For all Akathists published on our site, click here. This Akathist was contributed by Maxim, who kindly asks all Orthodox Christians to keep him in their prayers for his repentance. See bottom for original source. Explore more prayer: Akathists to the Apostles, Akathists to Church Fathers and Confessors,and Akathists to New Testament Saints.
Kontakion 1
We pray to the Four Holy Evangelists, who have left us the words of the Lord Jesus Christ in writing so that we may keep His miracles and teachings in our hearts, and who have delighted in the endless sweetness of the spiritual writings. And you, Holy Ones, witnesses of things known and unknown, intercede for us before God for the forgiveness of sins and receive these praises from us: Rejoice, O Four Holy Evangelists, granting us the power of the Word, the armor of grace, and unwavering victory in the unseen battle!
Ikos 1
Great is God among His saints, and great is the Father’s goodwill toward His faithful children, and you, Holy Evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, were Holy Cherubim in human bodies who gazed upon a very high Mountain, comprehending with your penetrating eyes and spiritual understanding the life of our Savior, and we, your venerators, glorify you:
Rejoice, for the Gospel is one, yet written in four mysteries;
Rejoice, for each of you saw one side of the Mountain;
Rejoice, for each of you beheld it from the blessed perspective of your mind;
Rejoice, for the Light of grace has revealed to you, in part, the mystery of each of the sides;
Rejoice, for you have written of the whole, divided into four yet undispersed;
Rejoice, for God has given you the inspiration of the Holy Theologians;
Rejoice, O Four Holy Evangelists, granting us the power of the Word, the armor of grace, and unwavering victory in the unseen battle!
Kontakion 2
You beheld the image of the Lord Jesus Christ as He Himself desired to reveal Himself to you, Holy Evangelists, and each of you first felt His Gospel in your own soul, you experienced the miracle of Grace descending into your flesh, you acquired the immortal love of those who stand near the Savior or follow Him, and only then did the Word of God become clear within you to be given to the world: Alleluia!
Ikos 2
As you put the life of Jesus down on paper, each of you viewed it in your own way, for Jesus was not merely a Man, but God Incarnate, and no single mind could encompass the Incomprehensible One; rather, it was necessary for four enlightened minds to bear witness to His wondrous existence on earth, and we, who delight in the sweetness of your writings, call out to you:
Rejoice, you through whom the Word allowed Himself to be touched;
Rejoice, you gifted with Heaven’s golden pen;
Rejoice, for you have mirrored Heaven upon parchment;
Rejoice, for you have proclaimed the Truth to the four corners of the earth;
Rejoice, for you have sung to the ends of the world;
Rejoice, for you have proclaimed the deeds of the Lord as they were;
Rejoice, O Four Holy Evangelists, granting us the power of the Word, the armor of grace, and unwavering victory in the unseen battle!
Kontakion 3
Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, you who were once a tax collector and were spiritually transformed, receiving the honor of the apostleship from Jesus the Lord, hear these prayers and intercede with God to grant us the gift of faith and steadfastness in prayer, that we may be transformed inwardly as you were transformed, cast off the garment of sin, and clothe ourselves in the white robes of those who rejoice in God forever: Alleluia!
Ikos 3
After receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, only eight years after the Lord’s Ascension, you wrote the Gospel in Hebrew for the Jews who had believed in Jesus, the Son of God; your writing thus served to strengthen those already faithful, who praise you thus:
Rejoice, lover of Truth;
Rejoice, you who showed that Jesus is the One prophesied in the Old Testament;
Rejoice, for you were the link between the past and the present;
Rejoice, for you strengthened the faith;
Rejoice, for you revealed the genealogy of the Savior from Abraham to Him;
Rejoice, for you also wrote about Saint John the Baptist;
Rejoice, O Four Holy Evangelists, granting us the power of the Word, the armor of grace, and unwavering victory in the unseen battle!
Kontakion 4
You then set out to preach the Word of God among the Gentiles, arriving in Ethiopia, where your destiny had led you, enlightening that land with the light of the Holy Gospel, and you baptized many people, empowered by the grace you had received at the Descent of the Holy Spirit: Alleluia!
