Св. Онуфри Велики
together with them. Pray for us to be saved,
we who revere your memory.
Oh Onuphrios adornment of Egypt.
glory to Him Who through you works healings for all.
The vision of the Venerable Onuphrius, a tall slender man with a long white beard flowing to the ground before him, has been an inspiration for Eastern Christians for hundreds of years. ... For several decades Orthodox seminarians in Poland have begun their spiritual training in the monastery of St. Onuphrius in Jablechna. It is said that he himself chose the place for it, appearing nearly four hundred years ago to fishermen and leaving them an Icon of himself on the banks of the river Buh.
The story of this remarkable Saint is shrouded in mystery for he was one of the Desert Fathers who made such an impression on Eastern spirituality in the third and fourth centuries, around the time that Christianity was emerging as the dominant faith of the Roman Empire. At that time many folks joined the Church with little understanding and still less intent to live according to the teachings of Our Lord Jesus as proclaimed in the Gospels and especially in the Beatitudes. At this time many Christians were inspired to go out into the desert and live in prayer under the providence of God alone in this harsh environment of extreme heat and cold, very little to eat and drink surrounded by all sorts of dangerous animals and desperadoes.
We know of the life of St. Onuphrius from the testimony of the monk Paphnutius. The saintly hermit had lived in the desert for sixty years when Paphnutius visited him. His hair and beard reached to the ground. This does not normally happen – the beard reaches a certain length and grows no further. His beard, related the Saint, grew to his feet in one day to cover his nakedness when the clothes with whish he had come to the desert fell away. All the hairs on him were as white as snow and his entire appearance glistened, sublime and awesome.
As soon as he saw Paphnutius, Onuphrius called him by name and related to him his life in the wilderness. He said that it was his guardian angel who had brought him to this desolate place. For a long time he fed only on vegetables which could rarely be found in the wilderness and after that, when he had overcome by patience and faith violent attacks of temptations by demons and when his heart was fortified and centred upon the love of God, an angel of God brought him bread for nourishment. Besides that, by the good Providence of God, a palm tree grew next to his cell which brought forth dates in abundance and a spring of water began to flow there.
However, Onuphrius said, his face shining: "I mostly feed and quench my thirst on the sweet words of God." To Paphnutius' question: "How do you receive Communion?" the hermit replied that an angel of God brings him Holy Communion every Saturday. The next day, the elder said to Paphnutius that this would be the day of his departure from this world. He knelt in prayer and quietly gave up his spirit to God. At that moment, Paphnutius saw a heavenly light as it illumined the body of the reposed saint and heard the singing of angelic hosts. Having buried the body of Onuphrius, Paphnutius returned to his monastery and related to others the wondrous life of this man and the greatness of God's Providence which always nourishes and protects those who have completely given themselves over to the service of God. Onuphrius died in the year 400 A.D. Perhaps it is the thought of God being able to keep a man alive for so many years in a situation where most could only live for a few days that has inspired Eastern Christians and led them to honour St. Onuphrius. Although it is not immediately obvious, we too live in deserts for even though comforts, food, clothing and shelter abound, their very abundance often leads to starvation of that which is most essential for a happy human life: the soul and the spirit. Without the nourishment of prayer and the sweet words of God these atrophy and people are filled with anxiety and despair which they seek in vain to dispel with more and more toys and pleasures. And so our lives flow by. Let us look to the strong figure of St. Onuphrius and recall where our true nourishment and health are to be found!
Life of St. Onuphrius the Great
Rev. Onuphrius the Great was one of those glorious desert-dwellers who
took refuge in the wild, picturesque Thebaid desert in Egypt, who in the 4th
century, during the time of the emperors Constantius and Valens, defended the
holy Christian faith, persecuted by the Aryan heretics, with fervent prayer,
fasting and repentance.
