Akathist to St.
John, the Wonderworker of Rila
and the Desert Dweller
Kontakion 1
Chosen by God and
forerunner by life, the Monk John, having loved Christ from his youth, thou
didst walk the narrow path to Him; And for the sake of thy feats and tears,
thou hast been enriched by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. By the same token, as
the great boldness of the Holy Trinity, we bless thee, beseeching thee: Deliver
us from all our troubles, calling: Rejoice, O Venerable John, wonderworker of
Rila, our glory and joy.
Ikos 1
Thou wast an earthly
angel and a heavenly man, O Monk John. How shall we sing thy glory worthily,
enduring many infirmities? But thou thyself put a song of praise in the ears of
us, who call:
Rejoice, O thou born
of pious parents; Rejoice, O thou who wast brought up by them in the fear of
God.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst depart from the Church from infancy; Rejoice, O thou who hast acquired a
grace-filled mind through sacred teachings.
Rejoice, faithful
keeper of the commandments of the Lord; Rejoice, O thou zealous worker of
fasting and unceasing vigils.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst distribute thy inheritance to the poor after the death of thy parents;
Rejoice, O thou who didst persecute evil men for the sake of a good life.
Rejoice, O thou who
endured unrighteous slander; Rejoice, O thou who hast borne vexation with
meekness.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst follow Christ in the love of the Seraphim; Rejoice, O thou who didst
choose the narrow path of monasticism for her sake.
Rejoice, O Venerable
John, Wonderworker of Rila, our glory and joy.
Kontakion 2
Seeing the vanity of
this world, O Monk John, thou didst irrevocably turn away from it; For there is
nothing that can separate thee from Christ: neither the bonds of kinship, nor
thy youth, the glory of this world and beauty are inferior. For thou didst impute
all this to nothing, like a deer upon the springs of water, and hast flowed up
to God, crying out to Him: Alleluia.
Ikos 2
Thou didst submit to
the divine mind, O blessed one, when thou didst see the Lord in a dream,
commanding thee to come out of thy land and showing thee the place of thy
salvation, and all that thou didst despise in the world, thou didst dwell in
the monastery of Ruena, where thou didst take up the monastic image. For this
reason we cry out to thee as follows:
Rejoice, thou who
didst love the monastic life; Rejoice, O thou who didst fight against sin even
unto death.
Rejoice, O thou who
hast laid aside worldly desires from thy hair; Rejoice, O thou who hast aspired
to monastic podvig with an insatiable thirst.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst prostrate thyself into oblivion; Rejoice, O thou who hast found the
sweetness of solitary life within thyself.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst love the wilderness life for the sake of love; Rejoice, O thou who hast
forsaken the place of thy tonsure for the sake of guilt.
Rejoice, O thou who
hast come to the mountain in a vision that has appeared to thee; Rejoice, O
thou who hast nothing, O thou who hast dwelt in the humming.
Rejoice, wondrous
wilderness-dweller; Rejoice, imitator of John the Baptist.
Rejoice, O Venerable
John, Wonderworker of Rila, our glory and joy.
Kontakion 3
By the power of the
Holy Spirit, O John, thou didst dwell in the wilderness, to lead a silent life,
to converse with God without hindrance, to glorify Him angelically unceasingly,
to be illumined by the rays of Divine light, and for all people and the world
to pray to the Saviour God, singing to Him ever: Alleluia.
Ikos 3
Having a desire for
the fiery vision of the God-seeing of Moses, O venerable one, Thou didst ascend
the mountain the manifestations of the divine glory of perception, which the
eye did not see, nor the ear heard, and which did not ascend in the heart of man.
And who will be able to utter all thy feats, created in silence? But we,
marveling at thy life, cry out to thee:
Rejoice, O thou who
hast laid the burden of great podvig upon thy shoulders; Rejoice, O thou who didst
astonish the angels with thy life.
Rejoice, for thou
didst nourish thyself not with bread, but with grass; Rejoice, for thou didst
eat little of that after the setting of the sun.
Rejoice, O thou who
hast quenched thy thirst with water in moderation; Rejoice, O thou who together
with the prophet cried out to God.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst shed streams of tears from thy eyes; Rejoice, for thou didst send thy
prayers unceasingly to God.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst cleanse thyself of these feats from passions; Rejoice, O thou who didst
frighten the demons in the image of the beast to shame.
Rejoice, O thou
adamant, invincible by the intrigues of the enemy; Rejoice, O thou who wast
always with God in all temptations and misfortunes.
Rejoice, O Venerable
John, Wonderworker of Rila, our glory and joy.
Kontakion 4
Thou didst dwell in a
certain gloomy cave, O Monk John, enslaving thy body and being deprived of the
light of the sun, so that thou wouldst not be deprived of the Divine Light in
the Kingdom of thy Lord, and that thou wouldst eat to Him there with all the
saints: Alleluia.
Ikos 4
Hearing of thee,
venerable one, the son of thy brother, Luke the lad, and having concealed thy
parents, came to thee in the wilderness, and by thee we instruct thee, taking
up thy asceticism. And we, by the power of thy grace, are terrified, crying out
to thee:
Rejoice, O thou who
didst illumine thy southerner with the Divine Light; Rejoice, O thou who didst
make a little child of the wilderness.
Rejoice, O thou who
hast received a new attack from the wickedness of old; Rejoice, O thou who
didst endure slander in the abduction of a youth.
Rejoice, O thou who
hast borne the rebuke of thy brother; Rejoice, O thou who hast strengthened the
child torn away from thee by blessing.
Rejoice, O thou who
hast put the devil to shame by the prayer of tears; Rejoice, O thou who didst
unite the child from the serpent bitten by death to the Lord.
Rejoice, O thou who
vegetated the flower of paradise on the stones of the Rila Mountains; Rejoice,
O thou who hast been abundantly watered with living water from the Divine
Stone.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst not hide in the wilderness; Rejoice, O thou who didst enlighten the lamp
of Christ in the darkness of the cave.
Rejoice, O Venerable
John, Wonderworker of Rila, our glory and joy.
Kontakion 5
Like a God-flowing
star, holy men are in essence: for they themselves do not march to Christ, but
also show the way to other people of salvation. For this reason the All-Wicked
One does them misfortune, as he did to you, John: for the thief who slew thee
in the form of a thief, driving thee away from the cave first. Then thou didst
enter the deep wilderness of Rylsk, and dwelt in the hollow of a great oak,
glorifying thy Lord and singing to Him: Alleluia.
Ikos 5
Seeing thy great
anger, O venerable one, command the earth to bring forth slate for thy
nourishment; And Thou art glorified as a shepherd, found near that wilderness,
and we, too, together with those who have seen Thy wondrous works, cry out to
Thee as follows:
Rejoice, O thou who
didst receive great suffering from the demons; Rejoice, invincible soldier of
Christ.
Rejoice, O thou who
art not completely embittered by them; Rejoice, O thou who didst cover Christ
with the Almighty Protection.
Rejoice, O thou
glorified by the Lord in the presence of pastors; Rejoice, O thou who didst
inform those who had found Thee of Thy life against their will.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst nourish those with miraculous grain; Rejoice, O thou who didst instruct
those who departed by a wondrous miracle.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst preach from them to the rest of the people; Rejoice, O thou who didst not
hide from the gifts of God that came to thee.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst heal the suffering demon with tearful prayer; Rejoice, O thou who didst
put all thy hope in God for the accomplishment of this miracle.
Rejoice, O Venerable
John, Wonderworker of Rila, our glory and joy.
Kontakion 6
Preachers, thou shalt
be thy humility, O Monk John, which was manifested before the healing of the
demon in thy prayer: "O merciful God, thou art worthy to call Thy name by
my unclean lips!"
Ikos 6
Thou hast shone forth
with great miracles, and the people of Orthodoxy have brought great faith and
love to thee. But to thy glory, which passed through all the land of Bulgaria,
thou didst rise up from the oak, fleeing from the glory of men. By the same
humility for thy sake we bless thee:
Rejoice, O thou who
lovest divine humility; Rejoice, O thou who hatest the glory of man.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst listen to the voice of Christ to humility; Rejoice, O thou who didst not
give us the words of the Scriptures, but the glory of the Name of God, O thou
who didst ever keep it.
Rejoice, O thou who
hast attained exaltation and hast not seen any good deeds in thyself; Rejoice,
O thou who didst bear fruit, bowing down with branches below, likened to the
former.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst humbly say to David, who said, "I am a worm, and not a man,"
who was jealous; Rejoice, O thou who cried out together with the Prophet
Isaiah, "O accursed one."
Rejoice, O thou who
didst name the sinner first with the Apostle; Rejoice, O thou who in thy
humility didst imitate the Lord Himself.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst valiantly resist vanity; Rejoice, O thou who didst straighten the dust of
the earth under foot.
Rejoice, O Venerable
John, Wonderworker of Rila, our glory and joy.
Kontakion 7
Wishing to take up
great sufferings for the sake of thy ardent love for Christ, thou didst become
like the wondrous stylite Simeon, ascending to the stone, O Monk John, in days
and nights as a bodiless prayer, dipping the stone with tears and desiring to
converse only with God. And we, beholding this feat, glorify the Almighty God
in thee, wondrous in thee, and sing to Him: Alleluia.
Ikos 7
O blessed one, the
devil, unable to endure thy new podvig, will take with him a legion of demons,
who have cast thee from the stone into a deep abyss. But with difficulty thou
didst rise up, and hast ascended to the stone, and hast made thy prayers, and hast
called to those who are amazed:
Rejoice, O thou who
hast acquired great love for Christ; Rejoice, O thou who didst suffer for this
reason from the armies of demons.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst impute these sufferings to nothing; Rejoice, O thou who didst love Christ
more than thy life.
Rejoice, O thou who
wast separated from Christ; Rejoice, O thou beloved of Him for this reason.
Rejoice, O thou who
hast been vouchsafed the service of the angels; Rejoice, O thou who didst eat
bread from the hand of the Angel.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst conquer all the devil's temptations through love for Christ; Rejoice,
thou who hast kept all Christ's commandments.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst seek only the glory of God for the sake of love; Rejoice, O thou who wast
glorified by the Lord for this reason.
Rejoice, O Venerable
John, Wonderworker of Rila, our glory and joy.
Kontakion 8
The strange image of
thy life, thy great humility and love for Christ have increased in thee the
grace which thou hast been granted in the baptism of Christ for the sake of the
passion and death of the cross. For this reason the Lord created thee the spiritual
sun of the Orthodox Church, that by thee her children may be enlightened unto
salvation, and that they may cry out to God: Alleluia.
Ikos 8
Thou wast a vessel
chosen by God's grace, great John, and the word of the Baptist was fulfilled in
thee, for God giveth the Spirit beyond measure. With what grace-filled gifts
has God not crowned thee? By what manifestations of grace was thy life not fulfilled?
Looking at thee, we offer thee this praise of ours:
Rejoice, O thou who
hast acquired the gift of Christ's humility; Rejoice, O thou who didst find
grace of tears and tenderness.
Rejoice, O thou
adorned with purity and chastity by God; Rejoice, O thou who wast miraculously
illumined by faith.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst not only believe in Christ, but also suffered for Him; Rejoice, O thou
who hast been crowned with the gift of zeal for God.
Rejoice, O thou who
art filled with love for thy neighbor; Rejoice, O thou who wast vouchsafed by
the gift of Divine knowledge.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst shine forth with the gift of clairvoyance; Rejoice, O thou who didst give
unceasing prayer.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst preserve to the end the hope of future bliss; Rejoice, O thou who hast
tasted this bliss in this life.
Rejoice, O Venerable
John, Wonderworker of Rila, our glory and joy.
Kontakion 9
Thou hast received
every gift of the Holy Spirit, O Monk John, and has attained thy proclamation
of the pious Tsar Peter, who hath seen thee longing for nine men to send unto
thee. Thou didst understand their greedy in spirit, Thou didst feed them with little
bread, Who saw this most glorious miracle, crying out to God: Alleluia.
Ikos 9
The people of this
world do not understand how Tsar Peter, who is in his glory, rushed to thee
with gifts, O blessed one, and grieved, unable to approach thy holy place for
the sake of the mountain rapids: but we, remembering the words of the Lord,
saying to all people, "seek ye first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness," cry out to thee:
Rejoice, for thou
hast attained the Kingdom of Heaven on earth; Rejoice, for this Kingdom, which
has come in power, the Lord hath manifested unto thee.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst manifest the Kingdom of God in the acquisition of grace to men; Rejoice,
for in the flesh Thou didst conceal the bliss of paradise within Thyself.
Rejoice, O thou who
hast acquired precious beads, Thou hast shown the vanity of temporal blessings;
Rejoice, for thou didst have righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Rejoice, O thou who
hast eclipsed the royal glory with the radiance of grace; Rejoice, O thou who
didst possess the treasure of heaven, Thou didst not receive the royal gifts.
Rejoice, for thou
didst promise Tsar Peter to see one another in the heavenly kingdom; Rejoice,
for thou didst exhort the king in thy Scriptures to be merciful and obedient to
the Church.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst teach the king repentance; Rejoice, for for the sake of repentance Thou
didst prophesy the eternal kingdom to him.
Rejoice, O Venerable
John, Wonderworker of Rila, our glory and joy.
Kontakion 10
To save thyself to
the end, from the snares of the enemy, O Monk John, thou didst abide in the
asceticism of standing on a stone for seven years and four months. And many who
were jealous of thee, having built a church and a monastery near thy rock, having
made thee the first ruler and shepherd, let the hymn of praise to God be sent
forth from hence: Alleluia.
Ikos 10
The wall is
insurmountable, thy humility is unto death, O blessed John; For understanding
the time of thy departure, thou didst lift up a tearful prayer to God, saying:
"O Father Almighty, thou hast done nothing good on earth! For this reason
I beseech Thee to command the good Angel to come, that I may not be hindered
from ascending from the spirits of evil! O Lord, in Thy hands I commend my
spirit!" And we, marveling at this righteous repose, thus bless thee:
Rejoice, O thou who
didst teach us by thy life and departure; Rejoice, O thou who didst call upon
us from above, and not from the earthly.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst partake of the pleasures of the world; Rejoice, O thou who didst receive
a blessed end from God.
Rejoice, O thou who
hast ever thought of death in thy life; Rejoice, O thou who didst fulfill the
words of the Apostle "I die all my days."
Rejoice, O thou who
longest for death with the Apostle Paul; Rejoice, O thou who hast ever departed
from Christ.
Rejoice, O thou who
hast prepared thyself for death with tears and prayers; Rejoice, O thou who
didst come from death not to judgment, but to life.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst partake of eternal joy with Christ after death; Rejoice, O thou who hast
acquired great boldness before God.
Rejoice, O Venerable
John, Wonderworker of Rila, our glory and joy.
Kontakion 11
With the singing of a
moleben I will bless thee in time, the fragrance of thy grave will begin to
flow from thy grave, O Monk John. For this reason thy tomb was opened, and thy
body was found incorruptible and filled with fragrance. From then on, many miracles
are wrought from thy relics for healing, those who come to thee and cry out to
God: Alleluia.
Ikos 11
O Venerable Lord, O
Lord, and the temple of the Holy Spirit, and preserve thy body without
corruption. Beholding this grace, we glorify thee:
Rejoice, O thou who
didst preach the omnipotence of God through thy incorruption; Rejoice, O thou
who didst foreshadow the immortality of the body.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst manifest the glory of God in the Church through thy incorruption;
Rejoice, O thou who hast affirmed the truth of the resurrection of the dead.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst appear in a dream to the abbot of the monastery of Rilsk after his death;
Rejoice, O thou who didst bring thy relics to the city of Sredets.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst perform wondrous miracles here; Rejoice, O thou who didst bring great
signs to the city of Thorns.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst shed grace from thy relics in the cities of the capital; Rejoice, O thou
who wast terrified in captivity by the strength of all.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst grant healing to Manuel the king of Greece; Rejoice, O thou who didst
bind and open the tongue of the Bishop of Ostrigom.
