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The penitential canon of Andrew of Crete is a great example of Byzantine Orthodox poetry. It was written by St. Andrew (660-740). The canon, which consists of four parts, is read on the first four days of the first week of Great Lent. Each part consists of nine songs, each of which includes several troparia (short verses). Below is the text of the penitential canon of Andrew of Crete on the fourth day of Lent.
Penitential Canon of Andrew of Crete: Thursday
Great Penitential Canon of Andrew of Crete ministers of churches read on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday of the first week of Great Lent. Each troparion is a short verse in which the author addresses his soul, the Lord God. In his poetry, Andrew of Crete recalls the plots and characters of the Old and New Testaments.
With the text of the canon for Monday can be consulted. The text of the canon for Tuesday can be read in this material. The penitential canon for Wednesday is available at this link. Below is the text of the canon for Thursday with a translation into Russian. However, it is easiest to appreciate the beauty of the poems of the Byzantine poet Andrei of Crete in the Old Church Slavonic version.
The text of the penitential canon of Andrew of Crete for Thursday
Irmos: Helper and Patron be to my salvation, This is my God, and I will glorify Him, the God of my father, and I will exalt Him, gloriously be glorified.
[Help and Patron appeared to me for salvation, He is my God, and I will glorify Him, the God of my father, and I will exalt Him, for He has solemnly glorified.]
(Ex. 15, 1-2)
Chorus: Have mercy on me, God, have mercy on me.
Lamb of God, take away the sins of all, take away the heavy sinful burden from me, and as if you are merciful, give me tears of tenderness.
[Lamb of God, who took the sins of all, take off the heavy burden of sin from me and, as the Merciful, grant me tears of tenderness.]
(John 1:29)
I fall down to you, Jesus, I have sinned Thee, cleanse me, take the burden from me a heavy sinful and like a merciful one, give me tears of tenderness.
[I fall down to You, Jesus, I have sinned against You, have mercy on me, remove from me the heavy burden of sin and, as the Merciful One, grant me tears of compunction.]
Do not enter into judgment with me, bearing my deeds, searching for words and correcting aspirations. But in Thy bounties, despising my fierce one, save me, O Almighty.
[Do not enter into judgment with me, weighing my deeds, examining my words and denouncing my aspirations, but despising my evil deeds according to Your bounties, save me, O Almighty.]
Time of repentance, I come to Ty, my Creator: take the burden from me, a heavy sinful one and like a merciful one, give me tears of tenderness.
[Time of repentance: I come to You, my Creator, take off the heavy burden of sin from me and, as the Merciful, grant me tears of tenderness.]
Wealth of the soul dependent on sin, I am empty of the virtues of the pious, stroking the call: mercy to the giver, Lord, save me.
[Having squandered spiritual wealth in sin, I am a stranger to the holy virtues, but, feeling hungry, I cry out: Source of mercy, Lord, save me.]
Bowing down to Christ's Divine law, you approached Him, leaving unstoppable aspirations for sweetness, and all virtue reverently, as one, corrected you.
[Having submitted to the Divine commandments of Christ, you surrendered to Him, leaving unbridled desire for pleasure, and fulfilled all the virtues as one with all reverence.]
Glory, Trinity: O Substantial Trinity, worshiped in Unity, take the heavy sinful burden from me and, like a merciful one, give me tears of tenderness.
[The All-Essential Trinity, Whom we worship as One Being, remove from me the heavy burden of sin and, as Merciful, grant me tears of compunction.]
And now, the Theotokos: Mother of God, Hope and Intercession of You who sing, take the heavy sinful burden from me and, like the Lady of the Pure, repentant, accept me.
[Mother of God, Hope and Help to all who sing of You, remove from me the heavy burden of sin and, as the Immaculate Lady, accept me as a penitent.]
Irmos: You see, you see, as I am God, raining manna and water from a stone in ancient times in the wilderness by My people, by My right hand and My strength.
[You see, you see that I am the God who of old sent down manna and poured out water from a stone to My people in the wilderness - by My omnipotence alone.]
(Ex. 16:14; 17:6)
They killed the husband, he says, into an ulcer to me and the young man into a scab, Lamech, weeping out loud; you do not tremble, O my soul, defiling the flesh and defiling the mind.
[The man I killed, said Lamech, to my own wound, and the young man to my own wound, he cried, weeping; but you, my soul, do not tremble, defiling the body and darkening the mind.]
(Gen. 4:23)
Thou hast contrived to create a pillar, O soul, and set up the affirmation with thy lusts, otherwise the Builder would not have withheld thy advice and cast down thy tricks to the earth.
[You managed, soul, to build a pillar and erect a stronghold with your lusts, but the Creator curbed your plans and threw your constructions to the ground.]
(Gen. 11, 3-4)
About how jealous of Lamech, the first murderer, the soul is like a husband, the mind is like a young man, like my brother, having killed the body, like Cain the murderer, with gracious aspirations.
[Oh, how I became like the ancient murderer Lamech, killing my soul like a husband, my mind like a youth, and like the murderer Cain my body, like a brother, with voluptuous aspirations.]
Wait, Lord, from the Lord, fire sometimes on iniquity that angers, burned the Sodomites; you burned the fire of Gehenna, in it imashi, about the soul, burn yourself.
[The Lord once rained down fire from the Lord, burning down the violent iniquity of the Sodomites; but you, soul, kindled the fire of Gehenna, in which you must burn.]
(Gen. 19, 24)
Wounded, wounded, behold the arrows of the enemy that wounded my soul and body, behold the scabs, festering, obscurations cry out, the wounds of my self-willed passions.
[I am wounded, expressed; here are the arrows of the enemy that pierced my soul and body; here are wounds, ulcers and scabs crying out about the blows of my spontaneous passions.]
Chorus: Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.
Thou hast stretched out thy hands to the generous God, Mary, immersed in the abyss of evil; and as if to Peter the philanthropic hand of the Divine is outstretched, your appeal is in every possible way Seeking.
[Drowning in the abyss of evil, Mary, you stretched out your hands to the Merciful God, and He, in every possible way seeking your conversion, philanthropicly gave you, like Peter, the Divine hand.]
(Matthew 14:31)
Glory, Trinity: Beginningless, Uncreated Trinity, Inseparable Unity, repenting of me, save me, having sinned, Thy creation, do not despise, but spare and deliver me from the fiery condemnation.
[Beginningless Uncreated Trinity, Inseparable Unit, accept me as a penitent, save the sinner, I am Your creation, do not despise, but spare and deliver me from condemnation into the fire.]
And now, the Theotokos: Most Pure Lady, Mother of God, Hopeful to You flowing and a haven in the storm, Merciful and Creator and Your Son, propitiate me with Your prayers.
[Most Pure Lady, Mother of God, Hope of those who resort to You and a haven for those caught in a storm, with Your prayers, incline the Merciful Creator and Your Son to me.]
Irmos: Establish, Lord, my heart that has moved on the stone of Your commandments, for One is Holy and the Lord.
[Set, O Lord, my wavering heart on the rock of Your commandments, for You alone are Holy and Lord.]
Hagar of old, soul, the Egyptians now became like you, enslaved by your will and giving birth to a new Ismail, contempt.
[You became like the ancient Hagar to the Egyptian, the soul, enslaved by your arbitrariness and having given birth to a new Ishmael - impudence.]
(Gen. 16, 16)
You, my soul, understood the ladder of Jacob, which is from earth to heaven: why did you not have a firm rise, piety.
[You know, my soul, about the ladder from earth to heaven shown to Jacob; why did you not choose the safe dawn - piety?
(Gen. 28, 12)
The priest of God and the king is alone, the likeness of Christ in the world of life, imitate in people.
[Imitate the priest of God and the lonely king Melchizedek, the way of life of Christ among the people of the world.]
(Gen. 14:18. Heb. 7:1-3)
Turn, groan, damned soul, before the end of life will not even accept the triumph, before the Lord even closes the door of the chamber.
[Turn and sigh, wretched soul, before the triumph of life ends, before the Lord closes the door of the bridal chamber.]
Do not wake up the pillar of the angel, the soul, returning back, let the image of Sodom frighten you, save yourself in Sigor.
[Do not become a pillar of salt, soul, turning back, let the example of the Sodomites frighten you; flee to the mountain at Sigor.]
(Gen. 19:19-23; 19:26)
Prayers, Master, do not reject those who sing to You, but have mercy, O Lover of mankind, and grant by faith to those who ask for forgiveness.
[Do not reject, Master, the prayers of those who sing to You, but have mercy, O Lover of mankind, and grant forgiveness to those who ask in faith.]
Glory, Trinity: Trinity Simple, Uncreated, Beginningless Essence, Hypostases sung in the Trinity, save us, by faith worshiping Your power.
[Trinity Incomposite, Uncreated, Being Without Beginning, in the trinity of Persons sung, save us, who worship Thy power with faith.]
And now, the Theotokos: From the Father, the Son is flightless in the summer, Mother of God, unskillfully gave birth to thou, a strange miracle, having been the Virgin to milk.
[You, the Mother of God, having not tested a husband, in time gave birth to a Son from the Father outside of time and - a wonderful miracle: nourishing with milk, you remained a Virgin.]
Irmos: Hearing the prophet Thy coming, Lord, and being afraid, as if you wanted to be born of the Virgin and appear as a man, and saying: I heard Thy hearing and feared, glory to Thy power, Lord.
[The prophet heard about Your coming, O Lord, and was afraid that You were pleased to be born of a Virgin and appear to people, and said: I heard the news about You and was afraid; glory to your power, Lord.]
The time of my stomach is short and full of illnesses and deceit, but in repentance, accept me and call on my mind, so that I will not acquire anything alien, Savior, have mercy on me.
[The time of my life is short and full of sorrows and vices, but accept me in repentance and call me to the knowledge of the truth, so that I do not become prey and food of the enemy, Savior, have mercy on me.]
(Gen. 47:9)
With royal dignity, a crown and purple robes, a man of many names and a righteous one, boiling with wealth and flocks, suddenly riches, the glory of the kingdom, having become impoverished, deprived.
[A man clothed with royal dignity, with a crown and scarlet, who had much and was righteous, abounding in wealth and herds, suddenly became impoverished, lost wealth, glory and kingdom.]
(Job 1:1-22)
If he was righteous, and more blameless than all, and not escaping the flatterer and the network; But you, sin-loving being, cursed soul, what will you do, if anything from the unknown happens to come to you?
[If he, being righteous and blameless above all, did not escape the wiles and snares of the deceiver of the devil, then what will you do, you sin-loving unfortunate soul, if something unexpected befalls you?]
Now I am high-pitched, cruel in heart, in vain and in vain, but do not judge me with a Pharisee. More than give me the tax collector's humility, O One Generous, Justice, and count me to this.
[I am arrogant now in words, impudent in heart, in vain and in vain; do not condemn me with a Pharisee, but grant me the humility of a publican and number him among him, O One Merciful and Just.]
I have sinned, having annoyed the vessel of my flesh, we know, Generous, but in repentance, accept me and call on my mind, so that I will not acquire anything alien, Savior, have mercy on me.
[I know, Merciful, I have sinned by defiling the vessel of my flesh, but accept me in repentance and call me to the knowledge of the truth, so that I do not become prey and food of the enemy; Yourself, You, the Savior, have mercy on me.]
Self-immolated with passions, harming my soul, Generous, but in repentance, accept me and call on my mind, so that I will not acquire anything alien, Savior, have mercy on me.
[I made myself an idol, distorting my soul with passions, Merciful; but accept me in repentance and call me to the knowledge of the truth, so that I do not become the prey and food of the enemy; Yourself, You, the Savior, have mercy on me.]
Do not obey your voice, disobey your Scripture, the Lawmaker, but accept me in repentance and call to mind, so that I will not acquire a stranger, Savior, have mercy on me.
Chorus: Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.
Having descended into the depths of great unrest, you were unpossessed; but you ascended with a better thought to the extreme deeds of virtue, most glorious, angelic nature, Mary, surprising.
[Carried away into the depths of great vices, you, Mary, did not get bogged down in it, but by your highest thought, through activity, you clearly rose to perfect virtue, marvelously amazing the angelic nature.]
Glory, Trinity: Inseparable in essence, unmerged Persons, I theologize Thee, the Trinity One Deity, as the One-Kingdom and Throne, I cry out to You a great song, in the highest chanting hymns.
[Indivisible in essence, not merged in the Persons theologically, I confess You, the Trinity One Deity, Co-Royal and Conthroned; I proclaim to You a great song, sung three times in the heavenly mansions.]
(Isaiah 6:1-3)
And now, the Theotokos: And you give birth, and you are virgin, and you are both in the nature of the Virgin, Be born renews the laws of nature, but the womb gives birth that does not give birth. Wherever God wants, the order of nature is conquered: he does more than the tree wants.
[And you give birth and remain a virgin, in both cases preserving virginity by nature. The one born of Thee renews the laws of nature, but the virgin womb gives birth; when God wills, the order of nature is violated, for He does what He wills.]
Irmos: Morning from the night, Lover of mankind, enlighten, I pray, and guide me to Thy commandments, and teach me, Savior, to do Thy will.
[From the night of the awake, enlighten me, I pray, Lover of mankind, guide me in Your commands and teach me, Savior, to do Your will.]
(Ps. 62:2; 118:35)
Imitate the descending below, O soul, come, fall at the feet of Jesus, that he may correct you, and that you may walk in the right path of the Lord.
[Imitate, soul, a crouched woman, come, fall at the feet of Jesus, so that He corrects you and you can walk straight in the paths of the Lord.]
(Luke 13:11-13)
If you are a deep hoarder, Master, pour out water from your most pure veins, yes, like a Samaritan woman, do not drink to anyone, you exude a thirst for life.
[If You are a deep well, Lord, then send streams to me from Your most pure ribs, so that I, like a Samaritan woman, after drinking, no longer thirst, for You exude streams of life.]
(John 4:11-15)
Siloam, may my tears be mine, Lord Lord, may I wash even the apples of my heart, and I see Thee, smart Light is eternal.
[May my tears be Siloam, O Lord Lord, so that I too may wash the eyes of my heart and mentally contemplate You, the Eternal Light.]
(John 9, 7)
Chorus: Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.
With an incomparable desire, all-rich, desiring to bow to an animal tree, you were honored with desire, vouchsafe to me to improve the glory of the highest.
[With pure love, desiring to bow to the Tree of Life, all-blessed one, you have been rewarded with what you want; make me worthy to achieve the highest glory.]
Glory, Trinity: Thee, Trinity, we glorify the One God: Holy, Holy, Holy art thou, Father, Son and Soul, a Simple Being, ever worshiped by the Unity.
[We glorify You, Most Holy Trinity, for the One God: Holy, Holy, Holy Father, Son and Spirit, Simple Being, Eternally worshiped Unit.]
And now, the Theotokos: From Thee put on my mixture, imperishable, husbandless Mother Devo, God, who created the eyelids, and unite human nature to Yourself.
[In You, Imperishable, the Virgin Mother who did not know her husband, the God who created the world clothed in my composition and united human nature with Himself.]
Irmos: Cry with all my heart to the generous God, and hear me from the hell of the underworld, and raise my belly from aphids.
[With all my heart I called out to the merciful God, and He heard me from the hell of the underworld and called out my life from perdition.]
I am, Savior, you have ruined the ancient royal drachma; but I kindled a lamp, Your Forerunner, the Word, seek and find Your image.
[I am that drachma with the royal image, which has been lost to You since ancient times, Savior, but, having lit the lamp - Your Forerunner, the Word, search and find Your image.]
Arise and fight, like Jesus Amalek, carnal passions, and the Gaonites, flattering thoughts, ever victorious.
[Arise and put down the passions of the flesh, like Jesus Amalek, always conquering and the Gibeonites are seductive thoughts.]
(Ex. 17:8; Jos. 8:21)
Chorus: Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.
Yes, quench the flame of passions, shed drops of tears forever, Mary, inflamed by the soul, give grace to me, your servant.
[To quench the flame of passions, you, Mary, burning with your soul, incessantly shed streams of tears, the abundance of which grant me, your servant.]
Chorus: Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.
Heavenly dispassion was acquired by the last life on earth, Mati. The same to you who sing of passions, pray with your prayers to be delivered.
[By the most exalted way of life on earth, you, mother, have acquired heavenly dispassion; therefore, intercede that those who sing of you be delivered from the passions through your prayers.]
Glory, Trinity: The Trinity is Simple, Inseparable, separate Personally and the Unity is united by nature, the Father speaks, and the Son, and the Divine Spirit.
[I am the Trinity Non-composite, Inseparable, separate in Persons, and the Unit, united in essence; testifies the Father, the Son, and the Divine Spirit.]
And now, the Theotokos: Thy womb of God give birth to us, imagined for us: Him, as the Creator of all, pray, Mother of God, that we may be justified by Your prayers.
[Your womb gave birth to us God, who took our image; Him, as the Creator of the whole world, pray, Mother of God, so that through Your prayers we will be justified.
Lord, have mercy (three times). Glory, and now:
Kontakion, tone 6:
My soul, my soul, get up, why are you sleeping? The end is approaching, and imashi be confused: wake up, then, may Christ God have mercy on you, who is everywhere and fills everything.
[My soul, my soul, rise, why are you sleeping? The end is drawing near and you will be confused; Wake up, so that Christ God, Omnipresent and all-filling, will spare you.]
Irmos: We have sinned, lawless, unrighteous before You, lower observant, lower co-creator, as thou hast commanded us; but do not betray us to the end, O God of the fathers.
[We have sinned, we have lived iniquity, we have done wrong before You, we have not kept, we have not fulfilled what You commanded us; but do not leave us to the end, God of the fathers.]
(Dan. 9:5-6)
My days have disappeared, like the dream of one who rises; the same, like Hezekiah, I will descend on my bed, kiss my belly in the summer. But which Isaiah will appear to you, soul, if not God of all?
[My days have passed like the dream of an awakening one; therefore, like Hezekiah, I weep on my bed, that the years of my life may be lengthened; but what kind of Isaiah will visit you, soul, if not the God of all?]
(2 Kings 20, 3. Is. 38, 2-6)
I bow down to Thee and offer Thee, like tears, my verbs: I have sinned, as if a harlot had not sinned, and lawless, as if there was no one else on earth. But have mercy, Lord, on Your creation and call upon me.
[I fall down to Thee and offer Thee with tears my words: I have sinned, as the harlot has not sinned, and I have lived in iniquities like no one else on earth; but have mercy, Lord, on your creation and restore me.]
I buried Your image and corrupted Your commandment, all goodness was darkened, and extinguished with passions, Savior, light. But generous, reward me, as David sings, joy.
[I have eclipsed Your image and violated Your commandment; all beauty was darkened in me, and the lamp went out from passions; but have mercy, Savior, and return to me, as David sings, joy.]
(Ps. 50, 14)
Turn, repent, open the hidden, say to God, all leading: You are my secret weight, the only Savior. But Thyself have mercy on me, as David sings, according to Thy mercy.
[Turn, repent, reveal the hidden, say to God the All-Knowing: Savior, You alone know my secrets, but Thyself have mercy on me, as David sings, by Your mercy.]
(Ps. 50, 3)
Chorus: Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.
Crying out to the Most Pure Mother of God, you first rejected the frenzy of passions that need to be tormented, and shamed you the enemy who was overwhelmed. But now give help from sorrow to me, your servant.
[Calling to the Most Pure Mother of God, you curbed the fury of passions, which previously raged cruelly, and shamed the seductive enemy; Grant now help in sorrow to me, your servant.]
(Ps. 59, 13)
Chorus: Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.
Thou didst love Him, Thou didst desire Him, Thou didst exhaust Him for the sake of the flesh, reverend, now pray to Christ for the servants: as if being merciful to all of us, He will grant a peaceful state to those who honor Him.
[Who did you love, whom did you choose, for whom did the flesh wear out, Reverend, now pray to Christ for your servants, so that by His mercy He will grant to all those who honor Him.]
Glory, Trinity: Trinity Simple, Inseparable, Consubstantial and One Essence, Svetove and Light, and Holy Three, and One Holy Trinity is sung; but sing, glorify the Belly and Belly, soul, God of all.
[The Trinity is Simple, Inseparable, Consubstantial, and One Deity, Lights and Light, Three Holy and One Holy Person, God the Trinity, sung in hymns; sing also you, soul, glorify Life and Lives - the God of all.]
And now, the Theotokos: We sing to Thee, bless Thee, bow to Thee, the Theotokos, as if the Inseparable Trinity gave birth to the One Christ God and You yourself opened thee to us, who exist on earth, Heavenly.
[We sing to You, we bless You, we worship You, Mother of God, for You gave birth to One of the Indivisible Trinity, Christ God, and You Yourself opened the heavenly abodes for us, who live on earth.]
Irmos: His heavenly armies praise, and Cherubim and Seraphim tremble, every breath and creature, sing, bless and exalt forever.
[Whom the armies of heaven glorify, and before Whom the Cherubim and Seraphim tremble, Him, all beings and creatures, praise, bless and exalt throughout all ages.]
Tearful, Savior, as if draining myrrh on my head, I call Ty, like a harlot, seeking mercy, I offer a prayer and ask for forgiveness.
[Pouring out a vessel of tears, like myrrh on my head, Savior, I cry out to You, like a harlot seeking mercy, I offer prayer and ask for forgiveness.]
(Matthew 26:6-7. Mark 14:3. Luke 7:37-38)
If and no one, like I, sin with Thee, but both accept me, O merciful Savior, repenting with fear and calling with love: I have sinned Thee alone, have mercy on me, Merciful.
[Although no one has sinned against You as I have, but, Merciful Savior, accept me, who repents with fear and with love, crying out: I have sinned against You alone, have mercy on me, Merciful!
Spare, Savior, Your creation and seek, like a Shepherd, the lost, anticipate the erring, take away from the wolf, make me a sheep on the flock of Your sheep.
[Spare Thy creature, Savior, and, as a Shepherd, seek out the lost, bring back the lost, take from the wolf, and make me a lamb in the pasture of Thy sheep.]
(Ps. 119, 176)
Whenever the Judge sit down, as if compassionate, and show Thy terrible glory, O Savior, what fear then of the burning cave, to all those who are afraid of Thy unbearable judgment.
[When You, Merciful One, sit as a Judge and reveal Your formidable majesty, Savior, oh, what a horror then: the furnace will burn, and everything will tremble before Your inexorable judgment.]
(Mt. 25, 31, 41, 47)
Chorus: Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.
The Light of the Necessary Mati, having enlightened thee, from the obscuration of passions, resolve. The same, having entered into spiritual grace, enlighten, Mary, who faithfully praises you.
[The Mother of the Necessary Light - Christ, having enlightened you, freed you from the darkness of passions; Therefore, accepting the grace of the Spirit, enlighten, Mary, those who sincerely glorify you.)
Chorus: Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.
Seeing the miracle again, truly horrified by the divine in you, mother, Zosima: the angel is more sighted in the flesh and filled with horror, singing Christ forever.
[Seeing in you, mother, a truly new miracle, Saint Zosima was surprised, for he saw an Angel in the flesh, and was all filled with amazement, singing Christ forever.]
Glory, Trinity: Father without beginning, Son without beginning, Good Comforter, Right Soul, Word of God to the Parent, Father without beginning Word, Living Soul and Builder, Trinity Unity, have mercy on me.
[Beginningless Father, Beginningless Son, Good Comforter, Right Spirit, Parent of the Word of God, Beginningless Word of the Father, Spirit, Life-Giving and Creative, One Trinity, have mercy on me.]
And now, the Theotokos: Like from the conversion of the scarlet, the most pure, clever scarlet of Emmanuel inside in your womb, the flesh has been drained. We truly revere thee the Mother of God.
[Mental purple - Immanuel's flesh weaved inside Your womb. Pure, as if from a purple substance; therefore we honor You, the True Mother of God.]
Irmos: Nativity of the seedless conception is unspeakable, Mother of the unmarried is imperishable Fruit, God's birth renews the nature. Temzhe give birth to Thee, like the Blessed Mother, Orthodox magnify.
[Christmas from a seedless conception is inexplicable, a husbandless Mother has an incorruptible Fruit, for the birth of God renews nature. Therefore, we, of all generations, Orthodoxally magnify You, as the Mother of God the Bride.]
Have mercy, save me, Son of David, have mercy, possessed by the word of healing, the voice of the heart, like a thief, my eyes: amen, I say to you, you will be with me in paradise, when I come in my glory.
[Have mercy, save and have mercy on me, Son of David, who healed the demoniac with a word, and say, as to a thief, merciful words: I tell you truly, you will be with me in paradise when I come in my glory.]
(Luke 23:43)
The robber is more verbose than Ty, the robber is theologian Ty, both are hanging on the cross. But, O Blessed One, as Thy faithful thief, who knew Thee God, open the door of Thy glorious Kingdom to me.
[The thief reproached You, the thief also confessed You by God, hanging both on the cross; but, Merciful One, as to a believing thief who knows God in You, open to me also the door of Your glorious Kingdom.]
The creature trembled, crucified by Thee, seeing, the mountains and stones fell apart with fear, and the earth shook, and hell was exposed, and the light was darkened in the days, in vain to Thee, Jesus, nailed to the Cross.
[The creature trembled, seeing You crucified, the mountains and stones disintegrated from horror and the earth shook, the underworld became empty, and the light darkened in the middle of the day, looking at You, Jesus, nailed to the cross in flesh.]
(Matt. 27:51-52; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45)
Do not bear fruits worthy of repentance from me, for my strength in me is poor; grant me a broken heart, but spiritual poverty: yes, I will bring this to you, like a pleasant sacrifice, the only Savior.
[Do not demand worthy fruits of repentance from me, O One Savior, for my strength is exhausted in me; grant me always a contrite heart and spiritual poverty, so that I can offer them to You as a favorable sacrifice.]
My judge and my Vedic, even if you come with the angels, judge the world around everything, then seeing me with Your merciful eye, have mercy and have mercy on me, Jesus, who has sinned more than any human nature.
[My judge, who knows me, when you come again with the angels to judge the whole world, then turning your merciful gaze on me, have mercy on me, Jesus, and have mercy on me, who have sinned more than all the human race.]
Chorus: Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.
You surprised everyone with your strange life, ranks of angels and human cathedrals, having lived immaterially and having passed nature: even as you entered, Mary, Jordan, you passed through the immaterial feet.
[You surprised everyone with your extraordinary life, both the ranks of the angels and the human hosts, having lived spiritually and surpassed nature; therefore, Mary, you crossed the Jordan like an incorporeal one, walking in your steps.]
Chorus: Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.
Have mercy on the Creator for those who praise you, reverend mother, get rid of bitterness and sorrows around the attackers, but having got rid of misfortunes, let us glorify the Lord who glorifies you without ceasing.
[Incline the Creator to the mercy of those who praise you, reverend mother, so that we can get rid of sorrows and sorrows that attack us from everywhere, so that, having got rid of temptations, we will unceasingly magnify the Lord who glorified you.]
Chorus: Reverend Father Andrew, pray to God for us.
Andrew, honest and most blessed Father, pastor of Crete, do not stop praying for those who sing to you: let us be delivered from all anger, and sorrow, and corruption, and immeasurable sins, who honor your memory faithfully.
[Venerable Andrew, blessed father, shepherd of Crete, do not stop praying for those who sing of you in order to get rid of anger, sorrow, death and countless sins to all of us who sincerely honor your memory.]
Glory, Trinity: We will glorify the Father, we will exalt the Son, we will faithfully bow to the Divine Spirit, the Inseparable Trinity, the Unit in essence, like Light and Light, and Life and Life, life-giving and enlightening the ends.
[Let us glorify the Father, let us exalt the Son, with faith let us worship the Divine Spirit, the Indivisible Trinity, One in essence, as Light and Lights, Life and Lives, life-giving and enlightening the limits of the universe.]
And now, the Theotokos: Preserve Thy City, Most Pure Mother of God, in Thee reign this faithfully, in Thee it is affirmed, and by Thee conquering, conquers every temptation, and captivates warriors, and obedience passes.
[Keep Your city, Most Pure Mother of God. Under Your protection, he reigns in faith, and from You he receives strength, and with Your assistance, he irresistibly conquers every disaster, takes enemies into captivity and keeps them in subjection.]
17.03.2016
For a person who is not very familiar with the Holy Scriptures, it is difficult to understand what we repent of during the reading of the Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete. Mention is made of people and events from the Sacred History, about which someone, perhaps, hears for the first time in their life. Who are all these people, what happened to them, and how does this relate to our lives?
Monday
Canto 1
Jealous of the primordial Adam of crime, know yourself naked from God and the everlasting kingdom and sweetness, sin for my sake.
Alas for me, cursed soul, why have you become like the first Eve? I saw that you were evil, and you were wounded by a highlander, and you touched a tree, and you tasted boldly wordless food.
Adam(ancient Hebrew "earth, man") - the first man on earth.
Eve(Hebrew "life") - Adam's wife.
The Lord created Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of life. As an assistant and spiritual support for Adam, God created Eve from the rib (part) of the first man. However, Adam and Eve were not grateful to the Creator for His gifts, for the life given to them and the opportunity to communicate with God. They wanted to become god-like without God, and without His help, through tasting, as they thought, a magical fruit, to acquire all the perfections that a person can only dream of. In this they were helped by the enemy of God - the devil, who, in order to turn to people, entered the serpent. But, as it turned out, true knowledge, perfection, and life itself are impossible without God. All that Adam and Eve acquired is the shame from the consciousness of their betrayal of God, the vision of their nakedness - the deprivation of the Divine Light. The Lord sends sinning and unrepentant people out of the Garden of Eden - the place of His presence, so that the pangs of their conscience would not be so unbearable, and they would not remain in this state of theirs forever.
Genesis 2:25-3:7; 3:21-24
25 And they were both naked, Adam and his wife, and were not ashamed.
1 The serpent was more cunning than all the beasts of the field that the Lord God had made. And the serpent said to the woman: Did God truly say: Do not eat from any tree in paradise?
2 And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat the fruits of the trees,
3 only the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of paradise, God said, do not eat it or touch it, lest you die.
4 And the serpent said to the woman, No, you will not die,
5 but God knows that on the day you eat them, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasing to the eye and desirable, because it gives knowledge; and took its fruit and ate; and gave also to her husband, and he ate.
7 And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed together fig leaves, and made themselves aprons.
21 And the Lord God made garments of leather for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.
22 And the Lord God said, Behold, Adam has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, no matter how he stretched out his hand, and took also from the tree of life, and ate, and began to live forever.
23 And the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.
24 And he drove out Adam, and set up in the east by the garden of Eden the Cherubim and the flaming sword that turned to guard the way to the tree of life.
It was worthy to be expelled from Eden, as if not keeping Your only, Savior, Adam's commandment: what if I suffer, always sweeping away Your animal words?
We are going, The Garden of Eden (ancient Hebrew “garden of bliss, delight”) is a garden in which the Lord settles the first people. In Slavic, it is called "paradise" - this word is taken from the mythology of our ancestors, where it meant the mysterious southern land of eternal joy and warmth, where the soul flies after the death of a person. This garden on earth, which was all paradise before the fall, differed from other places in that the Lord consecrated it for His presence and fellowship with man.
After the expulsion from Eden, humanity also lost the memory of exactly where he was. Various peoples have preserved vague traditions that in the East. The book of Genesis mentions four rivers that once watered this garden of God. Two of them are known, these are the Euphrates and the Tigris. On this basis, Mesopotamia or India, the cradle of ancient civilizations, is considered the location of the ancient paradise. However, it is most likely that people later named these Mesopotamian rivers in memory of paradise. Some researchers believe that paradise was in Africa, where the most ancient settlements on earth were found, in Madagascar or in the Sahara (in ancient times there was a mild climate and tropical gardens). However, the reliable knowledge of the place in which paradise was located, the Lord hid from man.
Canto 2
The storm will overcome the evil ones, merciful Lord: but like Peter, stretch out your hand to me too.
Peter- a disciple of Christ, one of the 12 apostles.
Matthew 14:23-32 says:
23 And sending the people away, he went up the mountain to pray in private; and stayed there alone in the evening.
24 And the boat was already in the middle of the sea, and the waves were tossing it, because the wind was contrary.
25 In the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.
26 And the disciples, seeing him walking on the sea, were troubled, and said, This is a ghost; and cried out in fear.
27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, Take heart; It's me, don't be afraid.
28 Peter answered and said to him, Lord! if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.
29 And he said, Go. And getting out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to come to Jesus,
30 But seeing a strong wind, he was frightened, and, beginning to drown, he cried out: Lord! save me.
31 Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, supported him, and said to him, You of little faith! why did you doubt?
32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
Canto 3
Sometimes the Lord rained fire from the Lord, first they hit the land of Sodom.
Save yourself on the mountain, O soul, like Lot, and steal to Sigor.
Sodom- one of the five cities in the Dead Sea region, which around the twentieth century BC. were destroyed by the Lord for their sinful lives. The city-states of Sodom, Amorrah (Gomorrah), Adma, Sigor (Zoar) and Seboim (Tzvoim), among other crimes, were distinguished by great depravity.
Lot- Abraham's nephew, who, wishing to separate from the patriarch with his flocks, fell into extreme poverty and was forced to settle at the gates of the city of Sodom, where the poor settled.
According to the story in the book of Genesis (chapters 18-19), the Lord, in the form of three wanderers, came to the righteous Abraham to announce to him the birth of the long-awaited son from Abraham, and also to test His righteous man - will he pity the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah? Abraham showed mercy and asked the Lord to have mercy on the cities if there were at least ten righteous people in all of them.
However, when two of the three strangers who appeared to Abraham came to Sodom, all the inhabitants, young and old, gathered around them, wanting to harm them. Only one resident of the city turned out to be righteous - Lot. The Lord brought Lot's family out of Sodom, and poured brimstone with fire on the whole neighborhood. Until now, this area in the Dead Sea region testifies to a natural or supernatural disaster that once occurred here.
Neither Lot's wife nor his daughters proved righteous and worthy of salvation. Lot's wife disobeyed the Lord's request not to look back. She looked back, out of simple curiosity to look at the death of thousands of people, and perhaps regretting the depraved Sodom she had left behind. Both of them testified to her sinfulness. She turned into a pillar of salt - perhaps for the reason that everything that stopped its movement at the time of the catastrophe was instantly covered with salt and ash and solidified. After their miraculous salvation, Lot's daughters acted as depraved as all the inhabitants of Sodom. God-cursed nations became their descendants.
Seagor
Canto 4
The ladder, which was seen in ancient times as great in the patriarchs, is an indication, my soul, of an active ascent, a reasonable ascension: if you want to, live by deed and mind and vision, be renewed.
The heat of the day endured hardships for the sake of the patriarch, and you carried the scum of the night, creating supplies for every day, grazed, toiling, working, and combines two wives.
Understand my two wives, the deed and the mind in sight: Leah is the deed, as if many children: Rachel is the mind, as if the laborious: for apart from labors, neither deed nor sight, the soul, will be corrected.
Leah and Rachel- two wives of Patriarch Jacob, the founder of the Israeli people. At that time, polygamy was widespread in the east, but the biblical patriarchs remain faithful to one or two wives. Jacob was the grandson of the righteous Abraham and the son of Isaac. He bought from his brother Esau the birthright and the father's blessing, which Esau valued nothing and sold for lentil stew. But, thinking that in addition to the blessing, Esau also lost material wealth, the brother decided to take revenge on Jacob. Fleeing, Jacob stopped for the night in a field. There, in a dream, he sees a heavenly ladder, on which angels ascend and descend (Gen. 28:10-22).
Canto 5
Imitating Reuben, accursed Az, I have done unlawful and lawless advice against the Most High God, defiling my bed, as he is my father.
Reuben- the eldest of the twelve sons of Jacob (Israel), from whom the 12 tribes of Israel descended. Reuben defiled his father's bed by sleeping with his concubine. Genesis 35:21-22: “And Israel set out and pitched their tent behind the tower of Gader. While Israel was in that country, Reuben went and slept with Bilah, his father's concubine. And Israel heard. In Jacob's blessing of his sons (Genesis 49:3-4), instead of blessing Reuben, the father curses him for this sin.
I confess to You, Christ the King, I have sinned, I have sinned, as if before Joseph the brethren had sold, the fruit of purity and chastity.
From relatives, the righteous soul contacted, sold into sweet work, in the image of the Lord: you are all, my soul, you were sold by your evil ones.
Imitate Joseph's righteous and chaste mind, cursed and unskillful soul, and do not be defiled by wordless aspirations, always lawless.
And if Joseph sometimes lived in the ditch, Lord Lord, but in the image of Your burial and rising: what if I bring You chintz?
Joseph- one of the twelve sons of Jacob (Israel), the brother of Reuben, the eldest son from Rachel, the ancestor of the two tribes of Israel - Ephraim and Manasseh. The life of Joseph is told in chapters 37, 39-50 of the book of Genesis. Joseph was Jacob's favorite son. The brothers envied him and out of envy sold Joseph into slavery in Egypt. In Egypt, the righteous Joseph shows himself chaste, refusing to become the lover of the wife of a nobleman. The angry wife of the nobleman falsely accuses Joseph and he is thrown into an underground dungeon. But the Lord turned the evil they did for good - for his wisdom, Joseph was called the ruler of Egypt, exalted at the court of the pharaoh and was able to save his father's family from starvation during a drought. Seeing the grief they brought to their father, Joseph's brothers repented of their deed.
Canto 6
You have evaded, soul, from your Lord, like Dathan and Aviron, but have mercy, call from the hell of the underworld, so that the abyss of the earth will not cover you.
Dathan and Aviron- the Israelites who rebelled against the authorities of the prophet Moses and the high priest Aaron in the wilderness. For this they were punished by the Lord.
Like a youth, a soul, furious, you became like Ephraim, like a chamois from the snares save your life, putting your mind and eyesight into action.
Ephraim- one of the sons of Jacob (Israel), the founder of the tribe of Israel. The tribe of Ephraim throughout the history of the people of Israel showed disobedience to the commands of God and rebelled against other tribes.
May the hand of Moses assure us, soul, how God can whiten and cleanse a leper's life, and do not despair of yourself, if you are a leper.
Moses- a prophet of God who brought the people of Israel out of Egyptian captivity (XIII century BC) and received commandments from God on Mount Sinai for all mankind. To assure Pharaoh that Moses was the messenger of God, the Lord miraculously made Moses' leper hand healthy.
Canto 7
Saul sometimes, as if destroying his father, soul, donkey, suddenly find a kingdom for prostitution: but watch, do not forget yourself, your bestial lusts are more arbitrary than the kingdom of Christ.
Saul- the first Israeli king (2nd half of the 11th century BC). Was from a simple family. He was anointed king by the prophet Samuel when he went looking for his father's lost donkeys. Subsequently, he apostatized from God, and the Lord instead of him chose David as king.
