OIKOS
OF thy sufferings, and thine achievements, and thy virginity, and thy blameless life, what ought a man to marvel at first? For thou hast gladdened the Father, since thou wast wedded to the Son, having adorned thyself right fair in the Holy Spirit. Who is sufficient for these things? Who is now able to speak of all the virtues that shine round about thee, never to fade away? For thou, dawning from the tomb as from the East, shinest everywhere, casting thy rays upon both land and sea, and hallowing and making fragrant the farthest regions of every land. Therefore, when thou wast entrusted with the Tome, thou didst receive and guard the definition of the six hundred and thirty God‐bearing Fathers.
SYNAXARION
On the eleventh of this month we commemorate the Great Martyr, the all‐famed Euphemia, who through a supernatural wonder upheld the Orthodox Tome of Faith at the Holy Fourth Ecumenical Council .
Verses
Though dead, judge the definitions of the Faith, O Martyr,
And confirm that Faith for which thou with love hast contended.
On the eleventh Euphemia setteth the wondrous definition of the Faith.
On this day we commemorate the 630 holy and God‐bearing Fathers of the Holy Fourth Ecumenical Council, which was convened in the year 451 to condemn the error of Eutyches.
Verses
Shunning the opposite errors like Scylla and Charybdis,
The Fathers steer the Church on a straight course to safety.
Plagal of Fourth Tone. O strange wonder
O STRANGE WONDER! how Euphemia, * the gentle lamb of the Lord, * imitated His willing death * with the pains she underwent * in her contest of martyrdom; * and by the might of the Holy Spirit’s grace, * while laid to rest in the tomb, she poureth forth * springs of her holy blood, * which we draw forth for the cleansing of our souls, * as we daily send up praise unto the God of all.
THOU, O all‐famed Martyr, verily didst check the fury of beasts * as did Daniel in olden times; * and, divine grace helping thee, * thou didst easily brave the fire; * having borne all other torments patiently, * thou didst receive thy fair wreath of victory, * which never withereth, * and thou wentest up in joy to thy Belov’d; * wherefore, we now honour thee with praise and call the blest.
IN holy council, the Fathers placed * the definition of faith * on thy breast, O Euphemia; * and thou, O all‐lauded maid, * by embracing it didst preserve * the godly faith steadfast and immovable, * while turning back in defeat all heresy * and heaping open shame * on the champions of falsehood; wherefore, we * honour thee and call thee blest, for thou art glorious.
Other Stichera. Fourth Tone. As one valiant
AS we gaze on the holy shrine * where thy relics are treasured up, * we all draw forth health that is inexhaustible; * we are enlightened in soul; our understanding is made to shine, * being cleansed noetically with the Spirit’s bright‐beaming rays, * through thy sacred prayers. * For which cause, we extol thy sacred festival with gratitude and longing, O fair and all‐famed Euphemia.
THOU didst suffer the raging fire, * thou wast given up to beasts, * thou, O comely virgin, wast cast into a pit; * thou wast stretched out on the torture wheel, from which thou wast freed again * by the Maker of all things, * Who cast shame on him that * devised such hard things for thee; * and the Lord glorified thee, who didst clearly preach the One Christ in two natures, * O holy Martyr Euphemia.
THE most hallowed Euphemia, * put to shame for all time to come * Eutyches, Dioscorus, with those of like mind, * the mad and senseless Acephalites, diseased with no hope of cure; * for she preached aloud that Christ, * being twofold both in His wills * and His energies, * yet is wholly one in hypostasis and person, as the choirs of holy Fathers * with mighty voice have made manifest.
Glory. Plagal of Second Tone
AT the right hand of the Saviour stood the virgin and prizewinner and Martyr Euphemia, arrayed with the invincibility of the virtues, and adorned with the oil of purity and the blood of contest, holding her lamp and crying unto Him with rejoicing: Unto the fragrance of Thy myrrh have I run, O Christ God, for I am wounded with Thy love: depart not from me, O Heavenly Bridegroom. By her entreaties, send down upon us Thy mercies, O Almighty Saviour.
Both now. Theotokion
WHO would not call thee blest, O all‐holy Virgin? Who would not praise thine untravailing giving of birth? For the Only‐begotten Son, Who shone forth from the Father timelessly, hath cone forth from thee, the pure one, having become ineffably incarnate, being God by nature and becoming man by nature for our sake; not that He was divided into two persons, but that He is known in two unmingled natures. Him do thou beseech, O august and all‐blessed one, to have mercy on our souls.
DISMISSAL HYMN
Third Tone. Thy confession
O EUPHEMIA, Christ’s comely virgin, * thou didst fill all the Orthodox with gladness * and didst cover with shame all the heretics; * for at the holy Fourth Council in Chalcedon, * thou didst confirm what the Fathers decreed aright. O all‐glorious Great Martyr, do thou entreat Christ God * that His Great Mercy may be granted unto us.
From Menaion for July, Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA.