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proseuxitario · 9 months

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Μέγας Κανών (Αγ.Ανδρέα Κρήτης)

ᾨδὴ α´ « Βοηθὸς καὶ σκεπαστὴς » ἐγένετό μοι εἰς σωτηρίαν· » οὗτός μου Θεός, » καὶ δοξάσω αὐτόν· » Θεὸς τοῦ Πατρός μου, » καὶ ὑψώσω αὐτόν· » ἐνδόξως γὰρ δεδόξασται.

Πόθεν ἄρξομαι θρηνεῖν τὰς τοῦ ἀθλίου μου βίου πράξεις; ποίαν ἀπαρχὴν ἐπιθήσω, Χριστέ, τῇ νῦν θρηνῳδίᾳ; ἀλλ᾿ ὡς εὔσπλαγχνός μοι δὸς παραπτωμάτων ἄφεσιν.

Δεῦρο, τάλαινα ψυχή, σὺν τῇ σαρκί σου τῷ πάντων Κτίστῃ ἐξομολογοῦ· καὶ ἀπόσχου λοιπὸν τῆς πρὶν ἀλογίας, καὶ προσάγαγε Θεῷ ἐν μετανοίᾳ δάκρυα.

Τὸν πρωτόπλαστον Ἀδὰμ τῇ παραβάσει παραζηλώσας, ἔγνων ἐμαυτὸν γυμνωθέντα Θεοῦ καὶ τῆς ἀιδίου βασιλείας καὶ τρυφῆς διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας μου.

Οἴμοι, τάλαινα ψυχή! τί ὡμοιώθης τῇ πρώτῃ Εὔᾳ; εἶδες γὰρ κακῶς καὶ ἐτρώθης πικρῶς, καὶ ἥψω τοῦ ξύλου, καὶ ἐγεύσω προπετῶς τῆς παραλόγου βρώσεως.

Ἀντὶ Εὔας αἰσθητῆς ἡ νοητή μοι κατέστη Εὔα, ὁ ἐν τῇ σαρκὶ ἐμπαθὴς λογισμός, δεικνὺς τὰ ἡδέα, καὶ γευόμενος ἀεὶ τῆς πικρᾶς καταπόσεως.

Ἐπαξίως τῆς Ἐδὲμ προεξερρίφη ὡς μὴ φυλάξας μίαν σου, Σωτήρ, ἐντολὴν ὁ Ἀδάμ· ἐγὼ δὲ τί πάθω, ἀθετῶν διαπαντὸς τὰ ζωηρά σου λόγια;

Τὴν τοῦ Κάϊν ὑπελθὼν μιαιφονίαν τῇ προαιρέσει, γέγονα φονεὺς συνειδότι ψυχῆς, ζωώσας τὴν σάρκα καὶ στρατεύσας κατ᾿ αὐτῆς ταῖς πονηραῖς μου πράξεσι.

Τῇ τοῦ Ἄβελ, Ἰησοῦ, οὐχ ὡμοιώθην δικαιοσύνῃ· δῶρά σοι δεκτὰ οὐ προσῆξα ποτέ, οὐ πράξεις ἐνθέους, οὐ θυσίαν καθαράν, οὐ βίον ἀνεπίληπτον.

Ὡς ὁ Κάϊν καὶ ἡμεῖς, ψυχὴ ἀθλία, τῷ πάντων Κτίστῃ πράξεις ρυπαρὰς καὶ θυσίαν ψεκτὴν καὶ ἄχρηστον βίον προσηγάγομεν ὁμοῦ· διὸ καὶ κατεκρίθημεν.

Τὸν πηλόν, ὁ κεραμεύς, ζωοπλαστήσας ἐνέθηκάς μοι, σάρκα καὶ ὀστᾶ, καὶ πνοὴν καὶ ζωήν. Ἀλλ᾿ ὦ Ποιητά μου, Λυτρωτά μου καὶ Κριτά, μετανοοῦντα δέξαι με.

Ἐξαγγέλλω σοι, Σωτήρ, τὰς ἁμαρτίας, ἃς εἰργασάμην, καὶ τὰς τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ τοῦ σώματός μου πληγάς, ἅς μοι ἔνδον μιαιφόνοι λογισμοὶ λῃστρικῶς ἐναπέθηκαν.

Εἰ καὶ ἥμαρτον, Σωτήρ, ἀλλ᾿ οἶδα ὅτι φιλάνθρωπος εἶ· πλήττεις συμπαθῶς καὶ σπλαγχνίζῃ θερμῶς· δακρύοντα βλέπεις καὶ προστρέχεις ὡς Πατὴρ ἀνακαλῶν τὸν Ἄσωτον.

Ἐρριμμένον με, Σωτήρ, πρὸ τῶν πυλῶν σου, κἂν ἐν τῷ γήρει, μή με ἀπορρίψῃς εἰς ᾍδου κενόν· ἀλλὰ πρὸ τοῦ τέλους ὡς φιλάνθρωπός μοι δὸς παραπτωμάτων ἄφεσιν.

Ὁ λῃσταῖς περιπεσὼν ἐγὼ ὑπάρχω τοῖς λογισμοῖς μου· ὅλως ὑπ᾿ αὐτῶν τετραυμάτισμαι νῦν· ἐπλήσθην μωλώπων. Ἀλλ᾿ αὐτός μοι ἐπιστάς, Χριστὲ Σωτήρ, ἰάτρευσον.

Ἱερεύς με προϊδὼν ἀντιπαρῆλθε, καὶ ὁ Λευΐτης βλέπων ἐν δεινοῖς ὑπερεῖδε γυμνόν. Ἀλλ᾿ ὁ ἐκ Μαρίας ἀνατείλας Ἰησοῦς, σὺ ἐπιστάς με οἴκτειρον.

Ὁ Ἀμνὸς ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὁ αἴρων πάντων τὰς ἁμαρτίας, ἆρον τὸν κλοιὸν ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ τὸν βαρύν, τὸν τῆς ἁμαρτίας, καὶ ὡς εὔσπλαγχνός μοι δὸς παραπτωμάτων ἄφεσιν.

Μετανοίας ὁ καιρός· προσέρχομαί σοι, τῷ Πλαστουργῷ μου· ἆρον τὸν κλοιὸν ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ τὸν βαρύν, τὸν τῆς ἁμαρτίας, καὶ ὡς εὔσπλαγχνός μοι δὸς παραπτωμάτων ἄφεσιν.

Μὴ βδελύξῃ με, Σωτήρ, μὴ ἀπορρίψῃς τοῦ σοῦ προσώπου· ἆρον τὸν κλοιὸν ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ τὸν βαρύν, τὸν τῆς ἁμαρτίας, καὶ ὡς εὔσπλαγχνός μοι δὸς παραπτωμάτων ἄφεσιν.

Τὰ ἑκούσια, Σωτήρ, καὶ τὰ ἀκούσια πταίσματά μου, καὶ τὰ φανερὰ καὶ κρυπτά, καὶ γνωστὰ καὶ ἄγνωστα πάντα συγχωρήσας ὡς Θεός, ἱλάσθητι καὶ σῶσόν με.

Ἐκ νεότητος, Σωτήρ, τὰς ἐντολάς σου ἐπαρωσάμην· ὅλον ἐμπαθῶς ἀμελῶν, ρᾳθυμῶν, παρῆλθον τὸν βίον· διὸ κράζω σοι, Σωτήρ· κἂν ἐν τῷ τέλει σῶσόν με.

Τὴν οὐσίαν τῆς ψυχῆς καταναλώσας ταῖς ἀσωτίαις, ἔρημός εἰμι ἀρετῶν εὐσεβῶν· λιμώττων δὲ κράζω· Ὁ Πατὴρ τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν, προφθάσας σύ με οἴκτειρον.

Σοὶ προσπίπτω, Ἰησοῦ· Ἡμάρτηκά σοι, ἱλάσθητί μοι· ἆρον τὸν κλοιόν, ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ τὸν βαρύν, τὸν τῆς ἁμαρτίας, καὶ ὡς εὔσπλαγχνός μοι δὸς δάκρυα κατανύξεως.

Μὴ εἰσέλθῃς μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ ἐν κρίσει, φέρων μου τὰ πρακτέα, λόγους ἐκζητῶν, καὶ εὐθύνων ὁρμάς· ἀλλ᾿ ἐν οἰκτιρμοῖς σου παρορῶν μου τὰ δεινά, σῶσόν με, Παντοδύναμε.

Δόξα.

Ὑπερούσιε Τριάς, ἡ ἐν Μονάδι προσκυνουμένη, ἆρον τὸν κλοιὸν ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ τὸν βαρύν, τὸν τῆς ἁμαρτίας· καὶ ὡς εὔσπλαγχνός μοι δὸς δάκρυα κατανύξεως.

Καὶ νῦν.

Θεοτοκίον. Θεοτόκε, ἡ ἐλπὶς καὶ προστασία τῶν σὲ ὑμνούντων, ἆρον τὸν κλοιὸν ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ τὸν βαρύν, τὸν τῆς ἁμαρτίας· καὶ ὡς Δέσποινα ἁγνή, μετανοοῦντα δέξαι με.

ᾨδὴ β´ « Πρόσεχε, Οὐρανέ, καὶ λαλήσω, » καὶ ἀνυμνήσω Χριστόν, » τὸν ἐκ Παρθένου » σαρκὶ ἐπιδημήσαντα.

Πρόσεχε, Οὐρανέ, καὶ λαλήσω· γῆ, ἐνωτίζου φωνῆς μετανοούσης Θεῷ καὶ ἀνυμνούσης αὐτόν.

Πρόσχες μοι, ὁ Θεός, ὡς οἰκτίρμων, ἱλέῳ ὄμματί σου, καὶ δέξαι μου τὴν θερμὴν ἐξομολόγησιν.

Ἡμάρτηκα ὑπὲρ πάντας ἀνθρώπους· μόνος ἡμάρτηκά σοι· ἀλλ᾿ οἴκτειρον ὡς Θεός, Σωτήρ, τὸ ποίημά σου.

Ζάλη με, τῶν κακῶν περιέχει, εὔσπλαγχνε Κύριε· ἀλλ᾿ ὡς τῷ Πέτρῳ, κἀμοὶ τὴν χεῖρα ἔκτεινον.

Τὰ δάκρυα τὰ τῆς Πόρνης, Οἰκτίρμον, κἀγὼ προβάλλομαι· Ἱλάσθητί μοι, Σωτήρ, τῇ εὐσπλαγχνίᾳ σου.

Ἠμαύρωσα τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ ὡραῖον ταῖς τῶν παθῶν ἡδοναῖς, καὶ ὅλως ὅλον τὸν νοῦν χοῦν ἀπετέλεσα.

Διέρρηξα νῦν τὴν στολήν μου τὴν πρώτην, ἣν ἐξυφάνατό μοι ὁ Πλαστουργὸς ἐξ ἀρχῆς, καὶ ἔνθεν κεῖμαι γυμνός.

Ἐνδέδυμαι διερρηγμένον χιτῶνα, ὃν ἐξυφάνατό μοι ὁ ὄφις τῇ συμβουλῇ, καὶ καταισχύνομαι.

Προσέβλεψα τοῦ φυτοῦ τὸ ὡραῖον, καὶ ἠπατήθην τὸν νοῦν· καὶ ἔνθεν κεῖμαι γυμνός, καὶ καταισχύνομαι.

Ἐτέκταινον ἐπὶ τὸν νῶτόν μου πάντες οἱ ἀρχηγοὶ τῶν κακῶν, μακρύνοντες κατ᾿ ἐμοῦ τὴν ἀνομίαν αὐτῶν.

Ἀπώλεσα τὸ πρωτόκτιστον κάλλος καὶ τὴν εὐπρέπειάν μου· καὶ ἄρτι κεῖμαι γυμνός, καὶ καταισχύνομαι.

Κατέρραψε τοὺς δερματίνους χιτῶνας ἡ ἁμαρτία κἀμοί, γυμνώσασά με τῆς πρὶν θεοϋφάντου στολῆς.

Περίκειμαι τὸν στολισμὸν τῆς αἰσχύνης, καθάπερ φύλλα συκῆς, εἰς ἔλεγχον τῶν ἐμῶν αὐτεξουσίων παθῶν.

Ἐστόλισμαι κατεστιγμένον χιτῶνα καὶ ᾑμαγμένον αἰσχρῶς τῇ ρύσει τῆς ἐμπαθοῦς καὶ φιληδόνου ζωῆς.

Ἐσπίλωσα τὸν τῆς σαρκός μου χιτῶνα καὶ κατερρύπωσα τὸ κατ᾿ εἰκόνα, Σωτήρ, καὶ καθ᾿ ὁμοίωσιν.

Ὑπέπεσα τῇ τῶν παθῶν ἀχθηδόνι καὶ τῇ ἐνύλῳ φθορᾷ· καὶ ἔνθεν νῦν ὁ ἐχθρὸς καταπιέζει με.

Φιλόϋλον καὶ φιλοκτήμονα βίον τῆς ἀκτησίας, Σωτήρ, προκρίνας, νῦν τὸν βαρὺν κλοιὸν περίκειμαι.

Ἐκόσμησα τὸν τῆς σαρκὸς ἀνδριάντα τῇ τῶν αἰσχρῶν λογισμῶν ποικίλῃ περιβολῇ καὶ κατακρίνομαι.

Τῆς ἔξωθεν ἐπιμελῶς εὐκοσμίας μόνης ἐφρόντισα, τῆς ἔνδον ὑπεριδὼν θεοτυπώτου σκηνῆς.

Μορφώσας μου τὴν τῶν παθῶν ἀμορφίαν, ταῖς φιληδόνοις ὁρμαῖς ἐλυμηνάμην τοῦ νοῦ τὴν ὡραιότητα.

Κατέχρωσα τῆς πρὶν εἰκόνος τὸ κάλλος, Σῶτερ, τοῖς πάθεσιν· ἀλλ᾿ ὥς ποτε τὴν δραχμὴν ἀναζητήσας εὑρέ.

