SATURDAY OF MEATFAST

ON FRIDAY AT VESPERS

We commemorate all the Orthodox Christians who have fallen asleep from of old, our fathers and brothers.

After the introductory psalm and the customary stichera, at “I cried out to the Lord,” we recite stichera 6; and we sing three stichera to the martyrs from the Octoechos, in the regular tone, and three from the Triodion:

Tone 8

Of all the dead from ages past, / who lived piously in the faith, / as we commemorate them by name on this day, let us, the faithful, / sing to the Savior and Lord, earnestly praying / that He may grant them a favorable answer at the hour of judgment / To God Himself, / who judges the whole earth, / that they may attain a place at His right hand in joy, / among the righteous and in the bright inheritance of the saints, / and become worthy of His Heavenly Kingdom.

O Savior, who redeemed mankind with Your blood, / and by Your death delivered us from bitter death, / and who grants us eternal life through Your Resurrection, / grant rest, O Lord, to all who have fallen asleep in piety, / whether in the wilderness, in cities, at sea, / on land, or in any place: / kings, priests, bishops, / monks and laypeople of every age and every kind, / and make them worthy of Your Heavenly Kingdom.

Thanks to Your resurrection from the dead, O Christ, / death no longer has power over those who have died in piety. / Therefore, we earnestly pray: / grant rest in Your courts and in the bosom of Abraham to Your servants, / who from Adam even to this day have worshiped You purely, / our fathers and brothers, / our friends and relatives alike, / every person who served faithfully in life, / and who has departed to You, O God, / under various and manifold circumstances; / and grant that they may attain / Your Heavenly Kingdom.

Glory, Tone 8: I weep and wail, / when I imagine death / and see lying in the tombs / our beauty, created in the image of God, / disfigured, inglorious, and formless. / O wonder! / What is this mystery that has come to pass upon us? / How have we been delivered to corruption? / How have we been united with death? / Truly by the command of God, as it is written, / who grants rest to those who have departed.

And now, O Mother of God: First Tone.

There is no Entrance.

Instead of the prokeimenon, we sing “Alleluia” in tone 8

Stich: Blessed are those whom You have chosen and brought near, O Lord, and their memory endures from generation to generation.

Verse: Their souls shall dwell among the blessed. Cf. Ps 64:5; 101:13; 24:13

Stichera on the stichera stand for the martyrs in tone,
and two for the repose of the soul, by John of Damascus

We sing the verses indicated above.

Glory, Tone 6: Your creative command became for me / the beginning and the foundation: / for, desiring to form me, a living being, / from the invisible and visible natures, / You created my body from the earth, / and gave me a soul through Your divine and life-giving breath. / Therefore, Savior, grant rest to Your servants living in this world, / in the dwellings of the righteous.

And now, O Mother of God, the same voice: Through the intercession of the One who gave birth to You, Christ, / and of Your martyrs, / apostles, prophets, hierarchs, / the venerable, the righteous, and all the saints, / grant rest to Your departed servants.

Now you grant: The Holy Trinity. Glory, and now: Most Holy Trinity: O Lord, have mercy. (3) Glory, and now: Our Father: Priest: For Yours is the Kingdom: Reader: Amen.

Troparion, Tone 8

With profound wisdom, You govern all with love for humanity / and bestow what is beneficial upon all, / O One Creator; grant rest, O Lord, to the souls of Your servants, / for they have placed their hope in You, / the Creator, the Provider, and our God.

Glory, and now, to the Theotokos: In You we have both a wall and a refuge, / and an Intercessor pleasing to God, / Whom You, O Theotokos, gave birth to without knowing marriage, / the salvation of the faithful.

The Litany and Dismissal.

After the dismissal of Vespers, we celebrate a memorial service in the narthex, during which we sing the Canon for the Repose of the Soul in the ordinary tone.

AT MATINS

Instead of “God the Lord”: Alleluia, Tone 8

Stich: Blessed is he whom You have chosen and brought near, O Lord.

Stich: And their memory endures from generation to generation.

Antiphon: Their souls shall dwell among the blessed. Cf. Ps 64:5; 101:13; 24:13

Troparion: With profound wisdom: Twice. Glory, and now, to the Mother of God: In you we have both a wall and a refuge: We recite the 16th kathisma, read the sedalnia of the Octoechos, and then sing “The Immaculate Ones,” dividing them into two stanzas, and upon their conclusion:

Troparia for the departed, tone 5

Refrain: Blessed are You, O Lord, / teach me Your commandments.

The choir of the saints has found the fountain of life and the gate of paradise; / may I also find the path of repentance. / I am a lost sheep; / call me, Savior, and save me!

Blessed are You, O Lord:

Those who proclaimed the Lamb of God / and were slain like lambs, / and who, O saints, have passed into life that never fades, / and have departed to eternity, / pray earnestly to Him, O martyrs, / that He may grant us forgiveness of our sins.

Blessed are You, O Lord:

You who walked the narrow and sorrowful path, / who all bore the cross as a yoke in life, / and followed Me with faith, / come, rejoice in what / I have prepared for you: / heavenly rewards and crowns!

Blessed are You, O Lord:

I am an image of Your ineffable glory, / though I bear the wounds of sin: / have mercy on Your creation, O Lord, / and cleanse me through Your mercy, / and grant me the longed-for homeland, / making me once again / a citizen of paradise.

Blessed are You, O Lord:

You who in ancient times created me out of nothing / and honored me with Your divine image, / but who, because of my transgression of the commandment, / returned me once more to the earth / from which I was taken! / Raise me up to Your likeness, / so that I may be restored / to my former beauty.

Blessed are You, O Lord:

Grant rest, O God, to Your servants, / and settle them in paradise, / where the choirs of the saints, O Lord, / and the righteous shine like the stars; / grant rest to Your departed servants, / despite all their sins.

Glory: Let us reverently sing of the one Godhead / shining with the light of the Trinity, crying out: / “Holy are You, Father without beginning, / and the Son without beginning and the Divine Spirit: / enlighten us who serve You in faith, / and deliver us from the eternal fire.

And now: Rejoice, Most Honorable One, / who gave birth to God in the flesh for the salvation of all; / through you, the human race has found salvation; / may we, through you, attain paradise, / O Pure and Blessed Mother of God.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to You, O God. Three times.

Then the litany for the departed: Repeated:

The priest prays: O God of spirits: And we say: O Lord, have mercy, (40).

And after the sedalen, tone 5

Grant rest, our Savior, to Your righteous servants / and settle them in Your courts, as it is written, / looking not, as the Good One, upon their sins— / whether voluntary or involuntary— / nor upon all that was done, whether knowingly or unknowingly, O Lover of Mankind.

Glory, and now, to the Theotokos: Christ God, who shone forth to the world from the Virgin, / and through her made us sons of Light, / have mercy on us.

Let us now sing: “We sing to the Lord:”

We sing the church canon in tone 6 and the canon of the present day in tone 8. Composed by the Venerable Theodore the Studite. In the Troparia for the Trinity and the Theotokos, there is an acrostic: “To the unworthy Theodore,” that is, “Theodore the Unworthy,” tone 8.

Song 1

Irmos: Let us raise a song, O people, / to our wondrous God, / who delivered Israel from bondage, / singing a song of victory and crying out: / “We will sing to You, O sole Lord!”

Let us all pray to Christ, / as we commemorate on this day the dead of all ages, / that He may deliver them from the eternal fire, / those who have fallen asleep in faith and hope of eternal life.

By the depth of Your judgments, O Christ, / You have predestined for each person, with all wisdom, / the end of life, its limit, and its form. / Therefore, save at the Last Judgment those whom the grave has hidden in every land, / O All-Merciful One.

You have set the limits of our lives; / therefore, to those who have fallen asleep after the night of this life, / reveal, O Lord, the sons of the unfading day: / the Orthodox priests with the kings, / and all Your people.

Those whom the waters have covered / and whom war has reaped, / whom the earthquake has overtaken and murderers have slain, / and the faithful who have been consumed by fire— / establish them, O Merciful One, in the inheritance of the righteous.

Regardless of all earthly sins, our Savior, / place all people of every age from the entire human race / before Your judgment seat as those who are not condemned, / giving an account to You, the Creator.

Glory, in the Trinity: I sing of the Three Persons, one in Essence, / each in His own Hypostasis: / the unbegotten Father, the begotten Son, and the Holy Spirit— / the beginningless Kingdom, power, and one Divinity.

And now, to the Mother of God: Truly, You have appeared as heaven on earth, / greater than the highest vault of the heavens, / for from You, the Virgin who knew no marriage, / the Sun has risen in the world—ruling in righteousness.

Katavasia: Let us raise a song, O people:

Song 2

Irmos: Behold, behold, that I am your God, / born of the Father before the ages / and conceived of the Virgin in the last days / without a husband, / and having abolished the sin of our forefather Adam, / as the Lover of mankind!

Behold, behold, I am your God, / who by righteous judgment have established the limits of life, / receiving all the departed from corruption into incorruption / with the hope of eternal resurrection.

From the four corners of the earth, O Lord, / You have received the faithful departed: / whether at sea, on land, in rivers, / springs, lakes, or wells, / or those who became food for beasts, birds, and reptiles— / grant rest to them all.

Holding all things in Your hand, / You have predestined all things, O Lord; / having gathered those who have disintegrated into the four elements / at Your coming, raise them up, / forgiving their debts— / all that was done in ignorance and in knowledge.

O how awesome is Your second coming, O Lord! / For as if in the form of lightning coming upon the earth, / You will raise up for judgment all that You have created; / then may those who have lived with faith in You and who meet You / be deemed worthy to be with You.

Glory, O Trinity: The most perfect, most divine / Unity in Three Persons: / the unbegotten Father and the Only-begotten Son, / the Spirit proceeding from the Father and revealed through the Son, / one Being and Nature, / Lordship, Kingdom, save us all!

And now, to the Mother of God: The miracle of Your conception is beyond words, O Virgin Mother: / for how is it that You give birth while remaining pure? / How do You give birth to a Child, / yet have never known a man? / How is it that the One born of You, who is above nature, / is the Word of God in an unprecedented way!

Katavasia: Behold, behold, that I am your God:

Song 3

Irmos: You who established the heavens with Your hand! / By the light of Your true knowledge, O Word of God, / strengthen our hearts as well, / we who hope in You.

Those who have completed their life’s journey / in the glory of piety, / grant them, O God, to be crowned with the crown of righteousness / and to enjoy eternal blessings.

Those snatched away by sudden death, / those consumed by lightning, / and those who breathed their last from the cold / and every kind of affliction, / grant them rest, O God, when You test all with fire.

Grant that those who have crossed the ever-turbulent sea of life / may arrive at the harbor of Your imperishable life, O Christ, / guided by an Orthodox way of life.

Those whom every kind / of sea creature and heavenly bird / has consumed as food, Christ, by Your judgment, / raise up, O God, on the last day with glory.

Glory, to the Trinity: With my mind I unite the Divine Unity, / as Three Persons in simplicity, / simultaneously united and distinct: / for with the speed of lightning, shining with a threefold light, / She is beheld in Unity.

And now, to the Mother of God: Your miracle is incomprehensible: / for without a husband You bear in Your womb, / and Your virginity, O Pure One, You preserve even after giving birth. / Therefore, the multitude of angels and the human race / sing Your praises forever.

Katavasia: He who established with His hand:

The Short Usual Ektenia.

Sedalen, Tone 5

Who endured the Cross and death for our sake, / and put hell to death, and raised the dead with You! / Grant rest, O Savior, to those who have departed from us, / as the God who loves mankind, / and on the day of Your awe-inspiring and dreadful / coming, O Giver of life, / as the One who possesses abundant mercy, / make them worthy of Your Kingdom.

Glory: and we repeat the same.

And now, O Mother of God: Show Your swift protection, help, / and mercy to Your servants, O Pure One, / and calm the waves of vain thoughts, / and lift up my fallen soul, O Mother of God: / for I know, O Virgin, I know, / that You are able to accomplish / whatever You will.

Song 4

Irmos: From the shadowy mountain, the one and only Mother of God, / the Word, who desired to become incarnate—You— / the prophet perceived with a God-enlightened gaze / and with awe glorified Your power.

Fathers and forefathers, ancestors and forebears, / from those who lived in the beginning to the very last, / who died observing the Law and in the true faith, / remember them all, our Savior.

On the mountain, on the road, in tombs, in the deserts, / those who ended their lives prematurely in faith, / monks and laypeople, young and old, / dwell with the saints, O Christ.

Whether from sorrow or joy that came beyond all hope, / those who suddenly left this life in faith, / whether they endured days of happiness or misfortune, / grant them all rest, our Savior.

Those whom the cold and a runaway horse have killed, / hail, snow, and a torrential downpour; / those crushed by bricks or buried in the earth, / Christ, our Savior, grant them rest.

Glory, to the Trinity: It is wondrous that the Godhead is One and Three; / in each Person, It is wholly and indivisibly present: / for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit / receive worship as one God.

And now, to the Theotokos: Guide us, (Virgin), through Your prayers, / leading us, like a helmsman, as we are tossed by the stormy waves of sin / to the saving harbors, Mother of the Lord, / delivering us from all misfortunes.

Katavasia: From the Shady Mountain:

Song 5

Irmos: From dawn, my spirit longs for You, O God, for the light of Your coming; enlighten our minds with it, O Lord, and guide us on the path of life.

As we commemorate on this day, O Lord, / all who have died in piety throughout the ages, / we earnestly cry out to You: / “Grant rest to all with Your saints!”

Those whom You have received from every tribe and nation—/among kings, princes, or monastics—/who believed in the Orthodox faith, deliver, O Merciful One, / from eternal punishment.

Whomever among all whom You have created, O Lord, / You have permitted—knowing what is for their good— / to die unexpectedly from widespread epidemics, / deliver them from every punishment, O our God.

From the fire that burns eternally, and from the darkness that knows no light, / from the gnashing of teeth and the worm that gnaws ceaselessly, / and from every punishment, deliver, our Savior, / all who have died in the faith.

Glory, to the Trinity: The One-Throne, the Beginningless, the Triune Unity, / possessing Unity in division, / and conversely—in the Three Persons, one Nature; / unite us together through love for Your commandments.

And now, to the Mother of God: You, O Pure One, / appeared with the highest honor of the fiery Seraphim, / bearing in Your womb the Savior, inaccessible to them, / who, through Your Incarnation, gave life / to those born on earth.

Katavasia: From dawn it strives:

Song 6

Irmos: One possessed by many sins / and clinging to Your compassion, / accept me as a prophet, / O God who loves mankind, and save me.

You who put an end to mortal torments through Your suffering, / Prince of Life, our God, / grant rest to Your servants who have fallen asleep from of old.

Those whom, by Your ineffable judgments, / the potions and poisons they drank have killed, / and those who choked on a bone and died, / grant them rest with the saints, O Lord.

When You judge the whole world, / standing naked and exposed before Your face, / then have mercy on those who have served You faithfully, / O Merciful God.

When Your Archangel sounds the final trumpet, / calling all to the resurrection of life, / then, Christ, grant rest to Your servants.

May the entire human race be deemed worthy, O God, / to glorify You forever alongside those faithful ones / whom You have accepted from all eternity.

Glory, in the Trinity: Holy Trinity, co-enthroned, / Father and Son with the (Holy) Spirit! / You are my God, who by Your omnipotence / sustains all things.

And now, to the Mother of God: Rejoice, Jesse, forefather: / from your root the Flower of Life has sprung forth: / from the Pure Virgin—Christ God, / the Savior of the world.

Katavasia: For those afflicted by many sins:

Short Ektenia for the Departed with the censer.

Kontakion, Tone 8

Grant rest with the saints, O Christ, / to the souls of Your servants, / where there is neither pain, nor sorrow, nor groaning, / but eternal life.

Ikos: You alone are immortal, / who formed and created man: / but we, mortals, were formed from the earth, / and to that same earth we shall return, / as You commanded when You created me and said to me: / “You are dust, and to dust you shall return,” / where all of us mortals shall go, / transforming our mourning at the grave into the song “Alleluia!”

The Synaxarion, first from the Menaion, and then for the repose of the soul.

Hymn 7

Irmos: You who in the beginning founded the earth / and established the heavens by Your word, / blessed are You forever, O Lord, / God of our fathers!

Commemorating those who have died in piety from ages past, / we cry out: / “Blessed are You forever, O Lord, / God of our fathers!”

Those who died suddenly in piety, / and by various things that fell upon them: / wood, iron, every kind of stone, / grant rest, O God, to the faithful departed.

At Your dreadful coming, O Merciful One, / place at Your right hand, with Your sheep, / those who served You faithfully in life, O Christ, / and have departed to You.

In the choir, O Christ, of Your chosen ones, / place Your servants, that they may cry out to You: / “Blessed are You forever, O Lord, / God of our fathers!”

You who formed the body from earthly dust / and quickened it with Your Spirit, O merciful Savior, / grant rest, O God, to those whom You have received, / in the life that never ages.

Glory, in the Trinity: May the Godhead be sung of as three suns / in a single blend of light: / the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, / One in Essence, yet Three in Persons.