David is sometimes the Godfather, if you sin purely, my soul, he was shot with an arrow having been adultery, but he was captured with a copy of being murdered by languor; but you yourself are ill with the gravest deeds, with self-willed aspirations.
Combine, then, David sometimes iniquity, iniquity, but dissolving fornication in murder, repentance, pure display of abie; but you yourself, the most crafty soul, did it without repenting to God.
David sometimes imagine, having written off a song as if on an icon, the deed of which he denounces, hedgehog, calling: have mercy on me, for you alone have sinned all God, cleanse me yourself.
David- the second Israeli king (c. 1005 - 965 BC), called the Godfather, since the Savior descended from his family. Author of most of the Psalms. In the 7th ode of the canon, an episode from the life of King David, described in 2 Kings, chapters 11-12, is recalled. King David was tempted by the wife of his warrior Uriah - Bathsheba. To take her away from her husband, he sent Uriah into a dangerous battle, where he was killed. The prophet Nathan denounced King David, after which the king repented. The fruit of his repentance was the 50th psalm, read daily at the service. Bathsheba became the wife of King David. From their marriage, Solomon was born - the last king of the united kingdom of Israel.
Canto 8
The charioteer Elijah entered the chariot of virtues, as if into heaven, hoisting higher sometimes from the earth: this is the result, my soul, think of the sunrise.
Or me("my God is Yahweh") - a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel (IX century BC). In the 2nd chapter of 4 Kings, the ascension of the prophet Elijah to Heaven on a miraculously appeared chariot is described.
Elisha sometimes received mercy on Elijah, received a special grace from God; but you, O my soul, did not partake of sowing grace for intemperance.
The stream of Jordan is the first mercy of Elijah Elisha a hundred everywhere and everywhere; but you, O my soul, did not partake of sowing grace for intemperance.
Elisha(“God will save”) - a disciple of the prophet Elijah, a prophet of the kingdom of Israel (IX century BC). The prophet Elisha asked Elijah for more grace than his teacher had, and received it. He was present at the ascension of Elijah to Heaven in a chariot. Elijah's mantle (outer garment) fell at the feet of the prophet Elisha, with which later Elisha miraculously divided the waters of the Jordan, passing along the river like dry land (2 Kings 2 chapter).
Establish a righteous Somanitis sometimes, O soul, in a good disposition; you did not bring you into the house, neither strange nor traveler. The same halls are thrown out, weeping.
somanitida(Sonamite) - a woman from the city of Sonam in the northern kingdom of Israel (now the village of Solem), whose family repeatedly gave shelter to the wandering prophet Elisha. Through the prayer of the prophet Elisha, a son was born to the barren Sonamite woman, later the prophet, in gratitude for the hospitality, resurrects her child who died from a sunstroke, warns this family about the approach of seven years of famine so that they can go to the Philistine land, helps to return the house taken by the king to the Sonamite woman (4 Kings 4:8-37; 8:1-6).
Geeziev was imitated by you, accursed, always a bad mind, soul, whose love of money put aside for old age; flee the fire of hell, having retreated from your evil ones.
Gehazi- servant of the prophet Elisha. After the prophet Elisha healed the Syrian commander Naaman, who was ill with leprosy, and refused material reward, Gehazi was tempted by Naaman's estate. He caught up with the Syrian nobleman and by deceit, allegedly for alms, begged him for two talents (about 90 kg) of silver and two changes of clothes, hiding them from Elisha. As a punishment for this sin, Naaman's leprosy was transferred to Gehazi.
Canto 9
Moses bring the world to you, soul, and from this all the covenant Scripture, which will tell you the righteous and the unrighteous: from them the second, about the soul, imitated you, and not the first, having sinned against God.
Moses- see canto 6.
Moses' world-being- the Old Testament book of Genesis, written by the prophet Moses, which tells about the events of biblical history from the beginning of the world.
Tuesday
Canto 1
Cain's murder has passed, by the will of the former murderer of the conscience of the soul, reviving the flesh and fighting against me with my crafty deeds.
Abel, Jesus, not like the truth, I did not bring you a pleasant gift when, neither divine deeds, nor pure sacrifices, nor a blameless life.
Like Cain and we, a cursed soul, all the Creator of the deeds are foul, and a vicious sacrifice, and an indecent life brought together: we will be condemned the same.
Cain and Abel- two sons of Adam and Eve. When both brothers offered sacrifice to God, the Lord did not accept Cain's sacrifice, because it was not offered from a pure heart. But Cain did not repent, but began to envy his brother, whose sacrifice was pleasing to God and accepted by Him. By deception, Cain lured Abel into the field and killed him, becoming the first murderer on earth (Gen. 4). The clan of Cain, expelled from the rest of the descendants of Adam and Eve, subsequently died in a catastrophe that entered the Holy Scriptures under the name of the Flood.
Canto 3
Under Noah, the Savior, imitators of fornication, they inherited condemnation in the flood of immersion.
Noah
Hama onago, soul, imitating the parricide, shame did not cover the sincere, returning back in vain.
Ham One of the three sons of Noah. He insulted his father by mocking him. After Noah, not knowing the effect of fermented grape juice, did not reach his bed and fell naked in the middle of the tent, Ham did not cover his father’s nakedness, but, laughing, went and told his brothers about it so that they would also laugh over father. But the brothers covered their father, turning away so as not to see his nakedness. Upon learning of Ham's disrespect, Noah cursed his descendants (Gen. 9:18-27).
Inflammation, like Lot, run, my soul, sin: run Sodom and Gomorrah, run the flame of every wordless desire.
Lot, Sodom and Gomorrah- see explanations for the 3rd ode of the canon read on Monday of the first week of Great Lent.
Canto 4
Watch out, O my soul, work out, as if anciently great in the patriarchs, may you acquire an act with reason, may you be a mind, see God, and reach the unfading darkness in a vision, and you will be a great merchant.
Twelve great patriarchs in the patriarchs having created children, secretly affirm to you the ladder of the active, my soul, ascent: children, like foundations, degrees, like ascents, wisely laying.
Great Patriarch - Jacob (Israel), the founder of the chosen people of God. From him came twelve sons who became patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel. For more information about Patriarch Jacob, see the explanation to the 4th ode of the canon, read on Monday of the first week of Great Lent.
Esau, who was hated, imitated thou, soul;
Esau was called Edom, for the extreme sake of womanish confusion: with intemperance, we constantly inflame and defile with sweetness, Edom was named, which is said to inflame the soul of a sinful one.
Esau- Brother of Patriarch Jacob. With disdain, he treated his father's blessing and honor to be considered the firstborn son, selling them to Jacob for lentil stew (Gen. 25, 20-34). For his intemperance, Esau received the nickname "Edom" ("red") - from the color of lentil stew. After Jacob received the blessing once due to him, Esau hated his brother and wanted to kill him (Gen. 27).
Hearing Job on the fester, about my soul, who was justified, you were not jealous of that courage, you didn’t have a firm offer in all, even weigh, and you were tempted by the image, but you appeared impatient.
Even the first on the throne, naked now on the fester, festering, many in children and glorious, childless and homeless in vain: the chamber is festering and the beads of the scab are sane.
Job- the Old Testament patriarch, who, due to the action of the devil, lost his children, his estate and was subjected to an incurable disease - leprosy. He showed firm faith in God in trials. The Lord restored Job to health and gave him more children. The story of the righteous Job, who is called the long-suffering by the Church, is described in the Old Testament book of Job.
Canto 5
Moiseov heard thou the ark, soul, waters, river waves, as if running in the hell of old deeds, the bitter advice of the pharaohs.
If you heard a woman, sometimes killing an ageless masculine, cursed soul, act of chastity, now, like the great Moses, ssi wisdom.
Like Moses the great Egyptian, mind, wounded, cursed, did not kill thou, soul; and how, say, do you dwell in the desert of passions by repentance?
The great Moses moved into the desert; come, imitate that life, and in the bush of the Theophany, soul, in a vision you will be.
Imagine the rod of Moses, soul, striking the sea and thickening the depth, in the image of the Divine Cross: you can do the same great.
Moses- Old Testament prophet of God. In the 5th ode of the canon, the life of the prophet, described in chapters 1-2 of the book of Exodus, is recalled. The cruel pharaoh, fearing an uprising of slaves, gave the command to kill all male babies born to Jewish slaves. One of the children was miraculously saved - left near the royal baths in a tarred basket, where he was found by the pharaoh's daughter. The child was adopted by the king's daughter. He receives the name Moses - "taken out of the water" and is brought up at the court of the pharaoh. But, brought up as an Egyptian nobleman, Moses cannot endure the oppression of his people and stands up for a Jewish slave who is beaten by an Egyptian. At the same time, he kills an Egyptian and he has to flee the country to avoid punishment. Moses finds refuge in the Sinai Peninsula, where, after 40 years, the Lord calls him to free His people. For more information about Moses, see the explanation to the 6th ode of the canon, read on Monday of the first week of Great Lent.
Aaron offers fire to God undefiled, unflattering; but Hophni and Phinehas, like you, soul, bring a life alien to God, a defiled life.
Aaron- the elder brother of Moses, born before the publication of the cruel decree of the pharaoh on the extermination of babies. Aaron became the first priest of Israel and the founder of a priestly family. Throughout the history of the Old Testament people of God, only an Israelite from the descendants of Aaron could become a priest.
Ofni and Phinehas- the descendants of the high priest Aaron, the wicked sons of the priest Eli. They were priests according to the right of inheritance, but they were distinguished by greed and irreverence towards the sacrifice of the Lord. Before the Israelites offered sacrifice, the sons of Eli came and chose for themselves the best pieces of meat for feasting, and the rest - the worst meat - were ordered to be offered to the Lord. They were punished by God with an untimely death. Following them, Eli also died - as a punishment for not raising his children in piety (1 Sam. 1-4).
Canto 6
Waves, Savior, of my sins, as if returning in the Black Sea, covering me suddenly, like the Egyptians are sometimes tristats.
Red (Red) Sea. Fleeing from Egyptian slavery, the Israelites miraculously crossed this sea, as if on dry land. The Egyptian warriors and horsemen (tristats) who rushed after them perished under the closing waves (Ex. 14). Further, in the 6th ode of the canon, other miracles of God, revealed to the Israelites in the Sinai desert after crossing the Red Sea, and the murmuring of the Jewish people, despite the many blessings of God, are recalled.
Try, soul, and look, like Joshua, the promises of the land as it is, and dwell in it with good law.
Joshua
Canto 7
The kivot, as if carrying on a chariot, Zany, when I turn into a calf, I touch it, I’m tempted by God’s wrath; but having escaped that boldness, soul, honor the Divine more honestly.
Zan (Oza)- the son of Aminadab, the keeper of the ark of the covenant in Kiryat-Yarim. During the reign of the Israeli judges, this main shrine of the Jewish people was hidden from the Philistines in the village of Kiryat-Yarim. After the accession of David over Israel, the threat of an attack by the Philistine tribes decreased. King David, accompanied by many people, personally took part in the transfer of the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. Uzzah drove the chariot that carried the ark. On the way of the procession of the ark, misfortune happened - an ox pushed the chariot, and Uzza, who was sitting on it, grabbed the ark so as not to fall. Instead of taking care of the holiness of the Lord, he considered his safety more precious than the ark. For this, Uzzah was immediately smitten by the Lord and died (2 Sam. 6).
You heard Absalom, how you rose to nature, you knew that filthy deed, defiling the bed of David your father; but you imitated that passionate and gracious aspiration.
Absalom- one of the sons of King David, born from the daughter of the king of Gessur. Revolted against his father, seeking to seize his kingdom. As an expression of contempt for his father, he entered the house to his concubines in front of all the people. He died a shameful death: participating in the battle against his father, he rode a mule through the forest, and his long hair, which he was proud of, tangled in the branches of an oak, the mule ran away, and Absalom hung on a tree, where, despite the prohibition of King David, he was struck royal soldiers (2 Kings 15-18).
David- The second king of Israel. For more details about it, see the explanation to the 7th ode of the canon, read on Monday of the first week of Great Lent.
You subdued your unworkable dignity to your body, other than Ahithophel, having found an enemy, soul, you lowered this advice; but this is Christ Himself scattered, so that you may be saved in every way.
Ahithophel- Advisor to King David. He went over to the side of the traitor Absalom and gave him advice on how best to destroy David. Seeing that one of his advice against the king was not fulfilled, Ahithophel, fearing the victory of the king and reprisals for treason, strangled himself (2 Sam. 17:23).
Solomon, wondrous and filled with the grace of wisdom, sometimes having done this evil thing before God, depart from Him; to him you have become like your cursed life, soul.
Sweeten the attraction of your passions, defiled, alas, to me, the guardian of wisdom, the guardian of prodigal wives and strange from God: you imitated him with your mind, about the soul, with filthy voluptuousness.
Solomon- the son of King David, the most famous of the kings of Israel (965-928 BC). He was famous for his wisdom, which he received from God as a reward for his humility. Author of the Old Testament books of Proverbs, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes and Wisdom of Solomon. In Solomon's time, the kingdom of Israel reached its highest peak. But wealth and numerous pagan wives corrupted him and made him forget the Lord. By the end of his life, he repented.