Ἡμάρτηκα, ὥσπερ ἡ Πόρνη βοῶ σοι· μόνος ἡμάρτηκά σοι· ὡς μύρον δέχου, Σωτήρ, κἀμοῦ τὰ δάκρυα.

Ὠλίσθησα ὡς ὁ Δαυῒδ ἀκολάστως, καὶ βεβορβόρωμαι· ἀλλ᾿ ἀποπλύναις κἀμέ, Σωτήρ, τοῖς δάκρυσι.

Ἱλάσθητι, ὡς ὁ Τελώνης βοῶ σοι, Σῶτερ, ἱλάσθητί μοι· οὐδεὶς γὰρ τῶν ἐξ Ἀδὰμ ὡς ἐγὼ ἥμαρτέ σοι.

Οὐ δάκρυα, οὐδὲ μετάνοιαν ἔχω, οὐδὲ κατάνυξιν· αὐτός μοι ταῦτα, Σωτήρ, ὡς Θεὸς δώρησαι.

Τὴν θύραν σου μὴ ἀποκλείσῃς μοι τότε, Κύριε, Κύριε· ἀλλ᾿ ἄνοιξόν μοι αὐτὴν μετανοοῦντί σοι.

Φιλάνθρωπε, ὁ πάντας θέλων σωθῆναι, σὺ ἀνακάλεσαί με, καὶ δέξαι ὡς ἀγαθὸς μετανοοῦντά με.

Ἐνώτισαι τοὺς στεναγμοὺς τῆς ψυχῆς μου, καὶ τῶν ἐμῶν ὀφθαλμῶν προσδέχου τοὺς σταλαγμούς, Σωτήρ, καὶ σῶσόν με.

Θεοτοκίον. Ἄχραντε, Θεοτόκε Παρθένε, μόνη πανύμνητε, ἱκέτευε ἐκτενῶς εἰς τὸ σωθῆναι ἡμᾶς.

Εἱρμὸς ἄλλος. «Ἴδετε, ἴδετε, » ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι Θεός, » ὁ μάννα ἐπομβρήσας » καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ ἐκ πέτρας » πηγάσας πάλαι ἐν ἐρήμῳ τῷ λαῷ μου, » τῇ μόνῃ δεξιᾷ » καὶ τῇ ἰσχύι τῇ ἐμῇ.

Ἴδετε, ἴδετε, ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι Θεός· ἐνωτίζου, ψυχή μου, τοῦ Κυρίου βοῶντος· καὶ ἀποσπάσθητι τῆς πρώτης ἁμαρτίας, καὶ φοβοῦ ὡς δικαστὴν καὶ ὡς κριτὴν καὶ Θεόν.

Τίνι ὡμοιώθης, πολυαμάρτητε ψυχή; εἰμὴ τῷ πρώτῳ Κάϊν, καὶ τῷ Λάμεχ ἐκείνῳ, λιθοκτονήσασα τὸ σῶμα κακουργίαις καὶ κτείνασα τὸν νοῦν ταῖς παραλόγοις ὁρμαῖς.

Πάντας τοὺς πρὸ νόμου παραδραμοῦσα, ὦ ψυχή, τῷ Σὴθ οὐχ ὡμοιώθης, οὐ τὸν Ἐνὼς ἐμιμήσω, οὐ τὸν Ἐνὼχ τῇ μεταθέσει, οὐ τὸν Νῶε· ἀλλ᾿ ὤφθης πενιχρὰ τῆς τῶν δικαίων ζωῆς.

Μόνη ἐξήνοιξας τοὺς καταρράκτας τῆς ὀργ��ς τοῦ Θεοῦ σου, ψυχή μου, καὶ κατέκλυσας πᾶσαν, ὡς γῆν, τὴν σάρκα καὶ τὰς πράξεις καὶ τὸν βίον· καὶ ἔμεινας ἐκτὸς τῆς σωστικῆς Κιβωτοῦ.

Ἄνδρα ἀπέκτεινα, φησίν, εἰς μώλωπα ἐμοί, καὶ νεανίσκον εἰς τραῦμα, Λάμεχ θρηνῶν ἐβόα· σὺ δὲ οὐ τρέμεις, ὦ ψυχή μου, ρυπωθεῖσα τὴν σάρκα καὶ τὸν νοῦν κατασπιλώσασα.

Ὢ πῶς ἐζήλωσα Λάμεχ τὸν πρῴην φονευτήν, τὴν ψυχὴν ὥσπερ ἄνδρα, τὸν νοῦν ὡς νεανίσκον, ὡς ἀδελφὸν δέ μου τὸ σῶμα ἀποκτείνας, ὡς Κάϊν ὁ φονεύς, ταῖς φιληδόνοις ὁρμαῖς!

Πύργον ἐσοφίσω οἰκοδομῆσαι, ὦ ψυχή, καὶ ὀχύρωμα πῆξαι ταῖς σαῖς ἐπιθυμίαις, εἰμὴ συνέχεεν ὁ Κτίστης τὰς βουλάς σου, καὶ κατέαξεν εἰς γῆν τὰ μηχανήματά σου.

Τέτρωμαι, πέπληγμαι· ἰδοὺ τὰ βέλη τοῦ ἐχθροῦ τὰ καταστίξαντά μου τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ τὸ σῶμα· ἰδοὺ τὰ τραύματα, τὰ ἕλκη, αἱ πηρώσεις βοῶσοι τὰς πληγὰς τῶν αὐθαιρέτων μου παθῶν.

Ἔβρεξε Κύριος παρὰ Κυρίου πῦρ ποτε, ἀνομίαν ὀργῶσαν πυρπολήσας Σοδόμων· σὺ δὲ τὸ πῦρ ἐξέκαυσας τὸ τῆς γεέννης, ἐν ᾧ μέλλεις, ψυχή, συγκατακαίεσθαι πικρῶς.

Γνῶτε καὶ ἴδετε, ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι Θεός, ὁ ἐρευνῶν καρδίας καὶ κολάζων ἐννοίας, ἐλέγχων πράξεις καὶ φλογίζων ἁμαρτίας, καὶ κρίνων ὀρφανὸν καὶ ταπεινὸν καὶ πτωχόν.

Δόξα.

Ἄναρχε, ἄκτιστε Τριάς, ἀμέριστε Μονάς, μετανοοῦντά με δέξαι, ἡμαρτηκότα σῶσον· σόν εἰμι πλάσμα· μὴ παρίδῃς, ἀλλὰ φεῖσαι καὶ ρῦσαι τοῦ πυρὸς τῆς καταδίκης με.

Καὶ νῦν.

Θεοτοκίον. Ἄχραντε Δέσποινα, Θεογεννῆτορ, ἡ ἐλπὶς τῶν εἰς σὲ προστρεχόντων καὶ λιμὴν τῶν ἐν ζάλῃ, τὸν ἐλεήμονα καὶ Κτίστην καὶ Υἱόν σου ἱλέωσαι κἀμοὶ ταῖς ἱκεσίαις ταῖς σαῖς.

ᾨδὴ γ´ «Ἐπὶ τὴν ἀσάλευτον, Χριστέ, » πέτραν τῶν ἐντολῶν σου » τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν σου στερέωσον.

Πῦρ παρὰ Κυρίου, ψυχή, Κύριος ἐπιβρέξας, τὴν γῆν Σοδόμων πρὶν κατέφλεξεν.

Εἰς τὸ ὄρος σῴζου, ψυχή, ὥσπερ ὁ Λὼτ ἐκεῖνος, καὶ εἰς Σηγὼρ προανασώθητι.

Φεῦγε ἐμπρησμόν, ὦ ψυχή, φεῦγε Σοδόμων καῦσιν, φεῦγε φθορὰν θείας φλογώσεως.

Ἐξομολογοῦμαί σοι, Σωτήρ· Ἥμαρτον, ἥμαρτόν σοι· ἀλλ᾿ ἄνες, ἄφες μοι ὡς εὔσπλαγχνος.

Ἥμαρτόν σοι μόνος ἐγώ, ἥμαρτον ὑπὲρ πάντας· Χριστὲ Σωτήρ, μὴ ὑπερίδῃς με.

Σὺ εἶ ὁ Ποιμὴν ὁ καλός· ζήτησόν με τὸν ἄρνα, καὶ πλανηθέντα μὴ παρίδῃς με.

Σὺ εἶ ὁ γλυκὺς Ἰησοῦς, σὺ εἶ ὁ Πλαστουργός μου· ἐν σοί, Σωτήρ, δικαιωθήσομαι.

Ἁγία Τριάς, ὁ Θεός, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς.

Ὦ Τριὰς Μονάς, ὁ Θεός, σῶσον ἡμᾶς ἐκ πλάνης, καὶ πειρασμῶν καὶ περιστάσεων.

Ὑπεραγία Θεοτόκε, σῶσον ἡμᾶς.

Χαῖρε, θεοδόχε γαστήρ· χαῖρε, θρόνε Κυρίου· χαῖρε, ἡ μήτηρ τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν.

Εἱρμὸς ἄλλος. « Στερέωσον, Κύριε, » ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν τῶν ἐντολῶν σου » σαλευθεῖσαν τὴν καρδίαν μου· » ὅτι μόνος » ἅγιος ὑπάρχεις καὶ Κύριος.

Πηγὴν ζωῆς κέκτημαι σὲ τοῦ θανάτου τὸν καθαιρέτην, καὶ βοῶ σοι ἐκ καρδίας μου πρὸ τοῦ τέλους· Ἥμαρτον, ἱλάσθητι, σῶσόν με.

Τοὺς ἐπὶ Νῶε, Σωτήρ, ἠσελγηκότας ἐμιμησάμην, τὴν ἐκείνων κληρωσάμενος καταδίκην ἐν κατακλυσμῷ καταδύσεως.

Ἡμάρτηκα, Κύριε, ἡμάρτηκά σοι, ἱλάσθητί μοι· οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν ὅς τις ἥμαρτεν ἐν ἀνθρώποις, ὃν οὐχ ὑπερέβην τοῖς πταίσμασι.

Τὸν Χὰμ ἐκεῖνον, ψυχή, τὸν πατραλοίαν μιμησαμένη, τὴν αἰσχύνην οὐκ ἐκάλυψας τοῦ πλησίον, ὀπισθοφανῶς ἀνακάμψασα.

Τὴν εὐλογίαν τοῦ Σὴμ οὐκ ἐκληρώσω, ψυχὴ ἀθλία· οὐ πλατεῖαν τὴν κατάσχεσιν, ὡς Ἰάφεθ, ἔσχες ἐν τῇ γῇ τῆς ἀφέσεως.

Ἐκ γῆς Χαρρὰν ἔξελθε, τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ψυχή μου, δεῦρο εἰς γῆν ρέουσαν ἀείζωον ἀφθαρσίαν, ἣν ὁ Ἀβραὰμ ἐκληρώσατο.

Τὸν Ἀβραὰμ ἤκουσας πάλαι, ψυχή μου, καταλιπόντα γῆν πατρῴαν, καὶ γενόμενον μετανάστην· τούτου τὴν προαίρεσιν μίμησαι.

Ἐν τῇ δρυῒ τῇ Μαμβρῇ, φιλοξενήσας ὁ Πατριάρχης τοὺς Ἀγγέλους, ἐκληρώσατο μετὰ γῆρας τῆς ἐπαγγελίας τὸ θήραμα.

Τὸν Ἰσαάκ, τάλαινα, γνοῦσα, ψυχή μου, καινὴν θυσίαν μυστικῶς ὁλοκαρπούμενον τῷ Κυρίῳ, μίμησαι αὐτοῦ τὴν προαίρεσιν.

Τὸν Ἰσμαὴλ ἤκουσας, νῆφε, ψυχή μου, ἐκδιωχθέντα, ὡς παιδίσκης ἀποκύημα· βλέπε, μήπως ὅμοιόν τι πάθῃς λαγνεύουσα.

Τῇ Ἄγαρ πάλαι, ψυχή, τῇ Αἰγυπτίᾳ παρωμοιώθης, δουλωθεῖσα τὴν προαίρεσιν, καὶ τεκοῦσα νέον Ἰσμαήλ, τὴν αὐθάδειαν.

Τὴν Ἰακὼβ κλίμακα ἔγνως, ψυχή μου, δεικνυομένην ἀπὸ γῆς πρὸς τὰ οὐράνια· τί μὴ ἔσχες βάσιν ἀσφαλῆ τὴν εὐσέβειαν;

Τὸν ἱερέα Θεοῦ καὶ βασιλέα μεμονωμένον, τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὸ ἀφομοίωμα, τοῦ ἐν κόσμῳ, βίου ἐν ἀνθρώποις, μιμήθητι.

Μὴ γένῃ στήλη ἁλός, ψυχή, στραφεῖσα εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω· τὸ ὑπόδειγμα φοβείτω σε τῶν Σοδόμων· ἄνω εἰς Σηγὼρ διασώθητι.

Τὸν ἐμπρησμόν, ὥσπερ Λώτ, φεῦγε, ψυχή μου, τῆς ἁμαρτίας· φεῦγε Σόδομα καὶ Γόμορρα· φεῦγε φλόγα πάσης παραλόγου ὀρέξεως.

Ἐλέησον, Κύριε, ἐλέησόν με, ἀναβοῶ σοι, ὅτε ἥξεις μετ᾿ Ἀγγέλων σου ἀποδοῦναι πᾶσι κατ᾿ ἀξίαν τῶν πράξεων.

Τὴν δέησιν, Δέσποτα, τῶν σὲ ὑμνούντων μὴ ἀπορρίψῃς· ἀλλ᾿ οἰκτείρη��ον, φιλάνθρωπε, καὶ παράσχου πίστει αἰτουμένοις τὴν ἄφεσιν.

Δόξα.

Μονὰς ἁπλῆ, ἄκτιστε, ἄναρχε φύσις, ἡ ἐν Τριάδι, ὑμνουμένη ὑποστάσεων, ἡμᾶς σῶσον πίστει προσκυνοῦντας τὸ κράτος σου.

Καὶ νῦν.