Rev. Onuphrius was born around the year 320 into the family of a Persian
king. His father, having no offspring for a long time, prayed with all his soul
to the Lord to give him a son, and God heard him. But even before the birth of
St. Onuphrius, one day a demon came to his father disguised as a wanderer and
said: “Oh Tsar, your wife will give birth to a son, but not from you, but from
one of your servants. If you want to make sure that I'm telling the truth,
order the newborn to be thrown into the fire. And if I tell a lie, then God
will keep him safe.” The father did not comprehend the deceit of the enemy and,
believing the imaginary wanderer, fulfilled the crafty advice, throwing the
newborn child into the fire. A miracle happened: the child stretched out his
hands to the sky, as if praying to the Creator for salvation, and the flame,
splitting into two sides, left the baby unharmed. Meanwhile, an angel of God
appeared to the father and, having exposed him of reckless trust in the
slanders of the devil, ordered him to baptize his son, to name him Onuphrius
and take him where God would indicate.
When they noticed that the child did not take mother's milk at all, the
father hurriedly set off on a journey with his son, fearing that the baby would
die of hunger. In the desert, a white doe ran up to them and, having fed the baby
with her milk, ran forward, as if showing them the way. So they reached the
monastery near the city of Hermopolis. The abbot, informed of this from above,
met them and took Saint Onuphrius into his upbringing. After saying goodbye to
his son, the king left and until his death did not stop visiting the monastery.
The deer fed St. Onuphrius until the age of three.
When the boy was seven years old, a miracle happened to him. The
monastery's dean gave him a piece of bread every day. Saint Onuphrius, visiting
the temple, approached the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos with the Eternal
Divine Infant in her arms, in his angelic simplicity he addressed the Divine
Infant Jesus with the words: “You are the same Infant as I am; but the clerk
does not give you bread. So take my bread and eat." The infant Jesus
stretched out His hands and took bread from Saint Onuphrius... One day the
priest noticed this miracle and informed the abbot about everything. The Abbot
ordered the next day not to give Saint Onuphrius bread, but to send him to
Jesus for bread. Saint Onuphrius, in obedience to the words of the key-keeper,
went to the temple, knelt down and, addressing the Divine Infant on the icon,
said: “The key-keeper did not give me bread, but sent me to You to receive it;
give me a piece, for I am very hungry.” The Lord gave him wonderful and miraculous
bread, and so large that Saint Onuphrius barely carried it to the Abbot. The
abbot, together with the brethren, glorified God, marveling at the grace that
rested on Saint Onuphrius.
At the age of ten, Saint Onuphrius went into the wilderness, wishing to
imitate the holy prophets Elijah and John the Baptist. When he secretly left
the monastery at night, a ray of light appeared before him, showing him the way
to the place of his desert exploits. Here Saint Onuphrius found a marvelous
hermit elder, with whom he lived for some time, learning from him the rules of
hermitage. A few years later, the elder died, and Saint Onuphrius lived for
sixty years in complete solitude. He endured many sorrows and temptations
during this time. When his clothes decayed, and he suffered greatly from the
heat and cold, the Lord clothed him with a thick covering of hair on his head,
beard, and body. For thirty years, the Angel of God brought him daily bread and
water, and for the last thirty years he ate from a date palm that grew, by the
grace of God, near his cave, which had twelve branches, which alternately bore
fruit every month. He now drank water from a spring miraculously opened by the
cave. During all sixty years, the Angel of God came to Rev. Onuphrius on
holidays and communed him with the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
The narrator of the lives of many desert-dwellers, Rev. Paphnutius,
reports that when he, led by Divine Providence, came to the cave where Rev. Onuphrius
lived, he was greatly frightened when he saw the monk, overgrown with white
wavy hair. Rev. Paphnutius wanted to flee, but Rev. Onuphrius stopped him with
the words: “Man of God, do not be afraid of me, for I am a sinful person like
you.” This calmed Rev. Paphnutius, and a long conversation took place between
the ascetics.
