Akathist to Saint Prophet Elisha

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Feast Day: June 14th

Troparion of Saint Elisha the Prophet, 4th tone:

He who was an angel in the flesh, the foundation of the prophets, the second Forerunner of Christ’s coming, the great Elijah, who sent Elisha gifts from above, drives away sickness and cleanses the lepers. For this reason, he brings healing to those who honor him.

Kontakion 1

Showing himself to be a light of ancient times and a disciple of the great Holy Prophet Elijah, receiving the double gift of prophecy and miracles, we venerate the Holy Prophet Elisha. And you, Holy Prophet, hear these prayers from Heaven and intercede for us for mercy from God, for behold, we humbly make this call: Rejoice, Holy Prophet Elisha, enlighten the eyes of our souls with the ray of the Holy Spirit and show us the Truth!

Ikos 1

Living in the flesh as one without flesh, you passed through the years of your life as an Earthly Angel and Heavenly Man, learning from Saint Elijah to prophesy and preaching to all the faith in God. And now, having been received by the Father into the Company of Holy Prophets in His eternal Kingdom, you are honored by the faithful who praise you unceasingly thus:

Rejoice, voice of repentance;

Rejoice, foreseer of things to come;

Rejoice, eagle who from on high beholds tomorrow;

Rejoice, you who have torn the veil of matter;

Rejoice, knower of unseen mysteries;

Rejoice, deliverer from sick imagination;

Rejoice, Holy Prophet Elisha, enlighten the eyes of our soul with the ray of the Holy Spirit and show us the Truth!

Kontakion 2

You were born in the city of Avemeula of the tribe of Reuben, one of the twelve tribes of the people of Israel, and from birth you showed yourself to be a great miracle worker, for a golden calf in Silom, to which the Israelites who had returned to idol worship brought their sacrifices and worshipped as a god, even though it was lifeless, at the hour of your birth, it bellowed so loudly that its voice was heard as far as Jerusalem: Alleluia!

Ikos 2

A certain priest, filled with the Holy Spirit, witnessed this and said: “Today a great prophet of God has been born, who will destroy the carved idols and smash the powerful,” and you, Holy One, growing up in virginity and faith in God, became a perfect man:

Rejoice, for God commanded Saint Elijah to anoint you as a prophet;

Rejoice, for he found you plowing the land;

Rejoice, for you left everything to follow him;

Rejoice, for he was your spiritual father;

Rejoice, for you learned from him to understand the mysteries of the Lord;

Rejoice, for you served him out of love;

Rejoice, Holy Prophet Elisha, enlighten the eyes of our soul with the ray of the Holy Spirit and show us the Truth!

Kontakion 3

Thus you became a prophet with the gift of God, Holy Elisha, no less than Saint Elijah, and when God took his servant Elijah and translated him with his body to Heaven in a chariot of fire, you received what you asked for, namely the Holy Spirit of Saint Elijah, that is, the gift of prophecy and of performing miracles, so that you might bring those who had strayed to worshiping the demon Baal to the service of the True God: Alleluia!

Ikos 3

When your teacher departed from you and ascended to Heaven, you wept for him as for your father and tore your clothes in mourning, but Saint Elijah threw down from above his sheepskin coat, which you then wore as a precious treasure and an honorable divine purple robe:

Rejoice, for you have received the garment of your spiritual father;

Rejoice, for you were poor in spirit and in works, but rich in grace;

Rejoice, for through the holy coat you have performed many miracles;

Rejoice, for you struck the waters of the Jordan with it;

Rejoice, for it was divided in two, and you crossed over as if on dry land;

Rejoice, for the robe of Saint Elijah was to you as Moses’ rod once was;

Rejoice, Holy Prophet Elisha, enlighten the eyes of our souls with the ray of the Holy Spirit and show us the Truth!

