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Feast Day: 8 May
Kontakion 1
Come, all Christian peoples, let us praise the “Son of Thunder,” John the Apostle and Evangelist, who wrote and proclaimed the divine dogmas throughout the world, to whom with faith and heartfelt devotion let us cry out: Rejoice, lover of virginity, John the Apostle, beloved of God!
Ikos 1
To the beholder of heavenly mysteries, the most pure vessel of virginity who at the Last Supper leaned on Jesus’ breast and drank from the fountain of the boundless One’s wisdom, let us all, who love Christ, praise him, and with longing, let us cry out to him:
Rejoice, you who cast aside the cares of the world;
Rejoice, you who followed Christ with great love;
Rejoice, you who were called from fishing to Christ;
Rejoice, you who drew the nations with the net of the Word;
Rejoice, for the thunder of your theology has been heard throughout the world;
Rejoice, for you have honored your chaste life;
Rejoice, for because of your righteous life, you were loved by the Word of Life;
Rejoice, most luminous pillar of the Church;
Rejoice, beloved disciple of Christ;
Rejoice, for Christ has shown you all His wondrous miracles;
Rejoice, for He has entrusted to you the most exalted mysteries;
Rejoice, lover of virginity, John the Apostle, beloved of God!
Kontakion 2
On Mount Tabor you beheld the glory of Christ, as much as it is possible for a man to see, and from this mysterious revelation, understanding that He is the Lord of death and life, you sang praise to Him from your heart: Alleluia!
Ikos 2
As a beloved disciple and a most honored friend of Christ, you are ever near Him and ever love Him from your heart; for this reason we also praise you and say:
Rejoice, for at the resurrection of Jairus’s daughter you were called by the Lord;
Rejoice, for at the Lord’s crucifixion you stood by His cross;
Rejoice, for at the dreadful mysteries of Christ’s Passion you too suffered with your heart;
Rejoice, for with a heart full of sorrow you beheld the Passion of the Lord and Master of Life;
Rejoice, for you followed the Lord even unto His death;
Rejoice, for the Lord spoke to you from the Cross;
Rejoice, for He called you the son of His Mother;
Rejoice, for the Lord entrusted His Holy Mother to you;
Rejoice, for you took His Most Holy Mother under your protection and care;
Rejoice, for at her most honorable Dormition you served with great devotion;
Rejoice, for you carried the bier brought to her by the Archangel Gabriel before the coffin of the Most Holy One;
Rejoice, lover of virginity, John the Apostle, beloved of God!
Kontakion 3
After the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, together with your disciple Prochorus, you departed for Asia, and there you preached the word of the Lord and taught all who believed to sing to God: Alleluia!
Ikos 3
Seeing in advance, with the eyes of your mind, the temptations and dangers awaiting you on the path of preaching the Gospel, through fervent faith and love for God, you overcame the sorrow and grief that hindered you from your calling; for this we bless you and say:
Rejoice, for in Asia you preached the word of the Lord;
Rejoice, for in bearing witness to the truth you endured many dangers and many trials;
Rejoice, for together with your disciple Prochorus you entered Ephesus in Asia;
Rejoice, for there you baptized Romana and her entire household;
Rejoice, for by the power of Christ you raised Domnus from the dead;
Rejoice, for you restored Dioscorides, Domnus’s father, to life;
Rejoice, for through these miracles you brought many back to Christ;
Rejoice, for you raised three hundred other dead people as well;
Rejoice, for you healed the boy who had been lame for twelve years;
Rejoice, for through your prayers you brought down the temple of Artemis to its foundations;
Rejoice, for no one was harmed when the temple fell;
Rejoice, for by the command of Emperor Domitian you departed for Rome in chains;
Rejoice, lover of virginity, John the Apostle, beloved of God!
Kontakion 4
With the fire of Christ’s love burning fiercely within you, the tyrant emperor’s command did not terrify you; rather, receiving your bonds for the Lord with great joy, you praised Him from your heart, singing: Alleluia!
