Kontakion 1

O God-chosen host and divinely radiant choir, our venerable Fathers of the Caves, fountains of many miracles, first teachers and guides of monastic and ascetic communal life in Rus’, we dare from heartfelt longing to offer you this hymn of praise.

But you, having great boldness before Christ our God, the Author of the ascetic contest, pray to Him, we beseech you, that we may be delivered from every misfortune and evil, that with thanksgiving we may cry unto you:

Rejoice, all you venerable Fathers of the Caves, universal luminaries, great and glorious wonderworkers.

Ikos 1

Desiring an angelic manner of life, O God-wise Fathers, you fled the tumultuous noise of the world and settled in narrow and dark caves, where you undertook great labours and ascetic struggles that you might acquire Christ. Therefore hear from us, weak and sinful, these hymns:

Rejoice, Anthony, mirror of abstinence, humility, obedience, and silence;
rejoice, strong bulwark of the Orthodox faith.

Rejoice, Theodosius, praise of monasticism;
rejoice, splendid glory of your monastery.

Rejoice, Michael, our first archpastor and teacher;
rejoice, zealous planter of the faith of Christ and uprooter of idolatry.

Rejoice, Prochorus, most blessed wonderworker,
who fed the starving people with bread made from herbs and salt from ashes.

Rejoice, John, who shone forth through unspeakable fasting.

Rejoice, Theodore and Basil,
who in temporal life were bound together by the mutual bond of love in Christ;
rejoice, who suffered greatly from the covetous prince Mstislav.

Rejoice, for even after your blessed repose you rest together in one shrine;
rejoice, for in one hour you stood together before the throne of God.

Rejoice, all you venerable Fathers of the Caves, universal luminaries, great and glorious wonderworkers.

Kontakion 2

Seeing, O Lord Christ, that in Thy Name they had gathered together to dwell in common, Thou wast found in the midst of them, helping them in various ascetic struggles, and especially in the warfare against the spirits of wickedness in the air, and Thou didst enrich them with the grace of the Most Holy Spirit: to one granting the gift of prophecy, to another gifts of healing, and to another authority to cast out unclean spirits.

Receiving this grace, they were not lifted up in spirit, but in simplicity of soul and heart, with humility and thanksgiving, they sang to God the Benefactor:

Alleluia.

Ikos 2

Having steadfast understanding and being armed with firm faith in God, you held fast to the saving path, O most glorious Fathers, and gloriously completed it with the help of Christ and His Most Pure Mother. Obtain this help also for us who desire to imitate your God-pleasing life, that we may gratefully sing to you:

Rejoice, Polycarp, most radiant head, who diligently wrote and gathered together the Lives of the Saints;
rejoice, for with them you stand before the throne of the Most Holy Trinity.

Rejoice, Barlaam, grace-filled mind, who preferred the dark and narrow cave to bright and spacious palaces;
rejoice, who exchanged garments of gold for monastic rags.

Rejoice, Damian, healer without recompense, who by prayer and holy oil healed the sick;
rejoice, who obtained heavenly fellowship with venerable Theodosius.

Rejoice, Nicodemus, who laboured thirty years in baking the sacred bread.

Rejoice, Lawrence, who struggled many years in strict enclosure.

Rejoice, Athanasius, who received from the Lord the gift of tears and compunction.

Rejoice, Erasmus, who for adorning the temple of the Mother of God received from Christ a palace of ineffable beauty in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Rejoice, Luke, zealous fulfiller of the commandments of God.

Rejoice, Nectarius, tireless fulfiller of obedience.

Rejoice, all you venerable Fathers of the Caves, universal luminaries, great and glorious wonderworkers.

Kontakion 3

By the power and grace given to thee from on high during thy life, O blessed Agapitus, thou didst heal various infirmities. This grace and power remain with thee even now and have been increased yet more. Therefore we beseech thee: heal our illnesses and cure the passions of soul and body, that being sound in both soul and body we may sing unto Christ Who glorified thee:

Alleluia.

Ikos 3

Having faith, love, and zeal toward you, we know that you are intercessors for eternal life, O God-pleasing Fathers, for your prayers are most powerful before the throne of God. Therefore we flee to you as to our great helpers and defenders, glorifying you thus:

Rejoice, John, for thou didst manifest obedience even after thy repose;
rejoice, for thou didst yield thy deathbed to thy elder brother.

