The Holy Three Hierarchs Basil, Gregory and John

After the usual beginning, we say:

KONTAKIA and OIKOI:

Kontakion 1

O defenders and illuminators of the Christian Church, O great teachers and suppressors of the devil’s tares, O overthrowers of heresies, O unshaken pillars of the Church, the most choice adornments of hierarchs and equal to the apostles, and teachers of the world, O great Basil, divinely minded; O Gregory, of sweet voice; and O John, illuminator of all the world, let us, the faithful, praise them with all our heart and sing to them: Rejoice, O thrice-hierarchal assembly, much praised!

Oikos 1

Who is worthy to open his lips and move his tongue, to praise as is fitting this thrice-hierarchal assembly? But, though we cannot do this, yet we cannot be silent and we bring these praises:

• Rejoice, O chosen ones of the Holy Trinity, fragrant flowers of the incorruptible garden;
• Rejoice, O earthly angels and heavenly men;
• Rejoice, O great hierarchs, enlightened in mind by the Holy Trinity;
• Rejoice, for you have surpassed human nature with your many gifts;
• Rejoice, O unshaken pillars of the Church;
• Rejoice, O faithful servants of the Holy Trinity;
• Rejoice, O shining pearls of the Church of Christ;
• Rejoice, O most worthy luminaries of earthly men;
• Rejoice, O defenders of the right faith in Christ;
• Rejoice, O overthrowers of heresies and correctors of true teachings;
• Rejoice, O helmsmen of the Church and enlightened trees bearing the most choice fruits;
• Rejoice, O thrice-hierarchal assembly, much praised!

Kontakion 2

These three great hierarchs of the Church of God, glorified in the Holy Trinity, it is fitting for us to honour, as ones who have received from God great gifts and choice talents: O Basil, who put to shame the paganism of the apostate Emperor Julian; who rebuked the Arian Emperor Valens; who terrified the prefect who had wronged a poor widow in judgment; and who baptised the Jew Ioasaph with all his house; O Gregory, great rhetor and worthy patriarch of the Church of Constantinople, who surpassed in wisdom all the most learned of that time; and O John Chrysostom, who by his teachings surpassed the most enlightened and most choice orators of the world. It is fitting for us to praise them and to say to God: Alleluia!

Oikos 2

Having great zeal, O holy Hierarch Basil, for the faith of the orthodox Christians, you fearlessly rebuked the Emperor Valens, because he embraced the heretical teaching of Arius, taking many churches of the orthodox and turning them into Arian churches. You, O saint, could not bear the conduct of this emperor, and we, for the strength of your faith and the boldness you had, greet you with these words of praise:

• Rejoice, O Hierarch Basil, defender and strengthener of the teaching of the Holy Trinity;
• Rejoice, O high and enlightened thinker of theology;
• Rejoice, O bee, who gathered from the teachings of that time all the honey of right-believing teachings;
• Rejoice, O industrious ant, who unceasingly gathered into the bosom of the Church the food of divine teachings;
• Rejoice, O spring of clear, refreshing and life-giving water of the explanation of the Gospel of Christ;
• Rejoice, for with those waters you watered the right-believing people;
• Rejoice, O cup of purity, full of pure drink;
• Rejoice, O mouth of wisdom that scatters the blasphemies of heretics;
• Rejoice, O adornment of the Church of Christ;
• Rejoice, O rebuker of the Emperors Julian and Valens;
• Rejoice, O great hierarch of Christ, Basil!

Kontakion 3

Your homeland, O holy Hierarch Basil, was Pontus, born of God-fearing parents, Basil and Emilia. Raised in truly Christian teachings, you traversed every kind of wisdom, obtaining from God the dignity of hierarch, for which you gave thanks to God at all times, singing to Him praises: Alleluia!

