Akathist to The Martyr Tsar Nicholas II, Emperor of all Russia
Kontakion 1
O passion-bearer chosen from birth, Christian love incarnate: we chant hymns of praise to thee, as one who loved thy homeland more than all the good things of this world. As thou hast boldness before the Lord, enlighten thou our benighted minds and hearts, that we may cry out to thee:
Rejoice, O Nicholas, divinely crowned tsar and great passion-bearer!
Ikos 1
The Creator of the angels sent thee to the Russian land as an angel of innocence and of admonition to thy people, for He chose thee after the example of His only-begotten Son, as a sacrifice of redemption for the sins of thy people; and, marveling at this providence of the Almighty concerning thee, in repentance we cry out to thee:
Rejoice, emulation of Christ!
Rejoice, whole-burnt offering!
Rejoice, adornment of the Russian tsars!
Rejoice, confirmation of honesty and fidelity!
Rejoice, sure hope of the oppressed!
Rejoice, indestructible foundation of faith!
Rejoice, O Nicholas, divinely crowned tsar and great passion-bearer!
Kontakion 2
The all-good Mother of God, in her domain beholding our land defiled by the abomination of decadence, chose thee from birth as the most pure man of Russia, for its purification, that we all, chanting a funeral hymn, may cry out: Alleluia!
Ikos 2
In His foreknowledge, the pre-eternal Mind appointed the much-suffering Job as an example for thy life and salvation, joining thy birth to the commemoration of that righteous one. And we, mindful of our sins and iniquities, with trepidation of heart and contrite soul, cry out to thee thus:
Rejoice, thou that didst endure accusation and temptation from thy people!
Rejoice, thou that didst keep thy faith until the end!
Rejoice, model of meekness!
Rejoice, beacon of righteousness!
Rejoice, observer of reverence toward God!
Rejoice, rule of humility!
Rejoice, O Nicholas, divinely crowned tsar and great passion-bearer!
Kontakion 3
The power of the Most High overshadowed thee, O divinely crowned Nicholas, who proposed a war to chastise the falsely-reasoning West, that the world might cry out to God: Alleluia!
Ikos 3
Zealous in admonishing the erring, O right-believing tsar, thou didst love the erection of churches, the glorification of the relics of the holy favorites of God, the instilling of enlightenment and the protection of the dispossessed from constraint, that the Christian world might cry out to thee such things as these:
Rejoice, thou that with the holy hierarch Nicholas didst share a name on earth!
Rejoice, thou that dost pray with the venerable Seraphim in heaven!
Rejoice, instiller of Orthodoxy!
Rejoice, bearer of the light of Christ!
Rejoice, teacher of Christian patience!
Rejoice, defender of Orthodox Christians!
Rejoice, O Nicholas, divinely crowned tsar and great passion-bearer!
Kontakion 4
Thou didst not fear the tempest of mindlessness and outrage, O passion-bearer Nicholas, when, rejecting a dishonorable truce, thou didst endure calumny, imprisonment and death, crying out to God Almighty: Alleluia!
Ikos 4
Hearing of the tumults of the Russian realm and beholding the destruction of Christians, thou didst pray without ceasing that the all-good Theotokos save Orthodox Russia. Wherefore, we cry to thee:
Rejoice, fragrant incense of prayer!
Rejoice, inextinguishable lamp of faith!
Rejoice, admonition of the violent through thy meekness!
Rejoice, consolation of the disconsolate amid sorrows!
Rejoice, lover of heavenly things!
Rejoice, zealot for righteousness!
Rejoice, O Nicholas, divinely crowned tsar and great passion-bearer!
Kontakion 5
Thou hast been shown to be a divinely guided star for Russians in the diaspora, O Tsar Nicholas; for, gathering them together in thy name, thou dost point the way to the rebirth of the Russian land, that we may hear angels crying out: Alleluia!
Ikos 5
Perceiving that thy meekness and humility availed naught, but that yet greater discord resulted, thou didst set thy hope on the all-pure Mother of God and didst place thy fate in the hands of the Almighty, that He chastise the mindless, that they chant unto thee:
Rejoice, vanquisher of pride!
Rejoice, bearer of a heavenly crown!
Rejoice, insuperable bulwark for the weak!
Rejoice, invincible power for the bold!
Rejoice, superabundant love of thy native land!
Rejoice, beauteous sacrifice for the Russian land!
Rejoice, O Nicholas, divinely crowned tsar and great passion-bearer!
Kontakion 6
The ends of the earth proclaim thy glory, and thy saying hath gone forth for all ages, that thou didst have naught which thou couldst not give up for thy people, thus teaching them to chant unto God: Alleluia!
Ikos 6
Thou didst shine upon the Russian land more brightly than the sun, O Tsar Nicholas, defending its Orthodox people even unto the death, that all that turn to thee might be converted to Christ, for Whose sake we cry out to thee such things as these:
Rejoice, light which hath come forth from the East!
Rejoice, model for Orthodox kings!
Rejoice, inextinguishable splendor of righteousness!
Rejoice, unwaning radiance of meekness!
Rejoice, fatherly chastiser of sinners!
Rejoice, filial glorification of the righteous!
Rejoice, O Nicholas, divinely crowned tsar and great passion-bearer!
Kontakion 7
Desiring to establish the Orthodox Faith on earth, thou didst move thy holy kingdom to the defense of the oppressed, that all may cry out to God: Alleluia!
Ikos 7
The most blessed Mother of God appointed thee a new Noah, a steward of salvation for the Russian people, that, mindful of all thy labors, we may unceasingly chant unto thee such things as these:
Rejoice, pilot of the ship of Russia!