Ikos 4
And finally, guided by God, you went to the land of the man-eaters, where you performed many miracles, brought people with the faces of beasts to the faith, and prayed to the Savior to work in the hearts of that unbelieving people:
Rejoice, for Jesus appeared to you and gave you a staff;
Rejoice, for you planted it in the ground and it took root;
Rejoice, for its fruits cleansed the unbelievers of all demonic influence;
Rejoice, for the baptized were cleansed of the image of the devil, putting on the luminous image of grace;
Rejoice, for you rebuked the unclean spirits and cast them out;
Rejoice, for there you met your end, defeating the devil and his hosts;
Rejoice, O Four Holy Evangelists, granting us the power of the Word, the armor of grace, and unwavering victory in the unseen war!
Kontakion 5
Holy Evangelist Mark, you were of Jewish descent from the tribe of Levi, being the one who hosted Jesus in your home when He celebrated the Passover with His disciples before His Passion, and this house became the first church in Jerusalem because within its walls the Lord broke the bread and shared it with the wine—that is, His Holy Body and Blood at the Last Supper: Alleluia!
Ikos 5
The Apostles later took refuge in your house after the Lord’s Crucifixion, and there they received the Holy Spirit, and after Jesus Christ ascended into Heaven, you traveled far to preach the Savior’s teachings, and upon reaching Rome, you wrote the Gospel as if for the Romans, for they were at the helm of the world and their hearts were fertile ground to receive God:
Rejoice, for you presented Jesus as Lord of the world and Son of God;
Rejoice, for you declared that He is the Ruler of all living and lifeless things;
Rejoice, for you revealed Him as the Healer of all bodily and spiritual ailments;
Rejoice, for you described how He is Lord over demons;
Rejoice, for you affirmed that when He commands something, it is done;
Rejoice, for you taught that everything happens only according to God’s order;
Rejoice, O Four Holy Evangelists, granting us the power of the Word, the armor of grace, and unwavering victory in the unseen battle!
Kontakion 6
You were a great miracle-worker, for just as the Lord healed the blind man’s eyes, so too, Saint Mark, you took earth and spat upon it, and then placed it on the hand of the cobbler whose flesh had been pierced by his tool, and saying, “In the name of Jesus Christ, Who is forever, be healed,” and immediately his wound was healed: Alleluia!
Ikos 6
Walking then among the Gentiles, you performed many miracles, leaving a legacy that endures to this day in the Church of Alexandria, and when you were seized by the pagans, tortured, and imprisoned, an Angel appeared to you, saying: “Servant of God, Mark, leader of the saints of Egypt, behold, your name is written in the book of life in heaven, and you are numbered among the Holy Apostles. Your memory will never be forgotten; you will dance together with the powers on high; the archangels will receive your spirit in heaven, and your relics on earth will be guarded!”:
Rejoice, for having been brought out into the open, you gave up your spirit while enduring hardships;
Rejoice, for you were the pride of the Alexandrians;
Rejoice, for you left behind an ancient form of the Holy Liturgy;
Rejoice, pillar of the Church for the teaching of the Gospel;
Rejoice, you who deliver us from the deception of heresies;
Rejoice, and do not deprive us of your heavenly gifts;
Rejoice, O Four Holy Evangelists, granting us the power of the Word, the armor of grace, and unwavering victory in the unseen battle!
Kontakion 7
Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke, you were the Church’s first historian, one of the most educated Christians of your time, a physician, a painter, and a skilled writer; that is why Jesus the Savior appeared to you in the flesh on the road to Emmaus, when, together with Cleopas, you were despairing that the One you loved had been crucified, without knowing that He stood before you, Risen: Alleluia!
Ikos 7
All the way to Emmaus, Jesus expounded to you all the Scriptures of the Old Testament, Holy Luke, and you heard from His Most Pure lips saying: “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” which is why you later wrote the Gospel from the fire of your love for Him, a Holy Book addressed to the pagans who had not known Him at all, and we praise you:
Rejoice, for you have recounted the Nativity of the Lord in detail;
Rejoice, for you have also written in detail of the events leading up to it;
Rejoice, for as a doctor, you were concerned with the miraculous healings performed by Jesus;
Rejoice, for you alone wrote the Savior’s 12 parables;
Rejoice, for though you were not present, you gathered the nectar of the Lord’s life from the witnesses;
Rejoice, for you have left us the Gospel of the poor and of sinners who turn to God;
Rejoice, O Four Holy Evangelists, granting us the power of the Word, the armor of grace, and unwavering victory in the unseen battle!