Kontakion 4

The Spirit of Saint Elijah rested upon you, Holy Prophet Elisha, and when you arrived in Jericho, you healed the evil waters by blessing the water over which you poured salt, and from then on there was no more death or barrenness in those waters, for when the people watered their lands with it, they bore fruit, and when they drank from it, their souls and bodies were healed: Alleluia!

Ikos 4

You taught parents to raise their children with propriety and appropriate severity, in faith in God and not in stone gods that have demons, lest the Lord’s punishment come upon them as a bitter reward for unbelief and lack of piety toward God, and we honor you:

Rejoice, for through you the Word of God spoke;

Rejoice, for you taught the Israelites to defeat the Moabites;

Rejoice, for when war broke out, the armies of Moab were defeated;

Rejoice, for you delivered the poor widow from poverty;

Rejoice, for through your prayer the oil multiplied, and she was freed from her debts;

Rejoice, Holy Prophet Elisha, enlighten the eyes of our souls with the ray of the Holy Spirit and show us the Truth!

Kontakion 5

You often feasted in the house of a pious woman who built you a cell on her land where you could rest, bringing you food and everything you needed, and you, Saint, wanting to repay her kindness, prayed to God to open the womb that was closed, and she conceived a male child: Alleluia!

Ikos 5

But a year after the child’s birth, he died, and the woman sought you out in grief because you had promised to give her a good gift and not to deceive her, and she lamented bitterly over her misfortune, for she had much sorrow in her motherly heart:

Rejoice, for you went home where the child lay;

Rejoice, for the woman had laid him on your bed, in your cell;

Rejoice, for you sat over the child seven times, breathing on him;

Rejoice, for you put your mouth on his mouth;

Rejoice, for the child came to life;

Rejoice, with the joy of the mother who regained her son;

Rejoice, Holy Prophet Elisha, enlighten the eyes of our soul with the ray of the Holy Spirit and show us the Truth!

Kontakion 6

Going to the land of Gilgal, where the Jewish people had once entered the Promised Land, you sent a servant to gather herbs to boil for the food of the hundred sons of prophets who walked with you, as monks follow their teacher in the new Law, and she found a wild fruit like grapes but called “the gall of the earth” because, although it was used in medicine, it was bitter and poisonous: Alleluia!

Ikos 6

Not knowing the harmful power of those fruits, the servant gathered his cloak full and poured them into the pot to boil them, and then gave them to the sons of the prophets to eat, but they tasted the bitterness and harmfulness of the broth and did not eat it. But you, Holy Elisha, commanded that a little flour be mixed into the pot, and the broth became sweet and became medicine:

Rejoice, for they all ate with faith;

Rejoice, for they were satisfied;

Rejoice, for they remained healthy;

Rejoice, for you multiplied the barley loaves;

Rejoice, for from 20 loaves you made 100;

Rejoice, for you fed all the sons of the prophets;

Rejoice, Holy Prophet Elisha, enlighten the eyes of our souls with the ray of the Holy Spirit and show us the Truth!

Kontakion 7

A nobleman from the court of the king of Syria suffered from leprosy, and no doctor could cure him, but when he heard from a young girl from Israel that you were a great miracle worker, Holy Elisha, he set out with a retinue and riches to seek you and ask for healing: Alleluia!

Ikos 7

Finding you, he bowed down before you and told you his trouble, and you told him only this: to bathe seven times in the Jordan River and he would be healed, and he, though his heart was full of doubt, obeyed you and his body was completely cleansed. Then you sent him away in peace without receiving any gift from him:

Rejoice, for the Syrian nobleman believed in the true God;

Rejoice, for he abandoned the worship of idols;

Rejoice, for your disciple Gehazi ran after him, asking for gifts for him;

Rejoice, for the nobleman gave them, believing they were for you;

Rejoice, for you punished your disciple with leprosy;

Rejoice, for you did this to correct his love of wealth;

Rejoice, Holy Prophet Elisha, enlighten the eyes of our souls with the ray of the Holy Spirit and show us the Truth!