And now, to the Mother of God: We sing David’s song to You in harmony, / calling You, O Virgin, the mountain of God, / in whom, having taken flesh, the Word / has spiritually deified us in Himself.

Katavasia: He who founded the earth in the beginning:

Song 8

Irmos: He who was glorified on the holy mountain / and revealed the mystery of the Ever-Virgin to Moses / through the fire in the thorn bush— / sing to the Lord and exalt Him for all ages.

Having first crushed the shadow of death, / and shone forth like the sun from the tomb, / make all who have died in the faith / sons of Your Resurrection, O Lord of glory, / for ever and ever.

O Knower of all that is hidden and secret! / When You reveal the works of darkness / and the intentions of our hearts, / then do not demand a strict reckoning / from all who have departed in faith.

When You intend to take Your seat on the throne / and command those gathered by the trumpet from the ends of the earth / to appear for judgment, / then have mercy on all, O Christ, / as the Merciful One.

Those who died suddenly from misfortunes: / from a loud cry or a swift flight, / a slap, a blow with a fist or a foot— / those who have departed in faith, O Lord of Glory, / set them free for all eternity.

Let us bless the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, our Lord.

As One in Being, I sing Your praises, / as the Trinity in Persons, I honor You: / Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; / the eternal power of Your Kingdom / I glorify forever.

And now, O Mother of God: You have appeared, O Virgin Mother of God, / as a sealed spring of the Living Water; / for having given birth to the Lord without a husband, / You quench the thirst of the faithful with the water of immortality forever.

We praise, bless, and worship the Lord, singing His praises and exalting Him for all ages.

Irmos: On the holy mountain of the One who is glorified:

Song 9

Irmos: As was once revealed on the mountain to the Lawgiver / in the fire and the thornbush, / the Nativity of Christ from the Ever-Virgin / for the salvation of us, the faithful, / we magnify with ceaseless hymns.

There, where the dwelling place of those who rejoice /—Your saints, O Lord—/ all who have fallen asleep from of old in faith and hope, / grant them joy.

Those who were destroyed by God’s wrath—/in every deadly calamity, /sent down from heaven, /in the earth that split open, in the sea that surged forth—/grant rest, O Christ, to all the faithful.

People of every age—the elderly and the young, / the young and those already grown, / children and infants born before their time, / both men and women— / grant rest, O God, to the faithful whom You have received.

From the poisonous wounds of the departed, / from being devoured by serpents, / from being trampled by horses and suffocated, / and from being strangled by the hand of a neighbor, / grant rest to those who served You with faith.

Grant that each one by name / among those who have died in the faith from time immemorial / and from generation to generation may appear before You, O Word, without condemnation, / at Your coming.

Glory, O Trinity: God, One in the Trinity, / unceasing glory be to You! / For though each of the Three is God, / He remains one in Essence: / the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, / distinguished by their three-fold attributes.

And now, to the Mother of God: Your childbirth is beyond understanding: / for You give birth to the Pre-existent One, / and with Your milk You unspeakably nourish / the Giver of sustenance to the world: / and in a manger You lay the One who sustains all, / Christ, our only Redeemer, O All-Pure One!

Katavasia: That which was previously revealed on the mountain to the Lawgiver:

The Short Usual Ektenia.

Exapostilarion

Ruling over the living and the dead / as God! / Grant rest to Your servants in the chosen abodes: / for though they have sinned, Savior, / they have not turned away from You.

Glory: Grant rest to Your servants / in the land of the living, O Lord, / from which torment has fled, / along with sorrow and groaning; / graciously blot out, as the Lover of Mankind, / all in which they have sinned in life: / for You alone are sinless and merciful, / Lord of the dead and the living!

And now, O Mother of God: Mary, Bride of God! / Intercede ceaselessly before Christ / for us, Your servants, together with the divinely inspired prophets / and the hosts of martyrs, and the hierarchs with the holy ones, and all the righteous, / that we may become heirs with them / of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Stichera of Praise, 4th tone, tone 8

Come, all of you, brothers, before the end, / beholding our dust, the frailty of our nature, / and our insignificance, and let us see the end, / and the vessels of the body; / and that man is dust, food for worms and decay, / that our bones are dry, having no breath at all. / Let us look into the graves: where is glory? / Where is the beauty of form? Where is the sweet-speaking tongue? / Where is the brow? Or where is the eye? All is dust and shadow: / therefore, Savior, have mercy on us all!

Why does man delude himself with boasting? / Why does he fret in vain, / he who is clay and, in a short time, will become clay himself? / Why does dust not consider / that it is made of dust, / and that decay and disintegration are its lot? / If we, as human beings, are clay, / why are we clinging to the earth? / And if we are united with Christ, / why do we not take refuge in Him? / And, having rejected all that is fleeting and transient in life, / why do we not follow the imperishable life, / which is Christ, / the enlightenment [and atonement] of our souls!

By Your hand, O Savior, who created Adam, / and set a boundary / between incorruption, mortality, and life in grace; / and, having freed us from corruption, / have brought us back to our original life! / You Yourself, O Lord, / grant rest to Your servants / whom You have taken from us, / with the righteous and the host of the elect; / and having inscribed their names in the Book of Life, / and raised them up at the voice of the Archangel and the sound of the trumpet, / make them worthy of Your Heavenly Kingdom!

Christ is risen, / having loosed the bonds of the first Adam, / and destroyed the power of hell. / Take heart, all you who have died: / death has been put to death, / and hell has been plundered along with it, / and Christ, the Crucified and Risen One, has reigned. / He has granted us the incorruptibility of the flesh, / He raises us up and grants us the resurrection, / and with joy makes all partakers of that glory, / those who believed in Him fervently with unshakable faith.

Glory, Tone 2, for the repose of the departed: As a flower withers and as a dream passes away, / so every human being is destroyed. / But again, at the sound of the trumpet, / the dead will all rise, as in an earthquake, / to meet You, Christ our God. / Then, O Lord, those whom You have taken from us, / settle them in Your holy dwellings, / without regard for their sins, O Merciful One!

And now, to the Mother of God: Rejoice, Mary, Mother of God, / Temple unshakable and, above all, holy, / as the prophet cries out: / “Holy is Your Temple, wondrous in truth.”

On the stichera of the Venerable Theophanes in the current tone of the Octoechos

Glory, Tone 6, Damascene: It became a misfortune for Adam / to eat from the tree in Eden in ancient times, / when the serpent poured out its venom: / for because of it, death entered the world, / devouring man and all his kind. / But the Lord, having come, cast down the dragon / and granted us rest. / Let us therefore cry out to Him: / “Have mercy, Savior, on those whom You have received, / and grant them rest with Your chosen ones, (O Lover of mankind!)”

And now, O Son of the Mother of God, the same voice: You are our God, who created all things through Your wisdom and fills all things! You sent the prophets, Christ, / to foretell Your coming, / and the apostles—to proclaim Your great deeds. / Some foretold Your coming, / while others enlightened the nations through baptism. / The martyrs, having suffered, attained what they desired, / and their united choir intercedes before You / together with the One who gave birth to You. / Grant rest, O God, to the souls of those whom You have received, / and make us worthy of Your Kingdom, / You who endured the Cross for my sake, the condemned, / my Redeemer and my God!

It is good to glorify the Lord: The Holy Trinity, Troparion: With profound wisdom: Glory, and now: In You we have both a wall and a refuge: The First Hour and the Dismissal.

AT THE LITURGY

Blessed are they, from the Triodion canon, songs 3 and 6.

Troparion, Tone 8

Glory, Kontakion, same tone: Grant rest, O Christ, with the saints, / to the souls of Your servants, / where there is neither pain, nor sorrow, nor groaning, / but eternal life.

And now, to the Theotokos, in the same tone: In You we have both a wall and a refuge, / and an Intercessor pleasing to God, / Whom You, O Theotokos, gave birth to without having known marriage, / the salvation of the faithful.

Prokeimenon, Tone 6: Their souls / shall dwell among the blessings. Verse: To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul, O my God.

First Epistle to the Corinthians, beginning at verse 146

Brothers, everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, but not everything builds up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of others. Eat whatever is sold in the market without raising any questions of conscience—for the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. If, however, an unbeliever invites you and you wish to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any questions, in good conscience. But if anyone says to you, “This has been offered to idols,” do not eat it, for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of your conscience; for the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.

1 Cor 10:23–28

And for the repose of the soul,
First Epistle to the Thessalonians, beginning 270

Brothers, we do not want to leave you in ignorance concerning those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord: we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep; for the Lord Himself, at the command, at the voice of the Archangel, and at the trumpet of God, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–17

Alleluia, Tone 4: Blessed are those whom You have chosen and brought near, O Lord. Verse: And their memory endures from generation to generation.

Gospel of Luke, reading 105

The Lord said: “See to it that you are not led astray. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and ‘The time is near’; do not follow them. When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must happen first, but the end will not come immediately.” And there will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars; and on earth, the nations will be in distress, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the surging of the waves, as people faint from fear and the anticipation of the calamities coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with great power and glory. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away. Take care, then, that your hearts are not weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the cares of this life, lest that day come upon you suddenly; for it will come like a snare upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Therefore, stay alert and pray at all times, so that you may be counted worthy to escape all that is about to take place and to stand before the Son of Man.

Luke 21:8–9, 25–27, 33–36

And for the repose of the soul,
The Gospel of John, Chapter 16

The Lord said to the Jews who had come to Him: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” “Truly, truly, I say to you: the hour is coming—and is now here—when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear it will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice and come out—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. I can do nothing on My own; I judge just as I hear, and My judgment is just, for I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.

John 5:24–30

Kinonikos: Blessed are those whom You have chosen and drawn near to Yourself, O Lord, and their memory endures from generation to generation.

It is important to know that this service is always held on the Saturday of Holy Pentecost.

MEATFAST SUNDAY

ON SATURDAY AT GREAT VESPERS

After the introductory psalm, we read the entire first kathisma. After “I cried out to the Lord,” we sing ten stichera: three from the Sunday Octoechos, three from the Eastern Octoechos, and four from the Triodion:

Tone 6

When You resolve to come / to render righteous judgment, O Most Righteous Judge, / seated upon the throne of Your glory, / a terrifying river of fire / before Your judgment seat sweeps everyone away, / and the heavenly powers stand before You, / and people are judged with fear / for what each has done; / then have mercy on us, Christ, / and grant us the lot of the saved, as You are merciful; / we pray to You with faith.

The books will be opened, / the deeds of men will be revealed / before the unbearable judgment seat, / and the entire valley of weeping will resound with a terrible groaning, / at the sight of all who have sinned, / sent to eternal torment by Your righteous judgment, / and weeping pitifully in vain. / Therefore we pray to You, O Good One: / “Have mercy on us who sing Your praises, / O One and Only Most Merciful One!”

The trumpets will sound, and the tombs will be emptied, / and all of trembling humanity will be raised: / those who have done good will rejoice with delight, / awaiting their reward; / but the sinners will tremble, weeping in terror, / as they are sent to torment and separated from the elect. / O Lord of glory, have mercy on us, as You are good, / and grant us the lot of those who love You.

I weep and wail, / when I imagine in my mind’s eye the eternal fire, / the outer darkness, Tartarus, and the dreadful worm, / as well as the ceaseless gnashing of teeth, / the torment awaiting those who have sinned immeasurably / and provoked You, the Most Blessed, with their wicked ways— / of whom I, wretched one, am the first! / But by Your mercy, O Judge, / save me, as You are merciful.

Glory, Tone 8: When the thrones are set up and the books are opened, / and God takes His seat to judge, / what terror there will be then, when the angels stand in awe, / and the river of fire sweeps them away! / What shall we do then, / we humans, guilty of many sins? / And when we hear Him / calling the blessed into the Kingdom of the Father, / and sending the sinful to torment, / who will endure that dreadful judgment? / But You alone, the Lover of Mankind, the Savior, the King of the Ages, / before the end comes, / having turned me to repentance, have mercy on me!

And now, O Mother of God: a dogmatic hymn of the ordinary tone.

At the Litany

Glory, Tone 7: Having come to know the Lord’s commandments, let us act accordingly: / let us feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, / clothe the naked, welcome strangers into our homes, / and visit those in prison, / so that He who will judge the whole earth may say to us: / “Come, you who are blessed by My Father, / inherit the Kingdom prepared for you!”

And now, O Mother of God: Taking refuge under Your protection, O Sovereign Lady, / all of us born on earth cry out to You: / “O Mother of God, our hope, / deliver us from our countless sins / and save our souls!”

Stichera from the Octoechos

Glory, Tone 8: Woe to me, darkened soul, / how long will you persist in evil deeds? / How long will you give yourself over to carelessness? / Why do you not think of the dreadful hour of death? / Why do you not tremble before the Savior’s dreadful judgment? / What will you say in your own defense ? / Or what answer will you give? / Your deeds stand ready to convict you; / your actions expose and accuse you. / From now on, O soul, the time has come: / flee, hasten, and cry out with faith: / “I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned before You; / but I know, O Lover of Mankind, Your mercy, O Good Shepherd, / do not cast me away from those who stand at Your right hand / by Your great mercy!”

And now, O Mother of God: Virgin who knew no marriage, / who conceived God in the flesh in an ineffable manner, /—Mother of the Most High God! / Hear the supplications of Your servants, O All-Pure One, / who grants purification from sins to all; / now, having accepted our prayers, / pray for the salvation of us all.

AT MATINS

After the Sixth Psalm, we sing “God the Lord” in the tone of the Octoechos, followed by the Resurrection troparion twice, and the Theotokion once. Then the customary psalmody of the Psalter. The sedalnia of the Octoechos. After the customary two polyeleos psalms, we add a third:

Psalm 136

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. Alleluia. On the willows in the midst of it we hung up our harps. Alleluia. For there those who had taken us captive asked us about the words of our songs, and those who had led us away asked about our singing. Alleluia. “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.” Alleluia. How can we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? Alleluia. If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill! Alleluia. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem at the very beginning of my joy. Alleluia. Remember, O Lord, the sons of Edom on the day of Jerusalem, who said, “Destroy, destroy it to its very foundations.” Alleluia. Wretched daughter of Babylon, blessed is he who will repay you as you have repaid us. Alleluia. Blessed is he who seizes your infants and dashes them against a rock. Alleluia.

After the Troparia of the Immaculate: The Host of Angels: Ipakoï. The stichera and prokimen of the tone. All that breathes: The ordinary Sunday Gospel. The Resurrection of Christ: Psalm 50. Then the Glory, Tone 8: Open to me the gates of repentance: (see Matins for the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee).

The Sunday Canon, the Theotokos Canon in Tone 6, and the Triodion Canon in Tone 8.

Canon, composed by St. Theodore the Studite, Tone 6.
Ode 1

Irmos: Helper and Protector:

As I contemplate that dreadful day / of Your coming, which is beyond the understanding of all, / I am filled with dread; / with fear, I foresee it, / when You will sit in judgment over the living and the dead, / my almighty God.

When You come, O God, / with myriads and thousands / of heavenly angelic hosts, / then grant that I, a wretched soul, / may be deemed worthy to meet You in the clouds, O Christ.

Go, my soul, and contemplate / that hour and that day / when God will appear to you openly; / and weep, and lament, / so that you may be found pure / at the hour of trial.

I am both amazed and terrified / by the unquenchable fire of Gehenna, / the bitter worm, and the gnashing of teeth; / but forgive me, pardon me, / and place me, Christ, / among Your chosen ones.

May I, wretched as I am, also hear / Your longed-for voice, / calling Your saints to joy, / and may I find / the ineffable delight of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Do not enter into judgment with me, / bringing my deeds to light, / scrutinizing my words and exposing my desires, / but by Your mercy, without regard for my grave sins, / save me, Almighty One.

Glory, Triune: Unity in three Persons, / Sovereign Lady of all, / the most perfect and highest / Beginning of all beginnings! / Save us Yourself: / Father, and Son, and Most Holy Spirit!

And now, to the Mother of God: Who gave birth to a Son without seed / according to the law given by the Father? / —The very One whom the Father Himself begets without a mother. / An extraordinary miracle! / For You, O Pure One, / gave birth to both God and man.

Katavasia: My helper and protector / has become my salvation: / He is my God, and I will glorify Him, / the God of my father—and I will exalt Him, / for He has been glorified in splendor!

Song 3

Irmos: Establish me, O Lord, upon the rock of Your commandments:

The Lord is coming, / and who can endure His fear? / Who can stand before His face? / But be ready, O soul, / to meet Him!

Let us hasten, let us weep, / let us be reconciled with God before the end: / for the judgment is dreadful, / before which we shall all stand naked.

Have mercy, O Lord, have mercy on me; I cry out to You, / when You come with Your angels / to reward everyone according to their deeds.

How can I endure, O Lord, / the unbearable wrath of Your judgment, / having disobeyed Your command? / But spare me, spare me at the hour of judgment.

Turn back, wail, O wretched soul, / before the feast of life has come to an end, / before the Lord has shut / the door of His palace.

I have sinned, O Lord, / like no other among men, / transgressing beyond human measure; / but before the judgment, be merciful to me, / O Lover of mankind!

Glory to the Trinity: Simple, uncreated Unity, / beginningless Nature, / celebrated in the Three Persons, / save us who worship with faith / Your might.

And now, to the Mother of God: You have brought forth, O Most Pure One, / by giving birth without seed to the living Word, / incarnate in Your womb without change. / Glory to You, Mother of God, for the birth of Christ through You!

Katavasia: Establish, O Lord, upon the rock of Your commandments / my wavering heart, / for You alone are King and Lord.

Sedalen, Tone 6

I ponder the dreadful day / and mourn my evil deeds. / How shall I answer the Immortal King? / Or how shall I, a sinner, dare to look upon the Judge? / Merciful Father, Only-Begotten Son, / and Holy Spirit, have mercy on me!

Glory: In the valley of weeping, / in the place You have appointed, / when You sit down, O Merciful One, to render righteous judgment, / do not reveal my secret deeds / and do not put me to shame before the Angels, / but spare me, O God, and have mercy on me!

And now, to the Mother of God: O Good Hope of the world, Virgin Mother of God, / we pray only for Your one mighty protection: / have mercy on those who so easily fall into trouble, / implore the merciful God, / that our souls may be delivered from every punishment, / O Only Blessed One!

Song 4

Irmos: The prophet heard:

The day has come; be watchful, O soul, / for judgment stands at the door, / where kings and princes, / the rich and the poor, gather together, / and each person will receive according to the deeds they have done.

Monks and hierarchs alike, / the elderly and the young, the servant and the master / will be tested; / the widow and the virgin will give an account; / and woe then to all / who have not lived blameless lives.

Your judgment is incorruptible; / neither deceitful schemes / nor the arguments of orators who conceal the truth / nor the testimony of witnesses / who deceive justice will be hidden in Your court; / for before You, O God, the secret deeds of all are laid bare.

May I not come to the land of weeping, / may I not see the place of darkness, my Christ, / may I not be bound by my hands and feet, O Word, / and cast out from Your palace, most wretched one, / as one wearing the defiled / garment of incorruption.

When You separate the sinners from the righteous, / as You judge the world, / count me among Your sheep, / separating me from the goats, O Lover of Mankind, / so that I may hear Your blessed voice.

When the day of judgment comes, / and the books recording one’s deeds are opened, / what will you do, O wretched soul? / What will you say in your defense at the judgment, / having no fruits of righteousness / to offer to Christ and your Creator?

Hearing the pitiful words of the rich man / in the tormenting flames, / I weep and mourn, wretched as I am, / deserving the same condemnation, and I pray: / “Have mercy on me, Savior of the world, / at the time of judgment!”

Glory to the Trinity: I glorify the Son from the Father, and the Spirit, / as Light and Ray proceeding from the Sun: / One—as the Begotten, / for He is truly begotten, / and the Other—as the Proceeding, / for He is truly proceeded, / the co-eternal Divine Trinity, / who receives worship from all creation.

And now, to the Mother of God: O Virgin, who brought forth the Infant into the world / and preserved your purity, / you, O Holy One, have been revealed as the Mother of God and man, / the One and the Same in both forms. / Your miracle, O Virgin Mother, / astounds every ear and every mind!

Katavasia: The prophet heard / of Your coming, O Lord, and was afraid, / that You would be born of a Virgin and appear to mankind, and he proclaimed: / “I have heard the news of You, and I was afraid.” / Glory to Your power, O Lord!

Song 5

Irmos: From night until dawn:

There is indescribable trembling and fear: / for the Lord will come, / and with Him will be revealed / the deeds of every person; / and who, in the end, / will not weep for himself?

The river of fire confounds me, torments me, / the gnashing of teeth and the darkness of the abyss torment me; / and by what or how, / shall I appease God?

Have mercy, have mercy, O Lord, on Your servant; / never deliver me to the harsh tormentors, / the implacable angels: / there, among them, it is impossible to find peace.

There, princes and leaders are equal, / the rich and the ignoble, / the great along with the lowly / will all give the same answer; / woe then to everyone who is unprepared!

Relent, let me go, O Lord, / and forgive me for the sins I have committed before You, / and do not bring me there before the angels / to be condemned to the fire, / to endless shame.

Have mercy, have mercy, O Lord, on Your creation. / I have sinned—forgive me, / for You alone are pure by nature, / and no one else but You / remains without blemish.

Glory, to the Trinity: As one in essence, / I sing of You, O Trinity, / the beginningless, incomprehensible, primordial, / royal, supremely perfect unity, / God, and Light, and Life, / and Creator of the world.

And now, to the Mother of God: In Your supernatural conception, O Holy One, / the laws of nature are clearly set aside for You: / and, indeed, You give birth without seed / to the pre-eternal God, born of the Father.

Katavasia: From the night, as dawn breaks, / I turn to You, Lover of Mankind, / enlighten me, I pray, / and guide me in Your commandments, / and teach me, Savior, / to do Your will.

Hymn 6

Irmos: I have cried out with all my heart:

At Your dreadful coming, O Christ, / when You appear from heaven, / and the thrones are set up, and the books are opened, / have mercy, have mercy then, O Savior, on Your creation.

Nothing can help there / where God is the Judge: / neither effort, nor cunning, nor glory, nor friendship, / unless your strength comes from your deeds, / O my soul!

There, prince and chieftain will be together, / the poor and the rich, O soul; / neither father nor mother will be able to help then, / nor will a brother deliver you from condemnation.

As you reflect on the dreadful trial before the Judge, / be filled with dread, O soul, / and prepare your answer, / lest you be condemned to eternal bonds.

“Take what is yours!”—may I never hear this, O Lord, / as I am cast away from You, / nor the words: “Go into the fire with the accursed,” / but rather the longed-for voice of the righteous.

Deliver me, O Lord, from the gates of hell, / from the abyss and the darkness that knows no light, / from the dungeons and the unquenchable fire, / and from every other / eternal punishment.

Glory, Triune: I sing of the Triune Godhead in unity: / the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, / the power of the one Source, / divided into three distinct Persons.

And now, to the Mother of God: You are the Door through which passed / the One who entered and departed, / and who did not break the seals of your virginity, O Pure One, /—Jesus, the Creator of Adam and Your Son.

Katavasia: I cried out with all my heart / to the merciful God, / and He heard me from the depths of hell, / and brought my life out of destruction.

Kontakion, Tone 1

When You come, O God, to earth in glory, / the whole world will tremble; / a river of fire flows before the Throne of Judgment, / the books are opened, and the mysteries are revealed. / Then deliver me from the unquenchable fire / and grant me to stand at Your right hand, / O most righteous Judge.

Ikos: As I reflect on Your dreadful judgment, / O Most Blessed Lord, and on the Day of Judgment, / I am filled with dread and fear, / as my conscience convicts me! / When You take Your seat on Your throne / and begin to judge, / then no one will be able to deny their sins, / for the truth itself convicts, and fear takes hold: / the fire of Gehenna will blaze fiercely, / and the sinners will gnash their teeth! / Therefore, have mercy on me before the end, / and spare me, O most righteous Judge!

Hymn 7

Irmos: We have sinned; we have done wrong:

Let us fall down and weep, O faithful, / before that judgment, / when the heavens perish, / the stars fall, and the whole earth trembles, / that we may find God, the Father of our fathers, / merciful to the end.

The trial is impartial, the judgment is dreadful, / where the Judge is, before Whom nothing is hidden, / where He cannot be swayed by gifts to show partiality; / then have mercy on me, O Lord, / and deliver me from all Your dreadful wrath.

The Lord is coming to judge; / who can endure His appearance? / Tremble, my wretched soul, / tremble and prepare your deeds for the final judgment, / so that you may find Him gracious and merciful, / the blessed God of our fathers.

The unquenchable fire troubles me, / and the gnawing of the most bitter worm; / the soul-destroying hell terrifies me, / yet I find no comfort whatsoever. / But, O Lord, O Lord, before the end, / strengthen me with Your fear.

I fall down before You / and offer You my words as tears: / “I have sinned as no harlot has sinned / and committed iniquity as no one else on earth has done, / but have mercy, O Lord, on Your creation / and call me!”

Turn back, repent, reveal what is hidden, / say to God the All-Knowing: / “You know my secrets, O One and Only Savior; / but have mercy on me Yourself, as David sings, / through Your mercy!”

Glory, to the Trinity: I thus sing of the Three, one in essence / and the One in three Persons: / “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit— / one power, one will, and one action. / One God, thrice-holy, one Kingdom, supreme!”

And now, to the Mother of God: The most beautiful God proceeds / from the palace of Your womb, / like a King clothed in a purple robe woven by God, / mysteriously dyed with Your most pure blood, / You who knew no marriage, / and reigns over the earth.

Katavasia: We have sinned, we have committed / iniquity and injustice before You, / and we have not kept nor done / as You commanded us. / But do not forsake us to the end, / O God of our fathers!

Hymn 8

Irmos: To whom the heavenly hosts:

Thinking of the dreadful / second coming of Yours, O Lord, / I tremble at Your awesome appearance, / I fear Your wrath and cry out: / “Save me from that hour forever!”

When You, O God, will judge all, / who, born on earth, will endure this, being mortal? / For then the unquenchable fire / and the worm that gnaws fiercely / will consume the condemned for all eternity.

When You summon all that breathes / together to Your judgment, Christ, / great will be the fear then, great will be the calamity, / and only our deeds will help us forever.

Judge of all, my God and Lord, / may I then hear / Your longed-for voice, / may I see Your great light, / may I behold Your dwellings, / may I behold Your glory, rejoicing forever.

Righteous Savior, have mercy / and deliver me from the fire and punishment / that I must justly endure at the judgment: / grant me relief before the end, / for virtue and repentance.

When You sit as the Merciful Judge / and reveal Your awesome glory, Christ, /—oh, what fear there will be then / from the burning furnace / for all who dread Your unbearable Judgment!

Let us bless the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Lord.

I worship God, one in essence, / and sing of the three Hypostases, distinguishing them: / distinct, yet not separate, / for the Divinity is one in three Persons: / the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

And now, O Mother of God: Having come forth from Your luminous womb, / like a Bridegroom from the bridal chamber, / Christ shone forth, a great light to those dwelling in darkness. / And behold, He, shining forth as the Sun of Righteousness, / enlightened the world, O Pure One.

We praise, bless, and worship the Lord, singing His praises and exalting Him for all ages.

Katavasia: Whom the heavenly hosts glorify, / and before Whom the Cherubim and Seraphim tremble, / all that breathes and is created, / sing, bless, / and exalt Him forever and ever!

Hymn 9

Irmos: From a seedless conception:

The Lord is coming to punish the sinful, / but to save the righteous; / let us tremble and weep, / and receive with deep feeling that day, / when, revealing what is unknown and hidden from men, / He will reward them according to their deeds.

Moses was filled with fear and trembling / when he saw You from behind; / how then will I stand, / wretched as I am, / when I see Your face, / when You come from heaven? / But have mercy on me, O Merciful One, / with Your gracious gaze.

Daniel feared the hour of trial; / but I, wretched as I am, what shall I endure / on that dreadful day, O Lord, that is to come? / But grant that before my death / I may serve You in a way that pleases You / and receive Your Kingdom.

The fire is being prepared, the worm is settling in; / so too—the glory of joy, delight, / unfading light, the joy of the righteous; / and who is so blessed as to escape punishment first, / having received the second as his lot?

May Your fierce wrath / not cast me away / from Your presence, O Lord; / and may I not hear the voice of Your curse, / which sends one into the fire, / but may I enter into the joy / of Your imperishable bridal chamber / and then be with Your saints.

My mind is wounded, my body is weakened, / my spirit is sick, my speech has failed, / my life has grown lifeless, the end is at the door. / So, my wretched soul, what will you do / when the Judge comes to examine your deeds?

Glory to the Trinity: The One Father, who alone begot the Only-Begotten Son; / and the One Light, the Radiance of the One Light; / and the One Holy Spirit of the One God, / truly the Lordly Spirit of the Lord. / O Holy Trinity, Holy Unity! / Save me, who meditates on You!

And now, to the Mother of God: The miracle of Christ’s birth from You / amazes me, O All-Pure One, / how You conceive the Incomprehensible without seed. / “Tell me, how do You remain a Virgin, / having given birth as a Mother?” / – “Having accepted by faith that which is above nature, / worship the One who is born: / for He is all that He wills and is able to do!”

Katavasia: The birth from a seedless conception is inexpressible, / the Fruit of the Mother who knew no husband is immaculate: / for the birth of God renews the laws of nature. / Therefore, we, all generations, / as the Mother of our God / honor You in the Orthodox faith.

Sunday Exapostilarion
and then from the Triodion:

Meditating on the dreadful Day of Judgment / and Your ineffable glory, / I tremble all over, O Lord, / and, quivering with fear, I cry out: / “When You come to earth in glory / to judge the whole world, Christ God, / then deliver me, a wretched one, from every punishment, / and grant me, O Lord, / to stand at Your right hand.

Behold, the day of the Lord Almighty is coming, / and who can endure the fear of His coming? / For this is a day of wrath, and it is like a blazing furnace, / when the Judge will sit in judgment, rewarding each one / according to the merit of his deeds.

Theotokion: As I contemplate the hour of trial and the dreadful coming / of the philanthropic Lord, / I tremble all over and cry out to You in sorrow: / “My most righteous and only merciful Judge, / accept me, a penitent, / through the intercession of the Mother of God!”

At “Praise,” the Sunday stichera from the Octoechos, Book 4, Eastern 1
and the self-chanted stichera from the Triodion, 4, Tone 6:

Stich: Praise Him with melodious cymbals; praise Him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!

Ps. 150:5–6

I think of that day and hour, / when we must all stand naked / and like the condemned before the incorruptible Judge. / Then the trumpet will sound loudly, / and the foundations of the earth will shake, / and the dead will rise from their graves, / and all will be of one age, / and all secrets will be laid bare before You; / and they will beat their breasts and weep, / and those who have never repented / will be cast into the outer fire, / while the righteous will enter into joy and gladness— / into the heavenly palace.

Verse: I will praise You, O Lord, with all my heart; / I will proclaim all Your wonders.

Psalm 9:2

What a dreadful hour and day that will be, / when the Judge takes His seat on the dreadful throne! / The books are opened, and deeds are exposed, / and the secrets of darkness are revealed; / Angels rush in from all sides, gathering all nations. / Come, listen, kings and princes, slaves and free men, / sinners and the righteous, the rich and the poor, / for the Judge is coming to judge the entire universe. / And who can stand before His face, / when the angels appear, exposing deeds, / intentions, and thoughts, / that took place by night and by day. / Oh, what an hour that will be! / But before the end comes, / make an effort, O soul, crying out: / “O God, turn to me and save me, / for You alone are merciful!”

Verse: I will rejoice and be glad in You; I will sing to Your name, O Most High!

Psalm 9:3

The prophet Daniel, a man of fervent prayer, / having beheld the dominion of God, proclaimed thus: / “The Judge has taken His seat, and the books have been opened.” / Behold, my soul: are you fasting? / – Do not despise your neighbor. / Are you abstaining from food? / – Do not condemn your brother, / lest, cast into the fire, you burn like wax, / but may Christ lead you without stumbling / into His Kingdom.

Verse: Arise, O Lord my God, and let Your hand be exalted; / do not forget Your poor ones to the end!

Psalm 9:33

Tone 1: Let us purify ourselves, brothers, with the queen of virtues: / for behold, she has come, bestowing upon us a wealth of blessings: / she calms the turmoil of the passions, / and reconciles sinners with the Lord. / Therefore, let us welcome her with joy, crying out to Christ God: / “You who have risen from the dead, / preserve us from condemnation, / as we glorify You, the only sinless One!”

Glory: We repeat the same stichera.

And now, Tone 2: Most Blessed are You, O Virgin Mother of God:

The Great Doxology and the Dismissal.

AT THE LITURGY

The Blessed Octoechos, Tone 6, and the Triodion, Ode 6, Tone 4.

Kontakion, Tone 1

When You come, O God, to earth in glory, / the whole world will tremble; / a river of fire flows before the Throne of Judgment, / the books are opened, and the mysteries are revealed. / Then deliver me from the unquenchable fire / and grant that I may stand at Your right hand, / O most righteous Judge.

Prokeimenon, Tone 3: Great is our Lord, and great is His power, / and His wisdom is beyond measure. Verse: Praise the Lord, for it is good to sing psalms; let praise to our God be sweet.

First Epistle to the Corinthians, beginning at verse 140

Brothers, food does not bring us closer to God: for whether we eat or do not eat, we gain nothing; whether we eat or do not eat, we lose nothing. See, then, that this right of yours does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone sees you, who have knowledge, reclining in a temple, will not his conscience, as one who is weak, be led to partake of food offered to idols? And so, because of your knowledge, a weak brother—for whom Christ died—will be destroyed. And by sinning in this way against your brothers and striking a blow to their weak conscience, you are sinning against Christ. Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I may not cause my brother to stumble. Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Did I not see Jesus Christ, our Lord? Is it not my responsibility—you in the Lord? If I am not an apostle to others, I am an apostle to you; for you in the Lord are the seal of my apostleship.