Kontakion 8
You traveled far with the Holy Apostle Paul, from whom you learned the unseen mysteries of the Kingdom of God, remaining by the great Apostle’s side until the moment of his passing, a true spiritual son, faithful to your teacher until death, and then you went through the trials of life, always keeping in mind the Lord’s presence on the road to Emmaus, saying again and again: “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” Alleluia!
Ikos 8
But you did not only leave the Gospel to humanity, Holy Luke, but you also painted the first icons as a testimony through the ages of the most beautiful image of the Mother of God, and the Most Holy Mother of God blessed them, saying: “May the grace of my Son be with these icons,” and we, who delight in their beauty and in the miracles wrought through them, call upon you with gratitude:
Rejoice, you who received the gift of spiritual vision from Jesus Himself;
Rejoice, you who are worthy to receive the bread from His Holy Hands;
Rejoice, for He has nourished you with His Holy Body;
Rejoice, for all your life you loved Him as an inseparable part of yourself;
Rejoice, for following Saint Paul, you also wrote the “Acts of the Apostles”;
Rejoice, for you then departed to the Lord, from where you still work miracles;
Rejoice, O Four Holy Evangelists, granting us the power of the Word, the armor of grace, and unwavering victory in the unseen battle!
Kontakion 9
Holy Apostle and Evangelist John, lover of virginity, called “the son of thunder,” the most beloved disciple of the Savior who received you when you rested your head on His chest, the Lord called you to be a fisher of men, and you responded with your heart, and thus you became an intercessor for us who cry out to God: Alleluia!
Ikos 9
You wrote the Gospel last, addressing all nations who wish to learn of Jesus, with love as your theme, for out of love the Son of God became incarnate, and this love you also preached, saying: “My little children, love one another, just as Christ has loved you”:
Rejoice, you who began your writings with the Beginning—God the Word;
Rejoice, you who spoke of the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us;
Rejoice, for you spoke of Jesus, the Good Shepherd;
Rejoice, for you confessed Jesus as the Son of God;
Rejoice, for your writings have caused you to be called “John the Theologian”;
Rejoice, for you were the most penetrating evangelist in the mysteries of the Word;
Rejoice, O Four Holy Evangelists, granting us the power of the Word, the armor of grace, and unwavering victory in the unseen battle!
Kontakion 10
You were blessed to be among the Savior’s inner circle, witnessing the resurrection of Jairus’s daughter, the Transfiguration of the Lord on Mount Tabor, and the prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, and you were the first of the Apostles to believe that Jesus had risen: Alleluia!
Ikos 10
Your courage and love for the Savior did not allow you to part from Him even during His Passion, for you alone remained at the foot of the Cross, bitterly mourning His death yet believing that He would rise, and thus through you the entire human race was adopted by the Mother of God, for Jesus made you her son and called His Most Holy Mother “your mother”; and after His Ascension into Heaven you went to Ephesus, leading the Church there with exceptional authority, being known as John the Shepherd:
Rejoice, for you wrote the Gospel and silenced the heretics;
Rejoice, Pillar of the Church;
Rejoice, for you took part in the Council of the Church in Jerusalem;
Rejoice, for while exiled on the island of Patmos, you wrote the Apocalypse there;
Rejoice, for you lived a long life, full of divine revelations;
Rejoice, for you departed to the Lord through a pious death;
Rejoice, O Four Holy Evangelists, granting us the power of the Word, the armor of grace, and unwavering victory in the unseen battle!
Kontakion 11
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist John saw on the island of Patmos, when he was caught up into Heaven, all that will be at the end of the world, which he later wrote in the Book of Revelation, and you, the Four Holy Evangelists, will stand before the Throne of the Most High, four beings full of eyes in front and behind, each having six wings: Alleluia!
Ikos 11
Saint John saw that each of you had a specific appearance as a symbol of your power, namely: Saint Matthew the Apostle was like a man, Saint Mark the Apostle was like a lion, Saint Luke the Apostle had the head of a calf, and Saint John the Apostle was like an eagle:
Rejoice, Saint Matthew, who revealed the Savior’s earthly lineage;
Rejoice, Saint Mark, who bore witness to the lion’s mouth of Saint John the Baptist;
Rejoice, Saint Luke, who wrote the parable of the “fattened calf” sacrificed for the prodigal son;
Rejoice, Saint John, who, soaring like an eagle, saw the Truth about the Second Coming of Jesus;
Rejoice, faithful servants of God;
Rejoice, you who will be part of the final battle in which Jesus Christ will be victorious;
Rejoice, the Four Holy Evangelists, granting us the power of the Word, the armor of grace, and unwavering victory in the unseen war!