Kontakion 8

So great was your power, Holy Elisha, that you saw things far away as if they were right before your eyes, because you often warned the king of Israel about the war plots of the king of Syria, showing him whom to beware of, and he, sending his soldiers, attacked the Syrians and defeated them: Alleluia!

Ikos 8

When the king of Syria heard this, he was troubled and sent an army to capture you, but you prayed to God to punish them with blindness, and then you led them blind from the city of Dothan to the middle of Samaria, and then you prayed to God to open their eyes and see where they were, and we pray:

Rejoice, for the king of Israel wanted to cut them down with the sword;

Rejoice, for you did not let him;

Rejoice, for you gave them food and drink;

Rejoice, for you sent them home to tell their masters what they had suffered;

Rejoice, for they went freely to their king in Syria;

Rejoice, for he did not wage war against Israel as long as he lived;

Rejoice, Holy Prophet Elisha, enlighten the eyes of our souls with the ray of the Holy Spirit and show us the Truth!

Kontakion 9

After a long time, the kingdom of Syria was taken by Venedad, who waged war against Joram, king of Israel, and surrounded Samaria with a large army, for there was the seat of the Jewish dominion: Alleluia!

Ikos 9

Because the Syrians did not allow the food carts to pass and ravaged the grain fields, soon there was a great famine in Samaria, and the Jews resorted to heinous acts because of the lack of food and Jehoram became angry with you, Holy Elisha, because you prevented him from obeying the king of Syria and giving the city into his hands:

Rejoice, for Jehoram sent an executioner to cut off your head;

Rejoice, for before he reached you, he repented;

Rejoice, for you prophesied the victory of the Jews the next day;

Rejoice, for the king doubted what you said;

Rejoice, for you told him that because of his unbelief, he would see the victory but not taste it;

Rejoice, for you raised your hands to Heaven in prayer;

Rejoice, Holy Prophet Elisha, enlighten the eyes of our soul with the ray of the Holy Spirit and show us the Truth!

Kontakion 10

That night there was great turmoil in the camp of the Syrians, who, believing they were being attacked on all sides, left everything and fled, and the next day the Jews entered their tents and took as much wheat and barley as you had prophesied, O Holy One, but the king was trampled by the crowd and died before tasting God’s mercy: Alleluia!

Ikos 10

You performed many miracles, blessed Saint, foretelling the ascension to the throne of the kings of Syria and Israel, seeing with your spirit the death of Venedad, king of Syria, and you anointed as king an honest nobleman named Jehu, who killed Ahab and his wicked wife Jezebel and put to death all the servants of Baal and the sorcerers, all this being done with your blessing and prayers:

Rejoice, for you were a lover of justice;

Rejoice, for you stopped the killing of the king of Damascus;

Rejoice, for you were present where the plot was hatched;

Rejoice, for you brought to light the dishonorable schemes;

Rejoice, for your power was revealed to all;

Rejoice, for you saved the people from hunger;

Rejoice, Holy Prophet Elisha, enlighten the eyes of our souls with the ray of the Holy Spirit and show us the Truth!

Kontakion 11

At the time when Jehu’s grandson was dividing the kingdom, you fell terminally ill in Samaria, being very old. And when Joash, the king, came to you, he wept, and you, Holy One, told him to take a bow and arrows and do as you said: Alleluia!

Ikos 11

You commanded him to shoot an arrow toward the east, where Syria was located, saying that the arrow was the salvation of the Lord and would defeat the Syrians. Then you told him to strike the ground with his arrows, but the king struck only three times, and you, Holy One, said to him: “If you had struck five or seven times, you would have conquered Syria completely, but now you will conquer it only three times.”

Rejoice, for then it happened exactly as you said;

Rejoice, for the king conquered according to the measure of his obedience;

Rejoice, for you teach us to turn our hearts to the spiritual father;

Rejoice, for you show us that God looks upon those who are obedient;

Rejoice, for you were a teacher of the ways of salvation;

Rejoice, for you humble our minds, that we may attain complete obedience;

Rejoice, Holy Prophet Elisha, enlighten the eyes of our souls with the ray of the Holy Spirit and show us the Truth!