Rev. Onuphrius told about himself, how he came to this place and how
many years he lived here. During the conversation, suddenly, by no one knows
who, bread and a vessel with water were placed in the middle of the cave. The
ascetics, having refreshed themselves with food, talked and prayed to God for a
long time. The next day, Rev. Paphnutius noticed that the face of Rev. Onuphrius
had changed greatly. Rev. Onuphrius said: “God sent you, Paphnutius, for my
burial, for today I will complete my service to God in this world.” Rev.
Paphnutius began to ask Rev. Onuphrius to be allowed to stay on in this place
in the desert, but Rev. Onuphrius did not allow him, saying: “God chose you so
that, having visited many hermits, you would tell the monks and all Christians
about their lives and deeds. Therefore, return to your brethren and tell that
the Lord heard my prayers ; and that everyone who honors my memory in any way
will be worthy of God's blessing. The Lord will help him with His grace in all
good undertakings on earth, and in Heaven he will accept him into holy
villages.
Having said many more edifying words, Rev. Onuphrius prayed to God, lay
down on the ground and, folding his arms crosswise on his chest, reposed in the
Lord. His face shone like the sun, and the cave was filled with fragrance;
angelic singing and a wondrous Divine voice were heard: “Leave your mortal
body, my beloved soul, so that I can take you to a place of eternal rest with
all My chosen ones.” Rev. Paphnutius was greatly saddened by the fact that he
had no tools at hand for digging the grave, and the soil was stony. But then
two lions come running and with their claws at one moment prepare a grave in
the place that Paphnutius, having taken off his sackcloth and wrapped it around
the body of Rev. Onuphrius, intended for the burial of the deceased. Then
Paphnutius betrayed it with a prayer to the earth; the lions filled the grave
and then left. Heaping a heap of stones on the grave so that the predatory
beast of the desert would not disturb the peaceful sleep of God's saint, Paphnutius
wanted to look at least once into the cave of St. Onuphrius, but the latter
collapsed, the date palm withered and fell to the ground with its roots; dried
up and the source. Paphnutius thus clearly understood that God was not pleased
with his asceticism in this place and, glorifying God, marvelous in His saints,
returned to Egypt, preaching to everyone about what he had seen and heard.
Soon after this, the pious monks compiled a description of the life of
the Rev. Onuphrius, sent it throughout Egypt and the East, glorifying the holy
life of this great wilderness dweller.
Akathist to Rev. Onuphrius, the Great
Desert Dweller, Prince of Persia.
Kontakion 1
You chosen
and marvelous Father Onuphrius, shining with a dawn of tri-radiant life, do you
enlighten me – darkened by sinful passions, do extort me from the deadly wounds
and with your prayers save me from all troubles, so I may call unto you:
Rejoice, Father Onuphrius, brightest luminary of the whole universe.
Ikos 1
You Father
made the angelic ranks marvel at the feat that you constantly practiced in the
desert; You fasted for sixty three years, you were vouchsafed to receive the
Divine Mysteries from the hands of the angels, and now honoring you as a fellow
villager and interlocutor of the Angels, thus I cry out unto you, St. Onuphrius:
Rejoice, O most amazing miracle of angels;
Rejoice, O destroyer of soul-destroying passions.
Rejoice, O enlightener of impenetrable
deserts;
Rejoice, O punisher and teacher of abstinence.
Rejoice, O betterment of desert dwellers;
Rejoice, O divinely inspired luminary of
monks.
Rejoice, O most graceful servant of
Christ;
Rejoice, O warmest zealot of silence[-keeping].
Rejoice, O strong trampling of demonic
forces;
Rejoice, O true instructor of salvation.
Rejoice, O giver of joy to the faithful;
Rejoice, O quick helper to those who venerate
you.
Rejoice, Fr.
Onuphrius, brightest luminary of the whole universe.
Kontakion 2
Rev. Paphnutius
was greatly amazed at your strange and wondrous way of living, so am I – contemplating
on your measure of hard-working desert exploits – I chant to the Lord, Who strengthened
you for this: Hallelujah.