Rejoice, O Venerable
John, Wonderworker of Rila, our glory and joy.
Kontakion 12
The Lord has bestowed
great grace upon thee for much love, O Venerable Father of God, our venerable
Father John, to heal infirmities, to enlighten those who have gone astray, and
to all who ask to be for salvation. Thanking the Lord, Who has given us unto
thee, we ever call unto him: Alleluia.
Ikos 12
Singing a song to
thee, we are perplexed how all thy wondrous deeds can be depicted by thy words
as feeble, Venerable One! Seeing thee great among the saints of God, we dare to
praise thee, calling:
Rejoice, O thou who
didst precede in asceticism and labor; Rejoice, O thou glorified by God
glorified by thee.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst shine forth far outside the Church of Bulgaria; Rejoice, O thou who art
venerated by other Orthodox Churches.
Rejoice, O thou who
dwelt with an incorruptible right hand in the Church of Russia; Rejoice, O thou
who didst shine with the grace of the great fathers of the Church.
Rejoice, O thou who
didst manifest the feats of the Monks Anthony and Macarius; Rejoice, O thou who
didst foreshadow the deeds of the Russian luminaries Sergius and Seraphim.
Rejoice, O thou
glorified by the king of Ungar; Rejoice, venerable from the sultans of Tours.
Rejoice, O thou who
art still revered in the monastery of Rylsti by the faithful and the
unfaithful; Rejoice, O thou who art glorified by all for the sake of Thy
miracles.
Rejoice, O Venerable
John, Wonderworker of Rila, our glory and joy.
Kontakion 13
O great John,
Wonderworker of Rylsk! Accept this little praise of ours and pray for us to the
Lord, that He may bestow upon us His mercy and teach us true repentance,
deliver us from the power of the rulers of the darkness of this world and
preserve us in the Orthodox faith and grace-filled life under the wondrous protection
of the Mother of God, that through thy intercession we may cry out to God:
Alleluia.
(This
kontakion is read three times, then ikos 1 and kontakion 1)
Prayer to St. John, the Wonderworker of Rila and the
Wilderness Dweller
O
great and foremost wonderworker, Venerable John, accept our prayer and do not
turn away from us who seek refuge in Thy intercession: for Thou hast never
turned away from those who came to Thee with their sorrows in the days of Thy
earthly life; And Thou didst show signs of mercy even after Thy repose to the
Orthodox people! Hear us also now, who are restrained by great sorrows, who
have come upon us in these evil days, when the devil, through his pernicious
snares, seeks to trample upon the Holy Church, and deprive us of eternal
salvation and the blessings of temporal life! Ask the Lord Jesus Christ for
forgiveness of sins, and especially of the sin of disobedience to our Mother
Church! Grant us contrition of heart, so that with tenderness we unswervingly
approach the holy Mystery of Repentance, so that communion of the Body and
Blood of Christ may not be for our condemnation and destruction, but for health
and salvation. Take away from us the spirit of brotherly hatred, grant us the
spirit of love and peace for the fraternal unity of all your people! Unite us
all in love for Christ and His Orthodox Church, so that we may be true children
of God, observing His salvific will! Be our guide all our days, that in the
grace of the Holy Spirit we may ever keep the faith in purity and do the will
of the Lord until death! At the hour of our death, it appeared to us to present
our souls to the throne of the Divine Judge and say to Him: "Behold me and
my children," so that through thy intercession of eternal torment we may
inherit the ineffable bliss of the Heavenly Kingdom of Christ together with
thee and all the saints unto the ages of ages. Amen.