Oikos 3

Shepherding the Church and her Christian people always worthily and righteously, you were at the Second Council, held in Constantinople, a great defender of the right faith. Cutting and tearing with the sword of the spirit all heretical teachings, you proved that truly you are an unshaken pillar of the Church of Christ and a great hierarch worthy of the name Theologian of God, glorified in the Holy Trinity: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, God; for which we all honour you with these praises:

• Rejoice, O Father Hierarch Gregory, the most praised mind of the right faith;
• Rejoice, O shining light that illumines with your teachings all the Christian world;
• Rejoice, O shining light that illumines the world with your well-spoken tongue and silences the tongues of slanderers;
• Rejoice, O ploughman who ploughs with the plough of your mouth the hearts, to bring forth good fruits for Christ;
• Rejoice, O revealer of the true God, praised in the Holy Trinity;
• Rejoice, for with the sling of your divine words you scattered the tares of heresies;
• Rejoice, O good shepherd, who pastured the rational sheep in the meadow of the faith of the Holy Trinity;
• Rejoice, O sweet-voiced instrument and well-tuned lute;
• Rejoice, O speaking flute and sweetly resounding violin;
• Rejoice, O most luminous star, that illumines all the world with the teachings of Christian dogmas;
• Rejoice, O sweetener of the hearts of the faithful;
• Rejoice, O great hierarch and theologian Gregory!

Kontakion 4

Having wisdom from on high, O holy Hierarch Gregory, you ascended the highest throne of the patriarchs of the great city of the Emperor Constantine, from where you pastured the rational sheep in seemliness and righteousness. Being enlightened and adorned with all the skill of God-speaking, you surpassed all the rhetors of that time and praised God all your life, singing to Him: Alleluia!

Oikos 4

As an angel or archangel you stand before the Holy Trinity, O Father John Chrysostom, as one who from childhood knew better than many elders the one true God and occupied yourself with the true and holy Christian teachings, coming to know all philosophy and all sciences of the most learned teachers of that time. Because you praised and glorified the Good God at all times of your life, we bring you these praises:

• Rejoice, for you were born of pious parents, Secundus Stratilates and Anthusa, your worthy mother;
• Rejoice, for from tender age you were given to the learning of sciences, having as teachers Libanius and Andragatius;
• Rejoice, for in a short time you reached and surpassed all your peers in learning;
• Rejoice, O you who received Holy Baptism with great joy, bringing to the right faith also many others;
• Rejoice, for you refuted the philosopher Antimius in learning, to the amazement of all;
• Rejoice, for he also immediately asked for Holy Baptism;
• Rejoice, for the bishop of Athens, hearing that you had accomplished the conversion of Antimius, greatly rejoiced;
• Rejoice, for the Christian people praised God for your good deeds;
• Rejoice, for you were raised to the rank of the priesthood by Meletius, the patriarch of Antioch;
• Rejoice, for you also received the ordination as deacon and priest with great humility;
• Rejoice, O you who by the lot of the bishops and the will of the Emperor Arcadius were called to the highest throne of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, after the death of Patriarch Nectarius;
• Rejoice, O great hierarch John Chrysostom!

Kontakion 5

After the death of your parents, O saint, distributing all the wealth left to you to the poor, giving freedom to servants and leaving relatives, you served the Lord day and night. As a monk in the monastery, as a cleric, deacon, priest, hieromonk and patriarch, labouring greatly, you wrote books about the priesthood, about goodness and meekness, about humility and almsgiving, about peace, truth and righteousness, all full of proofs, strengthening them with the very harsh life you led; therefore we, marvelling at your patience and humility, dare to praise you and to sing with you to God: Alleluia!