Ikos 2
Having prayed,
O Rev. Onuphrius, that I be given divine reason, you shining with divine light
and together with the angels helping settle in those who venerate you and
joyfully bringing you this praising chant:
Rejoice, you having strangely shone with
virtues;
Rejoice, you brighter than sunshine.
Rejoice, you led by an Angel into the
wilderness;
Rejoice, you desert-loving turtledove.
Rejoice, you crimson-blooming wildfire;
Rejoice, you all-honorable temple and
sanctified to God.
Rejoice, you fulfillment of God's gifts;
Rejoice, you marvelous astonishment in men.
Rejoice, terrible and formidable deterrence
of demons;
Rejoice, you most dear Adamante.
Rejoice, you viewer of the Trinity light;
Rejoice, you warm intercessor in prayers.
Rejoice, Fr. Onuphrius, brightest luminary
of the whole universe.
Kontakion 3
The power
of the Most High lit you up from the maternal bed, O Reverend Onuphrius, and
showed the adobe and dwelling of the Holy Spirit, Whom I the unworthy am willing
to accept, and I chant a song unto the Lord: Hallelujah.
Ikos 3
Having
thee, father, as a great intercessor and quick helper in adversity, we call on
you to help sustain various adversities, and triumphantly in your blessed
memory, we joyfully cry unto you thus:
Rejoice, O quick listener to those who
pray to you in faith;
Rejoice, O renowned pleader of the
righteous Judge.
Rejoice, O honored dwelling of the Most
Holy Spirit;
Rejoice, O undefiled minister of the Most
Holy Trinity.
Rejoice, O dearest pearl of Christ the Lord;
Rejoice, O unspoken joy to the great
Paphnutius.
Rejoice, O mentor and teacher to that same
Paphnutius;
Rejoice, O quick consolation to those who
mourn.
Rejoice, O all-desired visitor to those desponding;
Rejoice, O doctor of the blind and healer
of the lame.
Rejoice, O health to those who are sick
and healing to those who are ailing;
Rejoice, O salvific haven of the faithful.
Rejoice, Fr. Onuphrius, brightest luminary
of the whole universe.
Kontakion 4
Having come
to hate the storm of passions of the much-rebellious world, Father, you removed
all its beauties, settling in the wilderness, reverend, you followed the
Baptist in living, and imitated prophet Elijah, and now having received eternal
glory in the heavenly abodes, together with the heavenly inhabitants you stand
before God and chant together with them: Hallelujah.
Ikos 4
The
luminous sun and the golden-dawning luminary have you as faithful, Holy Onuphrius,
we implore you with tenderness, do enlighten, bring to our senses, teach us to
cry out unto you thus:
Rejoice, you brightest illumination of the
desert;
Rejoice, you golden-dawning lamp of the
world.
Rejoice, you most wonderful beauty of
Thebes;
Rejoice, you beautiful kindness to Lebanon
[Levia].
Rejoice, you brightest ornament of Egypt;
Rejoice, you great instructor of
Mesopotamia.
Rejoice, you true and aye imitator of John
the Baptist;
Rejoice, you fragrant cedar of the desert.
Rejoice, for you serve God equally with
the angels;
Rejoice, for having interceded for all who
warmly call on you for help.
Rejoice, Fr. Onuphrius, brightest luminary
of the whole universe.
Kontakion 5
Seeing you
in the desert as the [flowing with] divine dawn, Father, the great Paphnutius diligently
followed you, and held unto you like a lamp of teaching, and curious of the
desert experienced that life – and learned it well from you, tenderly chanting a
song of praise to the Lord: Hallelujah.
Ikos 5
Having seen
your strange life, O reverend Onuphrius, the Church Cathedral [willed and] ordered
that your blessed memory be honored with reverence. For this sake I, too, willing
to receive salvation, read with joy and cry out unto you thus:
Rejoice, O brightest beauty of the Church
of Christ;
Rejoice, O unremitting representative of
those who seek your intercession.
Rejoice, for you always cry out unto the
Lord for us;
Rejoice, for the inner wilderness has been
enlightened by you.