1 Cor 8:8–9:2

Alleluia, Tone 8: Come, let us rejoice in the Lord; let us shout for joy to God, our Savior. Verse: Let us come before Him with praise, and shout for joy to Him in psalms.

The Gospel according to Matthew, beginning at verse 106

The Lord said: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory, and all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will place the sheep on His right hand, and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand: ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father! Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you welcomed Me; I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.” Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, “Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You? Or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and welcome You? Or naked and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?” And the King will answer them, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of these least of My brothers, you did for Me.” Then He will say to those on His left, “Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not welcome Me; I was naked, and you did not clothe Me; I was sick and in prison, and you did not visit Me.” Then they, too, will answer Him: “Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not serve You?” Then He will answer them, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.” And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

Matthew 25:31–46

Communion: Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the heights. Alternative: Rejoice, you righteous, in the Lord—praise is fitting for the righteous. Alleluia. (3)

CHEESE SATURDAY

ON FRIDAY AT VESPERS

We commemorate all the holy and God-bearing fathers who shone forth in their ascetic struggles.

On Friday at Vespers, after the Prokeimenon, the customary stichera of Kathisma 18 are sung.

At “O Lord, I have cried out,” we sing stichera similar to Tone 8, Mode 6, repeating each twice:

Come, all you faithful, / let us sing of the host of venerable fathers: / Anthony, the first among them, the glorious Euthymius, / each one individually, and all together. / And, as if in a sweet paradise, / mentally reviewing their deeds, / let us joyfully exclaim: / “These are the trees that our God has planted: / having borne the imperishable fruits of life, / they offered them to Christ, nourishing our souls!” / To them we shall cry out: / “God-bearers, blessed ones, / intercede for our salvation!”

Rejoice, faithful Egypt! / Rejoice, venerable Libya! / Rejoice, chosen Thebaid! / Rejoice, every place, city, and land, / that nurtured the citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, / and raised them in self-control and labor, / and presented to God men perfected in their desires. / They appeared as lights to our souls, / and through the dawn of miracles and wondrous deeds / they shone spiritually to all the ends of the earth. / To them we cry out: “All-blessed Fathers, / intercede for our salvation!”

Who among those born on earth / will proclaim your wondrous lives, fathers of the whole world? / And what tongue will recount / your sacred feats and labors in the Spirit: / sufferings for the sake of virtue, the exhaustion of the body, / struggles against passions in vigils, prayers, and tears? / You truly appeared in the world as angels, / and completely overthrew the demonic powers, / performing wondrous and marvelous signs. / Therefore, intercede with us, all-blessed ones, / that we may attain / unending joy.

Glory, Tone 6: Having preserved intact within us the image of God, / and having set the mind as a leader against destructive passions with ascetic zeal, / you have ascended as far as possible toward that which is in the likeness of God: / for, having courageously subdued your nature, / you strove to subject the worse to the better, / and to enslave the flesh to the spirit. / Therefore, you have become the pinnacle of monastics, / dwellers of the desert, guides to those who run swiftly, / the most precise rules of virtue. / And now in heaven, where no mirrors are needed, O all-reverent ones, / you contemplate the Holy Trinity in purity, / interceding without intermediaries / for those who honor you with faith and love.

And now, O Mother of God: a hymn of the ordinary tone.

Entrance with the censer: “Joyful Light”:

Prokeimenon, Tone 7

O God, You are my defender, / and Your mercy will soon meet me.

Verse: Deliver me from my enemies, O God, and redeem me from those who rise up against me.

Cf. Ps 58:10b–11a, 2

Reading from the Prophecies of Zechariah

Thus says the Lord Almighty: The fourth fast, the fifth fast, the seventh fast, and the tenth fast shall be for the house of Judah [and the house of Israel] a time of joy, a time of gladness, and a time of festive celebrations; and you shall rejoice and love truth and peace. Thus says the Lord Almighty: Many nations will come, and the inhabitants of many cities will gather; and the inhabitants of five cities will come together into one city, saying, “Let us go to pray before the Lord and seek the face of the Lord Almighty [in Jerusalem],” (and each will say, “I am going too!”) And many nations and many tribes from all over the earth ( ) will come to seek the face of the Lord Almighty in Jerusalem and to appease the Lord. Thus says the Lord Almighty: “In those days, ten men from all the nations of every language will take hold of the hem of a Jew’s garment, saying, ‘We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you!’”

Zech 8:19–23

Prokeimenon, Tone 6

Let Israel put its hope in the Lord / from now on and forever.

Verse: O Lord, my heart has not become proud, nor have my eyes looked down on others.

Ps 130:3, 1a

“Grant, O Lord:”

On the stichera, a solo, Tone 2

Let us purify ourselves, brothers and sisters, / from every defilement of flesh and spirit, / and let us kindle the lamps of our souls with love for the poor, / without devouring one another with slander: / for the time is near when the Bridegroom will come / to reward everyone according to their deeds. / Let us then enter with the wise virgins to Christ, / crying out to Him with the famous cry of the thief: / “Remember us, O Lord, when You come into Your Kingdom!”

Verse: I have lifted up my eyes to You, who dwell in heaven. Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hands of their masters, as the eyes of a maidservant look to the hands of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord, our God, / until He has mercy on us.

And again, the same chant.

Verse: Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, for we are filled to overflowing with contempt. Our soul is filled to overflowing with reproach from the prosperous / and with contempt from the proud.

To the Martyrs: When the holy martyrs / intercede for us / and sing the praises of Christ, / all error ceases / and the human race is saved through faith.

Glory, Tone 8: We now honor you, O venerable fathers, as the many guides of the monks: / for through you we have come to know / how to walk the truly straight path. / Blessed are you who served Christ / and triumphed over the power of the enemy, / companions of the angels, dwellers with the righteous and the saints: / intercede with them before the Lord / for the mercy of our souls.

And now, O Mother of God: Rejoice, treasure of purity! / Rejoice, pure dwelling place of the Incorporeal Light! / Rejoice, foundation of our salvation! / Rejoice, preaching of the Apostles! / Rejoice, praise of the martyrs! / Rejoice, fulfillment of the prophets, All-Pure One! / (Rejoice), adornment of ascetics and monks, / and salvation of the faithful!

Now you dismiss: The Holy Trinity. Glory, and now: Most Holy Trinity: Lord, have mercy. (3) Glory, and now: Our Father: Priest: For Yours is the Kingdom: Reader: Amen.

Troparion, Tone 4

God of our fathers, / who always deals with us in Your meekness, / do not withdraw Your mercy from us, / but through their intercession / guide our lives in peace.

Glory, and now, to the Theotokos, in the same tone: The mystery hidden from ages past / and unknown even to the angels, / has been revealed through You, O Theotokos, to those living on earth— / God, incarnate in the unconfused union of two natures, / who willingly accepted the Cross for our sake— / through whom He raised the first Adam from the dead / and saved our souls from death.

We sing the same at “God the Lord” and at the end of Matins. Then the litany: “Have mercy on us, O God,” and three great bows. “Let the name of the Lord be praised:” three times. Psalm 33, “It is fitting to praise:” and the dismissal. And a meal is served according to custom, as prescribed for Cheese Wednesday. At Vespers, we sing the memorial canon in the ordinary tone in the burial chapel.

AT MATINS

After the first stichera, the sedalen, tone 8

Enlightened by the lightning of the fathers, / as we now enter the pleasant paradise, / let us delight in the sweet stream; / and beholding their valor with wonder, / let us emulate their virtues, crying out to the Savior: / “By their prayers, O God, make us partakers / of Your Heavenly Kingdom!”

Glory: To Paul, the leader of the monastics, / together with the wise Anthony and Euthymius, and with the other fathers, / let us all sing in unison and implore them, / that they may pray unceasingly to Christ for us, / as we celebrate their divine and all-radiant memory, / glorifying the Savior and Lord in song.

And now, to the Mother of God: We give thanks to You always, O Mother of God, / and we magnify You, O Pure One, and we worship You, / singing of the Nativity of Christ through You, O Full of Grace, / crying out unceasingly: / “Save us, O All-Merciful Virgin, as You are good, / and deliver us from the dreadful dispute with the demons in the hour of trial, / so that we, Your servants, may not be put to shame.”

According to the 2nd stichera of the Sedalen, Tone 4

Let us all, together with Anthony and Euthymius / and all the other God-bearing fathers, / praise them with hymns, celebrating their memory: / for they intercede before the Lord on behalf of the whole world, / that we may be delivered from the ancient curse, / having been freed from punishment.

Glory, another sedalen, tone 8: As we walk through the flower-filled meadow of virtues / of the God-bearing ascetics, / we are filled with the fragrance of their sweetness: / for they, having been tempered in the struggle against temptations, / subdued the body to the spirit through self-restraint like a servant, / having lived an angelic life on earth, / so that they were deemed worthy of glory.

And now, O Mother of God: Through the intercessions of Your Incorporeal Ones and the Forerunner, / the disciples, prophets, and martyrs, / all the saints and the venerable ones, / and moved by Your husbandless and blessed Mother, O Christ, / grant that we may walk in Your light, / and deign to enable us to attain Your Kingdom, / through Your gracious mercy.

We also read the words of Saint Ephrem concerning the departed fathers, dividing them into three parts. Psalm 50.

The canon of the holy monastery in 6, and of the saints in 8. Then we chant “Let us sing to the Lord.” Tone 8.

Song 1

Irmos: Let us raise a song, O people:

Let us all sing in unison / in spiritual songs / in honor of our divine fathers who shone forth in their deeds, / whom Egypt, Thebaid, and Libya brought forth, / every place, city, and land.

Rejoice, forefather of monks, / Anthony the All-Glorious, / Ammon the God-bearing, glory of Nitria, / Arsenius—the Angel, strength of silence, / and Ammon the Spirit-bearing.

Rejoice, true vessel of God, / Agathon, the priestly-souled; / Achilles and Amoy, flowers of the desert, / Anub and Alonius, Amonaph and Anphim, / shining pearls of virtue.

Let us sing today of the lamps of wisdom: / Aris and Apollos the Great; / and the lights of obedience—Afre and Akakios, / with whom Avvakir shines, / like a certain morning star.

Auxentius appeared / as a mountain of lofty life; / the great Avramius, an ascetic of purity; / with them, Aphrodisius is proclaimed a pillar of abstinence, / together with Athenodorus.

Ammonius shines in heaven like a star / among the ascetics, / and the divine Anina; / and with them shines the great Antiochus, / the renowned Agapitus, and whoever else / may shine with them.

Let us praise with sacred hymns / the great Athanasius, / who labored brilliantly on Mount Athos, / the greatest luminary of the entire universe: / through his intercession, we are all saved.

Through your lives, truly inspired by God, / you have become a paradise for the Church of Christ, blessed fathers; / intercede for us, each by name, / before the Lord without ceasing!

To the Martyrs: Come, faithful and loving martyrs, / let us honor the martyrs with annual hymns and songs, / singing and crying out with faith to Christ, our God: / “We will sing to You, the one and only Lord!”

Glory, Triune: I sing of the Three Persons, one in Essence, / each in His own Hypostasis: / the unbegotten Father, the begotten Son, and the Holy Spirit— / the beginningless Kingdom, power, and one Divinity.

And now, to the Mother of God: Rejoice, all-holy temple, / fleece watered by God, / sealed fountain of the immortal Stream; / preserve Your city, O Lady, / impregnable against various enemies.

Katavasia: Let us raise a song, O people, / to our wondrous God, / who delivered Israel from bondage, / singing a song of victory and crying out: / “We will sing to You, O sole Lord!”

We do not sing the second psalm of the Psalter, but we sing the refrain: Holy Fathers, pray to God for us.

Hymn 2

Irmos: Behold, behold, that I am your God, / begotten of the Father before the ages / and conceived of the Virgin in the last days / without a husband, / and who abolished the sin of our forefather Adam, / as the Lover of mankind!

We are now filled with fragrance, / as if hastening to another paradise / with the virtues of the ascetics planted by God: / they cultivated these in abstinence and tears, / offering diverse fruit to God: / each—his own way of life, / most reverend ones!

Great Vissarion, who lived like a bird, another Angel, / and also the new Job—the steadfast Benjamin, / as well as Vitaly—a beacon who saved harlots for God, / and the divine Vitimius, and the glorious Vavila with them / may they rejoice!

By the loftiness of your life you have become heavenly, O Benedict! / The shepherd Vasian is the abode of wisdom; / but Basil, too, has claimed a certain crown of obedience: / for he, having entered the tomb while still alive, / shows us the radiance of obedience.

A hymn to Gelasius: he is the unforgettable master of the passions; / praise to Gerasimus, to whom a beast served as a slave: / for it came to him because of the perfection of his virtue. / Glory also to Father Germanus / along with Gaius, the wise servant of Christ.

David, the glory and praise of Thessalonica, / may the divinely inspired Daniel be praised, / mighty in miracles, both in deed and word, / Daniel of the Skete, along with Dius and Dalmatus, / leaders of the monks, the foundation of the faith.

Their obedience shone / with a radiance far surpassing that of the stars, / as if two luminaries illuminating us— / the godly-wise Dometian and Dometia; / may the fathers unknown by name / be gloriously praised along with them.

To the Martyrs: Hurry to attain the inexhaustible riches of the faithful—/ those who fought piously for the Lord; / come, faithful ones, let us sing of them as martyrs, / gathering the fruit of faith—/ spiritual and bodily healings.

Glory, to the Trinity: The most perfect, most divine / Unity in Three Persons: / the unbegotten Father and the Only-begotten Son, / the Spirit proceeding from the Father and revealed through the Son, / one Being and Nature, / Lordship, Kingdom—save us all!

And now, O Mother of God: You alone brought into humanity / an extraordinary birth; / you alone were not subject to corruption by nature, / having borne a child without seed, immaculately: / therefore we, the faithful, glorify You as the Mother of God / as is fitting, O Pure One.

Katavasia: Behold, behold:

Hymn 3

Irmos: There is none holy like the Lord:

Entering another paradise / of the divine virtues of the Fathers, / we shall always taste the life-giving / spiritual delight, / praising them with faith.

May Euthymius be honored, the most radiant star, / the morning light—Hellas, / Ephrem, inspired by God, / together with the renowned Eulogius, / who illuminated the ends of the world with their deeds and miracles.

May the wondrous Zosimus be sung of in songs, / and the most venerable Zacharias, / and Zinon, and Zoilus, the great Isaiah, / and the glorious Elijah—may they all be honored with them.

I sing of Theodore of Fermi, the all-glorious, / and Enath, the all-praised; / with them I sing of Theodulus and Theona, / and I honor the wondrous and great Theodosius.

May Theoktist, the most excellent shepherd, be praised, / and Phalasian, exalted in intellect, / the Great Theodore, called Sikeot, / who appeared on earth as exalted through signs and wonders.

Other all-luminous stars / rise from antiquity: John Kolov, / along with the three light-bearing ones mentioned in *The Ladder*, / and with many others, shining gloriously.

To the Martyrs: Let us gather together, those who love to celebrate, / with hymns and spiritual songs, / to honor the most holy and annual commemoration of the martyrs: / for they always intercede before Christ / for our race.

Glory, Holy Trinity: The Trinity, of one essence, / and the Super-Divine Unity, / possessing, amidst the distinction of Persons, / the opposite—the unity of the Nature! / Unite us together / through the desire for Your commandments.

And now, O Mother of God: You, the Tabernacle created by God, / were foreshadowed by Moses, / covering the Holy of Holies with the Seraphim, / foreshadowing Your pure Child, O Virgin— / Christ, who desires to take on flesh.

Katavasia: There is none holy like the Lord, / and there is none righteous like our God, / to whom all creation sings: / “There is none righteous but You, O Lord!”

Sedalen, Tone 4

Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, has sent you, / like rays that illuminate the earth, O holy teachers: / therefore, my soul, darkened by malice, / through your divine prayers, / may you illuminate with the divine light of the knowledge of God, O blessed ones!*

Another Sedalen, Tone 8

Let us, the faithful, glorify (and praise) in song / the meekness and purity of Anthony, / the greatness and wonderful character of Euphemia, / the simplicity and silence of Paul and Arsenius, / the glory of Theoktist, / and all the other ranks of the venerable ones; / together with them, let us sing of the virgin Eupraxia / and all the God-wise women / and let us cry out in unison: / “Intercede before Christ our God / to grant the remission of sins / to those who celebrate your holy memory with love!”

Glory: Having broken the bonds of the passions, / you clung with love to true blessings, / and were clothed in super-worldly glory in Christ, / finding rest from your labors, / and through the sorrows of self-denial attaining the heavenly life; / therefore you rejoice worthily together with the heavenly Powers, / [standing joyfully before God with songs.] / Our God-bearing fathers, / intercede for the forgiveness of sins / for those who celebrate your holy memory with love.

And now, O Mother of God: I have been cast into the mire of sins / and have no support within me; / the torrent of my sins has dreadfully overwhelmed me; / but as the One who gave birth to the Word—the sole Lover of mankind— / look upon me, Your servant, I beseech You, / deliver me from sin and soul-destroying passions, O Sovereign Lady, / and from every insult by the wicked, / so that I may joyfully sing: / “Intercede before Christ God / to grant me the forgiveness of my sins, / for I have You as my hope, / [unworthy] servant of Yours!”