Ikos 4
The young soldiers bound you with chains and shackles, leading you to the ship under their guard, bound for Rome, where you went; and by the providence of your sweet Jesus, you submitted with gentleness and calm, for which we too praise you, saying:
Rejoice, for through the bonds of the tyrants, you became like your Master;
Rejoice, for He, for our salvation, was seized and bound by the lawless;
Rejoice, for you behaved with great love toward the pagan soldiers and tyrants;
Rejoice, for you foretold the coming storm at sea;
Rejoice, for on that voyage, you terrified all aboard the ship with your miracles;
Rejoice, for you always held Christ in your heart;
Rejoice, for with His power you performed great miracles;
Rejoice, for the image of Christ’s life was truly reflected in you;
Rejoice, for you loved Him with all your heart;
Rejoice, for on the path of suffering you followed Him with great longing;
Rejoice, for, desiring His love, you journeyed joyfully toward your torments;
Rejoice, for the Lord’s power ever sustained you, His beloved disciple;
Rejoice, lover of virginity, John the Apostle, beloved of God!
Kontakion 5
You calmed, O Word-bearer of God, the terrifying storm of the sea with your holy prayers. And seeing this miracle, all those on the ship were greatly terrified, knowing the power of the True God that was within you; and you urged them all to sing to God: Alleluia!
Ikos 5
To the island of Patmos, by the command of the pagan emperor Domitian, you were exiled, for there, through God’s good providence, you came for the benefit of many, for which we too praise you with reverence thus:
Rejoice, for you were bound in chains by the tyrannical soldiers;
Rejoice, for under the guard of soldiers you journeyed to Patmos together with your disciple Prochorus;
Rejoice, for on this journey, by your prayer, you raised the drowned youth from the dead;
Rejoice, for by this miracle you astonished everyone;
Rejoice, for with your prayer you also calmed the storm at sea;
Rejoice, for you healed the sick soldier;
Rejoice, for with your prayer you also made the sea water sweet;
Rejoice, for you saved the one dying of thirst on the ship of death;
Rejoice, for you preached the Gospel of Christ on the island of Patmos;
Rejoice, for you converted Myron and all his household;
Rejoice, for with your word you brought down the temple of Apelles;
Rejoice, for you rendered powerless the devilish power of the sorcerer Kynops;
Rejoice, lover of virginity, John the Apostle, beloved of God!
Kontakion 6
At the call of the pagan, you relieved his wife, who was in great labor, merely by crossing their threshold. And seeing this miracle, the pagan’s household believed in Christ and gave glory to God, singing: Alleluia!
Ikos 6
Having spent three years in this place and then going to a city whose inhabitants were deeply steeped in idolatry, you labored greatly to preach the word, to their amazement, and thus brought a great multitude to Christ; therefore, with fervent ardor we praise you thus:
Rejoice, for you enlightened the inhabitants of that city with the word of truth;
Rejoice, for you saved the young people bound for the devil’s sacrifice of death;
Rejoice, for you bound the devil in the form of a wolf and questioned him;
Rejoice, for through the power of Christ you drove him from that island;
Rejoice, for you raised from the dead the son of the one who sacrificed Dyes;
Rejoice, for with prayer you tore down the temple of the idol Dionysus;
Rejoice, for you defeated the sorcerer Noukianos;
Rejoice, for you dried up the hand of the unbeliever;
Rejoice, for through the drying of his hand, the unbeliever came to know the true God;
Rejoice, for Prokliania, believing in Christ, was baptized;
Rejoice, lover of virginity, John the Apostle, beloved of God!
Kontakion 7
Before your return to Ephesus, you wrote to those on the island of Patmos the Gospel of Christ and the terrifying visions of the Apocalypse, and the multitude of believers there preserved what was written for their enlightenment and salvation, as if they were the very words of Christ, and for the richness of the dogmas contained therein, they gave glory to God, singing: Alleluia!