Θεοτοκίον. Τὸν ἐκ Πατρὸς ἄχρονον Υἱὸν ἐν χρόνῳ, Θεοκυῆτορ, ἀπειράνδρως ἀπεκύησας· ξένον θαῦμα! μείνασα Παρθένος θηλάζουσα.

ᾨδὴ δ´ «Ἀκήκοεν ὁ Προφήτης » τὴν ἔλευσίν σου, Κύριε, καὶ ἐφοβήθη, » ὅτι μέλλεις ἐκ Παρθένου τίκτεσθαι » καὶ ἀνθρώποις δείκνυσθαι, καὶ ἔλεγεν· » Ἀκήκοα τὴν ἀκοήν σου καὶ ἐφοβήθην· » δόξα τῇ δυνάμει σου, Κύριε.

Τὰ ἔργα σου μὴ παρίδῃς· τὸ πλάσμα σου μὴ παρόψῃ, Δικαιοκρίτα· εἰ καὶ μόνος ἥμαρτον ὡς ἄνθρωπος ὑπὲρ πάντα ἄνθρωπον, Φιλάνθρωπε· ἀλλ᾿ ἔχεις, ὡς Κύριος πάντων, τὴν ἐξουσίαν ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτήματα.

Ἐγγίζει, ψυχή, τὸ τέλος, ἐγγίζει καὶ οὐ φροντίζεις, οὐχ ἑτοιμάζῃ· ὁ καιρὸς συντέμνει, διανάστηθι· ἐγγὺς ἐπὶ θύραις ὁ Κριτής ἐστιν· ὡς ὄναρ, ὡς ἄνθος ὁ χρόνος τοῦ βίου τρέχει· τί μάτην ταραττόμεθα;

Ἀνάνηψον ὦ ψυχή μου· τὰς πράξεις σου, ἃς εἰργάσω, ἀναλογίζου καὶ ταύτας ἐπ᾿ ὄψεσι προσάγαγε καὶ σταγόνας στάλαξον δακρύων σου· εἰπὲ παρρησίᾳ τὰς πράξεις, τὰς ἐνθυμήσεις Χριστῷ καὶ δικαιώθητι.

Οὐ γέγονεν ἐν τῷ βίῳ ἁμάρτημα, οὐδὲ πρᾶξις, οὐδὲ κακία, ἣν ἐγώ, Σωτήρ, οὐκ ἐπλημμέλησα κατὰ νοῦν καὶ λόγον καὶ προαίρεσιν, καὶ θέσει καὶ γνώμῃ καὶ πράξει ἐξαμαρτήσας, ὡς ἄλλος οὐδεὶς πώποτε.

Ἐντεῦθεν καὶ κατεκρίθην, ἐντεῦθεν κατεδικάσθην ἐγὼ ὁ τάλας ὑπὸ τῆς οἰκείας συνειδήσεως, ἧς οὐδὲν ἐν κόσμῳ βιαιότερον. Κριτά, λυτρωτά μου καὶ γνῶστα, φεῖσαι καὶ ρῦσαι καὶ σῶσόν με τὸν δοῦλόν σου.

Ἡ κλῖμαξ, ἣν εἶδε πάλαι ὁ μέγας ἐν Πατριάρχαις, δεῖγμα, ψυχή μου, πρακτικῆς ὑπάρχει ἐπιβάσεως, γνωστικῆς τυγχάνει ἀναβάσεως· εἰ θέλεις οὖν πράξει, καὶ γνώσει καὶ θεωρίᾳ βιοῦν, ἀνακαινίσθητι.

Τὸν καύσωνα τῆς ἡμέρας ὑπέμεινε δι᾿ ἔνδειαν ὁ Πατριάρχης, καὶ τὸν παγετὸν τῆς νυκτὸς ἤνεγκε, καθ᾿ ἡμέραν κλέμματα ποιούμενος, ποιμαίνων, πυκτεύων, δουλεύων, ἵνα τὰς δύω γυναῖκας εἰσαγάγηται.

Γυναῖκάς μοι δύω νόει, τὴν πρᾶξίν τε καὶ τὴν γνῶσιν ἐν θεωρίᾳ· τὴν μὲν Λείαν πρᾶξιν ὡς πολύτεκνον· τὴν Ραχὴλ δὲ γνῶσιν ὡς πολύπονον· καὶ γὰρ ἄνευ πόνων οὐ πρᾶξις, οὐ θεωρία, ψυχή, κατορθωθήσεται.

Γρηγόρησον, ὦ ψυχή μου, ἀρίστευσον ὡς ὁ μέγας ἐν Πατριάρχαις, ἵνα κτήσῃ πρᾶξιν μετὰ γνώσεως, ἵνα χρηματίσῃς νοῦς ὁρῶν τὸν Θεόν, καὶ φθάσῃς τὸν ἄδυτον γνόφον ἐν θεωρίᾳ, καὶ γένῃ μεγαλέμπορος.

Τοὺς δώδεκα Πατριάρχας ὁ μέγας ἐν Πατριάρχαις παιδοποιήσας, μυστικῶς ἐστήριξέ σοι κλίμακα πρακτικῆς, ψυχή μου, ἀναβάσεως, τοὺς παῖδας ὡς βάθρα, τὰς βάσεις ὡς ἀναβάσεις πανσόφως ὑποθέμενος.

Ἠσαῦ τὸν μεμισημένον ζηλοῦσα, ψυχή, ἀπέδου τῷ πτερνιστῇ σου τὰ τοῦ πρώτου κάλλους πρωτοτόκια, καὶ τῆς πατρικῆς εὐχῆς ἐξέπεσας, καὶ δὶς ἐπτερνίσθης, ἀθλία, πράξει καὶ γνώσει· διὸ νῦν μετανόησον.

Ἐδὼμ ὁ Ἠσαῦ ἐκλήθη δι᾿ ἄκραν θηλυμανίας ἐπιμιξίαν· ἀκρασίᾳ γὰρ ἀεὶ πυρούμενος καὶ ταῖς ἡδοναῖς κατασπιλούμενος, Ἐδὼμ ὠνομάσθη, ὃ λέγεται θερμασία ψυχῆς φιλαμαρτήμονος.

Ἰὼβ τὸν ἐπὶ κοπρίας ἀκούσασα, ὦ ψυχή μου, δικαιωθέντα, τὴν αὐτοῦ ἀνδρείαν οὐκ ἐζήλωσας, τὸ στερρὸν οὐκ ἔσχες τῆς προθέσεως ἐν πᾶσιν, οἷς ἔγνως, οἷς οἶδας, οἷς ἐπειράσθης, ἀλλ᾿ ὤφθης ἀκαρτέρητος.

Ὁ πρότερον ἐπὶ θρόνου γυμνὸς νῦν ἐπὶ κοπρίας καθηλκωμένος· ὁ πολὺς ἐν τέκνοις καὶ περίβλεπτος, ἄπαις καὶ φερέοικος αἰφνίδιον· παλάτιον γὰρ τὴν κοπρίαν, καὶ μαργαρίτας τὰ ἕλκη ἐλογίζετο.

Βασίλειον τὴν ἀξίαν, διάδημα καὶ πορφύραν ἠμφιεσμένος, πολυκτήμων ἄνθρωπος καὶ δίκαιος, πλούτῳ ἐπιβρίθων καὶ βοσκήμασιν ἐξαίφνης τὸν πλοῦτον, τὴν δόξαν, τὴν βασιλείαν πτωχεύσας ἀπεκείρατο.

Εἰ δίκαιος ἦν ἐκεῖνος καὶ ἄμεμπτος παρὰ πάντας, καὶ οὐκ ἀπέδρα τὰ τοῦ πλάνου ἔνεδρα καὶ σκάμματα· σὺ φιλαμαρτήμων οὖσα, τάλαινα ψυχή, τί ποιήσεις, ἐάν τι τῶν ἀδοκήτων συμβῇ ἐπενεχθῆναί σοι;

Τὸ σῶμα κατερρυπώθην, τὸ πνεῦμα κατεσπιλώθην, ὅλος ἡλκώθην· ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ἰατρός, Χριστέ, ἀμφότερα διὰ μετανοίας μοι θεράπευσον, ἀπόλουσον, κάθαρον, πλῦνον· δεῖξον χιόνος, Σωτήρ μου, καθαρώτερον.

Τὸ Σῶμά σου καὶ τὸ Αἷμα σταυρούμενος ὑπὲρ πάντων ἔθηκας, Λόγε· τὸ μὲν Σῶμα, ἵνα ἀναπλάσῃς με, τὸ δὲ Αἷμα, ἵνα ἀποπλύνῃς με· τὸ πνεῦμα παρέδωκας, ἵνα ἐμὲ προσάξῃς, Χριστέ, τῷ σῷ Γεννήτορι.

Εἰργάσω τὴν σωτηρίαν ἐν μέσῳ τῆς γῆς, ὁ Κτίστης, ἵνα σωθῶμεν· ἑκουσίως ξύλῳ ἀνεσταύρωσαι· ἡ Ἐδὲμ κλεισθεῖσα ἀνεῴγνυτο· τὰ ἄνω, τὰ κάτω, ἡ κτίσις, τὰ ἔθνη πάντα σωθέντα προσκυνοῦσί σε.

Γενέσθω μοι κολυμβήθρα τὸ Αἷμα τὸ ἐκ πλευρᾶς σου, ἅμα καὶ πόμα, τὸ πηγάσαν ὕδωρ τῆς ἀφέσεως, ἵνα ἑκατέρωθεν καθαίρωμαι, χριόμενος, πίνων, ὡς χρῖσμα καὶ πόμα, Λόγε, τὰ ζωηρά σου λόγια.

Γυμνός εἰμι τοῦ Νυμφῶνος, γυμνός εἰμι καὶ τοῦ γάμου, ἅμα καὶ δείπνου· ἡ λαμπὰς ἐσβέσθη ὡς ἀνέλαιος· ἡ παστὰς ἐκλείσθη μοι καθεύδοντι· τὸ δεῖπνον ἐβρώθη· ἐγὼ δὲ χεῖρας καὶ πόδας δεθεὶς ἔξω ἀπέρριμμαι.

Κρατῆρα ἡ Ἐκκλησία ἐκτήσατο τὴν Πλευράν σου τὴν ζωηφόρον, ἐξ ἧς ὁ διπλοῦς ἡμῖν ἐξέβλυσε κρουνὸς τῆς ἀφέσεως καὶ γνώσεως, εἰς τύπον τῆς πάλαι, τῆς νέας, τῶν δύω ἅμα Διαθηκῶν, Σωτὴρ ἡμῶν.

Ὁ χρόνος ὁ τῆς ζωῆς μου ὀλίγος καὶ πλήρης πόνων καὶ πονηρίας· ἀλλ᾿ ἐν μετανοίᾳ με παράλαβε καὶ ἐν ἐπιγνώσει ἀνακάλεσαι· μὴ γένωμαι κτῆμα, μὴ βρῶμα τοῦ ἀλλοτρίου· Σωτήρ, αὐτός με οἴκτειρον.

Ὑψήγορος νῦν ὑπάρχω, θρασὺς δὲ καὶ τὴν καρδίαν εἰκῇ καὶ μάτην· μὴ τῷ Φαρισαίῳ συγκαταδικάσῃς με, μᾶλλον τοῦ Τελώνου τὴν ταπείνωσιν παράσχου μοι, μόνε Οἰκτίρμον, δικαιοκρίτα, καὶ τούτῳ συναρίθμησον.

Ἐξήμαρτον ἐνυβρίσας τὸ σκεῦος τὸ τῆς σαρκός μου, οἶδα, Οἰκτίρμον· ἀλλ᾿ ἐν μετανοίᾳ με παράλαβε καὶ ἐν ἐπιγνώσει ἀνακάλεσαι· μὴ γένωμαι κτῆμα, μὴ βρῶμα τοῦ ἀλλοτρίου· Σωτήρ, αὐτός με οἴκτειρον.

Αὐτείδωλον ἐγενόμην, τοῖς πάθεσι τὴν ψυχήν μου βλάπτων, Οἰκτίρμον· ἀλλ᾿ ἐν μετανοίᾳ με παράλαβε, καὶ ἐν ἐπιγνώσει ἀνακάλεσαι· μὴ γένωμαι κτῆμα, μὴ βρῶμα τοῦ ἀλλοτρίου· Σωτήρ, αὐτός με οἴκτειρον.

Οὐκ ἤκουσα τῆς φωνῆς σου, παρήκουσα τῆς γραφῆς σου, τοῦ Νομοθέτου· ἀλλ᾿ ἐν μετανοίᾳ με παράλαβε, καὶ ἐν ἐπιγνώσει ἀνακάλεσαι· μὴ γένωμαι κτῆμα, μὴ βρῶμα τοῦ ἀλλοτρίου· Σωτήρ, αὐτός με οἴκτειρον.

Δόξα.

Ἀμέριστον τῇ οὐσίᾳ, ἀσύγχυτον τοῖς προσώποις θεολογῶ σε τὴν Τριαδικὴν μίαν Θεότητα, ὡς ὁμοβασίλειον καὶ σύνθρονον· βοῶ σοι τὸ ᾎσμα τὸ μέγα, τὸ ἐν ὑψίστοις τρισσῶς ὑμνολογούμενον.

Καὶ νῦν.

Θεοτοκίον. Καὶ τίκτεις, καὶ παρθενεύεις, καὶ μένεις δι᾿ ἀμφοτέρων φύσει Παρθένος· ὁ τεχθεὶς καινίζει νόμους φύσεως, ἡ νηδὺς δὲ κύει μὴ λοχεύουσα. Θεὸς ὅπου θέλει, νικᾶται φύσεως τάξις· ποιεῖ γὰρ ὅσα βούλεται.

ᾨδὴ ε´ «Ἐκ νυκτὸς ὀρθρίζοντα, Φιλάνθρωπε, » φώτισον, δέομαι, » καὶ ὁδήγησον κἀμέ, » ἐν τοῖς προστάγμασί σου· » καὶ δίδαξόν με, Σωτήρ, » ποιεῖν τὸ θέλημά σου.

