The 23rd Day of the Month of June

Commemoration of our Holy Mother Audrey, Abbess of Ely

At Vespers

At 'Lord, I have cried', 3 stichira in Tone VIII:

Thou, O Virgin Queen, hast suffered the pains of ascetic struggle and thus gained grace
through the necklace of thy virtues, to heal diseases of both body and soul, to drive out
demons and protect all those that suffer: O venerable Mother Audrey, do thou pray for us
that we may obtain healing and great mercy.

In times of old the mere touch of thy burial robes bestowed sight on the blind and healing
on the sick who faithfully beseeched thine aid. Now, O holy and venerable Mother Audrey,
boast of Ely, do thou pray for us in thy noble strength that we may obtain great mercy.

Fruit of the pious King Anna, together with thy holy family, thou wast fervent with the love
of God in all purity and modesty and merciful to thy neighbour, O Blessed and venerable
Mother Audrey. Therefore God endowed thee with the noble strength of grace and others,
both men and women, followed thee: do thou beseech Christ to preserve in the Faith those
who call thee blessed.

Glory, Tone II:

With the sword of abstinence thou didst sever spiritual snares and bodily passions, and
with the silence of prayer and fasting thou didst strangle all sinful thoughts, with the
streams of thy tears thou didst water the whole fenland desert and cause fruits of
repentance to grow in thine island-monastery, wherefore, O holy Audrey, we celebrate thy
holy memory.

Now and ever, Hymn to the Mother of God:

O Mother of God, save thy servants from dangers, for, after God, we all flee to thee as an
indestructible rampart and protection.

Hymn to the Cross and the Mother of God:

When the spotless lamb beheld her Child being dragged as a man willingly to the slaughter,
she cried out through her tears: Dost thou seek to make me childless who gave Thee birth,
O Christ? Why hast Thou done so, O Saviour of us all? Yet I praise and glorify Thine
ineffable goodness, O Thou Who lovest mankind.

If there is a Polyeleion, then the Sunday Hymn to the Mother of God in Tone VI: 'The shadow
of the law '

Entrance, Joyful Light, Prokimenon of the Day.

Readings: Wisdom of Solomon 3, 1-9; Wisdom of Solomon 5, 15-23 and 6, 1-3; Wisdom of
Solomon 4, 7, 16, 17, 19, 20 and 5, 1-7.

At the Aposticha, in Tone I:

Thou didst desire the glory of the holy fathers and mothers, thou didst love incorruptible
glory. Therefore, a Queen among men and twice Virgin-spouse, renouncing worldly pleasure
and subjecting thy body to ascetic warfare, thou hast obtained the reward of thy labours
and dost reign with Christ the King, O noble Audrey.
Verse: God is wonderful in His Saints, the God of Israel.

Together with thy holy sisters, thou, O Virgin-Queen, didst desire the fair beauty of Christ
thy Bridegroom with good deeds and, adorned with the labours of the ascetic life, thou didst
strive to attain to Him, wherefore thou now dost reign with Christ the King in His glory.

Verse: Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His Saints.

Thou didst set course for the heavenly haven and calmly sail over the stormy oceans of the
world. Without foundering thou didst pilot thy soul's ship through the bitterness of sweet
things, filled with the secret treasures of renunciation and heavenly life in word and deed.

Glory, Tone VI:

O holy Mother Audrey who art praised by all, this day thy sacred festival shineth forth
brighter than the sun, enlightening those in darkness and driving away the gloom of the
demons from the fenlands and from our souls.

Now and ever, Hymn to the Mother of God, or this Hymn to the Cross and the Mother of God
also in Tone VI:

When the Mother who gave Thee birth saw Thee crucified, O Christ, she cried: What is this
strange mystery, O my son? How dost Thou die, crucified, O Giver of Life?

Troparion Tone VIII:

In thee the Image of God was preserved, O noble Audrey, for thou didst take up thy cross
and follow Christ. Royal virgin, thou didst teach the multitude by thine example that the
flesh is to be scorned as fleeting, while the soul needeth great care as immortal. Wherefore,
O holy Audrey, thou dost now make glad with the angels.

At Matins

At 'God is the Lord', the Troparion of the Saint twice, GloryNow and ever, and the Hymn to
the Mother of God or to the Cross and the Mother of God in the same tone.

After the first reading from the Psalter, Sessional Hymn Tone V:

Thou didst valiantly persevere in ascetic feats and defeat the devil with his many snares, O
holy Audrey. After thy life of hardship thou art now gone to God, praying for those who
reverently celebrate thy festival.

Glory Now and ever, Hymn to the Mother of God in the same tone:

O sinless Virgin Mother, shine down rays of repentance upon me, scatter the darkness of
my wicked deeds and drive away all thought of evil from my heart.

After the second reading from the Psalter, Sessional Hymn Tone IV:

Though crowned on earth, thou didst crucify thy body with its passions and love Christ thy
Bridegroom with all thy heart, O Audrey, wherefore thou wast crowned in heaven, and
numbered among the choirs of Angels, ever praying for those who honour thee.

Glory Now and ever, Hymn to the Mother of God:

The storm of sins striketh me, as doth the tempest of my sinful thoughts, have compassion
upon me, O pure one, and graciously stretch forth thy hand to help me that, saved, I may
magnify thee.

The Magnification:

We magnify thee, O holy Mother Audrey, and we honour thy holy memory, for thou dost
pray for us to Christ our God.

Verse: I waited and waited for the Lord, and He attended to me and heard my prayer.

Sessional Hymn, Tone VIII:

O Mother chosen by God, thou hast passed calmly through the storms of life and been
piloted to Paradise, now do thou praise the Redeemer with the Angels, that He may grant us
grace and great mercy and preserve the flock which through thy labours thou didst bring
unto Him.

Glory Now and ever, Hymn to the Mother of God:

Rejoice, thou who through the Archangel didst receive the Joy of all the world; Rejoice, thou
who didst give birth to thy Creator and Lord; Rejoice, thou who wast made worthy to become
the Mother of God.

Gradual, First Antiphon of Tone IV, 'From my youth'

Prokimenon, Tone IV:

God is wonderful in His Saints, the God of Israel.

Verse: Bless God in the churches, praise the Lord from the wellsprings of Israel.

Let every breath. Gospel: Matt 25, 1-13.

After Psalm 50, Sticheron Tone II:

With the sword of abstinence thou didst sever spiritual snares and bodily passions, and
with the silence of prayer and fasting thou didst strangle wrongful thoughts; with the
streams of thy tears thou didst water the whole fenland desert and cause fruits of
repentance to grow in thine island-monastery, wherefore, O holy Audrey, we celebrate thy
holy memory.

Canon Tone VIII:

Ode I

Irmos: By parting the sea with the sign of the Cross, the miraculous rod of Moses drowned
the pursuing chariots of Pharaoh, and saved fleeing Israel who marched on, singing to God.

My soul is continually drowned by the storm of passions and stirred by the clamour of evil
thoughts: O holy Audrey, do thou guide me through the trackless fens of the demons to the
still haven of Christ's will, that I may hymn thee worthily.
Thou wast enlightened with the virtues of virginity, O godly Audrey. With prayer and fasting
thou didst put thy passions to death and follow in the life-bringing footsteps of the pure
Word thy true Bridegroom.

O holy and glorious Audrey, amid the barren fen thou didst follow the teaching of the holy
fathers and mothers, and live like the Bodiless Ones, in prayer and fasting, in purity and
virginity, in true humility, and thus thou didst bear fruit a hundredfold.

Glory Now and ever:

Thou art the divine vessel and table who hast borne the Bread of Life; thou art the
unploughed land and holy mountain, and we glorify thee in hymns, O Mother of God.

Ode III

Irmos: O Lord, Creator of the vault of heaven and Builder of the Church, strengthen me in
Thy love, O summit of desire, O bulwark of the faithful, O Thou alone Who lovest mankind.

Though men sought thee as their Queen, the Almighty had chosen thee as His Bride, and
now thou dwellest with Christ the King in glory in the heavenly mansions. From there thou
makest streams of healing to stem the flowing of our passions.

Instead of necklaces and fine jewellery, thou wast adorned with the love of Christ, Who in
His abundant compassion, though rich became poor; thou hast followed His Life-bringing
words, despising all earthly riches and glory and thus hast become noble in soul.

Thou didst acquire golden wings of virtue, O Blessed Audrey, and as an immortal dove thou
hast flown up to the heights of heaven from the desolate fenlands through the noble
strength of prayer.

Glory Now and ever:

O Virgin, our race hath been saved through Him Who for our sakes became poor in His
Body which He took from thy womb: wherefore we praise and bless thee, O most pure grace-
filled Maiden.

Sessional Hymn Tone IV:

As Christ's virgin and undefiled bride thou art adorned with ascetic feats; thou hast entered
the incorruptible chamber with Him, contemplating its beauties. Do thou beseech Him for
us who lovingly hymn thee, that we may be saved from all adversity.

Glory Now and ever, Hymn to the Mother of God:

O pure, spotless and unwedded Bride who alone hast given birth to the eternal Son and
Word of God: together with the holy and venerable Apostles and Martyrs, Prophets and
Ascetics, beseech thou Him to grant us healing and great mercy.

Hymn to the Cross and the Mother of God:

O most pure Virgin, Mother of Christ our God, a sword pierced thy soul when thou didst
behold thy Son and God willingly crucified. Wherefore, O blessed one, do not cease to pray
to Him, that He may grant us the forgiveness of our sins.

Ode IV
Irmos: O Lord, I have heard of the mystery of Thy dispensation. I contemplate Thy works
and glorify Thy divine nature.

O noble Audrey, holy and royal jewel in the crown of East Anglia, thy bright festival shineth
with the radiance of the Spirit and, healing both bodily and spiritual eyes, enlighteneth our
souls as we sing to thee in faith.

With miracles and foreknowledge, thou hast brought to the Faith those who had not known
the Master, and by the noble strength of prayer and fasting thou hast revealed Him to those
who were beset by the darkness of heathendom.

Couselled by the wisdom of the holy Abbesses Hild and Ebbe, thou, O Queen and virgin,
didst bring to Christ the gifts of bodily abstinence and the labours of fasting, and He hath
rewarded thee with the unending joy of His kingdom.

Glory Now and ever:

O most pure one, who art humble, save me who live in pride, for thou didst give birth to Him
who hath exalted our humbled nature.

Ode V

Irmos: Enlighten us by Thy commandments, O Lord, and by Thine uplifted arm grant us
Thy peace, O Lover of men.

From amid the eel-island in the fens, thou didst raise thy hands aloft to the Creator, O
Mother Audrey, and defeating the slippery serpent-enemy through the noble strength of thy
prayers, thou didst protect all those that cry unto thee in faith.

Filled with the noble strength of prayer, thou wast made a nun by Bishop Wilfrid, and the
Most High took thee by thy right hand, O Mother Audrey, and making thine island-fortress
into a stronghold of holiness and prayer, He led thee into the joys of Paradise.

O venerable Audrey, thou didst tread the narrow path of ascetic struggle, spending night in
prayer and fasting, clothed not in fine linen but coarse woollen, and showing many others
the way, thou didst attain to the breadth of Paradise.

Glory Now and ever:

Those who do not acknowledge thee to be the Mother of God, O most pure one, shall not see
the Light Whom thou didst bear.

Ode VI

Irmos: I will pour out my prayer to the Lord, and to Him I will confess my grief: for my soul
is full of evil and my life hath drawn nigh unto hell, and like Jonah I will pray: Raise me up
from corruption, O Lord.

O venerable Audrey, rejecting the foolishness of men, thou didst gain the wisdom of God,
and stilling thy bodily tumults and becoming mistress of thy passions, now thou dwellest in
passionless serenity.

Thou didst love to venerate the Saviour's Image, O glorious Saint, and to follow His teaching
and heavenly life in thy words and deeds. By the necklace of thy virtues, thou art become a
model of purity and modesty for all womankind.
Christ hath shown thee forth to thy godly nuns and all folk as a cloud shedding the rain of
grace on those who ask this in faith, and thy shrine became a sign of spiritual greatness in
all the English land, O holy Mother Audrey, and thou didst show how by noble strength of
prayer we are to withstand the impious.

Glory Now and ever:

O most pure one, thy Son is lovely beyond the sons of men by the beauty of His divinity, He
Who took flesh for our sakes.

Kontakion Tone II:

O holy Audrey, Mother of many, for the love of God thou didst spurn the need for rest and
make thy spirit most bright through fasting and prayer, defeating the passions. Thou didst
make the barren fenlands into islands of prayer and through thine intercessions thou dost
destroy the snares of our enemies.

Oikos:

O God, grant me streams of speech, make my mind a wellspring of piety, and bless my
tongue, that I may hymn Thy lamb whom Thou hast crowned with grace. For if Thou Thyself
didst not give me worthy words, how can I, a beggar, bring a gift to her who is so rich in
words and deeds? Wherefore give me strength to declare her contests, for she hath mastered
the passions. Through thine intercessions thou dost destroy the snares of our enemies.

Ode VII

Irmos: The Hebrew Children in the furnace trod upon the flames, and changed the fire into
dew, singing: Blessed art Thou, O Lord God forever.

Despising all fading glory, O holy Audrey, thou didst seek for heavenly rewards, the light
and rest of God's eternal glory in His beauty, which thou didst show to thy holy sisters, thy
faithful steward Owin and the holy hermit priest Huna.

Thou didst exchange this corrupt world for ageless life above the world, temporal food for
eternal substance and earthly marriage for the heavenly Bridegroom, O Virgin-Abbess
Queen Audrey, noble strength of the Orthodox faith.

Beyond the booklore of the foolish, thou didst gain the knowledge of divine love, O Audrey,
and become like the angels while still in the flesh. With fervour like unto theirs thou didst
lovingly keep vigil and sing: Blessed art Thou, O Lord God, throughout all ages.

Glory Now and ever:

The multitude of my evil deeds hath cast me into affliction: look on me and snatch me from
the flames, O Virgin, crying: Blessed art Thou, O Lord God, throughout all ages.

Ode VIII

Irmos: Inspired by God the Children stood in the midst of the flames and sang: Bless the
Lord, all ye works of the Lord.

Forsaking the vain artifices of men, thou art adorned and ennobled with the radiance of thy
pure life, O Mother, and thou dost stand before Thy Bridegroom, Christ our God, interceding
for the salvation of our souls.
For long gloriously preserved in thine island shrine, thy body healed man's manifold
diseases and drove away the demons with their wickedness. Do thou now intercede with
Christ our God for us sinners who honour thee.

O holy Mother, baptised as child by the holy Bishop Felix, in felicity thou wast brought to
the Master of all, Christ our God, as a holy sacrifice and bright offering, as the sweet-
smelling incense of prayer.

Let us bless Now and ever:

Ineffably and without corruption thou hast given birth to the Word Who saveth all from
corruption, O Virgin. Therefore in faith we magnify thee.

Ode IX

Irmos: Creation was filled with dread on hearing of the ineffable condescension of God, that
the Most High came down of His own will and became incarnate of the Virgin, therefore the
all-pure Mother of God do we magnify.

Desiring thy Bridegroom's spiritual beauty in pure love for Him thou, O Queen, didst
ardently cry: Where dost Thou rest and pasture Thy flock? Let me rest with Thee and take
delight in Thy peace, magnifying Thy graciousness, O Christ my King.

In thy soul was found understanding and humility, divine goodness, unwavering faith, and
hope and love of God. In thy vigils thou didst draw near to Him, O Blessed Audrey, and thou
wast illumined and enlightened with the gift of foreknowledge and healing.

Today we faithful come to praise and magnify the Lord, Who glorifieth thy holy festival, O
holy and venerable Audrey. As thou now dost stand before Christ thy Bridegroom,
remember us who venerate thee and heal the eyes of our souls.

Glory Now and ever:

O God Who wast born of the Virgin and didst preserve her incorrupt after Thy birth: spare
me when Thou wilt sit and judge my deeds; overlook my sins and wickedness, for Thou art
the sinless, gracious God and thou lovest all mankind.

Exapostilarion:

Thou didst show the princes who pursued thee to be foolish and bereft of glory, for virgin in
soul and body, thou wast manly in thine understanding and faith, O holy Audrey, boast of
Ely, crown of Queens, beauty of chaste women and adornment of the monastic life.

Glory Now and ever, Hymn to the Mother of God:

Enlighten me with the day of spiritual joy, O pure one, for thou art life and light to those
who dwell in darkness. Thou art mistress of thy desires and actions, for thou art the
sovereign Lady of all; deliver us all from calamity, and the afflicted from the temptations of
the evil one.

At the Praises: 4 Stichira in Tone IV:

Thou didst subdue the urges of the flesh to the soul, thou didst follow Christ, dwelling with
ascetics in chastity, thou didst overcome the flames of worldly pleasure with holy tears,
increasing thy fervour for Christ, O noble and strong Audrey.
In Ely thou didst built a holy dwelling place for God to benefit many, O wise one, for in thy
pure soul thou didst discern the temple of the Holy Spirit; thou didst also guide souls into
the good way of abstinence and bring them to the Master as a dowry. With them in faith we
honour thee, O Mother Audrey .

Maidens, following thy teaching, loved their Lord and Bridegroom; become noble and strong
in spirit, they despised bodily weakness and subdued their passions. They were brought
with thee to the heavenly mansions, ever rejoicing.

Glory in Tone VIII:

O wonder of wonders! How fervently thou didst give thyself to God in ascetic labours and
tears! Filled with divine love thou didst overcome bodily passions, trample down demons
through abstinence, and become a bride of the Almighty through the noble strength of the
Holy Spirit.

Now and ever, Hymn to the Mother of God:

With the Archangel's cry let us say: Rejoice, Mother of God, for thou hast brought into the
world Christ the Giver of Life!

Hymn to the Cross and the Mother of God:

When the most pure one beheld Thee crucified, with broken heart she cried out through her
tears: Where hast Thou gone, my most beloved Jesus, my Son and my Lord? Forsake not me
who gave birth to Thee, O Christ.

Great Doxology. Troparia. Litanies. Dismissal. First Hour.

At the Liturgy

At the Beatitudes, 8 Troparia from Odes III and IV of the Canon of the Saint.

Prokimenon Tone IV:

Wondrous is God in His saints, the God of Israel.

Verse: In the congregations bless ye God, the Lord from the wellsprings of Israel.

The Epistle of Paul to the Galatians 208 (3, 23-29)

Alleluia in Tone I:

With patience I waited patiently for the Lord, and He was attentive unto me, and He
hearkened unto my supplication.

Verse: And He brought me out of the pit of misery, and from the mire of clay.

The Gospel according to St Matthew 104 (25, 1-13)

Communion Verse: In everlasting remembrance shall the righteous be; he shall not be afraid
of evil tidings.