Canon to Holy Father Dunstan of Canterbury

Our father among the saints Dunstan of Canterbury (c.909 - 988) was an Archbishop of Canterbury in Anglo-Saxon England. He actively supported the founding and restoration of monasteries in England and was influential among the kings of England. In addition he was an artisan, proficient as a goldsmith and metal-worker. He was canonized a saint in 1029. His feast day in May 19. Below is the canon to the Saint, adapted as a standalone service for home use.

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Canon of the Saint Dunstan (Tone V)

Saint Dunstan of Canterbury

Ode I

Irmos: Treading the impassable path at the command of the Master, Israel sang, rejoicing: Let us sing unto the Lord, for gloriously hath He been glorified!

Holy Father, Dunstan, pray to God for us.

Deign Thou to send down on me Thy grace, O All-holy Trinity, that, purified of my sins, I may hymn the holy Dunstan, who hath been glorified by Thee. Unto the wondrous Dunstan let us now lift our voices in praise, O ye faithful, for he was wholly consumed with love for chastity and all the monastic virtues.

Holy Father, Dunstan, pray to God for us.

Repeat: Deign Thou to send down on me Thy grace...

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. 

Now doth the sacred Monastery of Glastonbury rejoice exceedingly, O Dunstan; for as its abbot thou didst adorn it again with reverent monastic Order.

Both now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Theotokion: Seeing thy Son suffering in agony on the Cross, O Theotokos, thou wast pierced with pain, as by a sword; but thou didst later rejoice in His resurrection.

Ode III

Irmos: Upon the rock of Thy commandments establish me, who am whirled about; lift high my horn in the understanding of Thy precepts; that, rendering praise, I may cry unto Thee: There is none holy save Thee, O Lord of hosts!

Holy Father, Dunstan, pray to God for us.

Thy kinsman, the godly Æthelm, and the holy Oda, Archbishops of Canterbury, inspired thee, O Dunstan, to establish again in the monasteries of England the precepts of the venerable and God-bearing Benedict, father of monastics.

Holy Father, Dunstan, pray to God for us.

All the vanities of life at the court of the kings of England didst thou reject, O sacred bishop; wherefore, thou didst flourish greatly in the courts of our God, and ever criest aloud to Him: There is none holy save Thee, O Lord of hosts!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

None is holy save Thee, O Lord of hosts! didst thou cry out in humility of mind, O blessed one, when thou didst receive the sacred tonsure and the angelic habit at the hands of the holy bishop Ælphege of Winchester.

Both now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Theotokion: Seraphim and cherubim, thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, angels and archangels, and all the hosts of the bodiless spiritual beings stand in awe of thee, O most immaculate Mother of God, pure Ever-Virgin.

Sessional hymn of the holy bishop, in Tone V:

With hymns let us honour the holy bishop of the Lord as a true man of prayer who smote the passions with the cudgel of abstinence, who with skill truly put the adversary to shame and set his arrogance at nought, and now prayeth earnestly that his native land be made steadfast in Orthodoxy.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Theotokion: Awesome is the miracle of thy conceiving; and the ineffable image of the birthgiving known in thee, O pure Ever-Virgin, filleth my mind with awe and amazeth my thoughts. Thy glory hath spread over all, O Theotokos, unto the salvation of our souls.

or Stavrotheotokion (on Wednesdays and Fridays): Beholding Thee hanging of Thine own will upon the Cross between the thieves, O Christ, Thy Mother said, her womb rent with pain: 'O my sinless Son, how is it that Thou hast been unjustly nailed to the Cross like a malefactor, since thou desirest to bring life to the human race, in that thou art compassionate?'

Ode IV

Irmos: The workings of Thy dispensation filled the Prophet Habbakuk with awe, O Lord; for Thou didst issue forth for the salvation of Thy people, Thou didst come to save Thine anointed ones.

Holy Father, Dunstan, pray to God for us.

England boasteth in thy glory, O God-bearer; for in the workings of His dispensation the Most High raised thee to the primacy of its Church, for the salvation of His people.

Holy Father, Dunstan, pray to God for us.

Truly didst thou give good counsel unto kings and princes, O noble-minded Dunstan; for in humility and obedience thou didst receive wisdom, for the salvation of His anointed ones.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

The godly King Edgar embraced thine excellent prudence and Christian virtue of soul, O holy Dunstan, and had thee consecrated Bishop of London, for the salvation of his pious flock.

Both now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Theotokion: Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard the extent of thy mighty works, O Bride of God, nor can the tongue of man describe thy supernal beauties, which pass all human understanding.

Ode V

Irmos: Rising at dawn, we cry to Thee: Save us, O Lord! for Thou art our God, and we know none other than Thee.

Holy Father, Dunstan, pray to God for us.

The severed realm of England was united under the peaceable king, and thou, O saint, becamest its spiritual head.

Holy Father, Dunstan, pray to God for us.