Kontakion 12
You are part of the Holy Liturgy in Heaven, alongside the 24 Holy Elders and all the 12 Holy Apostles, worshiping with love the Throne of the Most Holy Trinity and offering honor and glory to the Most Pure Mother of God: Alleluia!
Ikos 12
The Holy Apostle John revealed your true spiritual nature in the Apocalypse, for he made known to us that you are part of the Holy Host of Cherubim, just as the Prophet Ezekiel saw that each Cherub has four faces—of a man, a lion, a calf, and an eagle; and we, filled with gratitude for this reflection of you from the Old Testament to the New Testament and then into the eternal Kingdom of God, praise you:
Rejoice, you who cover us with your Cherubim wings;
Rejoice, you who grant us your boundless vision;
Rejoice, you who inspire us with holy wisdom;
Rejoice, you who give us the gift of seeing the Light;
Rejoice, you who intercede for us before the Throne of God;
Rejoice, you who enable the mind to penetrate the mysteries of the Holy Gospels;
Rejoice, you Four Holy Evangelists, granting us the power of the Word, the armor of grace, and unwavering victory in the unseen battle!
Kontakion 13
O Holy Four Evangelists, golden trumpets of the Good News, you who have scattered incense and myrrh in the footsteps of the Savior on earth, we pray that you grant us also the power of the Word, the gift of the Holy Spirit, that our minds may be enlightened with the wisdom of God’s understanding, and defend us from all the temptations of this life, being with us in all things so that we may be saved in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ: Alleluia!
This Kontakion is sung three times.
Ikos 1
Great is God among His saints, and great is the Father’s goodwill toward His faithful children, and you, Holy Evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, were Holy Cherubim in human bodies who gazed upon a very high Mountain, comprehending with your penetrating eyes and spiritual understanding the life of our Savior, and we, your venerators, glorify you:
Rejoice, for the Gospel is one, yet written in four mysteries;
Rejoice, for each of you saw one side of the Mountain;
Rejoice, for each of you beheld it from the blessed perspective of your mind;
Rejoice, for the Light of grace has revealed to you, in part, the mystery of each of the sides;
Rejoice, for you have written of the whole, divided into four yet undispersed;
Rejoice, for God has given you the inspiration of the Holy Theologians;
Rejoice, O Four Holy Evangelists, granting us the power of the Word, the armor of grace, and unwavering victory in the unseen battle!
Kontakion 1
We pray to the Four Holy Evangelists, who have left us the words of the Lord Jesus Christ in writing so that we may keep His miracles and teachings in our hearts, and who have delighted in the endless sweetness of the spiritual writings. And you, Holy Ones, witnesses of things known and unknown, intercede for us before God for the forgiveness of sins and receive these praises from us: Rejoice, O Four Holy Evangelists, granting us the power of the Word, the armor of grace, and unwavering victory in the unseen battle!
PRAYER
Holy Four Evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, receive these words spoken with a pure heart and come to our aid, we who celebrate your memory with piety and love.
You wrote the Holy Gospels, inspired by the Holy Spirit; grant us, too, thoughts enlightened from Heaven, honest impulses of the heart, and a mind purified of passions.
You preached the Word of the Lord to the ends of the earth; walk with us on the path of life, that we may safely reach the harbor of salvation, delivered from falls, temptations, despair, and a violent death.
You have healed people through the power given to you at Pentecost; heal us also from all the illnesses of body and soul, that we may rise from our sickbeds, joyful and strengthened in faith.
You have cast out demons from the faithful and from their homes; drive away from us all unclean spirits so that we may remain with a prayerful heart and a sound mind, praying ceaselessly to God.
You have endured many hardships and even died in the Name of the Lord; do not leave us prey to our enemies, but be for us a shield and spiritual armor; strengthen our sword, which is prayer crowned with patience, and give us the strength to remain steadfast in this battle we wage for God.
We thank you for your kindness, Holy Four Evangelists, and with tears we ask you: pray for us to God that He may fulfill all that we, the unworthy, need for salvation, so that we may come to meet you in His Heavenly Kingdom, now and forever and ever. Amen.