Hymn 4

Irmos: From the shadowy mountain:

The lamp revealed to the world—the divine Hilarion, / the mountain of knowledge—the great Justin; / let Hierax and Ivistion be honored with them, / distinguished by glory, together with Joseph.

And Jeremiah shone with life; / and Ischirion also appeared with great power. / With them shine Karyon, Koprius, and Castor, / and Cassian, the most beautiful of the two.

I marvel at Callistus’s pleasant words, / I praise Lawrence’s good deeds, / I proclaim Longinus’s acts of kindness, / I honor Lot for his valor.

In my songs I extol Leontius—the depth of theology, / I sing of Maximus—the abyss of learning, / and of Marcian—the ornament, and of Mark, / the humble and God-obedient one.

The honorable gift of valor is the great Macarius, / and Gorodskoy—the possession of piety. / The renowned Mark is proclaimed alongside them, / and alongside Dalmatus—Moses the Ethiopian.

I extol Martinian and Malchus / for their struggles and feats in purity, / and I honor the virtue of Marcellus, the chief of shepherds, / and Millus, who raised the dead.

To the Martyrs: Martyrs of Christ! Offer ceaseless prayers / to the Creator and Maker, / for the peace of the world, and for those who honor your memory / in hymns.

Glory, Trinity: It is wondrous that the Godhead is One and Three; / in each Person, It is wholly indivisible: / for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit / receive worship as one God.

And now, to the Mother of God: Rejoice, vast dwelling place of God! / Rejoice, ark of the New Covenant! / Rejoice, vessel from which is bestowed / heavenly manna upon all mortals!

Katavasia: From the shadowy mountain, the one and only Mother of God, / the prophet, with a gaze enlightened by God, / beheld You, the Word, who desired to become incarnate, / and with awe glorified Your power.

Song 5

Irmos: Deliver me from the mist of passions:

Come, let us behold the eternally living flowers, / those in the Garden of Eden, /—the fruits of our fathers’ labor, nurtured by God, / and their sole cultivator is the Lord.

Every rational soul is watered / by the streams of the Nile’s words; / it shines with the lives of Navcratia and Nikon, / and is sweetened by those of Nathanael and Nisphanor.

Xenophon, with his two sons, / shining with virtues, enlightens us, / as do the great Orsisius and, even more so, Onuphrius; / but who among mortals / can truly appreciate Pimen?

Pamphilus, exalted in both deed and word, / is rightly called blessed; / may the glorious Publius, who restrained the demons, / be glorified, as well as the radiant Pinnufrius.

May the truly glorious Paphnutius, / Pior, Patermufius, the most humble Paul, / and the great Pithirun, preeminent among the Fathers, / be honored as they deserve.

May Pachomius, the luminary of luminaries, be glorified with splendor; / Palamon, his companion, the divine Petronius; / and with them, may Passarion be extolled / with divine hymns.

[To the Martyrs: Having proclaimed Christ as God / with ascetic zeal in the arena, / you, invincible martyrs, / have received your crowns and rejoice / with the incorporeal choirs.]

Glory, in the Trinity: The Godhead has three Persons, / though in essence It is one; / in Their name we were baptized, and in Them we believe: / the Father, the Word, and the Spirit, / of one nature with Them.

And now, to the Mother of God: You who gave birth to the Word, who is beyond understanding! / We beseech you, All-Pure One: Do not cease to intercede with Him / for the constant deliverance of Your flock / from calamities.

Katavasia: Delivering me from the mist of passions, / as from the deepest night, / grant that my spirit may keep watch from dawn, I pray, / by the light of the day of Your commandments, Christ.

Song 6

Irmos: He who is afflicted by many sins:

Our all-holy fathers are wondrous: / divine are their deeds, their struggles, their healings; / for who besides them has shown the power of miracles?

The wondrous Ravula, and Rufus with him, / and Siso, also equal to the angels, let him be praised; / and with them—the divine Serid and Silouan.

Heaven, with its four luminaries, appeared on earth: / these are the two pairs of Simeons of the same name; / of these, three labored on pillars, / and one was a holy fool.

Amid the stars of whom he was the leader, / Savva, sanctified like the sun, shone forth; with him, Serapion and Silvanus shine through their deeds.

Sarmat and Timothy, Typhus together with Iperchius, / and Farmufius, Phocas, Chariton, Cherimon, / let Psos be praised, and Or the most wise.

Holy and glorious host of fathers, / both those we remember and those without name! / Deliver from misfortune those who lovingly honor your memory.

[To the Martyrs: Wondrous are You, O Lord, Lover of Mankind, / in Your sufferers: / divine are their feats, their miracles, their healings; / through their intercession, save us, O Lord!]

Glory, to the Trinity: I sing of You, the pre-eternal Trinity / and Divine Unity: / Light and Lights, Life and Lives; / Mind, Word, Spirit— / Holy and Holy, the one God.

And now, to the Mother of God: Rejoice, Jesse, the forefather: / from your root—from the pure Virgin— / sprang forth the flower of life, the Savior of the world /—Christ God.

Katavasia: I, who am afflicted by many sins / and who cling to Your compassion, / accept me as a prophet, / O Lord, lover of mankind, and save me.

Kontakion, Tone 8

As heralds of piety and restraints on wickedness, / You have adorned the host of God-bearers / who illuminate all under the sun. / By their prayers, in the perfect world, / preserve those who glorify and extol You, / singing to You, O Lord: “Alleluia.”

Ikos: I have gazed upon the pleasures of this life, / contemplating in my mind the events that unfold, / and having examined their pain, / I have deemed the life of mortals to be wretched, / but I have called you alone blessed, / for you have chosen a wonderful destiny: / to long for Christ and to abide with Him, / and to sing joyfully with the prophet David: “Alleluia.”

Synaxarion. Verses: To the souls of the righteous, whose memory endures forever, / I offer constant libations—these words.

Hymn 7

Irmos: He who watered the youths:

Come, let us offer songs as is fitting / to the women who lived reverently and like angels / and let us cry out: “O God, through their prayers / save us all!”

May the Christ-bearer Vryena be honored / along with the divine Febronia, and Thomais, and Hieria; / and Platonia with them, and Melania / be faithfully celebrated.

Praise to the angelically wise Eupraxia / along with the two Theodoras and the all-blessed Anastasias: / unceasing song and glory / to those who served God marvelously!

Mary of Egypt—a light in the world, / and the other, named Marina, / appeared as a star to the universe, / while Euphrosyne—as the sun, / shining with virtues.

Feodulia, radiant as fire, and alongside her in asceticism / shine Theodotia and Julitta, / and with them, through her deeds, / the all-blessed Isidora shines.

Marina, filled with heavenly wisdom, / may now be honored alongside the great Matrona, / while Synklitikia, Sarra, and Justina / may be praised in song as wise women.

Pelagia, the Angel of the Lord, / and Taissia, the lamp of repentance, / may they be sung of together, / and any other woman / who has shone in her asceticism.

[To the Martyrs: As we commemorate the Passion-bearers, / we pray to the One Giver of life / to bestow mercy upon those who sing / and forgiveness of sins.]

Glory, Trinitarian: We worship the Father with the Son / and the Holy Spirit; with one mind we give glory, and with faith we cry out: / “Glory to You, the Triune One, our God!”

And now, to the Mother of God: O Mother of God, blessed Virgin, / who gave birth to the Savior of the world and our Lord! / Pray that He may always show / compassion to our souls.

Katavasia: You who protected the youths in the furnace / and preserved the Virgin who gave birth to You, even after childbirth, / blessed are You, God of our fathers!

Song 8

Irmos: On the holy mountain, He who was glorified:

Shepherds and wise teachers, / hierarchs of Christ’s Church, / together with the venerable ones, let us all sing, / praising the Lord / and exalting Him for all ages.

May Basil the Great / be sung of in song as he deserves, / and with him, the truly long-suffering Athanasius, / along with Gregory, who presides over all in theology.

Let us glorify the golden-tongued John / along with Cyril, the pillars of divine wisdom; / and also Hesychius, another theologian, / along with the theological and divine Meletius.

Glory to Gregory of Nyssa, / together with the two miracle-working Fathers of the same name; / and Epiphanius, most wise in divine matters, / together with Amphilochius, a radiant light, / may they be praised forever.

Let us sing of Mitrophan, the glory of priests, / together with Nectarius, Atticus, and Gennadius, / and Anatolius with them—beacons of life, / together with the most wise Eusebius and Proclus.

Nicholas, the holy preacher, / Sophronius, truly honey-tongued, / I sing of him with Eulalius, and Diadochus / together with Eustathius and Juvenal, / the foremost among the Fathers.

[To the Martyrs: Healing for both soul and body / as from a gushing spring / let us draw with faith from the reliquary of the passion-bearers / singing of the Lord / and exalting Him for all ages.]

Let us bless the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Lord.

Trinitarian Hymn: As One in Being I sing of You, / as a Trinity of Persons I honor You, / Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: / I glorify the beginningless power of Your Kingdom forever.

And now, to the Mother of God: You, O Mother of God, have appeared as the mountain of God, / in whom, having dwelt, Christ / has made those who sing into divine temples: / “Sing to the Lord and exalt Him forever!”

We praise, bless, and worship the Lord, singing His praises and exalting Him forever and ever.

Katavasia: On the holy mountain where He was glorified / and by the fire in the thorn bush to Moses / He revealed the mystery of the Ever-Virgin— / sing to the Lord and exalt Him forever and ever.

And we sing: “With the highest honor of the Cherubim:”

Hymn 9

Irmos: What was revealed beforehand on the mountain to the Lawgiver:

Who can express the boldness of Ambrose? / And how can one proclaim the wisdom of Hierotheus / and Alexander, the godly fathers, / and their steadfastness in the faith?

May the divine Fedimus, the God-bearing Spyridon, / together with Antipater, Pamvus, Palladius, and Nonnus, / Jerome, and the most venerable Herman / be sung of as divine luminaries.

May Dionysius, great in divine deeds, be honored, / as one initiated into the heavenly mysteries, / along with the long-suffering Clement, Flavian, and the great Paul, / heralds of the true faith.

May Michael of Sinad be praised along with Tarasius, / followed by Nikiforos and the renowned Theodore, / and Theophanes, truly holy by name, / defenders of the icons of Christ.

Peter and Ignatius, truly bearers of God, / like Christ’s Apostles and holy sufferers, / may they be praised together with Polycarp and Cyprian, / Christ’s martyrs.

Reverend fathers and hierarchs of the Lord / together with the holy martyrs and holy women, / all those named and unnamed! / Pray for the salvation of our souls.

[To the Martyrs: In the heavenly abodes of the Lord’s glory, / rejoicing with the choirs of martyrs and Apostles, / bring our petitions, we who live on earth, / to the Creator, O martyrs.]

Glory, to the Trinity: O God, One in the Trinity, / unceasing glory be to You! / For though each of the Three is God, / He remains one in Essence: / the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, / distinguished by their three luminous attributes.

And now, to the Mother of God: Like the burning bush that was ablaze with fire yet not consumed, / Moses foresaw in ancient times on Mount Sinai / Your womb, O Virgin, which contained God, / receiving the Imperishable Fire.

Katavasia: We praise with ceaseless hymns the Nativity of Christ from the Ever-Virgin—which was first revealed to the Lawgiver on the mountain, in the fire and the thornbush—for the salvation of us, the faithful.

Exapostilarion

Those who renounced the world and took up the cross: / a multitude of venerable fathers / with the choirs of martyrs, / the assembly of hierarchs and the host of women! / Rejoice us, that we may sing worthily / of your all-glorious memory.

Glory, and now: Let us joyfully praise in hymns / the God-bearing Fathers who shone forth in their deeds, / the hierarchs together with the venerable women, / and the hosts of holy martyrs, / so that we may be sanctified, / and through their prayers and the intercession of the Mother of God / may we easily walk the path of fasting.

At “Praise”: stichera in 4, tone 8

Let us all, the faithful, glorify in song the multitude of Fathers who labored piously, / and let us praise Christ’s hierarchs with hymns, / with divine wisdom and in one accord, brothers: / for they lived in abstinence and pure fasting, / and explained Christ’s Gospel to us. / Let us sing with them of the godly and glorious wives, / zealously emulating their God-pleasing lives in our hearts, / so that in the world to come we may find forgiveness of our sins.

Let us gloriously praise, brothers and sisters, / those who shone brightly in their deeds / and lived devoutly, / for they led a beautiful life / and, with joy in piety, / passed on to eternal life, / to the imperishable and blessed inheritance there. / Let us now honor with due reverence / those who hastened straight ahead with virtue and humility, / so that we may receive God’s mercy through their intercession, / as well as eternal glory and joy, / and be delivered in that world / from inescapable torments.

The choir of all the hierarchs, / the assembly of the righteous, / the ascetics and the holy women, / who lived piously! / Moved by grace, intercede with the one Good / and all-merciful Lord to have mercy on us as well, / so that we too may be delivered forever from that condemnation / through your prayers, O wise ones, / and enjoy the future reward, / rejoicing constantly for ever and ever / and ceaselessly proclaiming praise / to the Giver of Life.

Let us begin, O faithful, a celebration befitting God / with great rejoicing / on this day of remembrance of the saints: / the hierarchs, the ascetics, the holy martyrs, / and the venerable and pious women; / for they truly despised what is perishable and fleeting / and regarded it as a spider’s web and chaff, / in order to gain Christ and His royal palaces, / and those divine blessings, / which no eye has seen and no ear has ever heard. / Through their intercession, O God, / deliver our souls from destruction!

Glory, Tone 6: Venerable Fathers, / the news of your deeds has spread throughout the earth: / through them you have found in heaven / the reward for your labors; / you have vanquished the hosts of demons, / and have joined the ranks of the angels, / whose blameless way of life you have emulated. / Having boldness before the Lord, / ask for peace for our souls.

And now, O Mother of God: O Mother of God, You are the true vine:

Great Doxology. And the dismissal.

AT THE LITURGY

Blessed Are They, from the Triodion, Songs 3 and 6.

Troparion, Tone 4

God of our fathers, / who always deals with us in Your meekness, / do not withdraw Your mercy from us, / but through their intercession / guide our lives in peace.

Kontakion, Tone 8

As heralds of piety and restraints on wickedness, / You have adorned the host of God-bearers / who illuminate all under the sun. / Through their prayers, preserve those who, in perfect peace, / glorify and extol You, / singing to You, O Lord: “Alleluia.”

Prokeimenon, Tone 4: The saints shall be praised in glory / and shall rejoice on their thrones. Verse: Praises to God are in their throats, and double-edged swords in their hands.

Epistle to the Romans, beginning 115

Brothers, let us pursue what promotes peace and mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. Everything is permissible, but it is wrong for a person to eat in a way that causes another to stumble. It is good not to eat meat, not to drink wine, and not to do anything that causes your brother to stumble, or be led astray, or be weakened. Do you have faith? Keep it to yourself before God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself in what he chooses. But the one who has doubts, if he eats, is condemned, because he does not act in faith; and whatever is not done in faith is sin. Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, through the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret from ages past, but which has now been revealed and, through the prophetic Scriptures, proclaimed to all nations by the command of the eternal God, leading to obedience of faith—to the one wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Romans 14:19–26

And to the saints,
Epistle to the Galatians, beginning 213

Brothers, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; against such things there is no law. But those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not be conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, watching yourselves, lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way fulfill the law of Christ.

Gal 5:22–26; 6:1–2

Alleluia, Tone 2: Those planted in the house of the Lord will flourish in the courts of our God. Verse: Rejoice, you righteous, in the Lord, and proclaim the memory of His holiness.

The Gospel according to Matthew, beginning at verse 16

The Lord said: “Be careful not to practice your acts of charity in front of others, so that they may see you; otherwise, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with a trumpet, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have already received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray in the synagogues and at the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have already received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room; and after you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use meaningless repetition as the pagans do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Therefore, do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. But you are to pray like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name; Your kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Matthew 6:1–13

And to the saints,
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 43

The Lord said to His disciples: “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest; take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls; for My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

Matthew 11:27–30

Kinonikon: Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous—praise is fitting for the righteous. Alleluia. (3)

CHEESE-FASTING SUNDAY

ON SATURDAY AT GREAT VESPERS

After the introductory psalm, we read the entire first kathisma. After “I cried out to the Lord,” we sing stichera on the 10th tone: three from the Sunday Octoechos, three from the Eastern Octoechos, and four from the Triodion:

Tone 6

My Creator, O Lord, / having taken dust from the earth, / and breathed into me a life-giving spirit, You gave me life / and honored me, appointing me on earth / as ruler over all visible creatures, / and a fellow-dweller with the Angels. / But Satan, the crafty one, / using the serpent as his weapon, / tempted me with food, / and separated me from God’s glory, / and delivered me to the earth, to the death of Hades; / but, as Lord and merciful One, / call me back to Yourself once more.

The garment woven by God, / I, wretched one, cast off, / having disobeyed Your divine command, O Lord, / on the enemy’s counsel; / and now I am clothed in fig leaves / and garments of skin: / for by the sweat of my brow I was condemned to eat meager bread; / and the earth was condemned by a curse / to bring me thorns and thistles. / But You, who were incarnated of the Virgin in these last days, / having called me, lead me back into paradise.

Precious Paradise, / the most perfect beauty, / a dwelling created by God, / unceasing joy and delight, / the glory of the righteous, the delight of the prophets, and the dwelling place of the saints, / with the rustling of your leaves, implore the Creator of all / to open for me the gates that I closed through my transgression, / and to grant me partaking of the tree of life, / and the joy that I once enjoyed in You.

Adam was cast out of Paradise for disobedience, / expelled from the abode of delight, deceived by his wife’s words, / and sits naked opposite that place, lamenting, “Woe is me!” / Therefore, let us all strive to spend the time of Lent / heeding the Gospel teachings, / so that through them, becoming pleasing to Christ, / we may regain our heavenly dwelling.

Glory, Tone 6: Adam sat opposite Paradise / and, lamenting, wept over his nakedness: / “Woe is me, for having believed the deceit of the wicked one, / and having been robbed, and cast out from glory! / Woe is me, stripped bare through my simplicity / and now at a loss! / But, O Paradise, I shall no longer enjoy your splendor, / nor shall I see the Lord, my God, and my Creator; / for I shall return to the earth from which I was taken. / Merciful One, Compassionate One, I cry out to You: / Have mercy on me, the fallen one!”

And now, to the Theotokos: a hymn of the ordinary tone.

At the Litany

Glory, Tone 6: The sun hid its rays, / the moon and the stars turned to blood, / the mountains shook, the hills trembled, / when Paradise was closed. / As Adam left it, / he struck his face with his hands and cried out: / “Lord, have mercy on me, the fallen one!”

And now, O Mother of God, the same tone: We mysteriously sing of you, Mother of God Mary: / for you have appeared as the throne of the Great King, / the holy tabernacle, vaster than the heavens, / the Cherubim’s chariot, / the Seraphim’s highest seat, the throne of glory: / for from you came forth, having become incarnate, the God of all. / Pray to Him for the salvation of our souls.

Stichera from the Octoechos

Glory, Tone 6: Adam was cast out of Paradise for tasting the fruit, / and so, sitting opposite him, he lamented, / weeping with a pitiful voice, and cried out: / “Woe is me, what have I suffered, wretched one! / I transgressed a single commandment of the Lord / and was deprived of every possible blessing! / The most beautiful Paradise, planted for me, / and closed off because of Eve— / I implore Him who created you and who created me, / that I may be sated by the beauty of your flowers!” / Therefore, the Savior replied to him: / “I do not want My creation to perish, / but I desire for it to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, / for I will not cast out anyone who comes to Me!”

And now, O Mother of God: my Creator and Redeemer, O All-Pure One, / Christ the Lord, / came forth from Your womb, / taking on human form for my sake, / and freed Adam from the ancient curse. / Therefore, to You, All-Pure One, / as Mother of God and true Virgin, / we proclaim “Rejoice” with the Angel without ceasing: / “Rejoice, Sovereign Lady, our defense, our shelter, / and the salvation of our souls!”

AT MATINS

After the Sixth Psalm, “The Lord God”: in the tone of the Octoechos, we sing the Resurrection troparion twice and the Theotokion once. Then follows the customary psalm reading from the Psalter. The sedalnia of the Octoechos. After the customary two Polyeleos psalms, we add a third:

Psalm 136

First Canon—Sunday Canon in Tone 4, Second—Cross-Resurrection Canon in Tone 2, and Third—Theotokos Canon in Tone 2, and the Triodion Canon in Tone 6:

Canon, composed by Christopher the Protasikritos, tone 6.
Ode 1

Irmos: As Israel passed through the dry land:

Go, my wretched soul, / and mourn what you have done, / remembering on this day the ancient nakedness in Eden, / because of which you were cast out / from the place of delight / and unceasing joy.

Through Your great mercy and compassion, / You, the Creator and Maker of all creation, / having first brought me to life from the dust, / commanded me to sing Your praises / with Your angels.

Through the abundance of Your goodness, / You, Creator and Lord, / bestow the delights of Paradise in Eden, / commanding me to enjoy / the beautiful, pleasant, / and inexhaustible fruits.

Glory: Woe is me, my wretched soul, / you received from God the power / to enjoy all that is in Eden, / but you were commanded / not to taste the fruit of knowledge; / why, then, did you transgress God’s law?

And now, O Mother of God: O Virgin who bore God in your womb! / As a daughter of Adam by birth, / yet by grace the Mother of Christ the God, / call me, who was cast out of Eden, back into it now.

Instead of the katavasia, we sing the irmoses of the canon: Just as Israel walked on dry land / through the depths with their feet, / and cried out, seeing Pharaoh the persecutor drowned: / “Let us sing a song of victory to God!”

Song 3

Irmos: There is no one holy:

The cunning serpent, once, / envying my honor, / whispered a lie into Eve’s ears; / and led astray by her, / I was cast out, alas for me, / from the choir of life.

Stretching out my hand presumptuously, / I tasted from the tree of knowledge, / which God had commanded me / not to touch at all, / and from divine glory / I was sorrowfully cast out.

Glory: Woe is me, my wretched soul! / How could you fail to recognize the treachery? / How could you fail to sense the enemy’s deceit and envy, / but were clouded in mind and transgressed the commandment / of your Creator?

And now, O Mother of God: My hope and my shield, O Holy One, / You alone who covered the ancient nakedness of the fallen Adam / through the birth of Christ from You, O Pure One! / Clothe me once more in incorruption.

Katavasia: There is no one holy / like You, O Lord my God, / who has exalted the dignity of those faithful to You, O Good One, / and established us upon the rock / of Your confession.

Sedalen, Tone 4

Adam was cast out of the sweet paradise by a bitter temptation, / having failed to keep the Lord’s commandment through intemperance, / and was condemned to till the earth from which he himself was taken / and to eat his bread with many descendants. / Therefore, let us love self-restraint, / so that we may not weep like him outside of Paradise, / but may enter into it.

Glory, another, Tone 4: Now is the time of virtues, / and the Judge stands at the door; / let us not lose heart, but let us, through fasting, / offer up tears, contrition, and alms, crying out: / “Our sins are more numerous than the sand of the sea, / but forgive us all, O Redeemer of all,” – / so that we may receive the imperishable crown.

And now, O Mother of God: May we, though unworthy, never cease / to proclaim Your might, O Mother of God, / for if You had not protected us with Your prayers, / who would have delivered us from so many calamities, / who would have kept us free to this day? / We will not turn away from You, O Sovereign Lady, / for You always save Your servants from every calamity.

Hymn 4

Irmos: Christ is my strength:

I, the wretched one, was honored / by You, O Lord, in Eden; / alas for me, how I was deceived, / and, having fallen prey to the devil’s envy, / cast out from Your presence!

Weep, hosts of angels, / the beauty of paradise and the splendor of its plants, / for me, who was wickedly led astray / and turned away from God.

Blessed meadow, / plants planted by God, delights of paradise, / now shed tears / from your leaves as from your eyes, / for me, naked and deprived of God’s glory.

Glory: I shall no longer see You, / nor enjoy Your sweetest and divine radiance, / most precious Paradise: / for I am cast naked upon the earth, / having angered the Creator.

And now, O Mother of God: Holy Sovereign, / who opened the gates of paradise to all the faithful, / which Adam once closed through his transgression, / open the gates of mercy to me as well.

Katavasia: “Christ is my strength, / God and Lord,” /—the holy Church sings reverently, / proclaiming from a pure mind, / rejoicing in the Lord.

Song 5

Irmos: With His divine light:

Envious in ancient times, the misanthropic enemy / of my blissful abode in paradise, / deceived me in the form of a serpent, / and made me a stranger / to eternal glory.

I lament and my soul is tormented, / and I strive to fill my eyes with many tears, / when I look and recognize my nakedness, / which I acquired because of my transgression

Glory: I was created from the earth by the hand of God, / and I, wretched one, have heard / of my return once more to the earth; / who will not weep for me, cast out by God / and having exchanged Eden for hell?

And now, to the Mother of God: In the mysterious palace of glory / we, the faithful, all proclaim You, / the all-pure Mother of God. / Therefore I pray to You, O Pure One: / “Make me, who have fallen, / worthy of the heavenly palace!”

Katavasia: With Your divine light, O Blessed One, / illuminate with love the souls that strive toward You from the dawn—I pray— / so that they may know You, the Word of God, the true God, / who calls them from the darkness of sin / to Yourself.

Song 6

Irmos: Beholding the sea of life:

You clothed me, Savior, / in garments woven by God / in Eden, as a merciful One; / but I despised Your commandment, / believing the destroyer, / and appeared naked, wretched.

My most wretched soul, / you have strayed from God; / through your carelessness / you have been deprived of the delights of paradise, / separated from the Angels, cast into perdition. / O fall!

Glory: Have mercy, have compassion, O Almighty God, / on the work of Your hands; / do not despise me, I pray, O Good One, / who have separated myself / from the host of Your angels.

And now, to the Mother of God: Mary, called by God, / Lady of all, / who gave birth to the Lord, / King and Redeemer of all, / call me, who dwell in captivity, far from the glory of paradise, / back to Him once more.

Katavasia: Seeing the sea of life / churning with waves of temptation, / I, having taken refuge in Your peaceful harbor, cry out to You: / “Deliver my life from destruction, / O Most Merciful One!”

Kontakion, Tone 6

Instructor of Wisdom, Giver of understanding, / Teacher of the foolish and Defender of the poor, / strengthen and enlighten my heart, O Lord. / Grant me Your Word, the Word of the Father, / — for behold, I will not restrain my lips from crying out to You: / “O Merciful One, have mercy on me, a fallen one!”

Ikos: Then Adam sat down and wept / before the sweet paradise, / striking his face with his hands, and cried out: / “O Merciful One, have mercy on me, a fallen one!”

Adam, seeing the Angel who had cast him out / and closed the gate of the divine garden, / groaned loudly and cried out: / “O Merciful One, have mercy on me, the fallen one!”

Have compassion, O Paradise, on your impoverished owner, / and with the rustling of your leaves, implore the Creator / not to shut you off: / “Merciful One, have mercy on me, the fallen one!”

Paradise, all-perfect, all-holy, all-blessed, / planted for Adam’s sake, and shut because of Eve, / implore God on behalf of the fallen one: / “Merciful One, have mercy on me, the fallen one!”

Song 7

Irmos: He made the furnace dewy:

O Lord, who reigns over all ages, / who created me according to Your will! / Do not despise me, O God, / who once experienced the envy of the cunning dragon / and provoked You, O Savior, to anger, / but call me back to Yourself once more.

Clothed in garments of shame—alas for me— / instead of a radiant robe, / I mourn, Savior, my ruin / and with faith I cry out to You, O Good One: / “Do not despise me, O God, / but call me back to Yourself!”

Glory: The wicked serpent has wounded / my whole soul out of envy, / and has cast me out of the delights of paradise; / but, O merciful Savior, / do not despise me, / but as God, call me to Yourself.

And now, O Mother of God: Accept my supplication, O All-Pure One, / with the compassion that is proper to You, / and grant me forgiveness of my sins, O Pure One, / as I cry out earnestly with tears: / “Do not despise me, O Good One, / but call me to salvation!”

Katavasia: The Angel made the furnace dewy / for the pious youths, / and God’s command, which scorched the Chaldeans, / compelled the tormentor to cry out: / “Blessed are You, God of our fathers!”

Song 8

Irmos: From the flames You brought forth dew for the pious:

With manifold gifts in ancient times / You honored the work of Your hands, O sole Lover of mankind; / but the dreadful dragon, with his hissing, / beguiled me—alas for me— / depriving me of the blessings I once possessed.

Why did you heed that bitter counsel, / and become disobedient to the divine command? / Woe is me, poor soul, who has offended God, / Whom you were appointed to glorify unceasingly / together with the Angels!

Let us bless the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Lord.

Having become mistress over serpents and beasts, / how did you converse with the soul-destroying serpent, / taking the wicked one as your counselor, as if he were righteous? / O your delusion, / my most wretched soul!

And now, O Mother of God: We sing your praises, O Mary, full of God’s grace, as the light-bearing tabernacle of God’s Incarnation; / Therefore, enlighten me, who am utterly darkened by passions, / with the light of your mercy, / O Hope of the hopeless!

We praise, bless, and worship the Lord, singing His praises and exalting Him for all ages.

Katavasia: From the flame You poured forth dew for the pious, / and with water You doused the righteous one’s sacrifice: / for You accomplish all things, Christ, by Your sole will. / We exalt You for ever and ever.

Hymn 9

Irmos: It is impossible for people to see God:

The sweet fruit of knowledge / appeared to me in Eden, having been sated with this food, / but its outcome proved to be like gall. / Woe is me, wretched soul! / How has intemperance made you / a stranger to the heavenly dwelling?

God of all, Lord of mercy, / look kindly upon my humility, / and do not send me far from the divine Eden, / so that, seeing the beauty of the place from which I have fallen, / I may hasten to regain through my weeping / what I have lost.

I lament, groan, and weep, / beholding the Cherubim with their flaming swords, / set to guard the entrance to Eden, / inaccessible to all transgressors—alas for me— / unless You, O Savior, / make it unhindered for me.

Glory: I boldly place my hope / in the multitude of Your mercies, Christ the Savior, / and in the blood from Your divine side, / with which You sanctified the nature of mortals, / and opened the gates of paradise to those who serve You, O Good One, / gates previously closed to Adam.

And now, O Mother of God: The impassable, incorporeal gate of life, / O Virgin Mother of God, who knew no marriage! / Open for me, through Your intercession, / the gates of Paradise, which were once closed to me, / so that I may glorify You, / my Helper, second only to God, / and my mighty refuge.

Katavasia: It is impossible for people to see God, / Whom even the hosts of angels dare not gaze upon; / but through You, All-Pure One, / the Incarnate Word has become visible to mortals. / Magnifying Him, / we, together with the heavenly hosts, / praise You.

Sunday Exapostilarion
and then from the Triodion:

Glory: I have disobeyed Your commandments, O Lord, / wretched as I am, / and, having been deprived of Your glory, I am filled with shame—woe is me! / And cast out from the delights of Paradise, O Merciful One! / O Gracious One, have mercy / on one justly deprived of Your goodness.

And now, to the Theotokos: Those who were cast out, O Lord, from Paradise of old / for eating from the tree, / You have brought back there again through the Cross / and Your sufferings, O Savior and my God. / Strengthen them and us / to observe the fast in purity, as is fitting, / and to worship the Divine Resurrection, the saving Pascha, / through the intercessions of She Who gave birth to You.

At “Praise,” the Sunday stichera from the Octoechos, Book 4, Eastern 1
and the self-chanted stichera from the Triodion, No. 4:

Tone 5: “Woe is me!”—Adam cried out in sorrow, / “for the serpent and my wife have cast me out through their defiance of God, / and the fruit of the tree of Paradise has deprived me of its delight.” / Woe is me, I can no longer bear this humiliation: / I, once the king of all God’s earthly creatures, / have now become a captive because of a single wicked counsel; / and, once clothed in the glory of immortality, / I now wear the skin of death in a pitiful manner, like a mortal. / Woe is me, whom shall I call to share in my lamentations? / But You, Lover of Mankind, who formed me from the earth, / clothed in mercy, / call me from the enemy’s bondage to Yourself, / and save me!”

Verse: I will praise You, O Lord, with all my heart; / I will proclaim all Your wonders.

Psalm 9:2

The arena of virtue is open; / enter, all who wish to compete, / having girded yourselves for the noble feat of fasting: / for those who compete lawfully are justly crowned. / And, taking up the full armor of the Cross, let us resist the enemy, / having faith as an unbreakable wall, / prayer as armor, and almsgiving as a helmet; / instead of a sword—fasting, / which cuts away every vice from the heart. / Whoever acts thus will receive the true crown / from Christ, the King of all, on the Day of Judgment.

Verse: I will rejoice and be glad in You; I will sing to Your name, O Most High!

Psalm 9:3

Tone 6: Adam, having tasted the fruit, / was cast out of Paradise as a disobedient one; / but Moses appeared as one who had seen God, / having purified the eyes of his soul through fasting. / Therefore, desiring to become inhabitants of paradise, / let us abstain from food that brings no benefit; / and striving to contemplate God, / let us fast for forty days, as Moses did, / devoting ourselves purely to prayer and supplication; / let us calm the passions of the soul, / drive away carnal excesses, / and set out lighthearted on the journey to the heights, / to the place where the hosts of angels, with unceasing voices, / sing of the indivisible Trinity, / so that we may behold the indescribable and majestic beauty. / There, O Son of God, Giver of Life, / grant us who hope in You to rejoice with the hosts of angels, / through the intercession of Your Mother who bore You, O Christ, / and of the apostles, the martyrs, and all the saints.

Verse: Arise, O Lord my God, and let Your hand be exalted; / do not forget Your poor ones forever!

Psalm 9:33

The time has come, / the beginning of spiritual struggles, victory over demons, / self-control clothed in full armor, / angelic splendor, boldness before God: / for through it Moses became a companion of the Creator / and invisibly received His voice with his ears. / O Lord, through him, grant that we too / may worship Your Passion and holy Resurrection, / O Lover of mankind!

Glory: we repeat the same.

And now, Tone 2: Most Blessed are You, O Virgin Mother of God:

The Great Doxology and the Dismissal.

AT THE LITURGY

The Blessed, Tone 6, and from the Triodion canon, Ode 6, Tone 4.

Kontakion, Tone 6

Guide of Wisdom, Giver of understanding, / Teacher of the foolish and Defender of the poor, / strengthen and enlighten my heart, O Lord. / Grant me the Word, the Word of the Father, / — for behold, I will not restrain my lips from crying out to You: / “O Merciful One, have mercy on me, a sinner!”

Prokeimenon, Tone 8: Pray and fulfill / your vows to the Lord, our God. Verse: God is known in Judea; His name is great in Israel.

Epistle to the Romans, beginning 112

Brothers, salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed. The night is far spent; the day is at hand. Therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us conduct ourselves properly, as in the daytime: no revelry or drunkenness, no sexual immorality or debauchery, no quarreling or jealousy; but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not yield to the desires of the flesh. As for one who is weak in faith, accept him without getting into disputes over opinions. One believes he may eat anything, while the weak one eats only vegetables. Let the one who eats not despise the one who does not eat, and let the one who does not eat not judge the one who eats; for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge another’s servant? He stands or falls before his own Lord. And he will be raised up, for God is able to raise him up.

Romans 13:11b–14:4

Alleluia, Tone 4: It is good to praise the Lord / and to sing to Your name, O Most High. Verse: To proclaim Your mercy in the early morning and Your truth throughout the night.

The Gospel according to Matthew, beginning 17

The Lord said: “If you forgive people their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive people their sins, neither will your Father forgive your sins. And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites; for they disfigure their faces to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have already received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to people to be fasting, but to your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you openly. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:14–21

Kinonikon: Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the heights. Alleluia. (3)

ON CHEESE SUNDAY AT VESPERS

After the opening psalm on “O Lord, I have cried out,” we sing stichera in tone 8: 4 penitential stichera of the current tone of the Octoechos—two placed in the order of Vespers on the stichera board, and two on the stichera board at Matins (as well as in other weeks until the fifth week of Great Lent), and 3 from the Triodion, and 3 from the Menaion.

For “O Lord, I have cried out,” stichera, tone 2,
composed by Mr. Joseph

Let us all hasten to subdue the flesh through abstinence, / as we traverse the divine path of spotless fasting, / and through prayers and tears let us seek the Lord who saves us, / and let us attain complete forgetfulness of malice, crying out: / “We have sinned before You, save us, / as You did the Ninevites of old, Christ the King, / and make us partakers of the Heavenly Kingdom, O Merciful One!”

I despair of myself, / thinking of my deeds, O Lord, / which are worthy of every torment! / For behold, having despised Your holy commandments, Savior, / I have squandered my whole life in debauchery. / Therefore I implore You: having cleansed me with the streams of repentance, / adorn me, O One and Only Merciful One, with fasting and prayer, / and do not despise me, O Benefactor of all and Most Blessed One.

Other stanzas by Lord Theodore, same tone

Let us joyfully begin the season of fasting, / inspiring ourselves to spiritual struggles; / let us purify our souls, let us purify our bodies, / let us abstain from every passion as we do from food, / delighting in the virtues of the Spirit; / so that, perfecting ourselves in them with love, / we may all be deemed worthy to behold / the all-holy sufferings of Christ God and Holy Pascha in spiritual joy.

Also from the Menaion for the third day of the feast. If the hymn has its own tone, “Glory”; if not, “Glory, and now, Theotokos,” in the tone of the Menaion. Entrance with the censer: “A light of joy, holy and glorious”:

Prokeimenon, Tone 8

Do not turn Your face away from Your servant, for I am in distress; / hear me quickly, listen to my soul, and redeem it. Verse: May Your salvation, O God, sustain me. Verse: May the poor see this and rejoice. Verse: Seek God, and your soul will live.

Ps 68:18–19a, 30b, 33a, 33b

And again in a loud voice: Do not turn Your face away:

It should be noted that on all the weeks of Great Lent, there is an entrance service in the evening for the great prokeimena.

“Grant, O Lord:” with three bows and a supplicatory ektenia.

Stichera at the psalter, tone 4

Your grace has shone forth, O Lord, / the enlightenment of our souls has shone forth. / Behold, a favorable time, behold, a time of repentance; / let us cast aside the works of darkness and clothe ourselves in the armor of light, / so that, having crossed the great abyss of fasting, / we may attain the three-day Resurrection / of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, / who saves our souls. (2)

Verse: To You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in heaven. Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hands of their masters, as the eyes of a maidservant look to the hands of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord, our God, / until He has mercy on us.

And we repeat the same stichera.

Stich: Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, for we are filled to overflowing with contempt. Our soul is filled to overflowing with reproach from the prosperous / and with contempt from the proud.

To the Martyrs: O Christ God, glorified through the remembrance / of Your saints! / Through their intercession, / grant us Your great mercy.

Glory, as stated in the Menaion, if applicable.

And now, the Theotokos hymn according to the tone of the Menaion. If not:

Glory, and “Now, O Theotokos,” in the same tone: The hosts of angels glorify You, O Mother of God: / for You gave birth to God, O All-Pure One, / who abides forever with the Father and the Spirit, / and who created the angelic hosts out of nothing by His will. / Pray to Him to save and enlighten / the souls of those who sing of You in the Orthodox faith, O All-Immaculate One.

Now the dismissal: The Holy Trinity. Glory, and now: Most Holy Trinity: O Lord, have mercy. (3) Glory, and now: Our Father: Priest: For Thine is the Kingdom: Reader: Amen. And the present troparia, tone 4: Rejoice, Virgin Mother of God: And we make a single bow. Glory: Christ the Baptist: bow. And now: Pray for us, holy Apostles and all the saints: bow. Then: We take refuge in the shelter of Your mercy, Mother of God: without a bow. Lord, have mercy (40) in a gentle and quiet voice. Glory, and now: The highest honor of the Cherubim: Bless us in the Name of the Lord, Father. Priest: Blessed is He who is—Christ, our God, always: now and ever and unto ages of ages. We: Amen. And the prayer: Heavenly King:

And we offer the prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian with three deep bows:

O Lord and Master of my life! Do not deliver me to the spirit of idleness, vanity, lust for power, and idle talk. (Bow)

But grant me, Your servant, the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love. (Bow)

Yes, O Lord and King, grant that I may see my own sins and not condemn my brother, for You are blessed forever and ever. Amen. (Bow)

And we kiss the holy icons. Then the presider proclaims: Glory to You, Christ God, our hope, glory to You. Choir: Glory, and now. Lord, have mercy. (3) The priest recites the prayer and the dismissal.

After Vespers, the brethren find comfort at the meal. When we rise from the meal, we sing the Lesser Compline according to the rule for the days of Lent, with waist and ground bows.

THE FIRST WEEK OF GREAT LENT

ON MONDAY AT MATINS

The Beginning of the Holy and Great Fast

The parayekklisiarch gives the signal before dawn a little later, because of the evening service, and we all gather at the church as usual. We sing the Midnight Office without bows, except for three great bows at the end, accompanied by the prayer, “Lord and Master”: But this happens only on the first day. On the other days of Holy and Great Lent, we sing the entire Midnight Office with prostrations, as is customary. Then the priest, rising, makes the customary bow to the abbot, enters the Holy Altar, takes the censer, stands before the Holy Throne, and, incensing in the shape of a cross, proclaims: “Blessed be our God.” And when we respond, “Amen,” the priest steps out and continues to incense. The designated reader recites the Trisagion, always without bowing. After the “Our Father,” the priest proclaims: “For Thine is the Kingdom,” and after “Amen,” “Lord, have mercy” (12). “Come, let us worship”: three times, without bowing. Then Psalms 19 and 20, and upon their conclusion, the Trisagion without bowing. After the “Our Father”: the customary troparia. While they are being read, the priest censes the holy altar and the entire church. Also, the ektenia: “Have mercy on us, O God”; the exclamation: “For You are a merciful and philanthropic God”; the reader: “Amen.” And he proclaims: “Bless us in the name of the Lord, Father.” And immediately the priest says: “Glory to the Holy One, and to the Co-substantial One,” and so on. The brother whose name day it is, standing in the designated place, reads the Six Psalms with the utmost attention, without haste, but with the fear of God, as if conversing invisibly with God Himself.

And no one should whisper, spit, or cough, but rather listen intently to what the reader is saying, keeping their hands folded across their chest, their heads bowed, and their eyes cast down toward the ground, while gazing with the eyes of the heart toward the east, praying for our sins, remembering death, the future torment, and eternal life.

At the beginning of Psalm 102, the priest begins to read the morning prayers. Upon the conclusion of the psalms, “Glory,” “Now,” and “Alleluia” are sung three times. Also, the Great Ektenia and the exclamation. Then the designated monk sings “Alleluia” in the current tone of the Octoechos. Verse 1: From night until dawn my spirit longs for You, O God, for the light of Your commandments is upon the earth. Verse 2: Learn righteousness, you who dwell on the earth. Verse 3: Zeal will overtake a people who have not been instructed. Stichos 4: Add afflictions to them, O Lord; add afflictions to the proud of the earth. And after each stichos, “Alleluia,” three times. Also, the Troparia are sung in the third tone. Let us sing with devotion, loudly and unhurriedly. Before the second troparion, “Glory to God”; and before the third, “And now”:

We also chant one kathisma from the Psalter. After each antiphon, at “Alleluia,” we make three bows, all together, following the abbot or the ecclesiarch. After the first kathisma, we sing the moving sedalnia in the ordinary tone of the Octoechos.

There is also a reading from the works of St. Ephrem, for the reading of these begins on this day and continues until Friday of Flower Week.

After the second kathisma, sedalens from the Triodion
of St. Joseph, Tone 2

Through the divine beginning of Lent / let us acquire contrition of soul, crying out: / “Lord Christ, accept our prayer as choice incense, / and deliver us, we pray, / from foul decay and dreadful punishment, / as the One who hastens to reconciliation!”

Glory: we repeat the same.

And now, to the Mother of God: O fountain of mercy, / grant us compassion, O Mother of God; / look upon sinful people, / manifest Your power as always, / for, trusting in You, we cry out to You: “Rejoice,” / as Gabriel once did, / the commander of the incorporeal hosts.

And again, a reading from Saint Ephrem.

According to the third tone of the sedalen
by Theodorus, Tone 2

Let us joyfully begin this most holy fast, / shining with the rays of the holy commandments of Christ, our God: / with the light of love, the radiance of prayer, / the clarity of purity, the strength of virtuous courage, / so that we may meet, radiant with light, / the holy and three-day Resurrection, / which has illuminated the world with incorruptibility.

Glory: we repeat the same.

And now, O Mother of God: Having Your invincible intercession / in the midst of fierce tribulations, / I am delivered from those who oppress me / in a wondrous way beyond all hope, O Mother of God! / For You swiftly appear to those who always ask of You with faith, / dispelling the darkness of many sins. / Therefore, we cry out to You in gratitude: / “Accept, O Lady, these brief words of thanks: / for their sake You are my help in all things!”

Then a reading from the Lavsaik. Psalm 50. And the customary prayer: “Save, O God, Your people.” Also [Morning Prayer 10 and] the exclamation. Then we begin the Biblical hymns: “Let us sing to the Lord,” in the tone of the canon for the holy day from the Menaion. And we will quickly intone the verses of the hymns, each choir its own verse, up to the words: “The waters froze”: From that point we begin to sing the canon in 14-tone. And first we sing the canon from the Menaion with the irmos in 6-tone, singing as follows: the first choir intones the verse: “The waters froze”: and sings the irmos. The second choir then intones the second verse: “The enemy said,” followed by the troparion of the canon. Then the verses follow in succession—each choir singing its own—up to the words: “Then they hurried,” and from this verse we begin the tripesner by St. Joseph, in the 4th mode. From the verse “The Lord shall reign,” we begin another tripesner by St. Theodore the Studite, and the first choir sings the troparion. The second choir sings verse 2 and the troparion. Then both choirs, joining together, sing “Glory,” the Trinitarian Hymn, in a high tone; and “And now, O Mother of God.” We also exclaim in the highest tone: “Glory to You, our God, glory to You.” And we sing another troparion by St. Theodore, since the hymn consists of five troparia. Finally, we sing the katavasia and the irmos of the second canon.

The eighth and ninth songs are sung in the same way.

We sing the third ode as follows:

The first choir intones the verse: “The Lord has ascended into heaven,” followed by the troparion of the Menaion canon. The second choir sings the verse: “And He will give power to the king,” followed by the second troparion of the Menaion canon. We also sing “Glory” and “Now,” along with the troparia of the canon. Finally, the first choir sings the irmos of the third ode of the Menaion canon.

We sing the 6th ode in the same manner.

As for the fourth, fifth, and seventh odes, we sing them as follows:

We sing the first irmos of the Menaion canon, as well as the last two stanzas of the ode to the troparia of the canon, and “Glory,” and “Now,” but we do not conclude the ode with the irmos, since it was sung at the beginning of the ode. The irmoses of the Menaion are sung only at the end of the third and sixth odes, for in those odes the irmos is not sung at the beginning. On the other days of the week, except Monday, the first ode is sung in the same manner as described for the 4th and 5th odes. And in those odes where there is a tripode, the katavasia—the irmos of the tripode—is sung after the canon, as explained above.

It should be noted that the Octoechos is not sung throughout the entire Holy Lent, except on Sundays. Only the Menaion and the Triodion are sung. And in the canticles where there is no tripes, only the Menaion is sung. After the 3rd canticle, the priest recites the Small Ektenia. Also, the sedalen of the saint, once. Glory, and now, to the Mother of God: And a reading from the Lavsaik. After the 6th ode, the Small Ektenia. Also, the sedalen for the martyrs; if the saint has a kontakion, we read it here, and the martyrological kontakion is read after the first kathisma along with the sedalens, with the refrain: “Marvelous is God in His saints.” Then we read the Synaxarion.

The Three-Song Service of St. Joseph, Tone 2.
Ode 1

Irmos: Come, all you people:

Here we begin the first ode.

How shall I now mourn my apostasy? / How shall I begin my salvation, / I who have lived a dissolute life? / By ways known to You, O Merciful One, / save me!

Behold, the time (of repentance), / behold the day of salvation—the beginning of Lent. / Soul, stay awake and shut the doors to your passions, / gazing upon the Lord.

The stormy turmoil of sins / drags me into the depths of despair; / but I take refuge in the abyss of Your mercy: / save me, O Lord!

I alone am so enslaved to sin, / I alone have opened the doors to my passions; / O Word, hasten to bring reconciliation! / Turn me back, Savior, through Your mercy.

Theotokos: You who bore the Source of dispassion in Your womb! / O Virgin, heal me, wounded by passions, / and snatch me from the fire of eternal damnation, / you alone who are filled with God’s grace.

Another tripesner by Lord Theodore, in the same tone and irmos

Come, people, / on this day let us receive the grace-filled gift of fasting, / as a time of repentance given by God, / through which we will appease the Savior.

Now has come, now has arrived / the time of spiritual struggles, the field of fasting; / let us all begin it with zeal, / offering it to the Lord as gifts of virtue.

Glory, Triadic: The simple Unity, / thrice-radiant, the One who is supreme, / almighty, and life-giving! / O God and Lord: the Father Almighty, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, / save those who honor You.

Theotokos: Let us sing of God’s holy mountain, / – Mary, free from defilement, / from whom the Sun of Righteousness rose for those dwelling in darkness: / Christ, the Life of all.

Glory to You, our God, glory to You.

The fiery chariot carried away / the wondrous Elijah, armed with fasting, / while Moses’ fasting revealed him / as a beholder of ineffable mysteries; / and having accepted him, we shall behold Christ.

Glory to You, our God, glory to You.

Adam tasted the fruit, / and intemperance cast him out of paradise; / but for us, O Lord, the coming fast / will make us worthy of repentance, O Lover of Mankind!

Irmos: Come, people, / let us sing a hymn to Christ our God, / who parted the sea and led the people, / whom He brought out of Egyptian slavery, / for He has been glorified.

To the 6th tone of the Martyrs’ mode.

Ode 8

Irmos: Into the fiery furnace:

Burned by pleasures as by fire, / and darkened in the vision of my soul, / renew me with the fire of Your fear, O Christ, / and enlighten me with the light of salvation, / that I may glorify You for all ages.

Having come to hate the satiety of passions, / feed on the exquisite food of good deeds, / and take greater delight in the luxury of fasting, / shunning the bitterness of pleasures, / O my humble soul, and live forever.

With a hardened soul / and clouded by the intoxication of passions, / I cannot in any way look upon You, the One God. / Therefore, have mercy on me, and enlighten me, / and open to me the gates of repentance.

To the Mother of God: You who have made our earthly and mortal nature / like the heavens! / Through Your fervent intercession, O Pure One, / make our requests and supplications / ascend directly to Your God and King, / the God and King of all.