You were jealous of Rehoboam, who did not listen to the advice of the father, but also of the worst servant Jeroboam, the former apostate, soul, but run away from imitation and call on God: you have sinned, have mercy on me.
Rehoboam- the son of King Solomon, who inherited the throne after the death of the king (1 Kings 11:43). He did not listen to the advice of the elders to be merciful to the people, and became a cruel ruler. During his reign, the united kingdom of Israel was divided into northern and southern.
Jeroboam- the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel, from the tribe of Ephraim. His reign over the ten tribes of Israel was predicted by the prophet Ahijah. Upon learning of this, King Solomon wanted to kill Jeroboam, and he had to flee to Egypt. After the death of Solomon, Jeroboam led the Israelites, who were indignant at the exorbitant exactions of the new king Rehoboam, and began to rule over ten tribes that did not want to accept the power of Rehoboam. But after the accession to the throne, Jeroboam became proud and forgot God, becoming an idolater.
Canto 8
You Oziah, soul, jealous, this leprosy in yourself acquired this purely: you think without a place, but you act lawlessly; leave, even imashi, and the sons to repentance.
Oziya (Azaria)- the king of Judea, who ruled in the VIII century BC. (2 Kings 15:1-7, 2 Chr. 26). At the beginning of his reign he was pious. He waged successful wars with the Philistines. Subsequently, he became proud, wished to enter the Jerusalem temple and perform divine services in it instead of the priests. “And the Lord struck the king, and he was a leper until the day of his death, and dwelt in a separate house” (2 Kings 15:5). The throne passed to his son Jotham.
Ninevites, soul, thou didst hear the penitent to God, with sackcloth and ashes, thou didst not imitate these, but thou didst appear the most evil of all, before the law and by the law of those who sinned.
Ninevites- the inhabitants of Nineveh, the Assyrians, after the Jewish prophet Jonah came to them and denounced them of their sins, not only repented, but also unanimously wished to put on sackcloth (rough clothing) and sprinkle ashes on their heads as a sign of their repentance, as they usually did in days of mourning.
In the ditch of blat you heard Jeremiah, soul, the city of Zion crying out with sobs and looking for tears: imitate this deplorable life and be saved.
Jeremiah- Prophet of the Kingdom of Judah (7th-6th centuries BC), author of the Old Testament texts of the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah and Lamentations of Jeremiah. He preached about the imminent destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in case of impenitence of its inhabitants. For the words of his sermon, he was considered a traitor to the people and thrown into a ditch with mud. Jeremiah's prophecy was fulfilled during his lifetime. The Babylonians who invaded the city released the prophet and allowed him to stay where he wanted to live, while his compatriots were taken into captivity. Jeremiah was left to mourn the holy city and his people in the ruins of Jerusalem. Later, he was taken into Egyptian captivity by the Israelis, who wished to flee to Egypt from the occupied lands. In Egypt, Jeremiah was martyred by the Jews for his denunciations. According to legend, he was buried in Alexandria.
Jonah fleeing to Tarshish, having understood the conversion of the Ninevites, understand more, like a prophet, God's mercy: the same is jealous of the prophecy, do not lie.
And she- prophet of the kingdom of Israel (XI-VIII centuries BC). He was sent with a sermon to the pagans - the Assyrians, who lived in the city of Nineveh. He opposed this command of God, because he learned that the Ninevites would repent, and the prophecy would remain unfulfilled. Jonah fled by ship to Tarshish (a city on the Iberian Peninsula or in North Africa), but on the way he was overtaken by a storm. Realizing that the Lord was sending a storm because of him, he asked the sailors to throw him over the deck. Jonah is swallowed by a huge fish and washed ashore three days later. Jonah repented and went to preach in Nineveh. Its inhabitants really repented and announced a fast to cleanse their sins. The Old Testament book of the prophet Jonah tells about this.
Thou hast heard Daniel in the ditch, how shut up the mouth, about the soul, of the beasts; Thou didst take away, like the youths, like Azariah, extinguishing the burning flame by the faith of the cave.
Daniel- Old Testament prophet (c. 607-516 BC), author of the book of the prophet Daniel. In his youth, he was taken to Babylonian captivity and, due to his noble birth, among other young men, he was left to serve at the royal court. He earned the respect of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II thanks to his wisdom and gift for interpreting dreams. He predicted to the Babylonian king that his empire would be taken by the Medes and Persians. Twice - under the Persian kings Darius I and Cyrus the Great - for his faith and refusal to serve idols, he was thrown into the lions' den. Both times the Lord sent an angel who blocked the lions' grazing and saved the prophet from death.
Azaria- one of the three young men - friends of the prophet Daniel. For refusing to bow to the image, three Jewish youths - Azariah, Ananias and Mishael - were thrown into a red-hot furnace by order of the Babylonian king. But suddenly an Angel of God appeared in the furnace and saved the martyrs. Unharmed young men walked among the fire and sang a song of praise to the Lord. Frightened, the Babylonian king ordered their release and issued a decree on the veneration of the True God in Babylon (Dan. 3). According to church tradition, Azariah, Ananias and Misail did not escape martyrdom - many years later they were beheaded at the behest of the Persian king Cambyses. The life of the three holy youths is described in the book of the prophet Daniel.
Canto 9
Desert-loving dove, cry out the voice of a crying one, Christ's lamp, preach repentance, Herod is lawless with Herodias. Look, my soul, do not get caught up in lawless nets, but kiss repentance.
The grace of the Forerunner settled in the desert, and all Judea and Samaria, hearing, flowing and confessing their sins, baptizing diligently: you did not imitate them, soul.
Herod II Antipas- the ruler of the Palestinian regions of Galilee and Perea (Gilead) in 20 BC. - after 39 AD, son of Herod the Great. He had a criminal relationship with Herodias - the wife of Herod Philip II, his brother, co-ruler of Judea enslaved by the Romans. The prophet John the Baptist denounced Herod Antipas and Herodias for their sin. Wanting revenge, Herodias begged Herod to imprison John the Baptist. Once, when the daughter of Herodias Salome was dancing at a feast, Herod Antipas promised her to fulfill her wish as a reward for the dance. Herodias took advantage of this opportunity and ordered Salome to ask for the head of John the Baptist. In order to please Herodias and his close associates, Herod ordered the execution of John the Baptist and brought the head of the prophet to Salome on a platter (Mark 6:14-29).
Forerunner- John the Baptist, a prophet who preceded the coming into the world of the Lord Jesus Christ and preached repentance (about 6 BC - 30 AD). As a sign of repentance, John invited the Jews to bathe in the waters of the Jordan River. The Lord Jesus Christ, having come to John the Forerunner, was baptized by him in order to renew and sanctify the world and human nature.
Wednesday
Canto 2
He crawled, like David, fornicated and defiled, but washed by me, Savior, with tears.
David- Israeli king, author of the Psalter, progenitor of the Savior of the world. This song of the canon recalls the case of the fall of David, who was tempted by Bathsheba, the wife of his warrior Uriah (2 Kings 11-12). For more details, see the explanation to the 7th ode of the canon read on Monday of the first week of Great Lent.
To whom have you become like, O sinful soul? Only to the first Cain and Lamech onom, who stoned the body of villainy and killed the mind with wordless aspirations.
Cain
Lamech
All before the law, O soul, you did not become like Seth, nor did you imitate Enos, nor did you imitate Enoch, nor Noah, but you appeared to be a miserable righteous life.
You alone opened the abyss of the wrath of your God, my soul, and drowned you all, like the earth, flesh, and deeds, and life, and you remained outside the saving ark.
Sif- the third son of Adam and Eve, the progenitor of all living mankind. Revered by the Church in the rank of holy forefathers. As noted in the book of Genesis (4:26) “Seth also had a son, and he called his name: Enos; then they began to call on the name of the Lord,” Seth is considered the founder of conciliar prayer and public worship.
Enos- the son of Seth and the grandson of Adam, glorified by the Church in the face of the holy forefathers (Gen. 4:26; 5:6-11).
Enoch- the sixth descendant from Adam, holy forefather and prophet (Genesis 5:18-24). In the genealogy of mankind in the book of Genesis, it is only said about him "walked with God." For sincere repentance, the Lord raised Enoch alive to Heaven (Gen. 5:24; Sir. 44:15; 49:16; Heb. 11:5). In addition to Enoch, the prophet Elijah was raised alive to Heaven in the Old Testament. According to Tradition, Enoch and Elijah are the two prophets whose arrival before the second Coming of the Lord is mentioned in the Revelation of John the Theologian (Rev. 11:3-12).
Noah- the Old Testament patriarch, belonged to the 9th generation of people after Adam. In his time, the Lord decided to send a global flood to the earth in order to exterminate all sinful humanity. Of all the people turned out to be righteous and only Noah and his family were saved from the flood. God ordered Noah and his sons to build an ark in which the entire family of the patriarch fit, as well as representatives of the then flora and fauna (Gen. 6-9).
Canto 3
You did not inherit the blessing of Simov, damned soul, nor did you have a vast possession, like Japheth, on the land of abandonment.
Sim- the eldest son of Noah, the progenitor of the Semitic peoples - Arabs, Jews, Arameans and others. After the flood, Noah blesses his sons, prophesying about Japheth that the Lord will spread his descendants throughout the earth, and about Shem that the Lord will dwell in his tents (Genesis 9:24-27).
Japheth (Japheth) Noah's youngest son.
From the land of Haran, depart from sin, my soul, come to the land that wears away the ever-living incorruption, which Abraham inherited.
Thou hast heard Abraham, my soul, having left the land of the fatherland of old and being a stranger, imitate this will.
At the oak of Mamre, having established the patriarch angels, inheriting the promises of fishing in old age.
Harran- the ancient city of the northern Mesopotamia. For a long time it was the hometown of righteous Abraham.
Abraham- the Old Testament patriarch (elder of the clan), glorified by the Church in the rank of the righteous. He belonged to the 20th generation of people after Adam (XX century BC). According to legend, Arabs, Jews, Midianites and some other Semitic peoples descended from Abraham. Abraham became famous for his exceptional trust in God and His Providence. Thanks to Abraham's faith, his childless family in extreme old age received a promise from God about the birth of a long-awaited son. From Isaac, born of aged parents, the people of Israel will subsequently come. The life story of righteous Abraham is described in the book of Genesis (Gen. 11:27 - 25:10). The story of the appearance of three angels to Abraham at the Mamrian oak forest formed the basis of the iconography of the icon of the Trinity.
Isaac, my cursed soul, understanding a new sacrifice, secretly burned to the Lord, imitate his will.
Isaac- Old Testament patriarch, son of Abraham, holy forefather. From Isaac came the Jews and the Edomites. According to the book of Genesis, he was the long-awaited son of elderly parents. When Isaac was about 30 years old, the Lord tested His righteous ones by commanding Abraham to sacrifice his son. The sacrifice had to be voluntary for both patriarchs. In those days, the pagans considered sacrificing their children as a common thing. Therefore, Abraham was not surprised to hear such a command from God. But the Lord, on the contrary, wanted to show that He does not want such sacrifices. When Abraham raised the blade over Isaac, an Angel who appeared from Heaven stopped his father's hand and pointed to a lamb standing nearby as a sacrifice that befits to be offered to God. The Lord revealed himself as a God of mercy and love to His righteous ones after Isaac proved his loyalty to God by his willingness to die for Him, and Abraham by his willingness to sacrifice his long-awaited son (Genesis 22:1-19).
You heard Ismail, sober, my soul, expelled, like a slave offspring, see, but not like what you suffer, kindheartedly.
Ismail- the first son of Abraham, was born from the slave Hagar. He was distinguished by a daring and rebellious character. Became the ancestor of the Arab tribes (Genesis 16 and 21:1-21).
Canto 5
Like a heavy disposition, the bitter Pharaoh was, Lord, Ianni and Jambres, soul and body, and immersed in mind, but help me.
Ianni and Iamvri- the names of the Egyptian priests who resisted the miracles of God, revealed through the prophet Moses, but could not create such miracles with the help of their gods (Ex. 7:11; 2 Tim. 3:8). In the books of the Old Testament, names are not named, and the number of priests is not mentioned. More information about them was preserved by the ancient Jewish tradition, which is reflected in the 2nd epistle of the Apostle Paul to Timothy 3:8.
Canto 6
Joshua- the leader of the Israelites on their way to the promised land during the exodus from Egypt. After the death of the prophet Moses, he led the holy war of the Israelites against the wicked pagan tribes that inhabited Palestine.
Amalek, Amalekites
Gavaonites
Forego, the time of the current nature, as before the ark, and wake up the land of this in the possession of the promise, soul, God commands.
Here we recall the wonderful the Israelites crossing the Jordan like dry land when entering the promised land. After the priests brought the ark of the covenant into the middle of the river, its waters stopped.
As if you saved Peter, crying out, save, having preceded me, Savior, deliver me from the beast, stretch out Your hand, and raise me from the depths of sin.
Peter
Canto 7
Manasseyeva collected sins by pleasure, setting up as abominations of passion and multiplying, soul, indignation, but that repentance is jealous of warmth, acquire tenderness.