Rejoice, Theophilus, for through obedience to thy brother thou wast healed of anger;
rejoice, for instead of wrath thou didst acquire compunction and unceasing tears.

Rejoice, Kuksha, hieromartyr, who didst bring many pagans to the faith of Christ;
rejoice, for for Christ thou wast beheaded together with thy disciple.

Rejoice, Alexius, faithful worker of noetic prayer.

Rejoice, Gregory, reverent writer of holy icons.

Rejoice, Sabbas, worker of great miracles.

Rejoice, Sergius, most zealous lover of obedience.

Rejoice, Mercury, emulator of the life of the bodiless hosts.

Rejoice, Pimen the Much-Afflicted, steadfast in hope toward God.

Rejoice, all you venerable Fathers of the Caves, universal luminaries, great and glorious wonderworkers.

Kontakion 4

Hating the stormy and broad path of worldly life, you loved with all your hearts the narrow and sorrowful way of monastic life and hastened upon it with zeal, O God-wise Fathers. Seeing your good intention, the Lord commanded His angels to help and strengthen you. Therefore unto Christ, Who desires the salvation of all men, we sing:

Alleluia.

Ikos 4

Hearing that the Lord glorified your bodies with holy incorruption and granted you grace to heal illnesses and infirmities, people hasten to you in faith from East and West, from North and South, greeting you with such praises:

Rejoice, Nestor, first chronicler of Rus’;
rejoice, teller of the lives of the holy Fathers of the Caves and zealous imitator of them.

Rejoice, Eustratius, valiant martyr and ascetic, who suffered in the likeness of Christ Himself;
rejoice, thou who didst bear the wounds of the Lord Jesus upon thy body.

Rejoice, Helladius, glory of the recluses.

Rejoice, Jeremiah, praise of the clairvoyant.

Rejoice, Moses, radiant lamp of chastity.

Rejoice, John, victor of virginity.

Rejoice, Mark, whose holy hands prepared graves for the saints;
rejoice, whose voice even the dead obeyed.

Rejoice, Prince Nicholas, who wholly gave thyself to obedience to the brethren of the Caves.

Rejoice, Gregory, who received a blessed end by drowning in the river and whose body was wondrously found in his cell.

Rejoice, all you venerable Fathers of the Caves, universal luminaries, great and glorious wonderworkers.

Kontakion 5

When the God-wise Dionysius beheld your bodies resting reverently in their tombs and entered to cense them on the day of Christ’s Pascha, from the abundance of love and reverence he cried aloud:

“Holy Fathers and brethren, today is the great day: Christ is risen!”

And—O wonder!—immediately he heard from you a mighty reply:

“Indeed He is risen!”

Marveling at this glorious miracle, we sing unto Christ our God, risen and abiding forever:

Alleluia.

Ikos 5

You are the spiritual stars of the heavenly firmament of the caves, O most glorious Fathers, illuminating the path of monastic life and shining brightly in the circle of the Orthodox Church of Rus’. The glory of your holy labours has spread to the ends of the world, and the confession of your faith has illumined the whole universe. Therefore we dare to offer you these humble praises:

Rejoice, Onesimus, who through the narrowness of cave-dwelling passed into the spacious dwellings of Paradise;
rejoice, who through hunger and thirst attained the endless delight of beholding God.

Rejoice, Matthew, who for purity of soul and body received the gift of prophecy;
rejoice, who by meekness and innocence attained lofty virtues.

Rejoice, Isaiah, deep well of humility;
rejoice, inexhaustible fountain of miracles.

Rejoice, Abraham, son of holy diligence.

Rejoice, Niphon, holy hierarch and defender of Orthodoxy.

Rejoice, Sylvester, most precious pearl.

Rejoice, Pimen, chosen vessel of the Holy Spirit.

Rejoice, Onuphrius, silent with the tongue but praising God in mind.

Rejoice, Anatolius, patient in soul and pure in understanding.

Rejoice, all you venerable Fathers of the Caves, universal luminaries, great and glorious wonderworkers.

Kontakion 6

Thy honourable right hand preaches to us, O God-pleasing Spyridon, for with it thou didst teach thy Orthodox children how the fingers should be joined in making the sign of the holy Cross upon the brow, while thou didst silence the mouths of the schism-teachers, openly exposing their false teaching concerning the sign of the Cross. Having thus signed thyself with the Cross, thou didst depart unto Christ; standing now before Him, pray that He may quench the furnace of our passions burning without measure and grant us true zeal to glorify Him unceasingly in psalms and spiritual hymns in this life, and in the life to come vouchsafe us to sing unto Him:

Alleluia.