Ἐν νυκτὶ τὸν βίον μου διῆλθον ἀεί· σκότος γὰρ γέγονε καὶ βαθεῖά μοι ἀχλὺς ἡ νὺξ τῆς ἁμαρτίας· ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ἡμέρας υἱόν, Σωτήρ, ἀνάδειξόν με.

Τὸν Ρουβὶμ μιμούμενος ὁ τάλας ἐγὼ ἔπραξα ἄθεσμον καὶ παράνομον βουλὴν κατὰ Θεοῦ Ὑψίστου, μιάνας κοίτην ἐμὴν ὡς τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκεῖνος.

Ἐξομολογοῦμαί σοι, Χριστὲ Βασιλεῦ· Ἥμαρτον, ἥμαρτον, ὡς οἱ πρὶν τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ ἀδελφοὶ πεπρακότες τὸν τῆς ἁγνείας καρπὸν καὶ τὸν τῆς σωφροσύνης.

Ὑπὸ τῶν συγγόνων ἡ δικαία ψυχὴ δέδοτο· πέπρατο εἰς δουλείαν ὁ γλυκύς, εἰς τύπον τοῦ Κυρίου· αὐτὴ δὲ ὅλη, ψυχή, ἐπράθης τοῖς κακοῖς σου.

Ἰωσὴφ τὸν δίκαιον, καὶ σώφρονα νοῦν μίμησαι, τάλαινα καὶ ἀδόκιμε ψυχή, καὶ μὴ ἀκολασταίνου ταῖς παραλόγοις ὁρμαῖς ἀεὶ παρανομοῦσα.

Εἰ καὶ λάκκῳ ᾤκησέ ποτε Ἰωσήφ, Δέσποτα Κύριε, ἀλλ᾿ εἰς τύπον τῆς Ταφῆς καὶ τῆς Ἐγέρσεώς σου· ἐγὼ δὲ τί σοί ποτε τοιοῦτο προσενέγκω;

Τοῦ Μωσέως ἤκουσας τὴν θίβην, ψυχή, ὕδασι, κύμασι φερομένην ποταμοῦ, ὡς ἐν θαλάμῳ πάλαι, φυγοῦσαν δρᾶμα πικρὸν βουλῆς Φαραωνίτου.

Εἰ τὰς μαίας ἤκουσας κτεινούσας ποτὲ ἄνηβον, τάλαινα, τὴν ἀρρενωπόν, ψυχή, τῆς σωφροσύνης πρᾶξιν· νῦν ὡς ὁ μέγας Μωσῆς τιθηνοῦ τὴν σοφίαν.

Ὡς Μωσῆς ὁ μέγας τὸν Αἰγύπτιον νοῦν πλήξασα, τάλαινα, οὐκ ἀπέκτεινας, ψυχή· καὶ πῶς οἰκήσεις, λέγε, τὴν ἔρημον τῶν παθῶν διὰ τῆς μετανοίας;

Τὰς ἐρήμους ᾤκησεν ὁ μέγας Μωσῆς· δεῦρο δὴ μίμησαι τὴν αὐτοῦ διαγωγήν, ἵνα καὶ τῆς ἐν βάτῳ θεοφανείας, ψυχή, ἐν θεωρίᾳ γένῃ.

Τὴν Μωσέως ράβδον εἰκονίζου, ψυχή, πλήττουσαν θάλασσαν καὶ πηγ��ύουσαν βυθὸν τύπῳ Σταυροῦ τοῦ θείου, δι᾿ οὗ δυνήσῃ καὶ σὺ μεγάλα ἐκτελέσαι.

Ἀαρὼν προσέφερε τὸ πῦρ τῷ Θεῷ ἄμωμον, ἄδολον· ἀλλ᾿ Ὀφνεὶ καὶ Φινεὲς ὡς σύ, ψυχή, προσῆγον ἀλλότριον τῷ Θεῷ, ρερυπωμένον βίον.

Ὡς βαρὺς τῇ γνώμῃ Φαραὼ τῷ πικρῷ γέγονα, Δέσποτα, Ἰαννὴς καὶ Ἰαμβρής, τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ τὸ σῶμα, καὶ ὑποβρύχιον νοῦν· ἀλλὰ βοήθησόν μοι.

Τῷ πηλῷ συμπέφυρμαι ὁ τάλας τὸν νοῦν· πλῦνόν με, Δέσποτα, τῷ λουτῆρι τῶν ἐμῶν δακρύων, δέομαί σου, τὴν τῆς σαρκός μου στολὴν λευκάνας ὡς χιόνα.

Ἐὰν ἐρευνήσω μου τὰ ἔργα, Σωτήρ, ἅπαντα ἄνθρωπον ὑπερβάντα ἐμαυτὸν ὁρῶ ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις, ὅτι ἐν γνώσει φρενῶν ἥμαρτον, οὐκ ἀγνοίᾳ.

Φεῖσαι, φεῖσαι, Κύριε, τοῦ πλάσματός σου· ἥμαρτον, ἄνες μοι, ὁ τῇ φύσει καθαρὸς αὐτὸς ὑπάρχεις μόνος, καὶ ἄλλος πλήν σου οὐδεὶς ὑπάρχει ἔξω ρύπου.

Δι᾿ ἐμέ, Θεὸς ὤν, ἐμορφώθης ἐμέ· ἔδειξας θαύματα ἰασάμενος λεπροὺς καὶ παραλύτους σφίγξας, Αἱμόρρου στήσας, Σωτήρ, ἁφῇ κρασπέδου ρῦσιν.

Τὴν Αἱμόρρουν μίμησαι, ἀθλία ψυχή· πρόσδραμε, κράτησον τοῦ κρασπέδου τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἵνα ρυσθῇς μαστίγων, ἀκούσῃς δὲ παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ· Ἡ πίστις σου σέσωκέ σε.

Τὴν χαμαὶ συγκύπτουσαν μιμοῦ, ὦ ψυχή· πρόσελθε, πρόσπεσον τοῖς ποσὶ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, ἵνα σε ἀνορθώσῃ, καὶ βηματίσεις ὀρθῶς, τὰς τρίβους τοῦ Κυρίου.

Εἰ καὶ φρέαρ, Δέσποτα, ὑπάρχεις βαθύ, βλῦσόν μοι νάματα ἐξ ἀχράντων σου φλεβῶν, ἵν᾿ ὡς ἡ Σαμαρεῖτις, μηκέτι πίνων ��ιψῶ· ζωῆς γὰρ ρεῖθρα βλύζεις.

Σιλωὰμ γενέσθω μοι τὰ δάκρυά μου, Δέσποτα Κύριε, ἵνα νίψωμαι κἀγὼ τὰς κόρας τῆς ψυχῆς μου καὶ ἴδω σε νοερῶς τὸ φῶς τὸ πρὸ αἰώνων.

Δόξα.

Σέ, Τριάς, δοξάζομεν, τὸν ἕνα Θεόν· Ἅγιος, Ἅγιος, Ἅγιος εἶ, ὁ Πατήρ, ὁ Υἱὸς καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα· ἁπλῆ οὐσία, Μονὰς ἀεὶ προσκυνουμένη.

Καὶ νῦν.

Θεοτοκίον. Ἐκ σοῦ ἠμφιάσατο τὸ φύραμά μου, ἄφθορε, ἄνανδρε Μητροπάρθενε, Θεὸς ὁ κτίσας τοὺς αἰῶνας, καὶ ἥνωσεν ἑαυτῷ τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων φύσιν.

ᾨδὴ Ϛ´ «Ἐβόησα ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ μου » πρὸς τὸν οἰκτίρμονα Θεόν, » καὶ ἐπήκουσέ μου » ἐξ ᾍδου κατωτάτου, » καὶ ἀνήγαγεν » ἐκ φθορᾶς τὴν ζωήν μου.

Τὰ δάκρυα, Σωτήρ, τῶν ὀμμάτων μου καὶ τοὺς ἐκ βάθους στεναγμοὺς καθαρῶς προσφέρω, βοώσης τῆς καρδίας· Ὁ Θεὸς ἡμάρτηκά σοι, ἱλάσθητί μοι.

Ἐξένευσας, ψυχή, τοῦ Κυρίου σου, ὥσπερ Δαθὰν καὶ Ἀβειρών· ἀλλὰ φεῖσαι κράξον ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας, ἵνα μὴ τὸ χάσμα τῆς γῆς σε συγκαλύψῃ.

Ὡς δάμαλις, ψυχή, παροιστρήσασα, ἐξωμοιώθης τῷ Ἐφραίμ· ὡς δορκὰς ἐκ βρόχων, ἀνάσωσον τὸν βίον, πτερωθεῖσα πράξει καὶ νῷ καὶ θεωρίᾳ.

Ἡ χεὶρ ἡμᾶς Μωσέως πιστώσεται, ψυχή, πῶς δύναται Θεὸς λεπρωθέντα βίον λευκάναι καὶ καθάραι· καὶ μὴ ἀπογνῷς σεαυτὴν κἂν ἐλεπρώθης.

Τὰ κύματα, Σωτήρ, τῶν πταισμάτων μου, ὡς ἐν θαλάσσῃ Ἐρυθρᾷ ἐπαναστραφέντα ἐκάλυψέ με ἄφνω, ὡς τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους ποτὲ καὶ τοὺς τριστάτας.

Ἀγνώμονα, ψυχὴ τὴν προαίρεσιν ἔσχες ὡς πρὶν ὁ Ἰσραήλ· τοῦ γὰρ θείου μάννα προέκρινας ἀλόγως τὴν φιλήδονον τῶν παθῶν ἀδηφαγίαν.

Τὰ ὕεια κρέα καὶ τοὺς λέβητας καὶ τὴν Αἰγύπτιον τροφὴν τῆς ἐπουρανίου προέκρινας, ψυχή μου, ὡς ὁ πρὶν ἀγνώμων λαὸς ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ.

Τὰ φρέατα, ψυχή, προετίμησας τῶν Χαναναίων ἐννοιῶν τῆς φλεβὸς τῆς πέτρας· ἐξ ἧς ὁ τῆς σοφίας ποταμὸς προχέει κρουνοὺς θεολογίας.

Ὡς ἔπληξε Μωσῆς ὁ θεράπων σου ράβδῳ τὴν πέτραν, τυπικῶς τὴν ζωοποιόν σου Πλευρὰν προδιετύπου, ἐξ ἧς πάντες πόμα ζωῆς, Σωτήρ, ἀντλοῦμεν.

Ἐρεύνησον, ψυχή, κατασκόπευσον, ὡς Ἰησοῦς ὁ τοῦ Ναυῆ, τῆς κληροδοσίας τὴν γῆν, ὁποία ἐστί, καὶ κατοίκησον ἐν αὐτῇ δι᾿ εὐνομίας.

Ἀνάστηθι καὶ καταπολέμησον, ὡς Ἰησοῦς τὸν Ἀμαλήκ, τῆς σαρκὸς τὰ πάθη, καὶ τοὺς Γαβαωνίτας, τοὺς ἀπατηλοὺς λογισμοὺς ἀεὶ νικῶσα.

Διάβηθι, τοῦ χρόνου τὴν ρέουσαν φύσιν, ὡς πρὶν ἡ Κιβωτός, καὶ τῆς γῆς ἐκείνης γενοῦ ἐν κατασχέσει τῆς ἐπαγγελίας, ψυχή· Θεὸς κελεύει.

Ὡς ἔσωσας τὸν Πέτρον βοήσαντα, σῶσον προφθάσας με, Σωτήρ· τοῦ θηρός με ρῦσαι ἐκτείνας σου τὴν χεῖρα, καὶ ἀνάγαγε τοῦ βυθοῦ τῆς ἁμαρτίας.

Λιμένα σε γινώσκω γαλήνιον, Δέσποτα, Δέσποτα Χριστέ· ἀλλ᾿ ἐκ τῶν ἀδύτων βυθῶν τῆς ἁμαρτίας καὶ τῆς ἀπογνώσεώς με προφθάσας ρῦσαι.

Ἐγώ εἰμι, Σωτήρ, ἣν ἀπώλεσας πάλαι βασίλειον δραχμήν· ἀλλ᾿ ἀνάψας λύχνον τὸν Πρόδρομόν σου, Λόγε, ἀναζήτησον καὶ εὑρὲ τὴν σὴν εἰκόνα.

Δόξα.

Τριάς εἰμι ἁπλῆ, ἀδιαίρετος, διαιρετὴ προσωπικῶς, καὶ Μονὰς ὑπάρχω τῇ φύσει ἡνωμένη, ὁ Πατήρ, φησίν, ὁ Υἱὸς καὶ θεῖον Πνεῦμα.

Καὶ νῦν.

Θεοτοκίον. Ἡ μήτρα σου Θεὸν ἡμῖν ἔτεκε μεμορφωμένον καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς· ὃν ὡς Κτίστην πάντων δυσώπει, Θεοτόκε, ἵνα ταῖς πρεσβείαις ταῖς σαῖς δικαιωθῶμεν.

Κοντάκιον αὐτόμελον. Ψυχή μου, ψυχή μου, ἀνάστα, τί καθεύδεις; τὸ τέλος ἐγγίζει καὶ μέλλεις θορυβεῖσθαι· ἀνάνηψον οὖν, ἵνα φείσηταί σου Χριστὸς ὁ Θεός, ὁ πανταχοῦ παρὼν καὶ τὰ πάντα πληρῶν.

Εἶτα ψάλλομεν τοὺς Μακαρισμοὺς καὶ τὰ Τροπάρια, ὡς ἕπεται, μετὰ τῶν μετανοιῶν ἀνὰ ἑκάστῳ.

Ἐν τῇ Βασιλείᾳ σου μνήσθητι ἡμῶν, Κύριε, ὅταν ἔλθῃς ἐν τῇ Βασιλείᾳ σου.

Λῃστὴν τοῦ Παραδείσου, Χριστέ, πολίτην, ἐπὶ Σταυροῦ σοι βοήσαντα τὸ Μνήσθητί μου, προαπειργάσω· αὐτοῦ τῆς μετανοίας ἀξίωσον κἀμὲ τὸν ἀνάξιον.

Μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ Βασιλεία τῶν Οὐρανῶν.

Τὸν Μανωὲ ἀκούεις πάλαι, ψυχή μου, Θεοῦ ἐν φαντασίᾳ γενόμενον, καὶ τὸν ἐκ στείρας τότε λαβόντα καρπὸν ἐπαγγελίας· αὐτοῦ τὸ εὐσεβὲς μιμησώμεθα.

Μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται.

Τὴν τοῦ Σαμψὼν ζηλώσασα ρᾳθυμίαν, τὴν δόξαν ἀπεκείρω τῶν ἔργων σου, ψυχή, προδοῦσα τοῖς ἀλλοφύλοις διὰ φιληδονίας τὴν σώφρονα ζωὴν καὶ μακάριον.

Μακάριοι οἱ πραεῖς, ὅτι αὐτοὶ κληρονομήσουσι τὴν γῆν.

Ὁ πρὶν ἐν σιαγόνι ὄνου νικήσας τοὺς ἀλλοφύλους, νῦν παρανάλωμα τῆς ἐμπαθοῦς λαγνείας εὑρέθη· ἀλλ᾿ ἔκφυγε, ψυχή μου, τὴν μίμησιν, τὴν πρᾶξιν, τὴν χαύνωσιν.

Μακάριοι οἱ πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην, ὅτι αὐτοὶ χορτασθήσονται.

Βαρὰκ καὶ Ἰεφθάε οἱ στρατιάρχαι κριταὶ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ προεκρίθησαν, μεθ᾿ ὧν Δεββώρα ἡ ἀρρενόφρων· αὐτῶν ταῖς ἀριστείαις, ψυχή, ἀρρενωθεῖσα κρατύνθητι.

Μακάριοι οἱ ἐλεήμονες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἐλεηθήσονται.

Τὴν Ἰαὴλ ἀνδρείαν ἔγνως, ψυχή μου, τὴν τὸν Σισάρα πρὶν σκολοπίσασαν καὶ σωτηρίαν ἐργασαμένην· τὸν πάσσαλον ἀκούεις, δι᾿ οὗ σοι ὁ Σταυρὸς εἰκονίζεται.

Μακάριοι οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ, ὅτι αὐτοὶ τὸν Θεὸν ὄψονται.

Θῦσον, ψυχή, θυσίαν ἐπαινουμένην· πρᾶξιν ὡς θυγατέρα προσάγαγε τῆς Ἰεφθάε καθαρωτέραν, καὶ σφάξον ὥσπερ θῦμα τὰ πάθη τῆς σαρκὸς τῷ Κυρίῳ σου.

Μακάριοι οἱ εἰρηνοποιοί, ὅτι αὐτοὶ υἱοὶ Θεοῦ κληθήσονται.

Τοῦ Γεδεὼν τὸν πόκον νόει, ψυχή μου· ἐξ οὐρανοῦ τὴν δρόσον ὑπόδεξαι καὶ κῦψον ὥσπερ κύων καὶ πίε τὸ νᾶμα τὸ ἐκ νόμου, ρυὲν τῇ ἀποθλίψει τοῦ γράμματος.

Μακάριοι οἱ δεδιωγμένοι ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ Βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.

Ἠλεὶ τοῦ Ἱερέως τὴν καταδίκην, ψυχή μου ἐπεσπάσω δι᾿ ἔνδειαν φρενῶν, ἀνασχομένη τὰ πάθη ἐν σοί, ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνος τὰ τέκνα, ἐνεργεῖν τὰ παράνομα.

Μακάριοι ἐστε, ὅταν ὀνειδίσωσιν ὑμᾶς καὶ διώξωσι καὶ εἴπωσι πᾶν πονηρὸν ρῆμα καθ᾿ ὑμῶν, ψευδόμενοι ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ.

Ἐν τοῖς κριταῖς Λευίτης δι᾿ ἐμμελείας τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γυναῖκα ταῖς δώδεκα φυλαῖς διεῖλε, ψυχή μου, ἵνα τὸ μῦσος θριαμβεύσῃ τὸ ἐκ Βενιαμὶν τὸ παράνομον.

Χαίρετε καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε, ὅτι ὁ μισθὸς ὑμῶν πολὺς ἐν τοῖς Οὐρανοῖς.

Ἡ φιλοσώφρων Ἄννα προσευχομένη τὰ χείλη μὲν ἐκίνει πρὸς αἴνεσιν, φωνὴ δὲ ταύτης οὐκ ἐξηχεῖτο· ἀλλ᾿ ὅμως στεῖρα οὖσα υἱὸν τῆς προσευχῆς τίκτει ἄξιον.

Μνήσθητι ἡμῶν, Κύριε, ὅταν ἔλθῃς ἐν τῇ Βασιλείᾳ σου.

Ἐν τοῖς κριταῖς ὁ Ἄννης ἐκρίθη γόνος, ὁ μέγας Σαμουήλ, ὃν ἐθρέψατο ἡ Ἀρμαθὲμ ἐν οἴκῳ Κυρίου· αὐτὸν ζήλου, ψυχή μου, καὶ κρῖναι πρὸς τῶν ἄλλων τὰ ἔργα σου.

Μνήσθητι ἡμῶν, Δέσποτα, ὅταν ἔλθῃς ἐν τῇ Βασιλείᾳ σου.

Δαυῒδ εἰς Βασιλέα ἐκλελεγμένος βασιλικῶς ἐχρίσθη τῷ κέρατι τοῦ θείου μύρου· σὺ οὖν, ψυχή μου, τὴν ἄνω βασιλείαν εἰ θέλεις, μύρῳ χρίσαι τοῖς δάκρυσιν.

Μνήσθητι ἡμῶν, Ἅγιε, ὅταν ἔλθῃς ἐν τῇ Βασιλείᾳ σου.

Ἐλέησον τὸ πλάσμα σου, Ἐλεῆμον· οἴκτειρον τῶν χειρῶν σου τὸ ποίημα καὶ φεῖσαι πάντων ἡμαρτηκότων, κἀμοῦ τοῦ ��πὲρ πάντας τοῖς σοῖς ὑπεριδόντος προστάγμασι.

Δόξα.

Ἀνάρχῳ καὶ γεννήσει τε καὶ προόδῳ, Πατέρα προσκυνῶ τὸν γεννήσαντα, Υἱὸν δοξάζω τὸν γεννηθέντα, ὑμνῶ τὸ συνεκλάμπον Πατρί τε καὶ Υἱῷ Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον.

Καὶ νῦν. Θεοτοκίον. Τὸν ὑπὲρ φύσιν τόκον σου προσκυνοῦμεν, τὴν κατὰ φύσιν δόξαν τοῦ βρέφους σου μὴ διαιροῦντες Θεογεννῆτορ· ὁ εἷς γὰρ τῷ προσώπῳ διττὸς ὁμολογεῖται ταῖς φύσεσιν.

ᾨδὴ ζ´ «Ἡμάρτομεν, ἠνομήσαμεν, » ἠδικήσαμεν ἐνώπιόν σου· » οὐδὲ συνετηρήσαμεν, » οὐδὲ ἐποιήσαμεν, » καθὼς ἐνετείλω ἡμῖν. » Ἀλλὰ μὴ παραδῴης ἡμᾶς εἰς τέλος, » ὁ τῶν Πατέρων Θεός.

Ἡμάρτηκα, ἐπλημμέλησα καὶ ἠθέτησα τὴν ἐντολήν σου· ὅτι ἐν ἁμαρτίαις προήχθην καὶ προσέθηκα τοῖς μώλωψι τραῦμα ἐμοί. Ἀλλ᾿ αὐτός με ἐλέησον ὡς εὔσπλαγχνος, ὁ τῶν Πατέρων Θεός.

Τὰ κρύφια τῆς καρδίας μου ἐξηγόρευσά σοι τῷ Κριτῇ μου· ἴδε μου τὴν ταπείνωσιν, ἴδε καὶ τὴν θλῖψίν μου καὶ πρόσχες τῇ κρίσει μου νῦν· καὶ αὐτός με ἐλέησον ὡς εὔσπλαγχνος, ὁ τῶν Πατέρων Θεός.

Σαούλ ποτε ὡς ἀπώλεσε τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ, ψυχή, τὰς ὄνους, πάρεργον τὸ βασίλειον εὗρε πρὸς ἀνάρρησιν. Ἀλλ᾿ ὅρα μὴ λάθῃς σαυτήν, τὰς κτηνώδεις ὀρέξεις σου προκρίνουσα τῆς βασιλείας Χριστοῦ.

Δαυΐδ ποτε ὁ πατρόθεος εἰ καὶ ἥμαρτε διττῶς, ψυχή μου, βέλει μὲν τοξευθεὶς τῆς μοιχείας, τῷ δὲ δόρατι ἁλοὺς τῆς τοῦ φόνου ποινῆς. Ἀλλ᾿ αὐτὴ τὰ βαρύτερα τῶν ἔργων νοσεῖς ταῖς κατὰ γνώμην ὁρμαῖς.

Συνῆψε μὲν ὁ Δαυΐδ ποτε ἀνομήματι τὴν ἀνομίαν· φόνῳ γὰρ τὴν μοιχείαν ἐκίρνα, τὴν μετάνοιαν εὐθὺς παραδείξας διπλῆν. Ἀλλ᾿ αὐτὴ πονηρότερα εἰργάσω, ψυχή, μὴ μεταγνοῦσα Θεῷ.

Δαυΐδ ποτε ἀνεστήλωσε συγγραψάμενος ὡς ἐν εἰκόνι ὕμνον, δι᾿ οὗ τὴν πρᾶξιν ἐλέγχει, ἣν εἰργάσατο κραυγάζων, Ἐλέησόν με· σοὶ γὰρ μόνῳ ἐξήμαρτον τῷ πάντων Θεῷ· αὐτὸς καθάρισόν με.

Ἡ Κιβωτὸς ὡς ἐφέρετο ἐπιδίφριος, ὁ Ζᾶν ἐκεῖνος ὅτε, ἀνατραπέντος τοῦ μόσχου, μόνον ἥψατο Θεοῦ ἐπειράθη ὀργῆς. Ἀλλ᾿ αὐτοῦ τὴν αὐθάδειαν φυγοῦσα, ψυχή, σέβου τὰ θεῖα καλῶς.

Ἀκήκοας τοῦ Ἀβεσσαλὼμ πῶς τῆς φύσεως ἀντεξανέστη· ἔγνως τὰς ἐναγεῖς αὐτοῦ πράξεις, αἷς ἐξύβρισε τὴν κοίτην Δαυῒδ τοῦ πατρός. Ἀλλ᾿ αὐτὴ ἐμιμήσω τὰς αὐτοῦ ἐμπαθεῖς καὶ φιληδόνους ὁρμάς.

Ὑπέταξας τὸ ἀδούλωτον σοῦ ἀξίωμα τῷ σώματί σου· ἄλλον γὰρ Ἀχιτόφελ εὑροῦσα τὸν ἐχθρόν, ψυχή, συνῆλθες ταῖς τούτου βουλαῖς· ἀλλ᾿ αὐτὰς διεσκέδασεν αὐτὸς ὁ Χριστός, ἵνα σὺ πάντως σωθῇς.

Ὁ Σολομὼν ὁ θαυμάσιος, ὁ καὶ χάριτος σοφίας πλήρης, οὗτος τὸ πονηρὸν ἐναντίον τοῦ Θεοῦ ποτε ποιήσας ἀπέστη αὐτοῦ· ᾧ αὐτὴ τὸν ἐπάρατόν σου βίον, ψυχή, προσαφωμοίωσας.

Ταῖς ἡδοναῖς ἐξελκόμενος τῶν παθῶν αὐτοῦ κατερρυποῦτο· οἴμοι! ὁ ἐραστὴς τῆς σοφίας ἐραστὴς πορνῶν γυναικῶν καὶ ξένος Θεοῦ· ὃν αὐτὴ ἐμιμήσω κατὰ νοῦν, ὦ ψυχή, ἡδυπαθείαις αἰσχραῖς.

Τὸν Ροβοὰμ παρεζήλωσας ἀλογήσαντα βουλῆς πατρῴας, ἅμα δὲ καὶ τὸν κάκιστον δοῦλον Ἱεροβοὰμ τὸν πρὶν ἀποστάτην, ψυχή. Ἀλλὰ φεῦγε τὴν μίμησιν καὶ κράζε Θεῷ· Ἥμαρτον, οἴκτειρόν με.

Τὸν Ἀχαὰβ παρεζήλωσας τοῖς μιάσμασι, ψυχή μου· οἴμοι! γέγονας σαρκικῶν μολυσμάτων καταγώγιον καὶ σκεῦος αἰσχρὸν τῶν παθῶν. Ἀλλ᾿ ἐκ βάθους σου στέναξον καὶ λέγε Θεῷ τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου.

Ἐνέπρησεν Ἠλιού ποτε δὶς πεντήκοντα τῆς Ἰεζάβελ, ὅτε τοὺς τῆς αἰσχύνης προφήτας κατηνάλωσεν εἰς ἔλεγχον τοῦ Ἀχαάβ. Ἀλλὰ φεῦγε τὴν μίμησιν τῶν δύο, ψυχή, καὶ κραταιώθητι.

Ἐκλείσθη σοι οὐρανός, ψυχή, καὶ λιμὸς Θεοῦ κατέλαβέ σε, ὅτε τοῖς Ἠλιοὺ τοῦ Θεσβίτου ὡς ὁ Ἀχαὰβ ἠπείθησας λόγοις ποτέ. Ἀλλὰ τὴν Σαραφθίαν μιμουμένη θρέψον Προφήτου ψυχήν.

Τοῦ Μανασσῆ ἐπεσώρευσας τὰ ἐγκλήματα τῇ προαιρέσει, στήσασα ὡς βδελύγματα πάθη καὶ πληθύνουσα, ψυχή, προσοχθίσματα· Ἀλλ᾿ αὐτοῦ τὴν μετάνοιαν ζηλοῦσα θερμῶς κτῆσαι κατάνυξιν.

Προσπίπτω σοι καὶ προσάγω σοι ὥσπερ δάκρυα τὰ ρήματά μου· Ἥμαρτον ὡς ἥμαρτε Πόρνη καὶ ἠνόμησα ὡς ἄλλος οὐδεὶς ἐπὶ γῆς. Ἀλλ᾿ οἰκτείρησον, Δέσποτα, τὸ ποίημά σου καὶ ἀνακάλεσαί με.

Κατέχρωσα τὴν εἰκόνα σου καὶ παρέφθειρα τὴν ἐντολήν σου· ὅλον ἀπημαυρώθη τὸ κάλλος καὶ τοῖς πάθεσιν ἐσβέσθη, Σωτήρ, ἡ λαμπάς. Ἀλλ᾿ οἰκτείρας ἀπόδος μοι, ὡς ψάλλει Δαυΐδ, τὴν ἀγαλλίασιν.

Ἐπίστρεψον, μετανόησον, ἀνακάλυψον τὰ κεκρυμμένα· λέγε Θεῷ τῷ τὰ πάντα εἰδότι· Σὺ γινώσκεις μου τὰ κρύφια, μόνε Σωτήρ· καὶ αὐτός με ἐλέησον, ὡς ψάλλει Δαυΐδ, κατὰ τὸ ἔλεός σου.

Ἐξέλιπον αἱ ἡμέραι μου ὡς ἐνύπνιον ἐγειρομένου· ὅθεν ὡς Ἐζεκίας δακρύω ἐπὶ κλίνης μου, προσθεῖναί μοι χρόνους ζωῆς. Ἀλλὰ τίς Ἡσαΐας παραστήσεταί σοι, ψυχή, εἰ μὴ ὁ πάντων Θεός;

Δόξα.

Τριὰς ἁπλῆ, ἀδιαίρετε, ὁμοούσιε καὶ φύσις μία, φῶτα καὶ φῶς, καὶ ἅγια τρία, καὶ ἓν ἅγιον ὑμνεῖται Θεὸς ἡ Τριάς. Ἀλλ᾿ ἀνύμνησον, δόξασον ζωὴν καὶ ζωάς, ψυχή, τὸν πάντων Θεόν.

Καὶ νῦν.

Θεοτοκίον. Ὑμνοῦμέν σε, εὐλογοῦμέν σε, προσκυνοῦμέν σε, Θεογεννῆτορ, ὅτι τῆς ἀχωρίστου Τριάδος ἀπεκύησας τὸν ἕνα Υἱὸν καὶ Θεόν· καὶ αὐτὴ προανέῳξας ἡμῖν τοῖς ἐν γῇ τὰ ἐπουράνια.

ᾨδὴ η´ «Ὃν Στρατιαὶ Οὐρανῶν δοξάζουσι » καὶ φρίττει τὰ Χερουβὶμ » καὶ τὰ Σεραφίμ, » πᾶσα πνοὴ καὶ κτίσις, » ὑμνεῖτε, εὐλογεῖτε » καὶ ὑπερυψοῦτε » εἰς πάντας τοὺς αἰῶνας.

Ἡμαρτηκότα, Σωτήρ, ἐλέησον· διέγειρόν μου τὸν νοῦν πρὸς ἐπιστροφήν· δέξαι μετανοοῦντα, οἰκτείρησον βοῶντα· Ἥμαρτόν σοι μόνῳ, ἠνόμησα, ἐλέησόν με.

Ὁ διφρηλάτης Ἠλίας ἅρματι ταῖς ἀρεταῖς ἐπιβὰς ὡς εἰς Οὐρανοὺς ἤγετο ὑπεράνω ποτὲ τῶν ἐπιγείων· τούτου οὖν, ψυχή μου, τὴν ἄνοδον ἀναλογίζου.

Τοῦ Ἰορδάνου τὸ ρεῖθρον πρότερον τῇ μηλωτῇ Ἠλιοὺ δι᾿ Ἐλισσαιὲ ἔστη ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα· αὐτὴ δέ, ὦ ψυχή μου, ταύτης οὐ μετέσχες τῆς χάριτος δι᾿ ἀκρασίαν.

Ὁ Ἐλισσαῖός ποτε δεξάμενος τὴν μηλωτὴν Ἠλιοὺ ἔλαβε διπλῆν χάριν παρὰ Κυρίου· αὐτὴ δέ, ὦ ψυχή μου, ταύτης οὐ μετέσχες τῆς χάριτος δι᾿ ἀκρασίαν.

Ἡ Σωμανῖτίς ποτε τὸν δίκαιον ἐξένισεν, ὦ ψυχή, γνώμῃ ἀγαθῇ· σὺ δὲ οὐκ εἰσῳκίσω οὐ ξένον οὐχ ὁδίτην· ὅθεν τοῦ νυμφῶνος ριφήσῃ ἔξω θρηνῳδοῦσα.

Τοῦ Γιεζῆ ἐμιμήσω, τάλαινα, τὴν γνώμην τὴν ρυπαρὰν πάντοτε, ψυχή· οὗ τὴν φιλαργυρίαν ἀπώθου κἂν ἐν γήρει· φεῦγε τῆς γεέννης τὸ πῦρ ἐκστᾶσα τῶν κακῶν σου.

Σὺ τὸν Ὀζίαν, ψυχή, ζηλώσασα, τὴν τούτου λέπραν ἐν σοὶ ἔσχες ἐν διπλῷ· ἄτοπα γὰρ λογίζῃ, παράνομα δὲ πράττεις· ἄφες ἃ κατέχεις καὶ πρόσδραμε τῇ μετανοίᾳ.

Τοὺς Νινευίτας, ψυχή, ἀκήκοας μετανοοῦντας Θεῷ σάκκῳ καὶ σποδῷ· τούτους οὐκ ἐμιμήσω, ἀλλ᾿ ὤφθης σκαιοτέρα πάντων τῶν πρὸ νόμου καὶ μετὰ νόμον ἐπταικότων.

Τὸν ἐν τῷ λάκκῳ βορβόρου ἤκουσας Ἱερεμίαν, ψυχή, πόλιν τὴν Σιὼν θρήνοις καταβοῶντα καὶ δάκρυα ζητοῦντα· μίμησαι τὸν τούτου θρηνῴδη βίον καὶ σωθήσῃ.

Ὁ Ἰωνᾶς εἰς Θαρσεῖς ἀπέδραμε προγνοὺς τὴν ἐπιστροφὴν τῶν Νινευιτῶν· ἔγνω γὰρ ὡς προφήτης Θεοῦ τὴν εὐσπλαγχνίαν· ὅθεν παρεζήλου τὴν προφητείαν μὴ ψευσθῆναι.

Τὸν Δανιὴλ ἐν τῷ λάκκῳ ἤκουσας, πῶς ἔφραξεν, ὦ ψυχή, στόματα θηρῶν· ἔγνωκας πῶς οἱ Παῖδες οἱ περὶ Ἀζαρίαν ἔσβεσαν τῇ πίστει καμίνου φλόγα καιομένης.

Τῆς παλαιᾶς Διαθήκης ἅπαντας παρήγαγόν σοι, ψυχή, πρὸς ὑπογραμμόν· μίμησαι τῶν δικαίων τὰς φιλοθέους πράξεις· ἔκφυγε δὲ πάλιν τῶν πονηρῶν τὰς ἁμαρτίας.

Δικαιοκρίτα, Σωτήρ, ἐλέησον καὶ ρῦσαί με τοῦ πυρὸς καὶ τῆς ἀπειλῆς, ἧς μέλλω ἐν τῇ κρίσει δικαίως ὑποστῆναι· ἄνες μοι πρὸ τέλους δι᾿ ἀρετῆς καὶ μετανοίας.

Ὡς ὁ Λῃστὴς ἐκβοῶ σοι τὸ Μνήσθητι· ὡς Πέτρος κλαίω πικρῶς· Ἄνες μοι, Σωτήρ, κράζω ὡς ὁ Τελώνης· δακρύω ὡς ἡ Πόρνη· δέξαι μου τὸν θρῆνον, καθώς ποτε τῆς Χαναναίας.

Τὴν σηπεδόνα, Σωτήρ, θεράπευσον τῆς ταπεινῆς μου ψυχῆς, μόνε ἰατρέ· μάλαγμά μοι ἐπίθες καὶ ἔλαιον καὶ οἶνον, ἔργα μετανοίας, κατάνυξιν μετὰ δακρύων.

Τὴν Χαναναίαν κἀγὼ μιμούμενος, Ἐλέησόν με, βοῶ, τῷ Υἱῷ Δαυΐδ· ἅπτομαι τοῦ κρασπέδου ὡς ἡ Αἱμορροοῦσα· κλαίω ὡς ἡ Μάρθα καὶ Μαρία ἐπὶ Λαζάρου.

Τὸ τῶν δακρύων, Σωτήρ, ἀλάβαστρον ὡς μύρον κατακενῶν ἐπὶ κεφαλῆς κράζω σοι ὡς ἡ Πόρνη τὸν ἔλεον ζητοῦσα· δέησιν προσάγω καὶ ἄφεσιν αἰτῶ λαβεῖν με.

Εἰ καὶ μηδεὶς ὡς ἐγώ σοι ἥμαρτεν, ἀλλ᾿ ὅμως δέξαι κἀμέ, εὔσπλαγχνε Σωτήρ, φόβῳ μετανοοῦντα καὶ πόθῳ κεκραγότα· Ἥμαρτόν σοι μόνῳ, ἠνόμησα, ἐλέησόν με.

Φεῖσαι, Σωτήρ, τοῦ ἰδίου πλάσματος καὶ ζήτησον ὡς ποιμὴν τὸ ἀπολωλὸς πρόβατον· πλανηθέντα ἐξάρπασον τοῦ λύκου, ποίησόν με θρέμμα ἐν τῇ νομῇ τῶν σῶν προβάτων.

Ὅταν Κριτὴς καθίσῃς ὡς εὔσπλαγχνος καὶ δείξ��ς τὴν φοβερὰν δόξαν σου Χριστέ, ὢ ποῖος φόβος τότε! καμίνου καιομένης, πάντων δειλιώντων τὸ ἄστεκτον τοῦ βήματός σου.

Εὐλογοῦμεν Πατέρα, Υἱὸν καὶ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα.

Ἄναρχε Πάτερ, Υἱὲ συνάναρχε, Παράκλητε ἀγαθέ, Πνεῦμα τὸ εὐθές, Λόγου Θεοῦ Γεννῆτορ, Πατρὸς ἀνάρχου Λόγε, Πνεῦμα ζῶν καὶ κτίζον, Τριὰς Μονάς, ἐλέησόν με.

Καὶ νῦν.

Θεοτοκίον. Ὡς ἐκ βαφῆς ἁλουργίδος, Ἄχραντε, ἡ νοητὴ πορφυρὶς τοῦ Ἐμμανουὴλ ἔνδον ἐν τῇ γαστρί σου ἡ σὰρξ συνεξυφάνθη· ὅθεν Θεοτόκον ἐν ἀληθείᾳ σὲ τιμῶμεν.

ᾨδὴ θ´ «Ἀσπόρου συ��λήψεως » ὁ τόκος ἀνερμήνευτος, » Μητρὸς ἀνάνδρου » ἄφθορος ἡ κύησις· » Θεοῦ γὰρ ἡ γέννησις » καινοποιεῖ τὰς φύσεις· » διό σε πᾶσαι αἱ γενεαὶ » ὡς Θεόνυμφον Μητέρα » ὀρθοδόξως μεγαλύνομεν.

Ὁ νοῦς τετραυμάτισται, τὸ σῶμα μεμαλάκισται, νοσεῖ τὸ πνεῦμα· ὁ λόγος ἠσθένησεν, ὁ βίος νενέκρωται, τὸ τέλος ἐπὶ θύραις· διό μοι, τάλαινα ψυχή, τί ποιήσεις, ὅταν ἔλθῃ ὁ Κριτὴς ἀνερευνῆσαι τὰ σά;

Μωσέως παρήγαγον, ψυχή, τὴν κοσμογένεσιν καὶ ἐξ ἐκείνου πᾶσαν ἐνδιάθετον γραφὴν ἱστοροῦσάν σοι δικαίους καὶ ἀδίκους· ὧν τοὺς δευτέρους, ὦ ψυχή, ἐμιμήσω, οὐ τοὺς πρώτους, εἰς Θεὸν ἐξαμαρτήσασα.

Ὁ Νόμος ἠσθένησεν, ἀργεῖ τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον, Γραφὴ δὲ πᾶσα ἐν σοὶ παρημέληται, Προφῆται ἠτόνησαν καὶ πᾶς δικαίου λόγος· αἱ τραυματίαι σου, ὦ ψυχή, ἐπληθύνθησαν, οὐκ ὄντος ἰατροῦ τοῦ ὑγιοῦντός σε.

Τῆς Νέας παράγω σοι Γραφῆς τὰ ὑποδείγματα, ἐνάγοντά σε, ψυχή, πρὸς κατάνυξιν· δικαίους οὖν ζήλωσον, ἁμαρτωλοὺς ἐκτρέπου καὶ ἐξιλέωσαι Χριστὸν προσευχαῖς τε καὶ νηστείαις, καὶ ἁγνείᾳ καὶ σεμνότητι.

Χριστὸς ἐνηπίασε σαρκὶ προσομιλήσας μοι, καὶ πάντα ὅσα ὑπάρχει τῆς φύσεως, βουλήσει ἐπλήρωσε τῆς ἁμαρτίας δίχα· ὑπογραμμόν σοι, ὦ ψυχή, καὶ εἰκόνα προδεικνύων τῆς αὐτοῦ συγκαταβάσεως.

Χριστὸς ἐνηνθρώπησε καλέσας εἰς μετάνοιαν, λῃστὰς καὶ πόρνας· ψυχὴ μετανόησον, ἡ θύρα ἠνέῳκται τῆς Βασιλείας ἤδη· καὶ προαρπάζουσιν αὐτὴν Φαρισαῖοι καὶ Τελῶναι καὶ μοιχοὶ μεταποιούμενοι.