Ikos 7
The beginning of your Gospel has remained the beginning of the most exalted dogmas of the Church of Christ, for you have testified that the Word of God became incarnate and dwelt among men. Marveling, therefore, as is fitting, at the spiritual height of your wisdom, we praise you, saying thus:
Rejoice, for you have confessed that the Word of God is true God;
Rejoice, for you have confessed that the Word was with God from the beginning;
Rejoice, for you have shown that nothing that is made was made without Him;
Rejoice, for the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word is revealed to be above all mysteries;
Rejoice, for indeed, the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word surpasses all mysteries;
Rejoice, for you have risen with your mind higher than above cataphatic theology;
Rejoice, for you have honored with awe and wonder those things your mind cannot comprehend;
Rejoice, for you have preached to the world the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word in an apophatic manner;
Rejoice, for no one among men has interpreted the mystery of the Word’s incarnation;
Rejoice, for the mystery of God’s economy remains a mystery forever;
Rejoice, lover of virginity, John the Apostle, beloved of God!
Kontakion 8
Most skillfully and with all wisdom you have shown in your teaching that the Law and the Prophets dwell in the commandment of love for God and love for one’s neighbor. Therefore, as an Apostle of Christian love, the whole Church of Christ praises you and sings to God: Alleluia!
Ikos 8
You said, O divine Apostle of Christ, that God is love, and that whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him, thereby revealing to us the highest truths of the Law of the Grace; for this reason, we rightly say to you:
Rejoice, for you have called God love;
Rejoice, for you have taught us to love God, Who loved us first;
Rejoice, for through you we have come to know the love of God;
Rejoice, for you have said that whoever has love is born of God;
Rejoice, for you have shown us what He said, that whoever hates his brother is a murderer;
Rejoice, for your teaching urges us to love and keeps us from hatred;
Rejoice, for you have shown God’s love to the world;
Rejoice, for from you I have learned to love my neighbor;
Rejoice, for you have said that God has loved us;
Rejoice, for, according to your testimony, God, out of love for the world, sent His beloved Son into the world;
Rejoice, for according to your testimony, out of His love for us, He suffered death;
Rejoice, for the Church of Christ has rightly named you the Apostle of love;
Rejoice, lover of virginity, John the Apostle, beloved of God!
Kontakion 9
Lover of chastity and of God, beloved Apostle and Evangelist John, the Lord has revealed to you great and awesome mysteries, for you lived a blameless life and loved Him with all your heart, and in your heart you sang to Him thus: Alleluia!
Ikos 9
Your pure mind, filled with wonder, and carried away by the Holy Spirit on a Sunday, ascended to the highest heights of your ministry, and from the Alpha and Omega the most wondrous mystery was revealed to you, whom we honor and to whom we say:
Rejoice, for on the island of Patmos you saw the Lord among seven lampstands;
Rejoice, for from Him you received great revelations;
Rejoice, for from Him you received the command to write;
Rejoice, for by writing to the seven Churches, you fulfilled the Lord’s command;
Rejoice, for the glory of Christ’s Throne was revealed to you;
Rejoice, for in the Spirit you beheld the twenty-four elders;
Rejoice, for you saw the book with the seven seals;
Rejoice, for you beheld the opening of that book;
Rejoice, for the mystery of the seven seals has been revealed to you;
Rejoice, for the number of the virgins, symbolically, has been shown to you, lover of virginity;
Rejoice, for you saw seven angels and seven trumpets before God;
Rejoice, for when the first angels sounded their trumpets, fire and blood fell upon the earth;
Rejoice, lover of virginity, John the Apostle, beloved of God!
Kontakion 10
God, the Most Holy and Most Pure, poured out His Spirit upon you, O chosen vessel of virginity, and made you worthy to receive the revelation of the highest mysteries; for this reason we praise you and sing to God: Alleluia!
