Patristic & Ascetical Texts
The Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete
Two hundred and fifty troparia that take the whole of Scripture, from Adam to the thief on the cross, and turn every figure in it into an accusation against the one singing. The singer has outdone Cain, murdering his own conscience, and fallen short of Abel; Leah and Rachel are action and contemplation; the man who fell among thieves on the way to Jericho is the singer again. Before almost every troparion comes the same refrain: have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me. It is read in four parts in the first week of Great Lent and whole, with the Life of St Mary of Egypt, on the Thursday of the fifth week, standing, with prostrations.
The text
The first troparion, and the refrain
Where shall I begin to lament the deeds of my wretched life? What first-fruit shall I offer, O Christ, for my present lamentation? But in Thy compassion grant me forgiveness of sins.
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.
Πόθεν ἄρξομαι θρηνεῖν τὰς τοῦ ἀθλίου μου βίου πράξεις; Ποίαν ἀπαρχὴν ἐπιθήσω, Χριστέ, τῇ νῦν θρηνῳδίᾳ; Ἀλλ’ ὡς εὔσπλαγχνος δός μοι παραπτωμάτων ἄφεσιν.
Ἐλέησόν με, ὁ Θεός, ἐλέησόν με.
The first troparion of the first ode, after the heirmos, and the refrain sung before almost every troparion of the canon.
Sources
- St. Andrew of Crete, The Great Canon
- The Triodion, the first week and the fifth Thursday of Great Lent archive.org, to borrow
- St. Sophronius of Jerusalem, The Life of St. Mary of Egypt
- The Typikon OCA, the services