Prayers to Martyrs Mauritius (Maurice) and his Companions of the Theban Legion

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Troparion, Tone 4

Soldier of Christ, / You fought a good battle, / You refused to pursue the innocent any further. /With your companions you gave your life /rather than give up your Christian faith. /O Saint Mauritius, implore the Lord // to grant us His great mercy.

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Kondakion, Tone 4

You have been shown as the heavenly host in the flesh, / and proven your leader Maurice as a new Michael, / Holy Martyrs of the Theban Legion. / You have destroyed the power of the enemy / and baptised the soil of Switzerland with your blood. / In this way you have fulfilled the law of God, / and entered into the joy of your Lord. / Pray to Christ our God, // that He may write His law also in our hearts and save our souls.

Icos

You have kept the law of the Lord and saved the innocent from death. You denied Caesar what belongs to God and sacrificed your life. Far from your homeland, you fertilized our homeland with faith in the Trinity and thus won life. You have become witnesses to the invincible power of God and strengthen the faith in God of all who celebrate your holy memory. O Holy Theban Mauritius, Candidus, Tyrsus, Liberius and Exuperius with Ursus, Victor and Vincentius and all the soldiers, pray to Christ our God / that He may write His law also in our hearts / and save our souls.

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Prayer to the Holy Martyr Mauritius and his Companions

O holy Mauritius, commander of the Theban Legion and witness of God, you proved yourself to be a Michael in the flesh when you bravely led your legion into spiritual warfare against the ungodly frenzy of the emperor. You did not step into the water of a pond, but you came to us over the waters of the Mediterranean, following the call of your emperor and giving unto him what is Caesar's. But here you also gave unto God what is God's, and disobeyed the ungodly command of Caesar, but rather cried out to him boldly: 'O Caesar, behold! We hold arms and do not resist because we well prefer to die rather than to live, and choose to perish as innocents rather than to live as criminals. If you ordain any further measure against us, give any further command, or direct any other measure, we are prepared to endure fire, torture, and steel. We confess that we are Christians and cannot persecute Christians." Encouraged by you and your officers, the whole legion steadfastly endured their decimation and thus eloquently confessed the eternal validity of the ten commandments of God, against which the fury of the enemy breaks. Thus you passed into life as the tithe our country paid to the Lord.
O holy martyrs Tyrsus, Candidus, Liberius, Exuperius, Ursus, Victor and Vincentius with all the soldiers under the leadership of the divine Mauritius, pray to Christ our God that He may write His law also in our hearts. Ask Him to give us the spirit of discernment that has enabled you to give to God what is God's and to Caesar what is Caesar's. Guide us to resist the temptations of our time. Help us face evil and maintain innocence. Grant us to cry out to the Lord with you and say: «We believe in God the Father, the creator of all things, and in God his Son Jesus Christ». To them is due our service and worship, together with God, the life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen

 

Whole Moleben (in German)