Manasseh- king of Judea (695-642 BC). He reigned at the age of 12 and ruled for 55 years. Son of the pious king Hezekiah. He was distinguished by special wickedness, was an idolater and inclined the entire Jewish people to idolatry (2 Kings 21: 1-18). He "led his sons through the fire", that is, burned them alive as a sacrifice to Moloch, and also installed the idol of Astarte in the temple of God. In addition, Manasseh shed much innocent blood. The result of the sin that Manasseh sowed among the Jews was the Babylonian captivity of the people. At the end of his cruel reign, he was taken prisoner by the Assyrians who captured Jerusalem, who took him away in chains to Babylon. During the long years of captivity, King Manasseh repented of his atrocities. After the Assyrians allowed him to return to Jerusalem, where he ended his days without returning to his former iniquities (2 Chronicles 32:33 - 33:23). The fruit of Manasseh's repentance was a prayer, which is given at the end of 2 Chronicles (2 Chronicles).
You were jealous of the filthiness of Ahaav, my soul, alas, was the abode of carnal filthiness and the vessel of shameful passions, but from the depths of your breath and tell God your sins.
Ahab (Ahav)- the king of the kingdom of Israel (873-852 BC). After his marriage with Jezebel, the daughter of the pagan king of Sidon, he introduced the cult of Baal and Astarte in Israel and raised the persecution of the prophets of God. Elijah was one of the few surviving prophets. The punishment for the iniquity of Ahab and the idolatry of the people was the drought and the siege of the cities of Israel by the Syrians. Wishing to turn Ahab to repentance, the Lord miraculously granted Ahab victory over the thousands of Syrian troops. But, attributing the victory to himself and becoming proud, Ahab entered into an open war with Syria, in which, without the help of God, he was defeated and killed by an arrow shot at random by one of the Syrian soldiers (1 Kings 16:28-22:40).
Close the sky to you, soul, and the smoothness of God comprehend thee, when Elijah the Thesvitian, like Ahab, do not obey the words sometimes, but like Saraffia, nourish the prophetic soul.
Elijah the Thesbite(“my God is Yahweh”) - Elijah the prophet, was from the city of Thissba in the kingdom of Israel. He preached in Israel in the era of severe persecution from the wicked king Ahab and his wife Jezebel. As a punishment for idolatry, a drought began in Israel, which ended only after the prayer of the prophet Elijah. Elijah was taken up by God to Heaven in a fiery chariot (1 Kings 16:28 - 2 Kings 2:15).
Sarafiya- a resident of Sarepta (Tsarfat), a city in the south of modern Lebanon, a widow who sheltered the prophet Elijah and in the days of famine shared with him the last thing she had. For this, the widow miraculously did not run out of flour in a tub and oil in a jug, and when her son suddenly fell ill and died, the prophet Elijah resurrected him (1 Kings 17:9-24).
Elijah sometimes hit two fifty Jezebels, always destroy the student prophets, in the denunciation of Ahabovo, but run away from the imitation of two, soul, and be strengthened.
Jezebel- the wife of the wicked king Ahab, the daughter of the king of Sidon. She brought with her from Sidon the cult of Baal and Astarte and the priests of these idols. Along with King Ahab, Jezebel was a fierce persecutor of the prophets. After the execution of many of the prophets of God by Ahab, Elijah proved before the whole people that the prophets of Baal, and not of God, were false. Elijah, by prayer, brought down fire from Heaven on the victim, while the pagan priests of Jezebel could not do this. Then the people seized 850 pagan priests, who were executed by the prophet Elijah. (1 Kings 18:17-40). After the death of Ahab, fifty soldiers of Jezebel came to seize the prophet Elijah because he denounced the new king - her son Ahaziah - in idolatry. The prophet Elijah, with his prayer, brought down fire from Heaven on them and burned them. This did not frighten King Ahaziah, and he again sent fifty soldiers, who were expected by the same fate (2 Kings 1). Ahaziah and Jezebel, like Ahab, were punished for their iniquity by premature death. Ahaziah fell out of the window and died two years after the accession, his mother Jezebel was thrown out of the window by the conspirators and left her body on the street to be torn to pieces by dogs.
Canto 8
Like a robber, I cry out to Ty: remember me; like Peter, I cry highlander: weaken me, Savior; I call, like a publican, I get down, like a harlot; accept my weeping, as sometimes it is Canaanite.
Peter- Apostle Peter. After having denied Christ three times (Matt. 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; Luke 22:55-62; John 18:15-18, 18:25-27), the rest life mourned his deed.
Canaanite and imitating me, have mercy on me, crying out, Son of David; I touch the edge of the robe, as if bleeding, I cry, like Martha and Mary over Lazarus.
Canaan- a Syrophoenician who, despite being a pagan, begged Christ to heal her daughter (Mark 7:24-30).
Son of David- so the Jews called Christ because by humanity He was a descendant of King David, which was predicted by the prophets in the Old Testament.
Martha and Mary- Sisters of Lazarus in Bethany, in whose house Christ stayed. In the Gospel of Luke (Luke 10:38-42) the Lord reproaches Martha for the fact that she cares about many things, but not about the main thing - instruction in the Word of God.
Lazarus- a friend of Christ, over whom one of the most glorious miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ took place. The Lord resurrected Lazarus, who died of a sudden illness, on the fourth day after his death, when Martha and Mary bitterly mourned him and laid him in a coffin, from where the stench of a decaying body was already coming out. The resurrection of Lazarus, witnessed by many people, strengthened the faith of ordinary Israelis in Jesus as the sent Messiah, and confirmed the apostles after the crucifixion of Christ in the hope of His resurrection. This event led to the fact that the next day, thousands of people greeted the Savior with palm branches during His entry into Jerusalem, and the scribes and Pharisees, seeing how many people believed in Him, finally decided to plot against Christ (John 11:1 -12:11). The memory of the righteous Lazarus is celebrated on the Saturday before the feast of the Lord's Entry into Jerusalem ("Lazarus Saturday"). After his resurrection, the righteous Lazarus lived for another thirty years and was a bishop in the city of Kitia on the island of Crete.
Canto 9
Healing ailments, Christ the Word proclaimed the good news to the poor, harmful healers, with the tax collectors, you talked with sinners, return the soul of Jairus to the daughter of the deceased with the touch of your hand.
Jairus- head of the synagogue in Capernaum, whose daughter was resurrected by the Savior (Mark 5:22-43).
Zacchaeus was the publican, but both escaped, and the Pharisee Simon was seduced, and the harlot received permission from the One who has the strength to leave sins, south, the soul, trying to imitate.
Zacchaeus- a tax collector in the city of Jericho, through which the Savior passed. Zacchaeus so desired to see Christ that he overcame his pride and climbed a tree in order to see Him behind the crowd surrounding the Savior. But the Lord turned to Zacchaeus and, calling him by name, said that he would stay in his house. The greedy Zacchaeus repented and distributed half of his estate to the poor (Luke 19:1-10).
Simon- a Pharisee who invited Christ to dine with him and condemned Him for allowing himself to be touched by a sinner - a penitent woman who poured myrrh on Jesus' feet and wiped it with her hair. In response, the Lord rebuked the Pharisee, contrary to the Eastern law of hospitality, who did not anoint the Savior’s head with oil and did not wash His feet, and said: “Her many sins are forgiven because she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven, he loves little” (Lk. 7:36-50).
Yes, not bitter, O my soul, appearing in despair, hearing the faith of the Canaanites, even if you were healed by the word of God; Son of David, save me too, cry out from the depths of your heart, as she is to Christ.
Canaan- see the explanation for the 8th song.
Thursday
Canto 2
They killed the husband, he says, into an ulcer to me and the young man into a scab, Lamech, weeping out loud; you do not tremble, O my soul, defiling the flesh and defiling the mind.
About how jealous of Lamech, the first murderer, the soul is like a husband, the mind is like a young man, like my brother, having killed the body, like Cain the murderer, with gracious aspirations.
Lamech- a descendant of Cain from one of his sisters. He is known for taking two wives for himself, and also committed murder after his ancestor - the first human killer. (Gen. 4:17-24).
Cain is the son of Adam and Eve. When Cain and his brother Abel offered a sacrifice to God, the Lord did not accept Cain's sacrifice, because it was not offered from a pure heart. But Cain did not repent, but began to envy his brother, whose sacrifice was pleasing to God and accepted by Him. By deception, Cain lured Abel into the field and killed him, becoming the first murderer on earth (Gen. 4). The clan of Cain, expelled from the rest of the descendants of Adam and Eve, subsequently died in a catastrophe that entered the Holy Scriptures under the name of the Flood.
Wait, Lord, from the Lord, fire sometimes on iniquity that angers, burned the Sodomites; you burned the fire of Gehenna, in it imashi, about the soul, burn yourself.
Sodomites- residents of Sodom, one of the five cities in the Dead Sea region, which around the twentieth century BC. were destroyed by the Lord for their sinful lives.
Thou hast stretched out thy hands to the generous God, Mary, immersed in the abyss of evil; and as if to Peter the philanthropic hand of the Divine is outstretched, your appeal is in every possible way Seeking.
Peter- a disciple of Christ, one of the 12 apostles. When the Lord came to the disciples who were in the boat on the water, Peter walked on the water towards Jesus, but, being frightened, he began to drown. The Lord stretched out his hand and saved Peter (Matthew 14:23-32).
Canto 3
Hagar of old, soul, the Egyptians now became like you, enslaved by your will and giving birth to a new Ismail, contempt.
Hagar- Sarah's slave, the wife of the Old Testament patriarch Abraham. The law of that time provided that if there was no heir in the family, the elder of the family could go to the slave of his wife. The child born from her, after he was laid on his knees to the wife of the patriarch, was considered the rightful heir. If the spouses after all had their own children, the son of the slave still inherited part of the property of the patriarch. This law was used by Abraham, whose wife Sarah was barren. Hagar's son Ismail was born. For disrespect to Abraham and Sarah and insulting the son of their old age, Isaac, Ismail, together with Hagar, was banished to the desert, where he became the founder of the Arab tribes (Gen. 16 and 21: 1-21).
You, my soul, understood the ladder of Jacob, which is from earth to heaven: why did you not have a firm rise, piety.
Jacob- Old Testament patriarch, grandson of righteous Abraham and son of Isaac. He bought from his brother Esau the birthright and the father's blessing, which Esau valued nothing and sold for lentil stew. But, thinking that in addition to the blessing, Esau also lost material wealth, he decided to take revenge on Jacob. Fleeing, Jacob stopped for the night in a field. There, in a dream, he saw a heavenly ladder on which angels ascended and descended (Gen. 28:10-22).
The priest of God and the king is alone, the likeness of Christ in the world of life, imitate in people.
This is about Melchizedek(“king of righteousness”), king and priest of the Most High God from the city of Salem (“city of peace”, presumably the ancient name of Jerusalem) around the twentieth century BC, which is mentioned in the book of Genesis (Gen. 14:14-20) . When righteous Abraham was returning after defeating one of the local leaders, Kedorlaomer, the king and priest Melchizedek greeted Abraham and blessed him, offering him bread and wine. Unlike other Old Testament righteous people, the book of Genesis does not give the genealogy of Melchizedek, nor does it say when he was born.
In Psalm 109, Psalmist David calls Christ a priest after the order of Melchizedek: “The Lord has sworn and will not repent: You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (Ps. 109:4).
The apostle Paul explains this comparison in his epistle to the Hebrews: “For Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, he who met Abraham and blessed him, returning after the defeat of the kings, to whom Abraham divided even a tithe from everything, - first, according signifying [name] the king of righteousness, and then the king of Salem, that is, the king of the world, without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, like the Son of God, remains a priest forever ”(Heb. 7: 1-3).
Do not wake up the pillar of the angel, the soul, returning back, let the image of Sodom frighten you, save yourself in Sigor.
I remember the story of Lot's wife. During the flight of Lot's family from the city of Sodom, on which the Lord poured fire and brimstone, Lot's wife disobeyed the request of the Angels of God not to look back. She looked back, out of simple curiosity to look at the death of thousands of people, and perhaps regretting the depraved Sodom she had left behind. Both of them testified to her sinfulness. Lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt - perhaps for the reason that everything that stopped its movement at the time of the catastrophe was instantly covered with salt and ash and solidified.
Seagor("small") - a city-state that was part of a coalition of five cities along with Sodom, Gomorrah, Adma and Sevoim. He was spared by the Lord, Lot took refuge in him.
Canto 4
With royal dignity, a crown and purple robes, a man of many names and a righteous one, boiling with wealth and flocks, suddenly riches, the glory of the kingdom, having become impoverished, deprived.
If he was righteous, and more blameless than all, and not escaping the flatterer and the network; But you, sin-loving being, cursed soul, what will you do, if anything from the unknown happens to come to you?
We are talking about Job, the Old Testament patriarch, who, due to the action of the devil, lost his children, his estate and was subjected to an incurable disease - leprosy. Righteous Job showed firm faith in God in trials. The Lord restored Job to health and gave him more children. The story of the righteous Job, who is called the long-suffering by the Church, is described in the Old Testament book of the same name.