Rejoice, for your good deeds have shone, as
the sun on earth and in heaven;
Rejoice, for you have gazed your mind onto
God.
Rejoice, for you have been enriched by the
poverty of spirit;
Rejoice, you eagle of heaven's nest.
Rejoice, for you scorch the charms of
demons like a reed;
Rejoice, you listener of the Gospel of
Christ.
Rejoice, you who have humbled the flesh philosophizing
by the strength of the Divine Spirit;
Rejoice, you earthly angel, heavenly man.
Rejoice, Fr. Onuphrius, brightest luminary
of the whole universe.
Kontakion 6
The Lord God
trulu saw you as the creator of gospel sermons, who even didn’t worry about
robe or what to eat, thee are true, Onuphrius, see and at once with white hair,
like a garment, vested you wonderfully, and enriched you with glory from on-high
in your repose; pray that we, too, receive that from Christ, crying out unto
Him: Hallelujah.
Ikos 6
You have
shone from Egypt, being instructed by a pillar of Divine light, O reverend Onuphrius,
a refugee who cannot endure the army of demons the in the desert; do deliver us,
too, from their slanders with your prayers, for we are crying out unto you thus:
Rejoice, you consumer of demonic charms;
Rejoice, you exorcist of fearful demons.
Rejoice, you who wounded the head of the
serpent with your prayers;
Rejoice, you overfilled with gifts of the
Holy Spirit.
Rejoice, you having subdued the spirits of
wickedness with humility of wisdom;
Rejoice, for you have taken up your cross
on your shoulder.
Rejoice, for you have cast down the power
of that mental Amalek;
Rejoice, for you have taken up the light
burden of Christ upon your shoulder.
Rejoice, for from youth you have come to love
the yoke of Christ;
Rejoice, for you have been saved from the
enemy's nets, thankfully crying out unto God.
Rejoice, for you have dilligently helped
the faithful, as well, against enemies;
Rejoice, for you have changed the
disturbing passions of those who venerate you.
Rejoice, Fr. Onuphrius, brightest luminary
of the whole universe.
Kontakion 7
Having
left the monastery into the inner desert, Paphnutius saw those working for the Lord,
he beheld you in a strange way with God's gaze and was horrified; according to
your words [spoken] to him, knowing you to be a man who faithfully and
marvelously works for God, he cried out: Hallelujah.
Ikos 7
You have appeared
to be a new true victor over carnal passions, O Reverend, and who may be
pleased to sing praise to your struggles? Who will be able to enumerate your
labors, illnesses and deeds, which you performed in the course of fasting? Being
dissatisfied with this praise, we further venerate you more with love and
faithfully cry out unto you thus:
Rejoice, you having oppressed your flesh
with hunger and thirst;
Rejoice, O having eternally conquered the representative
of darkness.
Rejoice, for you have withered all
voluptuousness by all-night vigils;
Rejoice, for abiding legitimately in
prayers and fasting, you have vested yourself in dispassion.
Rejoice, O mirror of miraculous
abstinence;
Rejoice, O great glory to the rank of
reverend [saints].
Rejoice, for your flesh is frozen with frost,
your spirit is warmed by the warmth of Christ's love;
Rejoice, for the dew of Divine grace cools
you from the scorching swelter, O Reverend.
Rejoice, O beautiful decoration of the
desert;
Rejoice, O image of heroic deeds and
perfection.
Rejoice, for you have portrayed every [single]
virtue in you;
Rejoice, for you did appear to be a
pleaser of the all-beloved ascetic [founder of exploits] Christ.
Rejoice, Fr. Onuphrius, brightest luminary
of the whole universe.
Kontakion 8
Your life
was strange, you Onuphrius: looking at the date that grew near your cave, you nurtured
rather with abstinence. For this sake, having improved the lofty table, you sing
to God: Hallelujah.
Ikos 8
You were
all in the on-high and your eye of the soul gazed at the mountain unceasingly
in all your strange fasting, [and] now you having gained boldness to the Lord, O
reverend, you intercede for all who call upon you for help and cry out unto you
thus:
Rejoice, O great dweller of the wilderness;
Rejoice, like a star that shone up in the
deserts.
Rejoice, you who imitated Christ’s footsteps
from your infancy;
Rejoice, you zealot of angelic life.
Rejoice, you banisher of the invisible
enemy’s slander;
Rejoice, you indicator of the wonderful abstinence.
Rejoice, you teacher of the most graceful perfection;
Rejoice, you who shows the strange and
wondrous path unto heaven.
Rejoice, for you have lived on earth like
an angel;
Rejoice, for you have worthily received
glory and honor equal to the angels.
Rejoice, for in the heavenly adobes you
now bring prayers to the Creator for all;
Rejoice, for you – as an intercessor for
those who have acquired it – have begged [out] the great grace of God.
Rejoice, Fr. Onuphrius, brightest luminary
of the whole universe.
Kontakion 9
All nature
have marveled at you, O holy Onuphrius: having hated the beautiful world from your
heart and having come to love the one God from your soul, you have fasted in a desert
manner. While exercising all alone in vision like this, you appeared as an
Angel, alive in the flesh, chanting to the Lord: Hallelujah.
Ikos 9
The ornate
tongues cannot praise you according to your acquisition, O God-wise Fr. Onuphrius:
you, having brought your meaning closer to God from your mother’s womb, were
very nigh to the Almighty King, bringing fruits worthy of Him of your feats in
all your life, O reverend. I, having truly seen from the Church of God that
glorifies you for these [feats], cry out unto you thus:
Rejoice, O you dedicated to monastic
training from your infancy;
Rejoice, O you introduced in youth by
God's instruction into the wilderness without a temple.
Rejoice, for having followed Christ's
word, you renounced the world, as well as the fatherland and family;
Rejoice, for you have taken up your gospel
cross on your shoulder.
Rejoice, you neglecting the robe, but
having made an incorruptible robe for yourself;
Rejoice, sowing with tears, but reaping
your helves with joy.
Rejoice, for by non-eating, by needy
poverty and by constant standing at prayer you exhausted the flesh;
Rejoice, for you have kept the cruel ways
for the words of the mouth of your Lord.
Rejoice, having mortified your bodily
passions to the end with your exploits;
Rejoice, [you] having preserved a purity equal
to the angels.
Rejoice, for you have lived for many years
like a fleshless one;
Rejoice, for the Crown Giver has now
counted you amongst the incorporeal rank.
Rejoice, Fr. Onuphrius, brightest luminary
of the whole universe.
Kontakion 10
Willing to
save the faithful from various misfortunes, O Father, they set you up an
intercessor for themselves and [place you as] a champion and do not lose their
hopes: for you take away with your prayers to God the severe misfortunes and
sorrows that obsess us, and many various evils, instructing onto the steps
towards salvation those who diligently venerate you and faithfully cry out unto
the Lord: Hallelujah.
Ikos 10
I have
found you, the intercessor and man of prayer, O reverend, as a wall; like a
fragrant censer, with a sigh I give praise to God from the depths of my heart;
but to you, the eternally existing man of prayer, I bring chanting like this:
Rejoice, O well-prosperous field of
virtuous fruits;
Rejoice, O most proper betterment of
piety.
Rejoice, O strong intercessor for the earthly;
Rejoice, O warm listener to those venerating
you.
Rejoice, O luminary, that tears away
demonic darkness;
Rejoice, you who drive away the darkness
of soul-destroying passions ailments.
Rejoice, for you guide those deceived with
venerable morals onto the right path;
Rejoice, for you are leading the faithful
to fulfillment of God's desires.
Rejoice, for many kinds of benefactions
are given to you from on-high;
Rejoice, as the spirits of evil slander
run from those who call upon you.
Rejoice, for you boldly bring all prayers
to the Most High;
Rejoice, for you protect all who are in
need and sorrows.