Rejoice, comforter of Slavs amid their misfortunes!
Rejoice, defense of the land of Serbia!
Rejoice, nourishment of Russians!
Rejoice, preacher of the love of peace!
Rejoice, restorer of enlightenment!
Rejoice, O Nicholas, divinely crowned tsar and great passion-bearer!
Kontakion 8
A strange wonder do we see in thee, O Nicholas, when thou art repeatedly saved by the right hand of the Most High and, with thy children and kinfolk, art led like a lamb to the slaughter, that we may cry out to God, the Preserver of all: Alleluia!
Ikos 8
Thou hast been wholly shown to be a defender of all Christians, O divinely chosen Nicholas, and thou dost show forth twofold assistance for the Slavic peoples, moving them to chant to thee in praise:
Rejoice, defense of the oppressed!
Rejoice, chastisement of the oppressors!
Rejoice, refuge of the afflicted!
Rejoice, aid of the persecuted!
Rejoice, champion of Christians in thy repose!
Rejoice, peacemaker in thine aspiration!
Rejoice, O Nicholas, divinely crowned tsar and great passion-bearer!
Kontakion 9
With all manner of wonders did the Lord reveal His good pleasure to the Russians, until they angered the Lord exceedingly; but, led by thee to the habitations of the righteous, together we chant unto God: Alleluia!
Ikos 9
Mute as fish, the most eloquent of orators cannot describe the loftiness of thy patience; and, contemplating the depth of our fall, we cry out in contrition of spirit:
Rejoice, unassailable patience!
Rejoice, unshakeable loyalty!
Rejoice, destruction of pride!
Rejoice, enlightener of the foolish!
Rejoice, thou that in thy life and repose hast given an example to the faithful!
Rejoice, thou that didst suffer for thy sins on earth!
Rejoice, O Nicholas, divinely crowned tsar and great passion-bearer!
Kontakion 10
Christ, Who alone knoweth men’s hearts, Who hath founded the Church upon the blood of His martyrs, desiring that all men be saved, appointed thee, O passion-bearer Nicholas, for the founding of a new house of the Russian realm, that all therein might cry out: Alleluia!
Ikos 10
Thou art a bulwark for all that have recourse to thee in faith and dost reveal an unassailable wall of defense for the Orthodox world, teaching all that are of thy blood to glorify thee thus:
Rejoice, revelation of heavenly things on earth!
Rejoice, thou that dost fill them that lack!
Rejoice, splendor which hast shown forth in the Russian land!
Rejoice, river which dost water all the parts thereof!
Rejoice, teacher of humble-mindedness!
Rejoice, instiller of faith and piety!
Rejoice, O Nicholas, divinely crowned tsar and great passion-bearer!
Kontakion 11
Offering up hymnody to the all-holy Trinity even unto the moment of thy death, thou didst finish the course of thy life and keep the Faith; and thereby thou dost move all Orthodox Christians to chant: Alleluia!
Ikos 11
Sent to our land as a bestower of light, like an unblemished lamb thou art offered for the redemption of our sins, that all might unceasingly glorify thee:
Rejoice, sacrifice beloved of God!
Rejoice, inexhaustible abundance of love!
Rejoice, boast of loyalty!
Rejoice, invisible radiance of the Spirit!
Rejoice, reflection of wisdom!
Rejoice, hope of the hopeless!
Rejoice, O Nicholas, divinely crowned tsar and great passion-bearer!
Kontakion 12
Divine grace, which healeth the infirm, foresaw thee as an inexhaustible healing for thy subjects that cry out to God: Alleluia!
Ikos 12
Hymning thy sufferings, O passion-bearer Nicholas, we bow down before thy patience, as to the power of the Almighty Trinity made manifest in thee, that together we may all cry out:
Rejoice, beloved child of Christ!
Rejoice, thou that didst lead thy innocent children and thy faithful servants to Christ!
Rejoice, thou that didst make thy consort righteous!
Rejoice, thou that didst draw thy people toward the truth!
Rejoice, thou that didst not put the honor of thy homeland to shame!
Rejoice, thou that hast acquired the Kingdom of Heaven!
Rejoice, O Nicholas, divinely crowned tsar and great passion-bearer!
Kontakion 13
O most wondrous and all-glorious passion-bearer Nicholas: watch over thine earthly kingdom and thy people, for we are at a loss to make any reply concerning our sins; and entreat thou the Almighty, that He not enter into judgment over us, but vouchsafe us peacefully to chant: Alleluia!
(Repeat the above Kontakion 13, 3 times)
(Then continue below)
Ikos 1
The Creator of the angels sent thee to the Russian land as an angel of innocence and of admonition to thy people, for He chose thee after the example of His only-begotten Son, as a sacrifice of redemption for the sins of thy people; and, marveling at this providence of the Almighty concerning thee, in repentance we cry out to thee:
Rejoice, emulation of Christ!
Rejoice, whole-burnt offering!
Rejoice, adornment of the Russian tsars!
Rejoice, confirmation of honesty and fidelity!
Rejoice, sure hope of the oppressed!
Rejoice, indestructible foundation of faith!
Rejoice, O Nicholas, divinely crowned tsar and great passion-bearer!
Kontakion 1
O passion-bearer chosen from birth, Christian love incarnate: we chant hymns of praise to thee, as one who loved thy homeland more than all the good things of this world. As thou hast boldness before the Lord, enlighten thou our benighted minds and hearts, that we may cry out to thee:
Rejoice, O Nicholas, divinely crowned tsar and great passion-bearer!