Χριστὸς Μάγους ἔσωσε, Ποιμένας συνεκάλεσε, Νηπίων δήμους ἀπέδειξε Μάρτυρας, Πρεσβύτην ἐδόξασε καὶ γηραλέαν Χήραν· ὧν οὐκ ἐζήλωσας, ψυχή, οὐ τὰς πράξεις, οὐ τὸν βίον· ἀλλ᾿ οὐαί σοι ἐν τῷ κρίνεσθαι!

Νηστεύσας ὁ Κύριος ἡμέρας τεσσαράκοντα ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, ὕστερον ἐπείνασε δεικνὺς τὸ ἀνθρώπινον. Ψυχή, μὴ ἀθυμήσῃς· ἄν σοι προσβάλῃ ὁ ἐχθρός, προσευχαῖς τε καὶ νηστείαις ἐκ ποδῶν ἀποκρουσθήτω σοι.

Χριστὸς ἐπειράζετο, Διάβολος ἐπείραζε δεικνὺς τοὺς λίθους, ἵνα ἄρτοι γένωνται· εἰς ὄρος ἀνήγαγεν ἰδεῖν τὰς βασιλείας τοῦ κόσμου πάσας ἐν ριπῇ. Φοβοῦ, ὦ ψυχή, τὸ δρᾶμα· νῆφε, εὔχου, πᾶσαν ὥραν Θεῷ.

Τρυγὼν ἡ φιλέρημος, φωνὴ βοῶντος ἤχησε, Χριστοῦ ὁ λύχνος κηρύττων μετάνοιαν· Ἡρῴδης ἠνόμησε σὺν τῇ Ἡρωδιάδι. Βλέπε, ψυχή μου, μὴ παγῇς τῶν ἀνόμων ταῖς παγίσιν, ἀλλ᾿ ἀσπάζου τὴν μετάνοιαν.

Τὴν ἔρημον ᾤκησεν ὁ Πρόδρομος τῆς χάριτος· καὶ Ἰουδαία πᾶσα καὶ Σαμάρεια ἀκούοντες ἔτρεχον καὶ ἐξωμολογοῦντο τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἑαυτῶν, βαπτιζόμενοι προθύμως· οὓς αὐτὴ οὐκ ἐμιμήσω, ψυχή.

Ὁ γάμος μὲν τίμιος, ἡ κοίτη δὲ ἀμίαντος· ἀμφότερα γὰρ Χριστὸς προευλόγησε, σαρκὶ ἑστιώμενος ἐν τῆς Κανᾶ τῷ γάμῳ, τὸ ὕδωρ οἶνον ἐκτελῶν καὶ δεικνύων πρῶτον θαῦμα, ἵνα σὺ μετατεθῇς, ὦ ψυχή.

Παράλυτον ἔσφιγξε Χριστὸς τὴν κλίνην ἄραντα καὶ νεανίσκον θανόντα ἐξήγειρε, τῆς χήρας τὸ κύημα καὶ τοῦ Ἑκατοντάρχου, καὶ Σαμαρείτιδι φανεὶς τὴν ἐν πνεύματι λατρείαν σοί, ψυχή, προεζωγράφησεν.

Αἱμόρρουν ἰάσατο ἁφῇ κρασπέδου Κύριος· λεπροὺς καθῆρε, τυφλοὺς καὶ χωλεύοντας φωτίσας ἀνώρθωσε, κωφούς τε καὶ ἀλάλους καὶ τὴν συγκύπτουσαν χαμαὶ ἐθεράπευσε τῷ λόγῳ, ἵνα σὺ σωθῇς, ἀθλία ψυχή.

Τὰς νόσους ἰώμενος πτωχοῖς εὐηγγελίζετο Χριστὸς ὁ Λόγος· κυλλοὺς ἐθεράπευσε, τελώναις συνήσθιεν, ἁμαρτωλοῖς ὡμίλει· τῆς Ἰαείρου θυγατρὸς τὴν ψυχὴν προμεταστᾶσαν ἐπανήγαγεν ἁφῇ τῆς χειρός.

Τελώνης ἐσῴζετο καὶ Πόρνη ἐσωφρόνιζε, καὶ Φαρισαῖος αὐχῶν κατεκρίνετο· ὁ μὲν γάρ, Ἱλάσθητι, ἡ δέ, Ἐλέησόν με· ὁ δὲ ἐκόμπαζε βοῶν· Ὁ Θεὸς εὐχαριστῶ σοι· καὶ ἑξῆς τὰ τῆς ἀνοίας ρητά.

Ζακχαῖος Τελώνης ἦν, ἀλλ᾿ ὅμως διεσῴζετο, καὶ Φαρισαῖος ὁ Σίμων ἐσφάλλετο, καὶ Πόρνη ἐλάμβανε τὰς ἀφεσίμους λύσεις παρὰ τοῦ ἔχοντος ἰσχὺν ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας· ὅν, ψυχή, σαυτῇ ἱλέωσαι.

Τὴν Πόρνην, ὦ τάλαινα ψυχή μου, οὐκ ἐζήλωσας, ἥτις λαβοῦσα μύρου τὸ ἀλάβαστρον, σὺν δάκρυσιν ἤλειψε τοὺς πόδας τοῦ Κυρίου· ἐξέμαξε δὲ ταῖς θριξί, τῶν ἀρχαίων ἐγκλημάτων τὸ χειρόγραφον ρηγνύντος αὐτῇ.

Τὰς πόλεις, αἷς ἔδωκε Χριστὸς τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον, ψυχή μου, ἔγνως, ὅπως κατηράθησαν· φοβοῦ τὸ ὑπόδειγμα, μὴ γένῃ ὡς ἐκεῖναι· ταῖς ἐν Σοδόμοις γὰρ αὐτὰς ὁ Δεσπότης παρεικάσας ἕως ᾍδου κατεδίκασε.

Μὴ χείρων, ὦ ψυχή μου, φανῇς δι᾿ ἀπογνώσεως, τῆς Χαναναίας τὴν πίστιν ἀκούσασα, δι᾿ ἧς τὸ θυγάτριον λόγῳ Θεοῦ ἰάθη. Υἱὲ Δαυΐδ, σῶσον κἀμέ, ἀναβόησον ἐκ βάθους τῆς καρδίας, ὡς ἐκείνη, Χριστῷ.

Σπλαγχνίσθητι, σῶσόν με· Υἱὲ Δαυΐδ, ἐλέησον, ὁ δαιμονῶντας λόγῳ ἰασάμενος· φωνὴν δὲ τὴν εὔσπλαγχνον, ὡς τῷ Λῃστῇ, μοι φράσον· Ἀμήν σοι λέγω, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ ἔσῃ ἐν τῷ Παραδείσῳ, ὅταν ἔλθω ἐν τῇ δόξῃ μου.

Λῃστὴς κατηγόρει σοι, Λῃστὴς ἐθεολόγει σοι· ἀμφότεροι γὰρ σταυρῷ συνεκρέμαντο. Ἀλλ᾿ ὦ Πολυεύσπλαγχνε, ὡς τῷ πιστῷ Λῃστῇ σου τῷ ἐπιγνόντι σε Θεόν, κἀμοὶ ἄνοιξον τὴν θύραν τῆς ἐνδόξου βασιλείας σου.

Ἡ Κτίσις συνείχετο σταυρούμενόν σε βλέπουσα· ὄρη καὶ πέτραι φόβῳ διερρήγνυντο· καὶ γῆ συνεσείετο καὶ ᾍδης ἐγυμνοῦτο· καὶ συνεσκότασε τὸ φῶς ἐν ἡμέρᾳ, καθορῶν σε, Ἰησοῦ, προσηλωμένον σαρκί.

Ἀξίους μετανοίας καρποὺς μὴ ἀπαιτήσῃς με· ἡ γὰρ ἰσχύς μου ἐν ἐμοὶ ἐξέλιπε· καρδίαν μοι δώρησαι ἀεὶ συντετριμμένην· πτωχείαν δὲ πνευματικήν, ἵνα ταῦτά σοι προσοίσω ὡς δεκτὴν θυσίαν, μόνε Σωτήρ.

Κριτά μου καὶ γνῶστά μου, ὁ μέλλων πάλιν ἔρχεσθαι σὺν τοῖς Ἀγγέλοις κρῖναι Κόσμον ἅπαντα, ἱλέῳ σου ὄμματι τότε ἰδών με φεῖσαι· καὶ οἴκτειρόν με, Ἰησοῦ, τὸν ὑπὲρ τὴν πᾶσαν φύσιν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἁμαρτήσαντα.

Δόξα.

Τριὰς ὁμοούσιε, Μονὰς ἡ τρισυπόστατος, σὲ ἀνυμνοῦμεν Πατέρα δοξάζοντες, Υἱὸν μεγαλύνοντες καὶ Πνεῦμα προσκυνοῦντες, τὸν ἕνα φύσει ἀληθῶς Θεόν, ζωήν τε καὶ ζωάς, βασιλείαν ἀτελεύτητον.

Καὶ νῦν.

Θεοτοκίον. Τὴν Πόλιν σου φύλαττε, Θεογεννῆτορ ἄχραντε· ἐν σοὶ γὰρ αὕτη πιστῶς βασιλεύουσα, ἐν σοὶ καὶ κρατύνεται, καὶ διὰ σοῦ νικῶσα τροποῦται πάντα πειρασμὸν καὶ σκυλεύει πολεμίους καὶ διέπει τὸ ὑπήκοον.

#Μέγας Κανών (Αγ.Ανδρέα Κρήτης)#ΜΕΓΑΣ ΚΑΝΩΝ #ΑΓΙΟΣ ΑΝΔΡΕΑΣ ΚΡΗΤΗΣ

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blackswaneuroparedux · 2 years

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Wolfpackdueno asked: Interested to read your thoughts / perspectives on Russia’s (or rather Putin’s) moves in Ukraine if you care to share. In your view Where might this lead? How is the EU as a bloc and NATO as an alliance likely to respond in the coming months or perhaps years? Might Putin have over extended himself at home?

Of course since the time lapse between you asking this question and me (finally) getting around to answering it a lot has happened obviously. To try and predict the outcome is a fool’s game as we all know. Working in the corporate world now I have peers and colleagues scrambling to get ahead of the curve of the chaos in the money, energy, and commodity markets as well as divesting out of any business in Russia itself. It’s scary what’s going on currently. Uncertainty is making many piss in their pants.

Remembering my Thucydides he said Αμαθία μεν θράσος, λογισμός δε όκνον φέρει. (ignorance is bold, knowledge is reserved) I can only speculate because there are so many moving parts to this and of course things can change dramatically on a daily basis as we are seeing.

May I get something off my chest first?

I see a lot of people online who love to be armchair generals and indulge in what the Americans say ‘Monday morning quarterbacking’. To them it’s a meme war or an opportunity to show what they learned from playing grand strategy games like ‘Risk’. Many also commit the cardinal sin of seeing the Ukrainian crisis through their own domestic political lens and can only understand it in those myopic terms. The danger here is that the war isn’t real for them as it doesn’t really touch them on a deeply human level. We can’t be cavalier about the human toll of war. Some of the scenes destruction and of fleeing refugees in fear of their lives have been heart breaking to see.

Vladimir Putin’s pointless war has already led to thousands of people losing their lives, suffering from life-changing injuries or left traumatised by their experiences, along with the destruction of Ukrainian homes and infrastructure. Throughout Europe refugees wonder about when they will be able to return home and what they will find when they get there. There is more tragedy to come. This is why the search for some sort of cease-fire is growing, though it is still hard to see the form it can take so long as President Putin sticks to his most ambitious objectives; despite his forces being further away than they were at the start of the war from being able to meet them.

Speaking as an ex-army veteran of the Afghan war with frontline battlefield experience, there is a tendency to neglect these costs of war when seeking to make sense of the strategies adopted by both sides, for this does require dispassionate analysis, putting aside wishful thinking and emotion. Unless we are personally confronted with the human suffering of war, we have to work extra hard to always understand that the human dimension must always be kept in mind. We are not looking down on a chessboard with otherwise inanimate pieces being moved by some strategic grandmaster according to some clever plan. Those being moved have their own perspectives and agency, their own motives and anxieties.

The decisions of numerous individuals will determine how this war ends. Can Ukrainian civilians remain steadfast in the face of merciless Russian bombardment? Can the apparently high Ukrainian morale be sustained through a major setback? Can they keep the arms supply corridor of Javelin anti-tank missiles open from neighbouring countries such as Poland to arm the resistance and fight the bogged down Russian army? And on the Russian side, what happens as people realise that they have been misled about the war’s purpose and that their young men have died in an exercise in futility? How are soldiers, many conscripts, responding to the frightening and unexpected situation in which they find themselves? What about officers, alarmed about their lost men and equipment and lack of reserves, unable either to fulfil their orders or to retreat? How do Putin’s courtiers, aware that the war is going badly, explain to their leaders the dire consequences of the current strategy? And then there is Putin. At some point will it dawn on him that he has failed in the greatest gamble of his career?

Distant observers should be cautious when seeking to predict the responses of those caught up in these events, but these intangible considerations are already influencing events and will continue to do so, along with the more tangible considerations of force levels, firepower, mobility and logistics.

At this moment, the most likely outcome of the war is a pyrrhic Russian victory. I wish it were otherwise.

I’ve been reading much nonsense in the MSM that Ukraine can actually win. Hmm, no. If by ‘win’ they mean a complete reversal with Russians running back to Moscow with the Ukrainians militarily handing their arse on a plate then no, that’s just wishful nonsense. Putin has the weapons to prevail militarily in the initial conflict and also beyond.

Even if the Ukrainian government loses control of the capital and is forced to flee, and the command systems for Ukrainian forces start to break down, that does not mean that Russia has won the war. It is only a mind-set that fails to understand the wellsprings of Ukraine’s national identity that could believe that a compliant figure could be installed as Ukrainian president and expect to last for very long without the backing of an occupation force. Russia simply does not have the numbers and capacity to sustain such a force for any length of time. One would have thought that with the memories of the Orange Revolution of 2004-5 and the Euromaidan of 2013-14 that Putin would have some appreciation of the role that ‘people power’ can play in this country, unless again he believes his own propaganda that these movements were manipulated into existence by the Americans and their allies.