Ikos 10
You have become God’s chosen church through your innocent and blameless life, for the measurement of the Church and the Altar of God was entrusted to you; please accept, we beseech you, these hymns from us, the humble:
Rejoice, for you have measured the Church and the Altar in heaven;
Rejoice, for you have opened the courtyard of the Church to the nations;
Rejoice, for you have proclaimed to the world the persecution of the Church by the Antichrist;
Rejoice, for you have revealed to the world the beast with seven heads and ten horns;
Rejoice, for the time of the beast’s reign was not hidden from you;
Rejoice, for you have revealed the beast’s name, in secret, to the Church;
Rejoice, for you have seen the beast with horns like a lamb;
Rejoice, for the Lord has shown you the harvest to come;
Rejoice, for the great winepress of the Lord’s wrath has been revealed to you;
Rejoice, for you have proclaimed to the world the seven angels with the seven bowls of God’s wrath;
Rejoice, for the mystery of the great Babylon has been revealed to you;
Rejoice, lover of virginity, John the Apostle, beloved of God!
Kontakion 11
The great joy and gladness of the wedding of the Lamb of God has been revealed to you by the Holy Spirit, and you have heard the song of victory over the beast from the heavenly powers, who with voices like thunder sang glory to Christ God: Alleluia!
Ikos 11
You, the beloved disciple of Christ, honored the words of the divine Scriptures through your deeds. Therefore, God has deemed your mind worthy of the vision of heavenly mysteries and has caused it to shine with profound understanding. For this reason, we who are weak in understanding the good things praise you:
Rejoice, for your mind has been enlightened by the Holy Spirit;
Rejoice, for in your vision you saw the dragon bound;
Rejoice, for you saw the Last Judgment in a vision;
Rejoice, for in your vision you saw the heavenly Jerusalem, thou eternal heir of it!;
Rejoice, for you saw the Bride of the Lamb adorned;
Rejoice, for you revealed that your city, with twelve foundations and twelve gates, is exceedingly resplendent;
Rejoice, for that city had twelve pearls instead of gates;
Rejoice, for its pearl gates shone most beautifully;
Rejoice, for one of these gates mysteriously represented you;
Rejoice, for you saw the foundations of that city of precious stone;
Rejoice, for the Lord made you one of the twelve foundations of that city;
Rejoice, lover of virginity, John the Apostle, beloved of God!
Kontakion 12
You have seen, Apostle, beloved of God, the pure and crystal-clear river of the Water of Life flowing from the Throne of God and of the Lamb, for which we, the unworthy, honor the mysteries revealed to you and sing to God: Alleluia!
Ikos 12
Truly Christ is the Tree of Life and of eternal immortality, for through Him the human race, long dead through the transgression of the commandments, has come into being; Him all the peoples of the earth glorify, and you, His beloved disciple, I bless, singing thus:
Rejoice, for you too were one of the hidden fruits of the Tree of Life;
Rejoice, for you saw Christ as the tree of life with twelve fruits;
Rejoice, for you too became a tree of life after partaking of Grace;
Rejoice, for through your preaching many have believed in Christ;
Rejoice, for through your preaching many have heard the Word of Life;
Rejoice, for through the preaching of the Gospel you have fed many with the bread of life;
Rejoice, for through the preaching of the Word you have quenched the thirst of many with the Water of Life;
Rejoice, for through the knowledge of Christ, the Tree of Life, the nations have been healed of the wound of death;
Rejoice, for you have sprung from the stem of the Tree of Life;
Rejoice, for the trunk of the Tree of Life has nourished you;
Rejoice, for through the gift of Christ, the Tree of Life, you have borne a hundredfold fruit;
Rejoice, lover of virginity, John the Apostle, beloved of God!