Rejoice, Fr. Onuphrius, brightest luminary
of the whole universe.
Kontakion 11
An angelic
chanting was heard in your divine repose, O Father, your holy and most pleasing
to God soul, was gloriously ascending into the heavenly abodes, the powers of
heaven were marveling, singing: Hallelujah.
Ikos 11
Your face is
bright after the repose, O Father, Paphnutius the saint was amazed. Dividing his
cassock into two parts, he covered your relics and buried you honestly with the
lions. This I also venerate reverently in spirit, and I cry out thus:
Rejoice, for God has consecrated all of
you;
Rejoice, for you have kept the Divine laws
well.
Rejoice, for you have foreseen your
departure from life;
Rejoice, having ended your feats in the
warm love of God and multi-labor reverence.
Rejoice, having been venerated in repose by
a wonderful fragrance, like heavenly;
Rejoice, having been glorified by lightnings
then and wondrous shining.
Rejoice, having had your relics surrounded
by angelic faces with chanting, censers and candles;
Rejoice, for the on-high force have opened
the [heavenly] gates for him.
Rejoice, for in that same hour a great
radiance was seen that covered you [all] over;
Rejoice, for a sweet voice was heard,
calling you to the reception of eternal bliss.
Rejoice, for Christ, the crown-giver,
gloriously received your soul in the on-high abodes;
Rejoice, for now you are abundantly
enjoying eternal joy.
Rejoice, Fr. Onuphrius, brightest luminary
of the whole universe.
Kontakion 12
No one
from earth can ever spell out the grace given to you, and your exploits, O
Father Onuphrius: in the desert, you were unacquisitively alive, for food you
had angelic bread, running away from men, you conversed with God and Angels.
For this sake, you are rejoicing in heavenly adobes and chant a song: Hallelujah.
Ikos 12
We sing of
your valiant exploits, we praise and glorify your laudable death, we also venerate
your sacred memory, O Reverend, in it and for you alone of the twenty-four
elders surrounding the Throne of the Most High, who presides [them], we chant a
song of praise thus:
Rejoice, having lived strangely on earth;
Rejoice, having also inherited strange death.
Rejoice, for you have entered into the
non-evening light with your bright exploits;
Rejoice, for you have acquired [cherished]
a most peaceful inheritance in a rich way.
Rejoice, you successor of unspeakable
blessings;
Rejoice, you companion of the reverend and
the righteous.
Rejoice, for now you have been allowed to see
the Holy Trinity directly at firsthand;
Rejoice, for in your memory the Church of
Christ rejoices in an unspeakable way.
Rejoice, for by you fasters and
desert-dwellers are strengthened for exploit;
Rejoice, for the faithful are vouchsafed
by your intercession all blessings from on-high.
Rejoice, Fr. Onuphrius, brightest luminary
of the whole universe.
Kontakion 13
O all-praiseful and marvelous pleaser of
Christ, Father Onuphrius, pray and cry out with all sincerity: accept this
small prayer I offer and strive soon to beg the merciful God and Master, that
He may save me from all troubles and that He would wipe out torment in the
future, crying out: Hallelujah.
(This Kontakion is read thrice, followed
by Ikos 1 and Kontakion 1)
Prayer to Rev. Onuphrius,
the great desert-dweller,
prince of Persia
O most graceful
and greatest desert-dweller, reverend Fr. Onuphrius!
