Prayer to the Holy Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer

O great and holy hierarch Ignatius the God-bearer! Before thee do we fall down, and unto thee do we pray: Look upon us sinners who have recourse unto thee, and beseech the Lord, that He forgive us all our offenses. As thou didst lay down thy life for the Faith in martyrdom, grant that we also may find the courage to imitate thee in all things. Naught in this life was able to separate thee from thy love for the Lord—neither false promises, nor threats, nor menaces, nor tortures themselves—and thou didst stand with joy before the wild beasts, condemned to a cruel death, and like an angel didst soar aloft to the mansions of thy heavenly Father. Wherefore, thy prayer counteth for much with the Lord. O holy favorite of God, be thou an intercessor for us before our Savior. By thy holy prayers to God Almighty help all Orthodox Christians, that He deliver us from famine, earthquake, hail, drought and deadly plagues, and that He grant us health and salvation. Be for us a speedy aid amid every tribulation, and even more, show thyself to be for us a defender and mediator at the hour of our death; and entreat the Lord, that all of us who now pray fervently unto thee may, after a Christian end, be vouchsafed to receive the kingdom of heaven, where with thee all the saints glorify the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.