Kontakion 13
O divine Apostle and Evangelist of Christ, John, who was dearly loved by the Lord and deemed worthy by Him to behold the most exalted mysteries, with your holy prayers, help us so that on the great day of the Last Judgment we may receive mercy and forgiveness of sins from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the Alpha and the Omega, to Whom we sing praise thus: Alleluia!
This kontakion is sung three times.
Then again the First Ikos and Kontakion 1.
Ikos 1
To the beholder of heavenly mysteries, the most pure vessel of virginity who at the Last Supper leaned on Jesus’ breast and drank from the fountain of the boundless One’s wisdom, let us all, who love Christ, praise him, and with longing, let us cry out to him:
Rejoice, you who cast aside the cares of the world;
Rejoice, you who followed Christ with great love;
Rejoice, you who were called from fishing to Christ;
Rejoice, you who drew the nations with the net of the Word;
Rejoice, for the thunder of your theology has been heard throughout the world;
Rejoice, for you have honored your chaste life;
Rejoice, for because of your righteous life, you were loved by the Word of Life;
Rejoice, most luminous pillar of the Church;
Rejoice, beloved disciple of Christ;
Rejoice, for Christ has shown you all His wondrous miracles;
Rejoice, for He has entrusted to you the most exalted mysteries;
Rejoice, lover of virginity, John the Apostle, beloved of God!
Kontakion 1
Come, all Christian peoples, let us praise the “Son of Thunder,” John the Apostle and Evangelist, who wrote and proclaimed the divine dogmas throughout the world, to whom with faith and heartfelt devotion let us cry out: Rejoice, lover of virginity, John the Apostle, beloved of God!
Prayer to Saint John the Apostle:
With faith, love, and reverence, we come to you from the depths of our hearts, Holy Apostle and Evangelist John, God’s spokesman and Christ’s most beloved friend, and with all humility we ask you to help us, the unworthy, through your holy and all-powerful prayers, so that we may pass peacefully and with comfort through all the turbulent waves of the present age and not fall into the snares and traps so skillfully set by evil men and cunning demons. We ask you, the soaring eagle of theology, to intercede for us before the Most Merciful God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, that He may enlighten with His grace our minds darkened by passions, so that we too may receive the wisdom from the Spirit of God and know the dogmas of the true faith and the wonders of His Law, and so that we too may work, according to our strength, on that which we will understand. We ask you, the beloved disciple of Christ, who preached to the world the love of God and the love of neighbor, to help us through your intercession before the Lord, so that we too, through the gift of God, may come to love God with all our heart, with all our mind, and with all our strength, and our neighbor as ourselves. We place you, the most pure vessel of virginity, as our intercessor before the Most Good God, that through His help and mercy He may deliver us from the fierce wars of anger and carnal desires, as well as from the flood of impure thoughts, which ever spring from the heart and which, like clouds of darkness, disperse from the depths, darken our minds to the ruin of our souls. To you, most blessed disciple and apostle, whom the Lord named you the son of His Most Holy and Most Pure Mother and whom He appointed to serve her until her departure from this world, we fall with all humility and contrition of heart, that, together with the Most Pure Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, who is also the Mother of the Lord, your Mother, and the Mother of all of us who have believed in Christ, you may intercede for us before our Most Sweet Savior, that through His mercy and compassion, He may not forsake us throughout all the days of our lives, nor at the hour of our passing, when we shall stand before Him and be judged. Amen.
Second prayer to Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist:
Great and all-praised Apostle and Evangelist John, Spokesman of God, beloved disciple of Christ, our ardent defender and swift helper in times of trouble! Pray to the Lord God to grant us forgiveness for all our sins, which we have committed from our youth throughout our lives in deed, word, desire, and with all our senses, and when our souls depart from our bodies, help us sinners to be delivered from the toll-houses of the air and from eternal torments, so that through your merciful intercession we may glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Source: https://doxologia.ro/acatistul-sfantului-apostol-evanghelist-ioan