Hallowed was the sceptered isle of England by thy great holiness and grace, O wondrous bishop Dunstan.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Unto our merciful God didst thou continually cry aloud: Save us, O Lord, for we know none other than Thee!

Both now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Theotokion: Save us from the talons of the evil dragon, our primordial foe, O Virgin, for we have none other help than thee.

Ode VI

Irmos: In the latter times Adam cried aloud: O my God, deliver me who have fallen! And having become like unto him, Thou didst come to save us.

Holy Father, Dunstan, pray to God for us.

O thy pastoral boldness, O holy one! For thou didst in no wise hesitate to rebuke even kings for the benefit and salvation of their immortal souls.

Holy Father, Dunstan, pray to God for us.

Never shall we cease to sing thy praises, O holy bishop; for thou didst raise up that which was fallen, unto the salvation of men¹s immortal souls.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Thy love of inner stillness and monastic prayer filled the whole land of England with the sweetness of grace, O thou who art rich in grace divine.

Both now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Theotokion: Help us, O Sovereign Lady, for we are all perishing in sore distress. As thou hast boldness before thy Son, come unto us, and save us.

Kontakion (Tone III): Like a master helmsman, O Dunstan, thou didst ably pilot the ship of Church and state in England, skillfully avoiding the treacherous rocks and reefs hidden beneath the tides of thy times, and bringing it safely to the calm harbour of heaven, fully laden with its freight of men's souls, which thou didst deliver, rejoicing, to Christ thy Master.

Ikos: Like a deer panting in thirst, O venerable Dunstan, from childhood thou didst earnestly seek after the waters of wisdom and the knowledge of God; wherefore, moved by jealousy and hatred, the ignorant beset thee like a pack of savage dogs. But thou fleddest to the refuge of holy Glastonbury, where thou didst dedicate thyself wholly to devotion and piety; and ever after thou didst champion the true monastic rule, didst restore the ruined monasteries and convents of England, and didst defend them with all thy might, so that through thine efforts the Holy Church in thy land was adorned as with many splendid lamps, burning brightly with the oil of prayers offered up, rejoicing, to Christ the Master.

Ode VII

Irmos: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers, Who quenched the fiery furnace in Babylon and preserved the children therein as in a bridal-chamber!

Holy Father, Dunstan, pray to God for us.

Edward the king found shelter under the wings of thy wise counsel, O Dunstan; wherefore, in his martyr's death he shone forth radiantly.

Holy Father, Dunstan, pray to God for us.

Returning the monasteries of England to true monastic discipline, O saint, thou didst restore them in goodly order unto Christ the Lord.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Over the great Council of Winchester thou didst preside, O venerable one, codifying the rule and order of monastic life and governance.

Both now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Theotokion: Celts and Britons, Angles and Saxons, Picts and Scots, all lift up their voices in sweet hymnody, praising the all-pure Mother of the King of all.

Ode VIII

Irmos: Hymn the Author of creation, of Whom the angels are in awe, O ye people, and exalt Him supremely for all ages.

Holy Father, Dunstan, pray to God for us.

King Edward's relics didst thou reverently escort from Wareham to the Convent of Shaftesbury, O saint.

Holy Father, Dunstan, pray to God for us.

Overcome with grief at the depredations of the heathen, Dunstan immersed himself in prayer, withdrawing farther from the world.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Full of years, the holy bishop received the divine Mysteries and surrendered his soul into the hands of his Lord.

Both now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Theotokion: Fain would we offer thee goodly praises, O Queen, yet our tongues of clay produce no sounds fit for thy praise

Ode IX

Irmos: We magnify Thy most immaculate and pure Mother, O Christ, for she gave birth to Thee in the flesh supernaturally, delivering us from all deception and corruption.

Holy Father, Dunstan, pray to God for us.

All thy thoughts didst thou fix upon Christ, O sanctified Dunstan, at the end of thine earthly life, and thou didst yearn for the sight of His all-radiant countenance.

Holy Father, Dunstan, pray to God for us.

In thy primatial cathedral at Canterbury was thy precious body solemnly entombed, O saint, to await and serve as a token of the universal resurrection of all men.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Through the centuries did thy holy relics shine like a radiant lamp, O holy one; yet for our sins, and to awaken our conscience, God let the ungodly remove them, we know not whither.

Both now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Theotokion: Hither have we come with haste, O Bride unwedded, to venerate thy holy icons and to extol thee with hymns of praise. Wherefore, be thou ever merciful unto us sinners.

Troparion (Tone VIII): 

By thee, O Dunstan, hath the whole land of England been wondrously adorned, for thou didst labour unceasingly to restore all the monastic houses laid waste by the heathen, to people them again with zealous monks and nuns, and to provide them with strict rules of pious order wherewith to govern their lives. Wherefore, the Church of Christ doth ever praise thine all-honourable name, O holy bishop.