Ikos 6

Your God-renowned monastery shone forth as a most radiant light, O venerable Fathers, enlightening all the land of Rus’ with the grace of God. You raised it with sweat like blood and drew down heavenly grace upon it through your prayers and holy labours, fulfilling the prophecy that said: “Upon these hills shall the grace of God shine forth and the faith shall increase.” Therefore we cry unto you as to the fulfilment of that prophecy:

Rejoice, Arethas, for the Lord made His mercy wondrous in thee;
rejoice, for thy stolen riches the Lord accounted unto thee as almsgiving.

Rejoice, Theophilus, for whom the earth was a bed and a hair-shirt a garment.

Rejoice, Sisoes, for whom vigil was sleep and tears were consolation.

Rejoice, Alypius, whose helpers in the labour of holy iconography were the angels.

Rejoice, Simon the Hierarch, whose holy hands wrote the lives of the saints and handed them down for the salvation of our souls.

Rejoice, Nikon, first reverent disciple of Anthony;
rejoice, zealous co-worker of Theodosius in the works of the monastery.

Rejoice, Theophanes, who mortified the body through fasting.

Rejoice, Onesiphorus, who gave life to the soul through vigil and prayer.

Rejoice, Macarius, who for thy holy life wast honoured by the Lord with incorruption.

Rejoice, Anastasius, reverent deacon and wondrous sufferer.

Rejoice, all you venerable Fathers of the Caves, universal luminaries, great and glorious wonderworkers.

Kontakion 7

Wishing to enrich our land with His grace and to give an example to those who desire salvation, the all-good Lord moved you by the Holy Spirit to undertake a life most sorrowful yet pleasing to God. Through this life you amazed not only men on earth but also the angels in heaven; for you, O God-bearing Fathers, dwelling in caves as in tombs, served the One God with fervent hearts and souls, singing with divine beauty:

Alleluia.

Ikos 7

You revealed yourselves as fathers and teachers of a new monastic life, which had never before been known in the land of Rus’. You planted it and firmly rooted it. Therefore countless multitudes of monastics, following your soul-saving path, gratefully sing to you:

Rejoice, Abraham, who loved Christ the Lord with all thy soul and heart;
rejoice, who for His sake undertook the labours of cave seclusion.

Rejoice, O twelve brethren, who adorned the church of the Mother of God like heaven itself;
rejoice, who received from her Son Christ God the reward of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Rejoice, Isaac, who through many sufferings overcame the deception of the devil.

Rejoice, Elijah, enriched through the labours of abstinence with the grace of dispassion.

Rejoice, John the infant martyr, who shed thy innocent blood for Christ.

Rejoice, Nikon, who by patience and meekness pleased Christ Who stretched forth His hands upon the Cross.

Rejoice, Ephraim the Hierarch, who brought the Studite Rule into the Monastery of the Caves like a honeycomb filled with sweetness.

Rejoice, Titus the Blessed, who through humility crushed the demon of anger;
rejoice, who drives away the darkness of evil spirits from us.

Rejoice, thou who teaches us by thy life not to be angry with our neighbour.

Rejoice, all you venerable Fathers of the Caves, universal luminaries, great and glorious wonderworkers.

Kontakion 8

A strange and glorious miracle of heavenly grace appeared before the eyes of the faithful: the cave of robbers became a temple of God. For where sin had abounded, grace abounded much more; where thorns of lawlessness had taken root, there the cedars of Christ’s paradise grew; where the foul mire of sin had been, there fountains of immortality sprang forth; where death had ruled, there the Lord Himself reigned. Marveling at this transformation wrought by the right hand of the Most High, we cry:

Alleluia.

Ikos 8

All your care, desire, and striving, O most blessed Fathers, was to crush the proud head of the enemy of the Christian race and to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ in your souls and bodies. Therefore we greet you with these praises:

Rejoice, Lucian the Hieromartyr, for a heavenly dwelling was prepared for thee;
rejoice, for to thee as a sufferer was granted eternal rest in paradise.

Rejoice, Lawrence, who fled the vanity of the world and ascended to the fellowship of the angelic hosts.