Oikos 5

As flying bees you walked in the garden of the Scriptures of faith, you three great hierarchs of Christ, gathering honey from all kinds of flowers, which you set before all the faithful for sweetening, guiding them to repentance, revealing and explaining to them the dogma of the Holy Trinity, one in essence but distinct in Hypostases. For this we Christians ask you to receive these songs of praise:

• Rejoice, O great hierarchs, separated in body, but united in spirit;
• Rejoice, O shining rays of Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, Who illumined all the world with His teachings;
• Rejoice, O worthy fathers of the Christian Church, who were of one custom with the apostles;
• Rejoice, O rivers with refreshing waters, that watered the fields of the souls of Christians, thirsty for true teachings;
• Rejoice, O three hierarchs praised by all who believe in one God glorified in the Holy Trinity;
• Rejoice, O well-voiced instruments of the Church of Christ our God;
• Rejoice, O chosen servants, who multiplied the talents given to you by the Lord Christ for safekeeping;
• Rejoice, for the heavenly doors were opened to you;
• Rejoice, O skilled physicians chosen by God to heal the spiritual illnesses of Christians weak in faith;
• Rejoice, O luminaries of the world, adorned by God with the dignity of the hierarchy;
• Rejoice, O bees gathering all kinds of teachings from the garden of the Holy Scripture;
• Rejoice, O thrice-hierarchal assembly, much praised!

Kontakion 6

Preachers and strengthening pillars of the Church of Christ and the Christian people you were, O holy Three Hierarchs. Teaching and guiding all Christians in the true faith, confronting those who sought to sow heretical tares in the fields of the hearts of orthodox Christians, you struck with the sling of your words all adverse teachings, raising the brow of the right faith and singing to God: Alleluia!

Oikos 6

Through the purity of your life, like that of angels, you were raised to divine heights and, traversing the ranks of the cherubim, you revealed the dogmas of the Trinity, which, as the most precious treasure, you left to the Church as a costly and unplundered treasure, O Basil. Therefore we ask you to receive from us, the unworthy, these praises:

• Rejoice, O shining glory of hierarchs;
• Rejoice, O divine teacher of dogmas;
• Rejoice, O faithful follower of the apostles;
• Rejoice, O most luminous pillar of the Church;
• Rejoice, O keen and zealous defender of the Trinity;
• Rejoice, O enlightened revealer of heavenly things;
• Rejoice, O helmsman of the spiritual ship;
• Rejoice, O guide of those called to the priestly dignity;
• Rejoice, O heavenly illuminator of those clothed with the grace of the hierarchy;
• Rejoice, O most wise guide of asceticism;
• Rejoice, O you who awaken sinners to repentance;
• Rejoice, O comforter of those who fall asleep in the right faith;
• Rejoice, O great Hierarch Basil!

Kontakion 7

Through Basil the Great, the sweet-voiced trumpet that sang in the archiepiscopal church of Caesarea of Cappadocia the praises due to Christ our God, teaching all the dogmas of the Holy Trinity and leaving to the Church chosen and costly riches, from which we also partaking, bring to God praise and song: Alleluia!

Oikos 7

Opening the Scriptures with divine reverence, you brought forth solid teachings, O holy Gregory, sweetening with them the hearts of the faithful truly, more than honey, and you taught all Christians to worship the Trinity in unity and unity in the Trinity. Therefore we also honour you with these praises:

• Rejoice, O Hierarch Gregory, height of the divine gifts of Christ our God;
• Rejoice, O warm preacher of divine desire;
• Rejoice, O spring of God-speaking and clear river of wisdom;
• Rejoice, O shepherd’s flute, that conquered the trumpets of rhetors;
• Rejoice, O searcher of the deep, who obtained the beauties of speech;
• Rejoice, O nightingale of grace and high mouth of the spirit;
• Rejoice, O guardian of the rational flock of Christ;
• Rejoice, O uprooter of heretical tares and hunter of wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing;
• Rejoice, O wonderful sower of dogmas;
• Rejoice, O expeller of those who blaspheme God;
• Rejoice, for you had the image of the Saviour Christ before you all your life;
• Rejoice, O great hierarch and theologian Gregory!

Kontakion 8

O God-speaking one, O holy Hierarch Gregory, the poisonous and harmful tongues of heretics set against God you burned with the spirit of the words of your mouth, speaking the glory of God; and with your writings, marking the most powerful essence of the unseen Holy Trinity, you cut from the root the thorny heresies, enlighteningly revealing the orthodox teachings and singing to God praises: Alleluia!