Kontakion 12

You departed to God with gray temples and many good deeds, and all who followed you buried you with the honor befitting a great Prophet, mourning because you had left them but rejoicing that they had gained such an intercessor in Heaven: Alleluia!

Ikos 12

Your holy relics have been shown to be miracle-working, for when a dead man was being carried to his burial in the city of Samaria, it happened that the soldiers of Moab attacked, and the gravediggers, seeing the soldiers coming, threw the dead man into your tomb, which they opened, and fled, and we, your worshippers, glorify you:

Rejoice, for the dead man’s body touched your bones;

Rejoice, for he immediately rose from the dead;

Rejoice, for he came out of the grave on his own feet;

Rejoice, for he ran into the city, proclaiming the miracle;

Rejoice, for even after death God has glorified you;

Rejoice, you who open graves and break curses and spells;

Rejoice, Holy Prophet Elisha, enlighten the eyes of our souls with the ray of the Holy Spirit and show us the Truth!

Kontakion 13

Holy and glorious Prophet Elisha, we praise your life full of divine gifts and pray that you help that God shows us what we need to see, deliver us from the darkness of evil and lift us up from the snares of death so that we may rejoice in grace and prayer and worship the Holy Trinity forever: Alleluia!

(This Kontakion is said 3 times).

Ikos 1

Rejoice, voice of repentance;

Rejoice, foreseer of things to come;

Rejoice, eagle who from on high beholds tomorrow;

Rejoice, you who have torn the veil of matter;

Rejoice, knower of unseen mysteries;

Rejoice, deliverer from sick imagination;

Rejoice, Holy Prophet Elisha, enlighten the eyes of our soul with the ray of the Holy Spirit and show us the Truth!

Kontakion 1

Showing himself to be a light of ancient times and a disciple of the great Holy Prophet Elijah, receiving the double gift of prophecy and miracles, we worship the Holy Prophet Elisha. And you, Holy Prophet, hear these prayers from Heaven and intercede for us for mercy from God, for behold, we humbly make this call: Rejoice, Holy Prophet Elisha, enlighten the eyes of our souls with the ray of the Holy Spirit and show us the Truth!

Prayer

Holy Prophet Elisha, disciple of the great Prophet Elijah, whom you followed in everything: in the power of your words, in the determination of your deeds, and in the sharpness of your mind, you who wore the cloak of your teacher, which he so lovingly let fall from Heaven so that you might have his garment as a gift, and who preached repentance, receive these prayers spoken with humble voices.

You healed the waters of Jericho by pouring salt on them and saying, “Thus says the Lord: I heal these waters.” Pray that God may heal us too of all spiritual corruption, that He may give us the right measure in all things, the strength to endure, the discernment to know when to stay and when to leave, when to speak and when to be silent, to find our place in the world or outside it as He wants for us, to part with the past with all its burdens and pain, not to run on vain paths of illusions and delusions, but to be present with our minds and hearts in our own lives in order to best fulfill our mission on earth.

Help us, Holy One, that the spirit of humility and gentleness, the spirit of love and kindness, the spirit of patience, restraint, and chastity may be born in our hearts, and drive away from us all anger and rebellion so that we may receive with serene souls the Will of God ordained for us.

Open the eyes of our souls, remove the veil that covers our senses, untie all the knots, curses, spells, and magic that prevent us from being what God created us to be, and be for us like a Guardian Angel, walking with us on the path of life and always teaching us what is good for our salvation, so that we may be called true children of God, partakers of His eternal glory now and forever and ever. Amen.

Source of the original text: https://acoperamantulmaiciidomnului.wordpress.com/2025/01/06/acatistul-sfantului-proroc-elisei-14-iunie/