Rejoice, Paphnutius, who remembering the hour of death wept unceasingly.

Rejoice, Martyr, who for thy purity and fasting received the gift of healing diseases.

Rejoice, Hilarion the Hierarch, good shepherd who fed the flock of Christ upon the pastures of Orthodoxy.

Rejoice, Prince Theodore, who laboured much for the glory of the Orthodox Church.

Rejoice, Dionysius, who heard from the venerable fathers on Pascha the words: “Indeed the Lord is risen!”

Rejoice, Athanasius, who despised the beauty of this world and counted it as mire.

Rejoice, Theophilus the Hierarch, good shepherd ready to lay down thy life for thy flock.

Rejoice, all you venerable Fathers of the Caves, universal luminaries, great and glorious wonderworkers.

Kontakion 9

You became all things to all, O venerable Fathers, offering to us heavenly remedies and calling all of us to your freely given healings. Not by human skill nor by earthly obligation, but by the working of the Holy Spirit you grant healing to souls and bodies beyond nature. Receiving this abundant grace, every nation and every age cries in thanksgiving to the Benefactor and Provider:

Alleluia.

Ikos 9

Even the most eloquent orators with their rhetorical tongues are unable worthily to praise your holiness; how much less can I, poor in word and understanding, glorify you, O Fathers equal in honour to the angels. Yet, compelled by love and zeal toward you, I dare to crown you with these humble praises:

Rejoice, Zenon, who shone forth through fasting and many other monastic labours;
rejoice, who through humility, meekness, and obedience inherited the land of the meek.

Rejoice, Gregory, who with the herbs by which thou wast nourished didst grant healing to the sick.

Rejoice, Hypatius, who served the holy fathers during their illnesses with zeal and therefore received the grace of healing.

Rejoice, O venerable fathers, whose holy heads pour forth myrrh for the healing of our souls and bodies.

Rejoice, whose most holy souls stand before the throne of God in ineffable glory.

Rejoice, Moses, who by prayer, fasting, and chains mortified the passions.

Rejoice, Joseph, who entered eternal rest through humble and zealous obedience.

Rejoice, Paul, who never spent time in idleness and therefore now dwellest with those who labour and are heavy laden.

Rejoice, Sisoes, who through excessive ascetic struggles amazed not only men but even angels.

Rejoice, Leontius and Gerontius, who from childhood loved Christ and in youth equalled the elders in ascetic struggles.

Rejoice, all you venerable Fathers of the Caves, universal luminaries, great and glorious wonderworkers.

Kontakion 10

Desiring to save many, our most merciful Christ seeks the conversion and salvation of all. Therefore He revealed you in the land of Rus’ as once He revealed the fathers of Egypt, Thebaid, and Palestine, that through you many might be instructed and shown the path of salvation. You laboured greatly in this work, diligently teaching those who were ignorant of the Gospel truth and leading them to the right faith and to the keeping of God’s commandments and to a pure and God-pleasing life. Therefore we sing unto God our Helper:

Alleluia.

Ikos 10

You are for us a firm wall and strong defence, O all-praised Fathers, for those who flee to you with warm faith, zeal, and love. Guard us against our visible and invisible enemies, that we may not fear them but may overcome them through your prayers to Christ our God, crying with thanksgiving:

Rejoice, Nestor, who despised earthly things and loved the heavenly.

Rejoice, who before thy repose was vouchsafed to behold the Lord Jesus Christ with the angels.

Rejoice, Theodore, who set a guard upon thy lips.

Rejoice, Pambo the Confessor, who cursed the pagan gods and confessed the name of the Lord of heaven and earth.

Rejoice, Sophronius, who bound thy body in strict seclusion yet soared to heaven in psalmody.

Rejoice, Pancratius, who pours forth healing to the sick through the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Rejoice, Anthony, who drives away evil spirits from those who come to thee with faith.

Rejoice, Mardarius, lover of poverty and non-possession.

Rejoice, Ammon, zealous imitator of the ancient holy fathers.

Rejoice, Pior, who burned away bodily passions with the fire of abstinence.

Rejoice, Martyr, who illumined thy soul with virtuous conduct.

Rejoice, Rufus, who by thy life became an example to ascetics.

Rejoice, all you venerable Fathers of the Caves, universal luminaries, great and glorious wonderworkers.