I praise your inexpressible wonderworking and your bright-most life, that you
have [lived and] passed on from your [very] youth, even through to [your] old
age: no one can possibly enumerate your patience and exploits, you most honest
[one]. St. Paphnutius marveled at your cruel living in the desert, and at the
same time he rejoiced greatly, having found you to be an image of only great exploits
and perfection. For this sake, he truly tested you about your holy labors and
about how much you had of the temporary living. That was also why he wrote that
you had been in diligence for sixty three years, enduring frost and swelter in
nakedness, that you lived dwelling in a deep desert with animals and birds, praying
incessantly. For this sake, I am now bringing you joy from my unworthy lips,
reverend Father, you great joy to reverend Paphnutius (you became worthy for
lions to serve you at the end, to bury your body and live with you in heaven), you
zealot of Elijah of Thesbite, heir of John the Baptist, friend of Christ and veritable
co-heir, you clever beauty of Egypt, great luminary of Thebia, the wonderful
kindness of Libya, red-blooming phoenix, stilted eagle flying in the under-heaven,
having gaining citizenship in heaven, where you are installed at the Throne of
the Lord of Glory, finding an adobe with twenty-four elders, and abiding with
them. And I am now praying to you, O most wonderful citizen of heaven, you fellow-worker
of the holy angelic ranks, hear me the sinful and unworthy servant of yours, at
this hour and accept this little Akathist prayer of mine, Oh great intercessor,
quick helper to those who diligently venerate you. Make amends to the
handwriting of my filthy and unclean deeds that are kept by demonic regiments.
Cover me with your intercession, reckon me as [one] belonging to the bright
place prepared by your prayers and vouchsafe me the on-high Jerusalem, for after
our Most Blessed Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, I honor you amongst my
warmest helpers, men-of-prayer and intercessors. Do visit and give a helping
hand to those who venerate you in your temple and everywhere. In this way, now I,
the unworthy, am praying to you and calling unto you: implore the merciful God
to forgive all transgressions of mine, voluntary and involuntary, all of them perpetrated
by my evil doings, and that through your intercession God may deliver me from
eternal torment, teach me to do good deeds, instruct me on the path to genuine
salvation and vouchsafe me to enjoy eternal joy together with all the saints,
now and forever, and unto the ages, Amen.
Another Prayer
O most wonderful and most blessed pleaser
of Christ and Abba of ours, Onuphrius the Great! You have shown wondrous love
for your Lord, and you have been strengthened for wondrous deeds by His grace,
and for this sake you have been vouchsafed with great boldness towards Him:
many miracles and signs of the power of God have appeared to people about you.
Look now, as well, O most wondrous Father, with the compassionate eye of your
love on us unworthy servants, and grant to everyone accordingly to one’s need,
faith and hope: give joy to those grieving, comfort those weeping, heal those
who are ailing, help those who labor, strengthen and bless those who fight with
passions and slanders of the enemy, support those who pine away, protect your
abode and all of us against visible enemies and against all evil. Magnify the
holy Orthodox faith in our fatherland, convert those erring, enlighten those
fallen away, confirm those who hesitate, soften those who are stubborn,
enlighten the infidels, and bring all to the quiet haven of the Heavenly
Fatherland. O marvelous word of the monastics and consolation to all the
faithful! through your glorious exploits and through the sweet contemplation of
your miraculous image illuminate us, as well, and strengthen us for all [sorts
of] exploit, work and patience for the glory of the Name of God, so we may be vouchsafed
salvation with you and with all the saints of the Eternal and Most Blessed
Kingdom of the glory of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit unto the
ages. Amen.
Still another Prayer
O Most Reverend Father Onuphrius! We pray
to you: do hear us, sinful and unworthy servants of God (names), at this hour.
And accept this small prayer of ours: erase the handwriting of our filthy and
unclean doings with your prayer, cover us for good with your intercession and
bring us with your prayers to the bright chamber prepared for the faithful by
your prayers; and beg the Merciful God that He may forgive all our sins,
voluntary and involuntary, and all the evil doings that we have perpetrated,
and that He may deliver us from eternal torment by your intercession and vouchsafe
us to enjoy eternal joy, together with all the saints, unto the ages. Amen.
Troparion, Tone 1
You have reached the desert with spiritual
desire, Oh God-wise Onuphrius, and as if being incorporeal you diligently
labored in it for many years, competing [in zeal] with the prophets Elijah and
the Baptist: and enjoying from the angelic hand divine mysteries, now in the
light of the Holy Trinity, you are rejoicing together with them. Pray that we,
who venerate your memory, may be saved.