Canto 5
If you are a deep hoarder, Master, pour out water from your most pure veins, yes, like a Samaritan woman, do not drink to anyone, you exude a thirst for life.
Samaritan- a resident of Samaria in northern Israel, from whom Christ asked for water, contrary to the Jewish custom, not to communicate with Samaritans who professed a different faith. By this He surprised the woman and prompted her to talk with Him. The Lord revealed to the Samaritan woman her secret sins and thereby forced her to repent of them. Through the preaching of the Samaritan woman, many Samaritans came to believe in Christ (John 4:1-42). According to legend, the Samaritan woman bore the name Photinia. After the ascension of the Savior, Photinia continued preaching about Him among the pagans. Together with her sons and sisters, she was martyred in Rome during the reign of the cruel emperor Nero, in 66 AD. The memory of the Holy Martyr Photinia the Samaritan is celebrated by the Church on April 2 and on the fifth Sunday after Pascha.
Siloam, may my tears be mine, Lord Lord, may I wash even the apples of my heart, and I see Thee, smart Light is eternal.
Siloam- a body of water in Jerusalem, which has survived to this day. According to the Gospel of John, the Lord, having healed a man blind from birth, sends him to wash his eyes in the font of Siloam (John 9). The sixth Sunday after Easter is dedicated to the memory of this event, which represents the spiritual healing of a person from congenital blindness by sin.
Canto 6
Arise and fight, like Jesus Amalek, carnal passions, and the Gaonites, flattering thoughts, ever victorious.
Joshua- the leader of the Israelites on their way to the promised land during the exodus from Egypt. After the death of the prophet Moses, he led the holy war of the Israelites against the wicked pagan tribes that inhabited Palestine.
Amalek, Amalekites- a people who since ancient times occupied the lands between the Sinai Peninsula and the southwestern part of Palestine, to the borders of Egypt and Arabia. The Amalekites attacked the Israelites during their exodus from Egypt. A battle took place between them, in which the prayer of the prophet Moses helped the Israelites win. When Moses raised his hands in prayer, the Jews won, and when his hands (and with them prayer) weakened, the Amalekites took over. The uplifted cross-shaped hands of Moses are a type of the victorious Cross of the Lord (Ex. 17:8-16). The last mention of the Amalekites in the Old Testament is found in 2 Kings (chapter 8), which tells that King David conquered the lands and gold of the Amalekites.
Gavaonites- residents of the Palestinian pagan city of Gibeon, which the Lord commanded to destroy the Israelites under the leadership of Joshua for iniquity. Having learned about this formidable command, the cunning Gibeonites came to the Israeli camp under the guise of poor wanderers from distant lands and forced the Israelites to swear by God that they would not be touched. When the Jews found out that in fact these people were the inhabitants of Gibeon, they could no longer harm them, since they took an oath. The Israelites left the Gibeonites in the camp as servants - they made them carry water and chop wood.
Canto 7
My days have disappeared, like the dream of one who rises; the same, like Hezekiah, I will descend on my bed, kiss my belly in the summer. But which Isaiah will appear to you, soul, if not God of all?
Hezekiah(“God strengthened”) - the Jewish king (752-698 BC), is revered by the Church in the rank of the righteous. He was an ardent opponent of idolatry. Through the prayer of King Hezekiah, the Angel of God struck down the Assyrian soldiers who had come to besiege Jerusalem. (2 Kings 18:13-37-19). The Lord sent His prophet Isaiah to the mortally ill Hezekiah to warn the king of his approaching death. But King Hezekiah, not wanting to die, prayed so fervently and tearfully that the Lord extended his earthly life for another 15 years. In confirmation that the king would not die, but would recover, the prophet Isaiah showed him a sign - the shadow from the sun on the steps of the royal palace moved ten steps back (2 Kings 20:1-11).
Isaiah("God save") - the prophet of the Kingdom of Judah (765-695 BC) during the reign of the pious king Hezekiah, the author of a prophetic book, which is called the Old Testament Gospel.
The book of the prophet Isaiah contains prophecies about the birth of Christ from the Virgin (Is. 7:14) in Galilee (Is. 9) from the family of King David (Is. 11 - about the Branch that will come from the root of Jesse and David, and about the gifts of the Spirit on Him ), as well as about the sufferings of Christ - about the exaltation of the Lord's mountain - Golgotha, to which all peoples will gather (Is. 2, 1-4), about the meaning of Christ's sufferings. The 42nd, 49th, 50th, 52-53rd and 61st chapters of the book of the prophet Isaiah so accurately testify about Christ, His Crucifixion, Resurrection and the coming Second Coming, that they are called the fifth Passionate Gospel. Isaiah also predicted the coming of the Forerunner of the Lord, John, “a voice crying in the wilderness” (Isaiah 40:3).
According to church tradition, the prophet Isaiah ended his life as a martyr - he was executed for his preaching during the reign of Hezekiah's successor - the wicked king Manasseh.
I buried Your image and corrupted Your commandment, all goodness was darkened, and extinguished with passions, Savior, light. But generous, reward me, as David sings, joy.
Turn, repent, open the hidden, say to God, all leading: You are my secret weight, the only Savior. But Thyself have mercy on me, as David sings, according to Thy mercy.
Like David sings- the words of the 50th psalm of the king and psalmist David are quoted, which he wrote as a prayer of repentance after his fall, when he sent the warrior Uriah to certain death in order to take away his wife Bathsheba: “Return to me the joy of Your salvation and strengthen me with the sovereign Spirit” (Ps. 50:14), “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy, and according to the multitude of Thy mercies blot out my iniquities” (Ps. 50:3). This psalm is read daily during worship and in home morning prayers as an example of penitential prayer.
Canto 8
Seeing the miracle again, truly horrified by the divine in you, mother, Zosima: the angel is more sighted in the flesh and filled with horror, singing Christ forever.
Zosima- a reverend, a Palestinian hermit who witnessed the miraculous crossing of the Jordan River as the reverend Mary of Egypt on dry land and gave her a Christian parting word.
As if from the turning of the scarlet, the most pure, clever scarlet of Emmanuel inside in your womb, the flesh wasted away. We truly revere thee the Mother of God.
Emmanuel(“God is with us”) is the allegorical name of the Son of God, which is found in the prophet Isaiah: “So the Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin will take and give birth to a Son, and they will call His name: Immanuel” (Is. 7:14 ).
The penitential canon can be described as penitent lamentation, revealing to us the whole immensity, the whole abyss of sin, shaking the soul with despair, repentance and hope. With exceptional art, St. Andrew intertwines the great biblical images - Adam and Eve, paradise and the fall, Patriarch Noah and the Flood, David, the Promised Land and above all Christ and the Church - with confession of sins and repentance. The events of sacred history are revealed as the events of my life, the deeds of God in the past, as matters concerning me and my salvation, the tragedy of sin and betrayal, as my personal tragedy. My life is shown to me as part of that great, all-encompassing struggle between God and the powers of darkness that rise up against Him.
The penitential canon again and again about the spiritual history of the world, which at the same time is the history of my soul. The words of the Canon call me to account, for they speak of events and deeds of the past, the meaning and power of which are eternal, since each human soul - the one and only - goes through the same path of trials, faces the same choice, meets the same higher and
the most important reality. The examples from Scripture are not merely "allegories" as many people think, who therefore feel that the Great Canon is overburdened with names and incidents that do not belong to them. Such people ask why talk about Cain and Abel, about Solomon and David, when it would be easier to say: "I have sinned"? They do not understand that the very concept of the word sin in biblical and Christian tradition has a depth and richness that "modern man" simply cannot understand, and that therefore his confession of his sins is profoundly different from real Christian repentance. Indeed, the culture in which we live and which forms our modern views, in essence, simply excludes the concept of sin. Because sin is, first of all, the fall of a person from an immeasurable spiritual height, his refusal from his “high calling”. But what significance can this have for a culture that does not know and denies this “spiritual height”, this “calling” and evaluates a person not “from above”, but “from below” - for a culture that, if not openly denies God, then in fact, everything, from top to bottom, is materialistic and therefore considers a person's life only from the point of view of material well-being, without recognizing his high, transcendental calling? It regards sin chiefly as a natural "weakness" derived primarily from social disorder and therefore corrected by better social and economic organization. Therefore, modern man, even if he confesses his sins, no longer repents of them. Depending on this or that understanding of his “religious duties”, he either formally enumerates his sins and violations of ritual rules, or he talks with the confessor about his “problems”, expecting some kind of therapy from religion, a treatment that will return him happiness and calm. In neither case do we see the remorse, the shock of a man who, seeing himself as an image of ineffable glory, realizes that he has betrayed this "image", has stained and rejected it with his life; there is no repentance as sadness about sin, coming from the very depths of human consciousness, as a desire to return, as a surrender to God's mercy and love. That's why it's not enough to just say, "I have sinned." These words acquire their true meaning and effectiveness only when sin is perceived and experienced in all its depth and sorrow.
The meaning and purpose of the Great Canon lies precisely in this, to reveal sin to us and thereby lead us to repentance. But he shows us sin not by definitions and enumerations, but by a kind of deep contemplation of biblical history, which is truly the history of sin, repentance and forgiveness. This contemplation introduces us to a completely different spiritual culture, calls us to accept a completely different understanding of a person, his life, his goals, his spiritual "motivations". The Canon restores in us that spiritual attitude within which repentance becomes possible again.
On Great Compline on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the first week, the Great Penitent, or as it is also called, the touching canon is sung and read in parts, and on Thursday morning of the fifth week of the same fast. It has been read during Lenten services in churches for almost 1200 years and is perceived by believers in the same way as when it was written by the reverend songwriter. "Mystagogue of repentance", i.e., one who carefully teaches, reveals the mysteries of repentance - this is what the Orthodox Church calls St. Andrew, who compiled this canon.
The great canon consists of 250 troparia, and is called great not only by an unusually large number of verses, but also by its inner dignity, by the height of thoughts and the power of their expression. In it we contemplate the events described by the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments in a spiritual light. In the troparia of the canon, the characters of sacred history either present us with high examples of holy life, or, with examples of their deep fall, encourage us to strict sobriety. The mind of a person who listens to this canon sees in it high spiritual truths, realized in the lives of the Old Testament patriarchs, judges, kings and prophets, learns from them in the gospel parables, and the heart, thirsting for salvation, is either struck by deep sorrow for sins, or delighted with steadfast hope in God, always ready to receive the sinner.
You can't teach what you don't know how to do. The repentance of Saint Andrew is deep and sincere. One thought runs through the entire canon, which is repeated in all his songs: “Man has sinned more than all, he alone has sinned against You, (Lord), but have mercy and be merciful to me, for You are Merciful.” “Beneficent” means merciful and merciful in the same way as the Mother, who, as it were, with her whole womb, with her whole being, pities the child and loves him with all her heart. The closer a person is to God, the more he sees his sins. Saint Andrew of Crete teaches us this in his canon.
The entire Old Testament appears before us in the troparia of the canon as a school of repentance. Showing the virtues and deeds of the saints, the saint does not forget about evil and cruel deeds, prompting us to imitate the good and turn away the evil. But in the Great Canon there are not only examples from Holy Scripture, there is also an exhortation to the soul, reasoning, prayers. It is as if the elder, filled with compassion and love, takes us by the hand and leads us into his cell to talk with us, tell us, share his experience, and, together with us, humbly and fervently pray.
Why does the Holy Church in the first days of Great Lent offer us precisely these hymns? Because fasting is a time of repentance and purification, and the whole canon of St. Andrew is aimed at awakening the human soul from sinful sleep, revealing to it the perniciousness of the sinful state, moving it to strict self-examination, self-condemnation and repentance, to aversion from sins and to fix life.
The creator of this Great Canon, so beloved by Orthodox people, St. Andrew, Archbishop of Crete, was born in the city of Damascus around the year 660 into the family of pious Christians George and Gregory. From the testimonies of the early childhood of the saint, it is known that up to the age of seven he was considered dumb, because until that time he had not uttered a single word. When, upon reaching the age of seven, he took communion in the church of the divine Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ, his dumbness was resolved and he began to speak. After this manifested miracle, the parents gave their child to comprehend the wisdom of the divine books. In the fourteenth year of his life, Saint Andrew was brought by his parents to Jerusalem to serve God in the monastery of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher. After being tonsured a monk, Saint Andrew was appointed notary, that is, secretary, of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, as a very reasonable person. He led a virtuous life, striving in chastity, abstinence and meekness, so that even the Jerusalem Patriarch himself marveled at him. After the year 681, when the sessions of the Sixth Ecumenical Council were taking place in Constantinople, Saint Andrew, who was then an archdeacon, together with two elder monks, was sent to the Byzantine capital on behalf of his patriarch to present to the emperor documents confirming full agreement with the decisions of the Council. the fullness of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church, which was then under the Muslim yoke.
After the end of the Council, the elder monks returned back to Jerusalem, and Andrew, having become famous for his bookish wisdom and deep knowledge of the dogmas of the Church, to the emperor and holy fathers, was left in Constantinople, receiving forever the nickname "Jerusalemite", i.e. "Jerusalemite" .
In the capital of the Empire, he received the obedience to head the Orphanage at the Great Church of St. Sophia with enrollment in the clergy of the main temple of Byzantium.
For 20 years he served as a deacon and worked in the orphanage, showing due diligence and care. Here, in Constantinople, he began to compose his wondrous hymns, with which he richly adorned the liturgical heritage of the Holy Church.
After twenty years of serving as a deacon, Saint Andrew was ordained to the episcopal rank and appointed to the farthest see of the empire—the island of Crete, where he was awarded the title of archbishop for his diligent labors. Here he was a lamp to the world, enlightening the Church of Christ with divinely inspired teaching and a virtuous life. The holy shepherd of Crete built churches of God, as well as homes for orphans and the elderly. For his flock, he was a loving father, tirelessly preaching and, with his prayers, reflecting all misfortunes and hardships, and for heretics he was an adamant accuser and thunderstorm. St. Andrew did not leave the labors of compiling church hymns.
Several times the saint, leaving Crete, visited Constantinople, where he met with the patriarch and the emperor, as well as with people close to him. There he spoke out in defense of the holy icons, when iconoclasm began in Byzantium. On his last visit to the capital, Saint Andrew, feeling the approach of his imminent death, said goodbye to his friends. On the way to Crete, he became very ill. A severe illness forced him to stop on the island of Mitylene in the town of Eresso, where the saint died on July 4, around 740. On the same day, the Holy Church commemorates him to this day.
Saint Andrew of Crete was the first to write liturgical canons. He wrote the canons for all the twelfth feasts (except for the Entry into the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos, because in his time this feast was not celebrated separately). The Great Lenten Liturgy, in addition to the Great Canon, was also adorned with other works of the holy hymnographer. The manuscripts preserved the canons of the Week of Vaii, the triodes of all the days of Holy Week, including the Great Five. On Great Saturday, the four odes of St. Andrew were sung, to which they later added their own four odes and canons of St. Cosmas Mayumsky, nun Cassia, Bishop Mark of Otrant. In terms of the number of original melodies-chants, St. Andrew surpasses even such a great hymnographer as St. John of Damascus. Compiling the Octoechos, St. John brought into it the irmos and melodies of St. Andrew of Crete.
The Great Canon of Andrew of Crete (video story by Ivan Dyachenko):
Law of God Canon of St. Andrew of Crete
If we come to the temple in the evening on one of the first four days of Great Lent, many will be struck by an unusual picture: it is dark in the church, people are standing with burning candles, the strict and solemn voice of the priest sounds ... This is the Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete.
At the very beginning of Great Lent, as the initial tone by which the entire Great Lenten melody is determined, the Holy Church offers us the Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete. It is divided into four parts and is read at Great Compline, in the evening, on the first four days of Lent. It can be described as a penitent cry, revealing to us all the immensity, the whole abyss of sin, shaking the soul with despair, repentance and hope.
The reading of the Great Penitential Canon during the first week of Great Lent in our church takes place on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 17:00
On the fifth week of Great Lent on Thursday (Wednesday at 16:00)
In many parishes, it is customary not only to listen to the text of the canon, but to follow the reading from paper in order to better understand.
For those who are going to go to the Canon after work and do not have a printed text with them, we have prepared a Russian-Slavonic parallel text that can be easily print on printer.
(It is most convenient to do this in the “print mode” by clicking the appropriate link under the title of the publication).
Penitential canon of Andrew of Crete, Monday. Read by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'. 2009:
Penitential canon of Andrew of Crete, Tuesday. Read by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'. 2009:
Penitential canon of Andrew of Crete, Wednesday. Read by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'. 2009:
Penitential canon of Andrew of Crete, Thursday. Read by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'. 2009:
On Thursday evening of the first week of Great Lent, the reading of the Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete... But do not rush to put the book aside: before it sounds again on the 5th week of Lent, now in its entirety, look, read this amazing text again, imbue the very language of the canon.
By day of the week
Since ancient times, the first week of Great Lent has been called the "dawn of abstinence" and "clean week." This week, the Church urges her children to get out of that sinful state into which the whole human race fell due to the intemperance of our forefathers, having lost heavenly bliss, and which each of us multiplies by our own sins - to get out through faith, prayer, humility and God-pleasing fasting. This is the time of repentance, says the Church, this is the day of salvation, entrance of fasting: be awake, soul, and close the entrance of the passions, looking to the Lord (from the first song of the triode at Matins on Monday of the first week of Great Lent).
Like the Old Testament Church, which especially sanctified the first and last days of some great feasts, Orthodox Christians, prepared and inspired by the motherly suggestions of their Church, since ancient times, according to its charter, spend the first and last week of Great Lent with special zeal and severity.
During the first week, especially lengthy services are performed and the feat of bodily abstinence is much more rigorous than on the following days of Holy Lent. On the first four days of Great Lent, Great Compline is served with the reading of the Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, who, as it were, sets the "tone", determines the entire subsequent tonality, the "melody" of Great Lent. During the first week of Lent, the Canon is divided into four parts. The wonderful creation of St. Andrew of Crete is fully brought to our attention on Thursday (more precisely, on Wednesday evening) of the fifth week of the Holy Fortecost, so that we, seeing the approaching end of Lent, do not become lazy in spiritual exploits, do not become careless, do not forget and do not stop strictly following everything behind you.
Each verse of the Great Canon is accompanied by the psalm refrain Have mercy on me, God, have mercy on me! Several troparia are added to the canon in honor of the author himself - St. Andrew and Rev. Mary of Egypt. Even during the lifetime of St. Andrew, the Church of Jerusalem introduced the Great Canon into use. Departing in 680 for the Sixth Ecumenical Council in Constantinople, St. Andrei brought there and made known his great creation and the life of St. Mary of Egypt, written by his compatriot and teacher, Patriarch Sophronius of Jerusalem. The life of an Egyptian ascetic is read together with the Great Canon at Matins on Wednesday of the fifth week of Great Lent.
Of all the prayers of Great Lent, the Great Canon strikes the soul more than any other. The Great Canon is a marvel of church hymnography, these are texts of amazing power and poetic beauty. The canon was compiled in the 7th century by St. Andrew, Archbishop of Crete, who also compiled many other canons that the Church uses throughout the liturgical year. The church called this canon great, not so much because of its volume (it contains 250 troparia or verses), but because of its inner dignity and strength.
The Great Canon is a conversation between the penitent and his own soul. Here's how it starts:
From where shall I begin weeping of my accursed life of deeds? How shall I begin, O Christ, the present weeping? But it is like a merciful give me forgiveness of sins - where do I start to repent, because it is so difficult.
Then follows the wonderful troparion:
Come, wretched soul, with thy flesh. Confess to the builder of all and remain the rest of the previous speechlessness, and bring tears to God in repentance.
Amazing words, here both Christian anthropology and asceticism: the flesh must also participate in repentance, as an integral part of human nature.
This conversation with the soul, its constant persuasions, calls to repent, reach its climax in the kontakion, which is sung after the 6th ode of the Canon:
My soul, my soul, get up, why are you sleeping? The end draws near, and the Imashi become confused; Rise up, then, may Christ God have mercy on you, who is everywhere, and fulfills everything.
These words are pronounced, addressing himself, by the great lamp of the Church, the one to whom the expression used by him regarding St. Mary of Egypt, who really was "an angel in the flesh." And so he turned to himself, reproaching himself for the fact that his soul was sleeping. If he saw himself as such, then how should we see ourselves? Immersed not only in a deep spiritual sleep, but in some kind of mortification...
When we listen to the words of the kontakion from the canon of St. Andrew of Crete, we need to ask ourselves: what should I do? If a person properly fulfilled God's law, his life would be filled with a completely different content. That is why the Church offers us this deep, penetrating Lenten canon of repentance, so that we look deeper into our souls and see what is there. And the soul is sleeping ... This is our grief and our misfortune.
In a wonderful prayer, Rev. Ephraim the Syrian, which we repeat throughout Great Lent, says: Lord King, grant me to see my sins! - I don’t see them, my soul fell asleep, dozed off and I don’t even see these sins, as I should. How can I repent of them! And that's why you need to focus more on yourself during the days of Great Lent, evaluating your life and its content by the evangelical measure, and not by any other.
The main features of the Great Canon include a very wide use of images and plots from the Holy Scriptures, both the Old and the New Testament. It is a pity that we are not familiar with the Holy Bible. For many of us, the names of the people mentioned in the Great Canon mean nothing, because we do not know the Bible well.
Meanwhile, the Bible is not only the history of the Israeli people, but also a grandiose chronicle of the human soul - the soul that fell and rose before the face of God, which sinned and repented. If we look at the lives of the people mentioned in the Bible, we will see that each of them is presented not so much as a historical character, not so much as a person who has done certain deeds, but as a person standing in the face of the Living God. Historical and other merits of a person fade into the background, what remains most important is whether a person has remained faithful to God or not. If we read the Bible and the Great Canon from such an angle, we will see that much of what is said about the ancient righteous and sinners is nothing but a record of our soul, our falls and rebellions, our sins and repentance.
One ecclesiastical writer very opportunely remarks on this matter: “If in our day so many find it (the Great Canon) boring and not relevant to our life, this is because their faith is not fed from the source of Holy Scripture, which for the Fathers of the Church was the very source of their faith. We must again learn to perceive the world as it is revealed to us in the Bible, learn to live in this biblical world; and there is no better way to learn this than through church worship, which not only transmits biblical teaching to us, but also reveals to us the biblical way of life” (Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, Great Lent, p. 97).
So, in the Great Canon, the whole Old Testament and New Testament history passes before us in persons and events. The author points to the fall of the forefathers and the corruption of the primitive world, to the virtues of Noah and the impenitence and bitterness of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, resurrects before us the memory of pious patriarchs and valiant men: Moses, Joshua, Gideon and Jephay, presents to our eyes the piety of King David, his fall and tender repentance, points to the wickedness of Ahab and Jezebel and to the great examples of repentance - the non-nevites, Manasseh, a harlot and a prudent thief, and especially Mary of Egypt, repeatedly stops the reader at the Cross and the Holy Sepulcher - everywhere teaching repentance, humility, prayer, selflessness . On these examples, the soul is constantly being exhorted - remember this righteous man, he pleased God so much, remember this righteous man, he pleased him so much - you did nothing of the kind.
Some characters of the Bible are spoken of in a positive sense, others in a negative sense, some need to be imitated, and some do not.
The charioteer Elijah, the chariot of virtues entered, as if into Heaven, sometimes hovering above the earthly. Therefore, my soul, think of the sunrise - think, my soul, about the ascent of the Old Testament righteous.
You imitated Gehazi, accursed, always a bad mind, soul, put aside his love of money for old age, run away from the fire of hell, retreating from your evil ones - at least in old age, reject the love of money of Gehazi, soul, and leaving your atrocities, avoid the fire of hell.
As you can see, the texts are quite difficult, so it is necessary to prepare in advance for the perception of the Great Canon.
In the final song of the first day, after all the memories, troparia of amazing power follow:
The law is exhausted, the Gospel is celebrating, the writing is all negligent in you, the prophets are exhausted, and all the righteous word: your scabs, about the soul, multiplying, there is no doctor who heals you - there is nothing to remember from the Old Testament, everything is useless. I will give you examples from the New Testament, maybe then you will repent:
I cite a new scripture of instruction, introducing you, soul, to tenderness: be jealous of the righteous, but turn away the sinners, and propitiate Christ with prayers and fastings and purity and reverence.
Finally, the spiritual writer, having presented everything of the Old Testament, ascends to the Life-Giver, the Savior of our souls, exclaiming like a robber: Remember me! son of David!, shedding tears, instead of peace, on the head and feet of Christ, like a harlot, and weeping bitterly over herself, like Martha and Mary over Lazarus.
Further in the Canon, it is emphasized that the most terrible sinners have repented and will come to the Kingdom of Heaven before us: Christ became human, calling robbers and harlots to repentance: soul, repent, the door of the Kingdom has already been opened, and they anticipate the Pharisee and the publican and adulterers who repent.
When, in a kind of spiritual horror, following the miracles of the Savior from afar and being touched by every feat of His earthly life, the author of the Canon reaches the terrible slaughter of Christ, the strength of his heart becomes impoverished and, together with all creation, he falls silent on the trembling Golgotha, at the last once exclaiming: My judge and my lord, even if you come with the angels, judge the world around everything, with your merciful eye, then, having seen me, have mercy and have mercy on me, Jesus, who has sinned more than any human nature.
The Great Canon, by all means moving us to repentance, in the last troparia, as it were, reveals to us its “methodology”: how I talked with you, my soul, reminded you of the righteous of the Old Testament, and cited New Testament images for you as an example, and all in vain: they are not the same Thou, soul, was jealous of neither deed nor life: but woe to you, when you will be judged - woe to you when you appear in judgment!
Listening to the words of the Great Canon, peering into the life history of people who fled from God, but were overtaken by Him, people who found themselves in the abyss, but whom God led out of there, let's think about how God brings each of us out of the abyss of sin and despair in order to that we may bear to Him the fruits of repentance.