Kontakion 11

Every hymn of praise is overcome by the multitude of your glorious labours and excessive ascetic struggles surpassing human life and resembling the life of angels. Indeed, praises offered by angels would be more fitting than those from men. Yet seeing our humble zeal and love, accept this hymn which we offer with faith and love, and obtain for us the forgiveness of sins, that we may complete this earthly life in repentance and amendment, and in the life eternal be counted worthy through your prayers to sing unto God:

Alleluia.

Ikos 11

An unsetting light shone upon you, O glorious saints of God, who hated the darkness of passions and received endless joy for finishing the good struggle with diligence. Therefore standing before the throne of Christ remember us who sing to you:

Rejoice, Euphrosyne, most honoured daughter of the heavenly Jerusalem and radiant mother of our earthly Jerusalem, the city of Kyiv.

Rejoice, Juliana, beautiful lily who blossomed in the garden of Christ on earth and flourished in His heavenly paradise.

Rejoice, Macarius the Hieromartyr, faithful shepherd unto death.

Rejoice, who before receiving the earthly throne was sent beforehand to the heavenly thrones.

Rejoice, Cassian, wondrous recluse.

Rejoice, Arsenius, who for thy God-pleasing life received eternal rest from Christ.

Rejoice, Euthymius, who through fasting and unceasing praise of God now enjoys the sweetness of paradise with the angels.

Rejoice, Benjamin, who having distributed thy possessions now restest in the bosom of Abraham.

Rejoice, Titus, who left the army of the earthly king to become a brave warrior of the Heavenly King.

Rejoice, Achilles, who from youth crucified thyself to the world and its passions.

Rejoice, all you venerable Fathers of the Caves, universal luminaries, great and glorious wonderworkers.

Kontakion 12

By the grace of the all-merciful and generous God you lived lives equal to the angels, O spirit-bearing Fathers. You performed many miracles and built a wondrous temple to the Most Pure Lady the Theotokos, adorning it like a beautiful bride with gold, silver, and precious stones. There people from all the world come and glorify Christ God on your account, singing to Him:

Alleluia.

Ikos 12

Singing your silent life we praise your struggles: fasting, prayer, tears, prostrations, all-night vigils, mortification of the flesh, contrition of spirit, humility, meekness, silence, patience, poverty, and non-possession — all of which you embraced for the love of Christ. Therefore we sing:

Rejoice, Paisius and Mercury, who lived on earth in inseparable brotherly love and now rejoice together with Christ in heaven.

Rejoice, Macarius, who like Samuel was dedicated to the service of God from youth.

Rejoice, Pimen, wheat of Christ’s threshing-floor gathered into the heavenly granaries.

Rejoice, Silvanus, who soared to God on the wings of fasting and prayer.

Rejoice, Agathon, who through virtues ascended to the heavenly heights.

Rejoice, Zacharias, who was terrible to demons but companion of angels.

Rejoice, Ignatius, radiant prince of the cave-city and shepherd of the God-chosen flock.

Rejoice, the infant martyr, who drank the cup of death for Christ.

Rejoice, Longinus, who walked the narrow path and thus attained Paradise.

Rejoice, all you venerable Fathers of the Caves, universal luminaries, great and glorious wonderworkers.

Kontakion 13

O all-blessed and most praiseworthy venerable Fathers of the Kyiv Caves, receive this small offering as the Lord accepted the two mites of the widow. Do not despise our prayer, as Christ did not despise the kiss of the repentant woman. Through your intercession grant that we may finish this life in repentance and amendment, and depart from this temporal life with prayer on our lips and in our hearts, and stand before the throne of the Most High where you stand with the archangels, angels, and all the saints, singing:

Alleluia.

(Repeat this Kontakion three times)

Prayer to All the Venerable Fathers of the Kyiv Caves

O saints of Christ, our venerable fathers Anthony and Theodosius and all the saints of the Kyiv Caves, radiant luminaries who first shone in holiness of monastic life in our land, protectors of the city of Kyiv and of our whole homeland!

To you, fervent intercessors and unashamed defenders, we run with zeal, asking consolation and help in our needs and sorrows.

Help us, servants of God, our protectors! Strengthen us in the holy faith, preserve the Church of God from destructive heresies and schisms, teach us always to keep the commandments of God and all the traditions of the Church handed down to us by the fathers.

Be for us compassionate fathers and fervent intercessors, that we may glorify the name of the Life-giving Trinity — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit — unto the ages of ages.

Amen.