Hymnographical material from menologies

In the month of December, on the [feast day] of the holy and blessed father of ours, Peter the Georgian, who was the son of the king. Vespers: At "Lord, I have cried," tone 2. All hope: 1. Your commemoration has arrived, wise father, and summons us to sing of the wonders which the Lord wrought through you, O holy one, and he purified you from your mother's womb and chose you from childhood, O venerable one, as a chosen vessel and instrument, a fulfiller of his graces, and he dwelt entirely within you and spread your commemoration throughout the whole world, and gathers the faithful for your glory and praise. 2. First, at your conception, O blessed one, your parents were informed concerning you through a vision, that you were to be a wondrous man and a fulfiller of divine graces. But you did not neglect his royal commandments at all, but from childhood you began to ascend the ranks of virtues and from strength to strength you approached God and received grace from heaven for great miracles and signs.

3. O faithful monk, man of God, wise one, prudent ascetic, who renounced this worldly wealth and the transient kingship, ascending to the heavenly realm, and through estrangement and alien exile you rejected your own self, you mortified your flesh through ascetic labors, and you stand among the bodiless ones before God, O holy teacher, high priest Peter, be our intercessor before God. 4. O wonder of wonders, for who has seen a prophet like an olive tree raised up for a long time, and through that, as a winnower, dispersing many nights, and through prayer, a supplicant of God, that He might direct his journey toward that by which he received the desired repose of his own [head]: Glory: The river: 5. The feast of joy has arrived, and it summons the people to hymn and praise the God-radiant life and miracles, which God has ever wrought through him. O peoples, kings and princes, together with the high priests and the assemblies of fathers, the rich and the poor, and all ages, upon whom the grace of miracles is abundantly bestowed. Let them praise, O kings, your crown, and O princes, your glory, O priestly assemblies, the order of priesthood, and O ranks of monks, the monument of asceticism.

and [we beseech] the wealth of the poor, the giver of sight to the blind, the converter of sinners, the healer of the weak, and the boast of us Georgians, the great ascetic Peter, the chosen one of God, that he may grant peace to the world and great mercy to our souls; now, of the Mother of God. The psalm of the day. Readings for January, to be found: of Gregory the Theologian: Stichera. 6. O light of light, O Word of God, by the pillar of light you were revealed as light, O wise one, to that luminary of light and radiance of the Georgian people, and deemed you worthy of face-to-face vision of himself, like Moses, and taught you his law and commandment, that you might illumine those in darkness, O Peter, father of fathers. 7. You became an instrument, O wise one, by the divinely accepted grace of those divinely radiant gifts of the Holy Spirit, and a pure mirror, unblemished, a holy dwelling, a confessor of the Father with the Son, whose radiance you spread to the ends of the world, and especially to your beloved city, and you protect us Georgians from on high.

8. How abundant is the memory of you, O holy one, priest-teacher, blessed and radiant Peter, luminary and boast of the believing Georgian people; look upon us with ascetic favor, who glorify your memory, and preserve us from visible and invisible enemies, and grant victory to our king over his adversaries. Glory: Sedentary: 9. How might we praise worthily with a hymn, or with what chant might we sing to our holy priest-teacher Peter, luminary of the world and boast of the Georgian people, and more than a lover of the desert and a dweller of Palestine, Alexandria, Egypt, Scetis, and Thebaid, wherein you labored the labor pleasing to God and abundantly spread miracles and healings, and now you are an intercessor for us before the Lord. Now; of the Mother of God: with a troparion: 10. You renounced the sonship of earthly kingship entirely by abandoning the world, therefore you were called a son of God, Peter, firm rock of ascetics and unbreakable wall of the believing Georgians, beseech Christ God for mercy upon our souls. Presentation:

11. The feast of joy has shone forth for all through your memory, O thrice-blessed father, and kings and princes, together with the high priests, have gathered as one to hymn your wonders. The rich and the poor, and every age of the faithful, together glorify your Lord who strengthens you, from whom you received boldness; beseech him to have mercy on our souls. Another: Tone 8. 12. You sprang forth from royal roots, O holy one, and blossomed with many-hued flowers of virtues, and the grace of your wonders spread throughout the whole world. Therefore, divine grace anointed you with the chrism of high-priesthood. And like a good shepherd, you laid down your soul for your sheep, and now you are enthroned with all the saints before God. With them, beseech him to have mercy on our souls. Hymns. Without hymn: He who dried up:

13. The faithful people prepare fragrant myrrh of praises for that myrrh of yours, O blessed father, whose labors have become fragrant to the soul and have filled the world with joy. 14. A song of songs befits you, O father, and I cannot worthily hymn you with feeble words; but according to my strength, accept these small hymns, and be my intercessor before God. 15. O man of God, faithful servant, and soul-desired man, O venerable one, an angel announced your birth; from that holy angel it was announced to your father, and he gave thanks to God. Strengthened: upon the rock. 16. You loved purity from childhood, O blessed Peter, and you were ever filled with the fear of God; therefore the grace of God dwelt with you and made you a chosen vessel and a seer of unseen things, O blessed one.

17. You rejected the thrones of the world, O father, and instead of porphyry you put on the rough hair-shirt within, and every night with vigil you subdued the stirrings of the flesh, ever pleasing God. 18. When you were in the youth of the king of the same faith, your servants would set out to serve the Lord, and they would not bring you oil to light the lamp; but when you prayed, without oil the water of fire burned for seven days. 19. You alone appeared higher than the angels and more glorious than the cherubim and seraphim, for you carried their Creator on your arms, O immaculate one. Be our intercessor with Him, that we may find solace for our sorrows. Tone: From the mountain, un###: 20. Your divine desire among them shone richly, O father, and you eagerly followed the trail of the Chief Shepherd. Therefore you were considered a pillar of light, and it taught you and gave you comfort.

21. You became a co-planner of your good course, O venerable one, the wise chief cupbearer, and you hastened to the harbor, where God guided you both, and you two waged the struggle of immortality, pleasing to God. 22. The birds could not carry it away, nor could the sun wither it, nor could the thorns burn it, nor could the hardships and difficult trials and worldly cares destroy the seed of God-service, but it sprouted and grew. 23. For whom the praise of praises adorned you, O virgin, and the various teachings from the prophets proclaimed you, O most pure Mother of God, we the faithful glorify you: protect us from trials. From the night: you. The luminaries. 24. When you, O blessed one, moved from place to place with the strangers, you built monasteries, gathered brothers, and served the strangers and healed the weak. And the abundance of your virtues spread among all, O wise one.

25. They received you into the holy city, O father, just as you yourself received the foreign wives who had come to God, the lovers of God, and you also built houses, O blessed Peter the holy, the receiver of strangers, like Abraham. 26. Like Moses, the Lord showed you in the heavens a hand-made tabernacle, filled with light, and in it men of virtue, radiant, and gave it to you as a reward for your labors, O holy one, which you performed, Peter, O luminary of the world. 27. O virgin, clear expounder of the Word of God, hope of the consecrated, harbor, we hasten to you and you lead us to your Son, that we may receive through your intercession forgiveness of faults and life for our souls, O worthy one. Crying out: "Raise me from the depths." 28. When God, through you, performed countless gifts and powers, your voice resounded among all; therefore, peoples gathered to you and asked you to be their governor.

29. The patriarch compelled you to be the shepherd of the city of Mimes, but you swiftly fled from glory, until Christ appeared to you and commanded you his providence. 30. Peter, luminary of the world, like the apostle Peter you shepherded the church and gave light, you converted the pagans and turned sinners to repentance and saved them. 31. The eternal Word of God, through you, O most pure mother, was incarnated and freed the world from deception; be our intercessor before him. Ipakoi: b: 32. When you received the divine fire into your heart, O holy one, for whose kindling the Lord came. Through it you burned away all the passions of the flesh and became a shining lamp for those in darkness, like a pillar of light for the new Israel, and you raised them up to the heavenly Jerusalem. Peter, glory of the Georgians, be our intercessor for our souls. Ikos:

33. What praise shall we offer you, father, or with what hymn shall we hymn you, all-wise high priest Peter? Speech grows weak and the mind is confounded by the labors, afflictions, and struggles of yours—which shall I mention, or which shall I pass over? I am powerless, and every wonder of yours: your birth, upbringing, youth, and immediate abandonment of the world, your exile, poverty, fasting, vigil, countless miracles and signs, visible wonders, and your constant life with Christ, true shepherding, conversion of pagans and reception of sinners, the bridling of good zeal, such eloquence, and now your bold standing in that invisible light before God, and your intercession for us all. Blessed one: concerning the icon 34. The Lord has been inclined to hear your petitions, holy high priest Peter; therefore he constantly appears to you and shows you his glory and strengthens you, while you, with joy and gratitude, would cry out and say thus: Blessed are you.

35. My tongue is powerless to utter your wonders, all-wise father, for your glory surpasses our strength; yet accept from us unworthy ones a hymn according to our ability, and now ask of God forgiveness for our sins. 36. More fragrant than perfumes are your virtues, and more than the sun shine your wonders and lofty teachings, and greater are the toils and labors which you took upon yourself for Christ God, O holy one. Therefore He who glorifies you has glorified you. 37. Death first withered and Adam withered from glory, but today he was redeemed by your birth, O all-holy virgin bride. Deliver us also from the temptations of the enemy, and make us worthy to hymn you. Blessed are you. To the blessed: for laughter: 38. God foreknew your end before it came to pass, O father, and made you joyful with the expectation of good things unforgettable, in which you reign forever and exalt God unto eternity.

39. Father Zenon, the luminary of the Skete, was jealous of brother Athanasius and spoke concerning your departure. How the saint hastened to your coming, in order to dwell with you together unto eternity. 40. You commended your immaculate soul into the hands of God, O holy Peter; then the hosts of angels came, and the assembly of all the saints met you and raised you up before God. 41. The mind is unable to attain to your virtues, O most valiant Mary, for you bore God of glory and gave us the Incarnate One. Be for us, who hymn you, an intercessor before Him. The Doxology: On the Word: 42. At that assembly of saints, the great hieromartyr Peter, the patriarch of Alexandria, went before you and honored you as his companion and fellow ascetic; for this reason he also magnified you, O God-clad one.

43. Now not as in a parable, nor as in the form of a shadow do you behold the face of the divine Lord Christ, holy father Peter, but you experience face to face the face of your beloved Christ, O blessed one, for whom you were our intercessor. 44. Look down upon us from heaven, O father, upon these who adorn you and who with desire celebrate this holy commemoration of yours, and ask for us the joy of our lives, and deliver us from all trials, and grant victory from heaven to our king. 45. O bride and mother of Christ, the multitude of angels entreat Christ, your son, and you also send the faithful to entreat: do not cease for your servants, that they may deliver us from the snares of the devil, we who glorify you. Reveal: the side: 46. Your feast has arrived, O wise father, like the bright dawn, and it gladdens the heart of the faithful, and it dispels the darkness of the devils, who with desire glorify you and find forgiveness of their faults.

47. Let us offer the Song of Songs, O lovers of God, to the holy high priest, and let us weave a hymn of praise to Nestus of the Gallabata, as an offering for his struggles, his labors, and his endurance, which he bore out of love for Christ, and he was crowned. 48. That rock of life, Christ the Lord, revealed you to us by vision as the proper shepherd of his own flock, to which you were not disobedient, O holy one, and you laid down your soul for that flock, like him, O chosen Peter. Glory: Side: Seated: 49. What shall I call you, O blessed father: a garden of words, a grower of many-colored flowers, of fragrant virtues; and a chariot, a driver of the sun of knowledge; and a river, filled with spiritual waters, a sprinkler of the withered; and a spring of miracles, O steadfast Peter; and an immovable tower, our intercessor, O faithful one; beseech the Lord for our deliverance from evil, those who praise you. Conclusion: The arrangement of the right side, like the other high priests.