Oikos 8

The wife of the prefect of Antioch together with her husband were blinded by heretical teachings, and she falling into a severe illness and unable to be healed by anyone, hearing of you, O holy John, that you do many signs and wonders, begged her husband to bring her to you. He, bringing her, left her at the door of the church, not daring as a heretic to bring her inside, praying to the bishop and to you, O holy John, for your powerful help. Therefore going out, you told them to renounce heresy and receive the true faith; and they promising, you, O saint, commanded them to bring water, then asking the bishop to pour that water in the form of a cross over her, and immediately after the pouring, the woman was healed as if she had never been ill. At this miracle, both they and all who were present glorified God. The heretics, renouncing their erring teachings and returning to the true faith, were numbered among the orthodox Christians; and we bring you these praises:

• Rejoice, O John Chrysostom, precious tablet overlaid with gold;
• Rejoice, O sweetly resounding instrument, divinely inspired;
• Rejoice, O chosen mouth, adorned with words of gold;
• Rejoice, O enricher of the Church with wonderful and most precious writings;
• Rejoice, O destroyer of Greek and Jewish heresies;
• Rejoice, for that woman, hearing you speak loftily, was enlightened by God and called you “Golden Mouth”;
• Rejoice, for the well of your teachings being dug deep, you gave Christians wonderful ropes, that they might reach the waters of your teachings;
• Rejoice, for by all the Churches you are called “Golden Mouth”;
• Rejoice, O healer of the prefect’s wife;
• Rejoice, for you were likened to John the Baptist in name and in your harsh life;
• Rejoice, for you also, O holy John, like John the Baptist, preached repentance to the peoples;
• Rejoice, for you also, like Elijah the Tishbite, occupied yourself with faith, prayers and fasting all your life of 63 years;
• Rejoice, O great hierarch John Chrysostom!

Kontakion 9

During the time of your priesthood, O holy great hierarch John, preaching in church and rhetorising loftily, some of your words were not understood by the unlearned. Then a woman from the people, who listened with great reverence to your spiritual teachings, raised her voice in the crowd and said: “Spiritual teacher, or rather Golden Mouth, deep is the water of the well of your holy teachings, but the rope of our mind being short, cannot reach the water”; and from then on all the people gave you the name “Golden Mouth”; therefore we also, marvelling at the gifts with which God adorned you, praise you and sing to God: Alleluia!

Oikos 9

The Emperor Valens, supporting the Arians, gave many orthodox churches to them, to the grief of the true Christians, and you, O holy Basil, they greatly embittered with persecutions, for when this emperor came to Caesarea and you met him with bread and salt, he commanded that you be given hay from the feed of his horses. And you, O holy Gregory, being born of well-born and righteous people, Gregory and Nonna, you obtained a truly Christian upbringing and penetrated, as no one else, all the art and science of learning, becoming an interpreter and teacher of the world, honouring with words of praise the great Basil, your father Gregory, your brother Caesarius and your sister Gorgonia, at their burials. And you, O Father John Chrysostom, gave divine counsels to the people entrusted to you for pasturing, giving yourself as an example of zeal, temperance and patience, often eating a little barley broth and sleeping little, not lying on a bed but often sitting on a chair. Being chosen and called to the patriarchal throne of Constantinople, you rebuked the Empress Eudoxia, because she had seized a vineyard of a poor widow, named Callitropia, who cried out demanding her right. And you, O saint, counselled the empress not to take a stranger’s possession by force; she, not heeding these counsels, was compared by you to Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab, and you drew her wrath upon yourself, being exiled; but you were brought back to the throne, and a second time you were exiled through the mediation of some envious bishops who acted more violently than Christianly. Therefore we, marvelling at your holy life and your deeds, strive to bring you well-deserved praises:

• Rejoice, O Hierarch Basil, supporter and defender of the pious Christians;
• Rejoice, O courageous rebuker of the Emperor Valens, supporter of the Arians;
• Rejoice, O you who suffered the emperor’s wrath for the black bread with which you met him, because the people were nourished with that;
• Rejoice, O worthy hierarch, great corrector of the Church of Christ;
• Rejoice, O Gregory, who with your keen mind penetrated all sciences and the depths of philosophy;
• Rejoice, for you, O saint, clarified all dogmas, teaching all Christians true theology;
• Rejoice, O you who were a teacher of right teaching to all Christians;
• Rejoice, O you who praised the great Basil, at whose death you wept with tears of true brotherhood;
• Rejoice, O John Chrysostom, rebuker of the plunderers of the property of the oppressed and embittered poor;
• Rejoice, O you who were exiled by Empress Eudoxia for comparing her to Jezebel, wife of Ahab;
• Rejoice, for you also suffered the malicious attack of some ungrateful bishops;
• Rejoice, O John, harshly persecuted and taken into exile all the way to Armenia, where you were called to heaven by the Lord Christ;
• Rejoice, O comforter of Bishop Cyriac, likewise exiled;
• Rejoice, O thrice-hierarchal assembly, much praised!

Kontakion 10

Great teachers and common deliverers of men and correctors of customs you have shown yourselves to be, O holy ones, wise and adorned by God: Basil the Great, who clearly spoke with strong and unchanging wisdom, terrifying the prefect and rebuking the Emperor Valens; Gregory the Theologian, who were the delight of the tongue, the sweetness of hearing, the comfort of the heart and the angelic nourishing bread of souls; and John Chrysostom, river of spiritual gifts, filled to overflowing, gilded organ of sermons, of repentance, almsgiving, humility, compunction, vigils, love of neighbour and defender of the oppressed and wronged. We, together with you, desire to sing praises to God: Alleluia!

Oikos 10

The grace of God revealed to you, O holy Basil, the good deeds of the presbyter Anastasius, to whom you went with the clergy of your archiepiscopal church, to learn the life of this worthy priest, who lived in a village with his wife Theognia, passing their life in purity, she being considered as a barren field; and Anastasius was enlightened by God and knowing in spirit that his hierarch Basil wished to visit him, said to his wife: “I will go to the field to work the land, and you, my sister, at the ninth hour, lighting candles, go out to meet Saint Basil, our archbishop.” So Theognia, doing as Anastasius had said, met Saint Basil, who knowing in spirit that Anastasius was in the house, called him; and he, going out to meet the Saint and kissing his feet, said: “Whence is this to me, that the hierarch of the Lord should come to me?” And Saint Basil said to him: “It is good that I have found you; let us go to church and celebrate the divine service.” Going all to the church, Saint Basil commanded Anastasius to serve the Holy Liturgy, saying to him: “With all your good works, have also obedience.” And when Anastasius was serving, Saint Basil and the others who were worthy saw, at the time of the elevation of the holy and fearful Mysteries, the Most Holy Spirit in the form of fire descending and surrounding Anastasius. At these wonderful deeds, we, marvelling, greet you, O holy Basil, with these beautiful praises:

• Rejoice, O Hierarch Basil, enlightened in mind by God;
• Rejoice, O knower of the life and good deeds of the presbyter Anastasius;
• Rejoice, for after the holy service you deigned to be feasted in the house of the worthy priest;
• Rejoice, O you who knew in spirit that Theognia was not his wife, but sister, and so you told him to call her;
• Rejoice, O saint, who visited in a hut, from the house of Anastasius, a sick man corrupted by leprosy, whom the priest and his sister cared for;
• Rejoice, O compassionate one, for you also wished to serve one night that sick man, who was often angry and abusive, to become partaker of the divine reward;
• Rejoice, for you spent the whole night with that sick man in the hut, standing in prayer, and the next day you brought out the sick man whole and healthy;
• Rejoice, for Saint Ephrem the Syrian, praying to God, had a wonderful vision: a pillar of fire, whose head reached to heaven, and a voice from heaven said to him: “Ephrem, Ephrem, as you see this pillar of fire, even so is Basil”;
• Rejoice, for this Saint Ephrem, after this vision, went to Caesarea of Cappadocia on the day of the Lord’s Appearing, with an interpreter because he did not know Greek, and saw you, O holy Basil, going to church with great reverence;
• Rejoice, for you, O saint, knowing in spirit that Ephrem the Syrian was in the church, commanded your archdeacon to go and call him to you in the holy altar;
• Rejoice, for he defended himself through the interpreter that he was not the one called, but perhaps another; but you, O saint, said to the archdeacon: “Go and tell the foreign monk: Lord Ephrem, come and enter the holy altar, for the archbishop calls you”; and then you ordained him deacon, telling him to say the litanies in Greek, which Ephrem fulfilled;
• Rejoice, O great Hierarch Basil!

Kontakion 11

Becoming a good fragrance of Christ, O holy Hierarch Basil, you filled all the world with the pleasant smell of the Holy Gospel; and clothing yourself in the luminous garment of the hierarchy, you served with all worthiness the Church of Christ our God; and we, marvelling at your angelic life, sing together with you to God: Alleluia!

Oikos 11

Shepherding the patriarchal Church of Constantinople for twelve years until the Second Council, you retired to your estate Arianzus, where you lived a life of holiness, until the age of eighty, when the Lord called you from this earthly life to the heavenly kingdom, and there you rejoice in your labours and in the struggles you had for the good strengthening of the Church of Christ, having the satisfaction that at your retirement from the patriarchal throne, you left only one heretical church in Constantinople, and those which had earlier been given to the Arians, you brought back to the former state of the orthodox. Therefore we, honouring your memory, praise you with these songs of praise:

• Rejoice, O Hierarch Gregory, mind enlightened by God;
• Rejoice, O resounding cymbal in all the world, of your theological words;
• Rejoice, O cleanser and destroyer of heretical tares;
• Rejoice, O ploughman, who ploughed the spiritual lands of Christians;
• Rejoice, O sower of the divine wheat, which nourishes and satisfies Christian humanity;
• Rejoice, O waterer of those thirsting for the living water of the Holy Gospel;
• Rejoice, O lute of grace, announcing God;
• Rejoice, O true strengthener of the dogmas of the orthodox fathers;
• Rejoice, O well-skilled helmsman of the ship of the Christian Church;
• Rejoice, O river full of the waters of grace;
• Rejoice, O new David, who sang choice praises to God, glorified in the Holy Trinity;
• Rejoice, O great hierarch and theologian Gregory!

Kontakion 12

A new Samuel you showed yourself, O holy Gregory the Theologian, by the purity of your life and your great wisdom; being also adorned with the gift of oratory, you were like a new David singing with the shepherd’s flute of God-speaking, so that it could be said of you that, if there were found any icon or adorned image, that would be you, O holy Gregory; for which we also sing to God together with you: Alleluia!

Oikos 12

After so many centuries passed, we also, O holy John, thinking of your expulsion from the patriarchal throne of Constantinople and reading what you wrote to Bishop Cyriac, likewise expelled, we marvel at your enlightened mind and the words of comfort written by you to that bishop, which can serve all Christians in cases of troubles and afflictions. You, O holy John Chrysostom, wrote to Bishop Cyriac these things: “Come, let me remove the wound of sorrow and scatter the darkness of your mind. The storm that has come upon the Church is bitter and heavy, and the sailors, being able to do nothing for the cessation of the storm, stand stupefied, weep, lament, pray and await either their destruction in the waves of the sea or the cessation of the storm. Do not grieve, brother Cyriac, for when I was expelled from Constantinople, I cared for nothing, for I said within myself: If it is the empress’s will to expel me, let her expel me. If she wishes to saw me in two, I have the example of the prophet Isaiah. If she wishes to throw me into the sea, I will remember the prophet Jonah. If it is her will to put me into a pit, I have Daniel put into the lions’ den. If she wishes to stone me, I have Stephen the first martyr, who suffered this. If she wishes to take my head, I have John the Baptist. If she wishes to take my possessions, if I have any, let her take them, for naked I came out of my mother’s womb, naked I will also depart from life. If I had pleased men, I would not be the servant of Christ; and the prophet David arms me: I spoke Your testimonies before kings and was not ashamed.” And we, reading these words, marvel and bring you these praises:

• Rejoice, O high mind, divinely inspired;
• Rejoice, O golden organ that spoke more beautifully than all the wise of the world;
• Rejoice, for during your exile you had many sufferings and bitterness;
• Rejoice, for from Comana, where you were buried, after thirty-three years, your relics were brought to Constantinople;
• Rejoice, for you did not wish to let yourself be raised until Emperor Theodosius sent you his epistle;
• Rejoice, for when your relics were brought to Constantinople they were met by the emperor and all the most distinguished counsellors of the empire;
• Rejoice, for your relics were taken to the church of the Holy Apostle Thomas;
• Rejoice, for from there they were placed in the church of Holy Irene, where they were set on the patriarchal throne;
• Rejoice, for from the church of Holy Irene, your relics, placed with the reliquary in an imperial carriage, were taken to the church of the Holy Apostles; Rejoice, for in that patriarchal church your relics were buried in the holy altar;
• Rejoice, for a sick man suffering from weakness of the joints, touching the reliquary of your relics, was completely delivered from his illness;
• Rejoice, O great hierarch John Chrysostom!

Kontakion 13

Your holy life, your adorned services, your most choice and precious words beyond all the riches of the world, your writings, which are like treasuries of the greatest value, have made you, for the whole Christian world, most worthy of all our honour and veneration, being taken by the most worthy shepherds of the Church as examples of pure and holy life, as great and unsurpassed luminaries and defenders of the right faith, of the immaterial life, of the sufferings and oppressions to which you were subjected by men of evil mind who could not look upon you well because of the impulse of their greedy and envious hearts; but you, O saints, suffered all with faith in God, with wisdom, with patience, with fasting, with prayers and with your immaterial life, for which we, marvelling at the strength of your souls, dare to bring you praises, singing with you to God: Alleluia! (this kontakion is said three times)

Then again we say the First Oikos

Who is worthy to open his lips and move his tongue, to praise as is fitting this thrice-hierarchal assembly? But, though we cannot do this, yet we cannot be silent and we bring these praises:

• Rejoice, O chosen ones of the Holy Trinity, fragrant flowers of the incorruptible garden;
• Rejoice, O earthly angels and heavenly men;
• Rejoice, O great hierarchs, enlightened in mind by the Holy Trinity;
• Rejoice, for you have surpassed human nature with your many gifts;
• Rejoice, O unshaken pillars of the Church;
• Rejoice, O faithful servants of the Holy Trinity;
• Rejoice, O shining pearls of the Church of Christ;
• Rejoice, O most worthy luminaries of earthly men;
• Rejoice, O defenders of the right faith in Christ;
• Rejoice, O overthrowers of heresies and correctors of true teachings;
• Rejoice, O helmsmen of the Church and enlightened trees bearing the most choice fruits;
• Rejoice, O thrice-hierarchal assembly, much praised!

And the First Kontakion O defenders and illuminators of the Christian Church, O great teachers and suppressors of the devil’s tares, O overthrowers of heresies, O unshaken pillars of the Church, the most choice adornments of hierarchs and equal to the apostles, and teachers of the world, O great Basil, divinely minded; O Gregory, of sweet voice; and O John, illuminator of all the world, let us, the faithful, praise them with all our heart and sing to them: Rejoice, O thrice-hierarchal assembly, much praised!