 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 John the Clairvoyant, Anchorite, 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 John, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!
Icon of the Mother of God of Mount Athos, “Sweet Kissing”
Troparion — Tone 1
(Podoben: “O citizen of the desert...”)
We praise thy holy Icon as a most honored gift, / and having acquired it, Philotheou Monastery rejoices exceedingly; / for in it we behold thee, O Pure One, kissing Christ as an infant; / and we magnify thy great glory, O Virgin, crying out to thee: / Glory to thy mighty works, O Pure One! / Glory to thy compassion! / Glory to thy care for us, O Spotless One!
Prophet Hanani
Troparion — Tone 2
We celebrate the memory / of Your prophet Hanani, O Lord; / through him we entreat You, / save our souls.
Kontakion — Tone 4
(Podoben: “Today You have shown forth...”)
Endowed with the gift of prophecy, O Hanani, / you clearly proclaimed the saving coming of Christ to the world. / His brightness has brought light to the whole universe.