Ukraine shares a land border with NATO and equipment can pass through to Ukrainian regular forces so long as they are fighting - and then to an anti-Russian insurgency should this conflict move to that stage. This is why it is important not to focus solely on whether Russia achieves it military objectives.

The real question is how Russia holds what it can seize against civilian resistance and insurgency. But also how Putin plans to build a remotely stable or legitimate puppet government atop the rubble is hard to see. Russia cannot win this war in any meaningful sense. A protracted occupation of a vengeful Ukraine will weaken Russia economically and geopolitically (it already has).

The invasion itself has already inspired heightened interest in both NATO and EU membership among Russia’s unaligned neighbours. So far Nato has played it well. There is a danger of escalation of the fighting to direct clashes between Nato and Russia as calls mount for a “no-fly” zone by the Ukrainians. Nato has resisted for the very good reason that it would play into Putin’s hands. Putin would have the perfect excuse to decry to his own people that he is defending Ukraine from Nato forces as a justification for continued hostilities.

Nato then has emerged stronger than ever, with Finland and Sweden now thinking of joining. The most remarkable change has occurred in Germany, which previously had been Russia’s biggest friend in Europe. By announcing a doubling of the German defence budget and willingness to supply arms to Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has reversed decades of German foreign policy and thrown his country wholeheartedly into the struggle against Putin’s imperialism. The three traditional powerhouses of Europe, Great Britain, France and Germany will work together to reassert themselves militarily, politically, and economically against future Russian intransigence.

Putin is already facing an extraordinary amount of domestic dissent, given how aggressively his regime punishes subversion. Multiple Russian celebrities have criticised the war. Last week, a municipality in central Moscow condemned it as a source of “shame” that “cannot be washed away.” In an apparent sign of the regime’s insecurity, Russian authorities took Moscow’s leading radio station off the air Tuesday while restricting access to the website of a major television station. Meanwhile, there are scattered reports of Russian soldiers surrendering en masse or sabotaging their vehicles to avoid combat.

It is therefore conceivable that a combination of mass infantry defections and domestic unrest might lead Putin to accept a negotiated settlement that leaves the bulk of Ukrainian territory under Kyiv’s wholly independent authority.

Yet precisely because Putin’s strategic interests have been so thoroughly degraded over recent events, this endgame seems less likely than not. After this war, a genuinely sovereign Ukraine - especially one shorn of its most pro-Russian, eastern provinces — is certain to be more hostile to Russia and more closely aligned with the West than it was before the conflict commenced. In other words, a truly independent Ukraine has never been a more threatening prospect to the Kremlin than it is now. So long as Putin remains in power, and Russia retains overwhelming military dominance over Ukraine, it’s hard to see Putin granting Ukrainians’ anything more than a heavily circumscribed sovereignty. Perhaps, if Russian forces are sufficiently bloodied, Putin might be willing to countenance an independent Kyiv that is formally committed to “neutrality” between Russia and the West. Should Ukraine make that concession, however, they will have suffered a form of defeat.

The other route to Ukraine’s triumph would be for the present crisis to trigger Putin’s overthrow. If this is the best-case scenario, from a liberal internationalist perspective, it lies in close proximity to the worst-case scenario; dictators who feel their grip on power slipping are not known for their martial restraint. How a tyrant with access to a large nuclear arsenal might behave with his back against the wall is not a fun question to contemplate.

Regardless, this scenario strikes me as extremely unlikely. Two decades into Putin’s reign, Russia’s oligarchic elite is now dominated by men who owe their wealth to state-run banks and energy concerns rather than to independent fortunes. Their dependence on Putin’s good graces and the stability of his kleptocratic regime is overwhelming. According to close associates of the oligarchs any form of dissent among the Russian business elite has become a distant prospect as Putin’s power becomes near-absolute. Meanwhile, ordinary Russians are so thoroughly disenfranchised by Putin’s repressive state, it would be extremely difficult for them to foment the leader’s ouster, even if he didn’t enjoy a significant degree of popular support.

It is possible for Putin to slide away from defeat by claiming victory against more realistic goals. After all Saddam Hussein led Iraq into two disastrous wars – when he invaded Iran in 1980 and seized Kuwait a decade later. At the end of both, with nothing to show for all the consequential death and destruction, he nonetheless claimed victory because somehow, he had personally managed to survive in power. As Putin is forced to move away from his maximum aims will that minimum one also come to be his priority? If so, then expect that when parties are forced to the negotiating table Russia will secure for itself the Crimea and take home the consolation prize of the two rebel republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in Ukraine’s eastern rust belt. He may even get Ukraine to guarantee that it would never join either the EU or NATO. In other words to be a little like Finland as a buffer between Western Europe and Russia. In the here and now, Putin can deliver a defeat to the Ukrainians, but not a victory to his own people.

If both Russia and Ukraine appear poised to lose this war, the same holds true of the world at large. One can perhaps find silver linings if one squints. It is possible that the West’s demonstrable willingness to subordinate prosperity to the defence of a democracy will reduce the probability of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

In the immediate term, though, the cost of food and energy is set to surge for consumers worldwide. In the world’s poorest regions, such inflation is liable to have a body count. Russia and Ukraine are collectively responsible for roughly 30 percent of the world’s wheat and 19 percent of its corn. They are also major suppliers of fertiliser at a time when global crop production is already suffering for a lack of that critical input. In Afghanistan, millions were already at risk of famine before the current spike in food prices. Sanctions and warfare are all but certain to depress Russian and Ukrainian agricultural production for some time to come.

For Russia thought it’s even more bad news. People forget that Russia is a small country. From an economic perspective, that is. According to the IMF the gross domestic product (GDP) of Russia amounted to $1,648 billion in 2021. This is about the same size as the combined GDP of Belgium ($582 billion) and the Netherlands ($1,008 billion) in the same year. Even if you add those two countries together, you still have a small country. Russia’s GDP represents barely 10% of the EU’s GDP. Russia is an economic dwarf in Europe. Can such a small country win an intense war against a country that is resisting tooth and nail and that will have to be occupied for a long time? My answer is no. Russia does not have the resources to do so.

To win such a war, Russia will have to drastically increase its military spending. Russia today spends about $62 billion (about 4% of its GDP) on the military. That’s 8% of US military spending. Such a military budget will not be sufficient to continue waging an intense and protracted war. More military spending will have to be made. But military spending is economically wasted. The tanks and combat aircraft that must be produced to wage the war are investments that are economically useless. This contrasts with investments in machines (and other production factors) that make it possible to produce more in the future. Tanks and fighters will not allow one extra ruble of production in the future. They will, however, crowd out productive investment. The economically small country that Russia is today will therefore become even smaller in the future.

Instead of cutting back on productive investment, the Russian dictator could cut consumption in Russia to make way for more military spending. The fact that Russia has such a small GDP while the country has 146 million inhabitants (more than 5 times the population of Belgium plus the Netherlands) hides the fact that most Russians live in relative poverty. Putin will have to push them even further into poverty to realise his megalomaniac ambitions. It is doubtful whether this policy will strengthen his dictatorship.

There are other effects to be expected from a policy that pushes a country into a war economy. The incomes earned in the war industry will not be able to be spent on consumer goods because these are in short supply. As a result, inflation will rise sharply. The temptation will be great to introduce price controls. The result is known: rationing and scarcity. Paradoxically, this will fulfil Putin’s ambition: a return to the Soviet Union with its long waiting lines in front of the shops.

Russia is economically a small country; it is also an underdeveloped country. It has a production structure of a typical African country. The country mainly exports raw materials and energy (gas and crude oil). They make up 80% of Russian exports. Imports are concentrated in manufacturing products (machinery, transport equipment, electronics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals). Those products represent more than three quarters of total Russian imports.

The problem with such an underdeveloped country is that export earnings are subject to large fluctuations. Today, energy and commodity prices are very high. That has allowed Russia to pile up more than $600 billion in international reserves (dollars, euros, pounds, gold). It has also boosted the budgetary revenues of the Russian government. But those are temporary effects. They have created the illusion that Russia has the resources to wage a protracted war.

It is already clear that this is an illusion. About half of these international reserves are now being frozen by the punitive measures imposed by Western countries. This also makes clear how dependent an underdeveloped country is on the Western powers that control the international financial system. The vast stock of international reserves now available to Russia is not a source of power, but its Achilles heel.

Western nations unprecedented financial sanctions on Russia, include the country’s central bank, which have the potential to decimate its economy. Experts say they amount to full-scale financial warfare of an unheard-of nature and scope. At the same time, it has orchestrated a cultural and sporting boycott, imposing a broad-based sense of isolation on Russian society.

Weary of its own endless wars, the Anglo-European West is now pioneering a new kind of ‘hybrid’ war. ‘Hybrid war’ or the ‘grey zone’ is a much debated concept beloved in some Western military strategic circles. Western governments are now trying to turn that interconnectedness against Putin, making use of their control over the international financial system and the ability of their societies to create powerful narratives that are spread on social media. The impact of the financial sanctions has been swift and severe. Russians have now started queueing outside banks to withdraw their money and the rouble has gone into freefall, forcing the Russian central bank to more than double interest rates to 20 per cent to buttress the local banking industry. The Russian currency has lost over 30 per cent of its value, falling to near record lows against the US dollar. JPMorgan is forecasting that Russian gross domestic product will collapse by 35 per cent in the second quarter of this year. The sanctions are so draconian that they could even push Russia into its first government debt default since the country’s ruinous 1998 crisis - largely due to the West in practice “weaponising” its dominance over the world’s financial architecture.

Up to now the west has seemed careful to carve energy supplies out of sanctions. But that will change I am sure once the US takes the lead on banning oil imports and the rest will follow.

Oil and gas receipts are vital to Russia, which is the world’s largest energy exporter. It ships about 5mn barrels a day of crude oil - about half of which goes to Europe - and a further 2.7mn barrels of petroleum products, according to traders. In total, energy export receipts were more than $235bn in 2021, according to the Institute of International Finance, generating close to half of Russia’s export revenue. So sanctions on Russian oil would threaten this source of income for Moscow, even if it were able to continue to sell cargoes to China and other countries that are yet to take a clear stance on the invasion of Ukraine. Putin and China’s leader Xi Jinping unveiled $118bn of new oil and gas deals when they met at the Beijing Winter Olympics last month, just weeks before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began. However, some analysts argued that given that about two-thirds of crude buyers appear to be boycotting Russia, a formal embargo would have a limited immediate impact. In effect corporates are already self-sanctioning because they don’t want to be on the US naughty list and be open to sanction breaking reprisals. In other words they are already behaving as if Russian oil is being sanctioned. Indeed roughly 70 per cent of Russian crude was struggling to find buyers.

Russian slaughter of Ukrainian civilians obliges the West to intensify sanctions as well as to arm the resistance. The US is right to threaten Russia with an oil export embargo and I hope they do announce it this week. The US of course would be less affected than the European , especially Germany and so any blanket ban will hurt Europe more. One option would be for western countries to ratchet down oil imports rather than ban them immediately. This is better than simply imposing a stoppage on all energy exports without warning. The case is different to freezing the assets of the Russian central bank. The Western allies needed to move on this immediately to reduce Russia’s capacity to make precautionary sales of its assets. Gold and bonds represent a stock of value. Oil exports, in contrast, are a continuous flow of income. The Anglo-European West can impose sanctions if Russia refuses to de-escalate and negotiate. This might also lead Russia to the negotiating table.

This is the hidden power of hybrid warfare - financial warfare in an increasingly interconnected world. And it will play a major part in any future war against any other aggressor, such as China - although the effects will be vastly different to what Russia is being subjected to. But this is a discussion for another time.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has turned the Kremlin into a global pariah. Russia’s isolation from Europe will not be easily done without massive concessions from Russia. Evictions from global sport and European competitions add to the internal cost on Putin by wounding Russian pride, which will not be so easy to undo. When the war eventually drifts away from the headlines, Russia will lobby to reduce its isolation and may make some progress. Russia will certainly seek to turn to China and other autocratic states. Indeed, some Middle East states, such as the United Arab Emirates, have already resisted isolating Russia. But Russia’s diplomatic desperation and the reputational costs of partnering with the country means that other nations will seek significant concessions. After 2014, Russia cut gas deals with China, but found that China drove a very hard bargain. Russia can expect China and others to do the same.

The war has caused a dramatic shift in Europe that will lead its leading powers becoming major military power. From the Kremlin’s perspective, it has significantly worsened its security environment. Every country will up its defence budget and this increase in spending will enable countries like France and Britain, but Germany especially, to increase the woeful readiness of its forces and critically acquire new advanced military capabilities. Germany will, in just a few years, likely become a major global military power. As for the European Union I doubt it will be a major player. The European Union’s provision of 500 million euros of lethal security assistance - an astonishing amount - is not something to be sniffy about. But I firmly believe in realpolitik and I expect the real power will always reside in Berlin, Paris, and London as they will drive any co-ordinated response to the Russian bear on its borders.

Perhaps this is an unfashionable opinion but it’s fair to say that western democracies have stood up and taken incredibly strong and unprecedented steps, including sanctions, military aid, boycotts, and admitting refugees. The world has made clear that reckless, unprovoked invasions of a sovereign state will come with tremendous costs and will backfire. This response will make other countries think long and hard before taking on similar imperial wars of conquest. I hope for us who enjoy the freedom and privileges of living in a western civilised country it is a wake up call for us too. I hope we come to value all that is best in our society. I hope we learn the valuable lesson that hostile powers are always prowling at the door and if they perceive our society to be weak, divided, and conflict-ridden with our petulant culture wars then we deserve to come under the jack boot. The Ukrainians, more than any other people, have shown what true courage is.

War can produce breathtaking heroism and heartbreaking solidarity. But it primarily generates waste and suffering. Vladimir Putin has committed a grave crime against the entire world. The near certainty that he will lose this war is cold comfort, given the probability that everyone else will too.

Thanks for your question.

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