Another Tripodion

Irmos: He who once watered:

Let us joyfully welcome, O faithful, the coming of Lent / and let us not be gloomy; / but let us wash our faces with the water of dispassion, / blessing and exalting Christ forever.

Having anointed the head of our souls with the oil of compassion, / let us not be verbose, / but let us send up prayers to our Father who is in Heaven, / blessing and exalting Him forever.

Let us bless the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Lord.

Let us sing, O faithful, to the eternal, beginningless Father, / and to the Son, who is likewise beginningless, / and to the Spirit who, together with Him, shone forth from the Father— / the consubstantial Persons of the truly Almighty, / the One in origin and power.

The Theotokos: Mother, called by God, / truly the propitiation for the faithful, / for from You forgiveness is granted abundantly to all! / Do not cease to intercede with Your Son and the Lord / for those who sing Your praises.

Glory to You, our God, glory to You.

The Lord, who spent forty days in fasting, / has now, brothers and sisters, sanctified and purified these days; / having reached them, we exclaim: / “Bless and exalt Christ forever!”

We praise, bless, and worship the Lord, singing His praises and exalting Him for all ages.

Irmos: He who in ancient times / protected the Jewish youths from the flames / and miraculously scorched the Chaldeans within them, / let us sing to the Lord, proclaiming: / “Bless and exalt Him forever!”

And the hymn of the Most Holy Theotokos is sung: “My soul magnifies the Lord:”

Song 9

Irmos: From God, the Word of God:

May this day of fasting become for you, O soul, abstinence from sin, / and at the same time—a striving toward God and drawing near to Him, / so that you may avoid the abysses of vice / and love only those paths / that lead to the rest that awaits there.

And having slipped in my thoughts, / and having sinned in the flesh, I grieve, and I groan, and I cry out: / “Save me, O Lord, save me, You alone who are without malice, / and do not condemn me to the fire of Gehenna, / I who am worthy of condemnation!”

Clothed in the bright robe of fasting, / let us cast off the dark and unbearable garment of drunkenness, / and, having become radiant through the divine virtues, / let us behold by faith the radiant sufferings of the Savior.

To the Theotokos: Heal my passionate soul, exhausted by all the attacks of the most wicked demons, / O Most Pure Lady, / who gave birth to Christ the Healer, our deliverance, / we who know You, O Virgin, O Immaculate Maiden.

Another Triodion Hymn

Irmos: Supernatural:

Now the time of Holy Lent has come; / let us begin it with good conduct: / for do not fast amid quarrels and strife, / says the Lord.

On Mount Horeb, having purified himself through fasting, / Elijah beheld God; / and we, too, will purify our hearts through fasting / and behold Christ.

Glory, Trinitarian: I worship the One Nature, / I sing of the Three Persons, / the One God of all: / the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the eternal Beginning.

Theotokos: O Pure One, You bring forth a Child into the world; / O Virgin, You pour forth milk: / how is it that, in these two things, / You preserve Your virginity while giving birth? /—“God is the One who has accomplished this; / do not ask Me how!”

Glory to You, our God, glory to You.

One day, as it is said, / is the whole life of those born on earth; / but for those who labor out of love / there are forty days of fasting, / which we will observe with joy.

Irmos: We magnify with unceasing hymns, O faithful, / the Word, who was conceived supernaturally in the womb / and shone forth from the Father beyond time!

Also: It is fitting: And one bow. Ektenia: Again and again: And the Triune Light of the Voice. For “All that breathes”: we do not sing the stichera, but read: “Praise the Lord from the heavens”: 3 regular psalms. And if in the Mineya there are services for two saints, we sing the stichera for one in the evening, and for the other in the morning at “Praise the Lord:” on the 4th. If, however, there are no stichera, the designated brother proclaims: “Glory is due to You, O Lord our God, and to You we send up glory, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and always, and forever and ever, amen.” Glory to You, Who has shown us the light. Glory to God in the highest: And so on. And we make three bows simultaneously, standing in our places. Then the priest says: “Let us perform the morning service,” followed by the exclamation.

And, joining together, both choirs sing in unison:

Stichera from the psalter, tone 5

Fasting has come, the mother of chastity, / the accuser of sin and helper of repentance, / the way of life of the angels and the salvation of mankind. / Let us, the faithful, cry out: “O God, have mercy on us!” (2)

And to the martyrs: Blessed is the host of the Heavenly King! / For though the passion-bearers were born on earth, / they hastened to attain angelic dignity, / despising their bodies, / and through their sufferings were deemed worthy of the honor of the Incorporeal Ones. / Through their prayers, O Lord, / save our souls!

Glory, and now, to the Mother of God: We extol you, Mother of God, Pure Virgin / and holiest of the Cherubim, / with resounding hymns: / for we confess you, Mother of God, in soul and body, / as she who truly gave birth to God incarnate. / Intercede, Most Pure One, for our souls!

Also, the “Blessed be” is recited twice. The Trisagion follows the “Our Father.” After the exclamation, “For Thy Kingdom,” we chant the troparion: “Standing in the temple of Thy glory,” and we say, “Lord, have mercy,” 40. The priest then steps forward and proclaims: “Blessed is Christ, our God, the King of Heaven.” After that, we stand and pray silently, reciting in our minds the prayer of our venerable Father Ephrem: “Lord and Master of my life.” We make three great bows and twelve small ones; at each one, we say to ourselves: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Then again, one deep bow with the aforementioned prayer of Saint Ephrem. And when we rise, the presider begins: “Come, let us worship,” three times, followed by three small bows. Then we proceed to the first hour. And upon the conclusion of the third psalm, we proclaim: “Alleluia,” followed by three small bows.

It should be noted that on all Mondays of Great Lent, we do not read the kathisma during the First Hour. On other days, however, we read the kathisma and perform three small bows at each antiphon.

Likewise, on Fridays, the first and ninth hours are without the kathisma.

Then the designated reader or priest sings the troparion from the center of the church, in Tone 6: “Hear my voice early in the morning”; and we sing the same loudly and genuflect to the ground. Likewise for the other two stiches: Stichos 1: “Hear my words, O Lord; understand my cry.” Verse 2: “For to You I pray, O Lord.” And again: “Hear my voice early in the morning”: “Glory,” and “Now”: “How shall we call upon You, O Full of Grace,” and three small bows. Also: “Guide my steps according to Your word, and let no iniquity take hold of me.” And we repeat the same. Then: “Deliver me from human slander, and I will keep Your commandments.” And again the same. “Let the light of Your face shine upon Your servant, and teach me Your precepts.” We repeat the same. And then we sing three times, loudly and unhurriedly: “May my lips be filled with praise to You, O Lord”: the Trisagion after the “Our Father.” The priest proclaims: “For Your Kingdom is”: And after saying “Amen,” we proclaim the troparion. On Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, the troparion to the Mother of God: The Glorious Mother of God: On Wednesday and Friday: “Come quickly to our aid, Christ our God”: “Lord, have mercy” (40), and the prayer: “At all times”: “Lord, have mercy,” three times. “Glory,” and “Now,” “The highest honor of the Cherubim”: and one bow. “Bless us in the name of the Lord, Father.” Priest: O God, have mercy on us and bless us; let the light of Your face shine upon us, and have mercy on us. And we bow as prescribed; then the presider or reader proclaims: The Trisagion after “Our Father.” Lord, have mercy, 12 times. And the prayer, “Christ, True Light”:

Priest: Glory to You, Christ God, our hope, glory to You. We respond: Glory, and now: Lord, have mercy, three times. Bless us. And the dismissal. We also sing “Many Years” and kiss the holy icons.

Then we go out into the narthex and perform the litany.

There, the customary prayers are recited, and the presider or ecclesiarch reads the proclamations of our venerable father Theodore the Studite, as prescribed, that is, on Wednesdays and Fridays.

And we conclude the service by pronouncing the dismissal.

Such is the order for celebrating Matins and the First Hour during the days of Holy Lent. After the dismissal, upon leaving the church, we walk in complete silence to our cells or to our assigned duties; and it is not fitting for us in the monastery to engage in conversation with one another along the way: this is forbidden by the holy fathers.

Around the third hour, the candlestick-bearer strikes the gavel, and we gather in the church. Before the singing begins, each of us makes three small bows before the holy doors and kisses the holy icons, and bows to each choir. With the priest’s blessing, we begin: “Heavenly King”: the Trisagion following the “Our Father.” Priest: “For Thine is the Kingdom”: And after “Amen,” “Lord, have mercy,” 12 times. “Come, let us worship”: three times, followed by three small bows. Then the Third Hour is read according to custom.

At the end of the third psalm, after “Alleluia,” we make three small bows. We then read the regular kathisma; after each antiphon, we make three small bows. After the kathisma, the reader or priest, standing in the center of the church, proclaims the troparion, tone 6: “O Lord, Your Most Holy Spirit”: And we sing the same, genuflecting to the ground. Likewise after the other two verses. Verse: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Verse: Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Glory, and now, to the Theotokos: O Theotokos, You are the True Vine: and three small bows. And immediately we begin the reading from *The Ladder*. From this day forward and throughout the entire Holy Lent, the designated monk begins to quietly make his rounds among the brethren and, upon noticing those who are asleep, awakens them in the prescribed manner to listen. After the reading: Blessed is the Lord God: the Trisagion following the “Our Father.” The priest proclaims: For Thine is the Kingdom: And after “Amen,” we sing the troparia in tone 8: Blessed are You, Christ our God: Glory: Grant swift and sure comfort to Your servants, Jesus: And now: “Hope, protection, and refuge of Christians: O Lord, have mercy,” 40, and the prayer: “At all times and at every hour: O Lord, have mercy,” three times. Glory, and now: With the highest honor of the Cherubim: Bless us in the Name of the Lord, Father. And the priest: O God, have mercy on us: Then we bow as prescribed, and the presider proclaims the prayer: O Lord God, Almighty Father:

ON MONDAY AT THE SIXTH HOUR

The candle-lighter, having made the customary bow to the presider, steps back and strikes the gavel six times. And upon the conclusion of the prayer, “Come, let us worship”: three times, and three small bows. And we begin the Sixth Hour. And at the end of the three psalms, “Glory,” “Now,” and “Alleluia” three times, followed by three small bows. Then we read the kathisma, and after each antiphon, “Alleluia” three times and three small bows. At the conclusion, the troparion, tone 2: “On the sixth day and at the sixth hour / You nailed to the Cross / the audacious sin of Adam in Paradise, / and tore up the record of our sins, / Christ God, and save us.” Verse 1: “Hear, O God, my prayer, and do not despise my supplication.” Stichos 2: I cried out to God, and the Lord heard me. We perform the Soverash and three great bows, as prescribed. Glory, and now: We have no boldness because of the multitude of our sins: and three small bows.

Troparion of the Prophecy, Tone 5

O Lord, O Lord, before Whom all tremble / and quake at the sight of Your power! / We fall down before You, O Immortal One, / we pray to You, O Holy One: / “Save our souls / through the intercession of Your saints!”

Glory, and now: we repeat the same.

Prokeimenon, Tone 4

The Lord knows the way of the righteous, / but the way of the wicked will perish.

Verse: Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the wicked, nor stood in the way of sinners.

Ps 1:7, 1a

Reading from the Prophecies of Isaiah

The vision that Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw—the vision he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, who reigned in Judah. Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth, for the Lord has spoken: “I have borne and raised up sons, but they have rejected Me. An ox knows its owner, and a donkey its master’s manger; but Israel has not known Me, and My people have not understood.” Alas, a sinful tribe, a people full of sins, an evil offspring, lawless sons! You have forsaken the Lord and provoked the Holy One of Israel to anger; you have turned your backs on Him. Why should you be struck again, you who multiply iniquity? Every head is sick, and every heart is in anguish; from head to foot there is no soundness in it: it is not a wound, nor a bruise, nor a festering sore; there is no place for a bandage, no ointment, no dressing! Your land lies desolate; your cities are burned with fire; your country is devoured before your very eyes by foreigners; and it is laid waste, ravaged by foreign nations. The daughter of Zion will be left like a tent in a vineyard, like a storehouse of fruit in a garden, like a city under siege. And if the Lord of Hosts had not left us a remnant, we would have become like Sodom and been made like Gomorrah. Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the law of God, you people of Gomorrah! “What do I care for your many sacrifices?” says the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of lambs; I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls and goats. And do not come to appear before Me—for who has asked this of your hands? Do not keep trampling My courtyard: even if you bring Me the finest flour, it is in vain; incense is an abomination to Me. I cannot endure the new moons, the Sabbaths, or the great day; My soul hates your fasts, your abstinence from work, and your festivals. You have become a burden to Me; I can no longer bear your sins. When you stretch out your hands to Me, I will turn My eyes away from you; and even if you multiply your prayers, I will not hear you—for your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves and become clean; remove your wickedness from your souls before My eyes. Refrain from your iniquities; learn to do good: seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, and uphold the widow’s cause. Then come, and let us reason together,” says the Lord. Even if your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow; even if they are like crimson, I will make them as white as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land; but if you are unwilling and disobedient, the sword will devour you—for the mouth of the Lord has spoken!

Isaiah 1:1–20

Prokeimenon, Tone 7

Serve the Lord with reverence / and rejoice before Him with awe.

Verse: Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot in vain?

Ps 2:11, 1

Followed by a reading from *The Ladder*. Also, the troparion: “May Your compassion soon meet us”: the Trisagion after the “Our Father.” The priest then exclaims: “For Yours is the Kingdom”: and the troparia in Tone 2: “You have accomplished salvation in the midst of the earth”: Glory: We worship Your Most Pure Image: And now: Source of mercy: On Wednesdays and Fridays, the “Mother of God of the Cross”: You are most glorified, Virgin Mother of God: Lord, have mercy, 40. At all times and at every hour: Lord, have mercy, three times. Glory, and now: With the highest honor of the Cherubim: Bless us in the name of the Lord, Father. Priest: O God, have mercy on us and bless us: And we bow according to custom. And upon the completion of the bows, the presider begins the concluding Trisagion following the “Our Father.” Lord, have mercy, 12. The priest also says: Glory to You, Christ God, our hope; glory to You. And the dismissal takes place.

This order and regulation must be observed throughout the entire Holy Lent at the third and sixth hours. And where there is no procession, after the prayer “O God and Lord of Hosts,” we immediately say “Come, let us worship” three times, followed by the ninth hour. Where there is a procession, around the ninth hour the candle-bearer strikes the bell nine times, and we gather in the church. And after the priest’s blessing, we begin the Trisagion following “Our Father.” The priest proclaims: “For Thine is the Kingdom.” And after “Amen,” “Lord, have mercy,” 12. “Come, let us worship”: three times, followed by three small bows, and we begin the three psalms of the Ninth Hour. At the end of the third psalm, at the Alleluia, there are three small bows. And we begin the kathisma: at each antiphon, there are three small bows.

Upon completion, the troparion, tone 8: “At the ninth hour, for our sake, / having tasted death in the flesh, / put to death our carnal thoughts, / Christ God, and save us.” Verse 1: “Let my prayer come before Your face, O Lord—according to Your word, enlighten me.” Stichos 2: May my supplication rise before Your face, O Lord—deliver me according to Your word. And we make three great bows. Glory, and now: Born of the Virgin for our sake: and three small bows. And again there is a reading from *The Ladder*. And after the reading, we recite the verse: “Do not forsake us to the end, for Your name’s sake.” The Trisagion follows “Our Father.” And the priest proclaims: “For Yours is the Kingdom.” And after “Amen,” we proclaim the troparia, tone 8: “Beholding the Prince of Life.” Glory: “Your Cross between the two thieves.” And now: The Lamb and Shepherd and Savior of the world: Lord, have mercy, 40. At all times and at every hour: Lord, have mercy, three times. Glory, and now: With the highest honor of the Cherubim: Bless us in the Name of the Lord, Father. Priest: O God, have mercy on us: And we perform three great prostrations, reciting silently the prescribed prayer of St. Ephrem; the other 12 we do not perform. And we proclaim the prayer: O Lord and Master, Jesus Christ:

And immediately the choir begins to sing in Tone 8: “Remember us, O Lord, in Your Kingdom.” And we sing the Beatitudes with a sweet, thunderous, and unhurried melody in the same tone: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Remember us, O Lord, when You come into Your Kingdom. And the other verses. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Remember us, O Lord: Now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. Remember us, O Lord: Both choirs, coming together, sing in the highest tone with their heads uncovered: Remember us, O Lord, when You come into Your Kingdom. And a great bow. Remember us, O Lord, when You come into Your Kingdom. And a bow. Remember us, O Holy One, when You come into Your Kingdom. And a bow. Then we proclaim: The heavenly choir sings of You and cries out: Verse: Come to Him and be enlightened: And again: The heavenly choir: Glory: The choir of holy Angels and Archangels: And now: I believe in one God: Forgive, pardon, and remit: The Lord’s Prayer: Also the kontakion of the day and the church. If it is a church of Christ, we first recite the kontakion of the church, then that of the day and of the ordinary saint, if there is one. Glory: Grant rest with the saints: And now, of the Church of the Mother of God, or: The sure protection of Christians: O Lord, have mercy, 40. Glory, and now: With the highest honor of the Cherubim: Bless us in the name of the Lord, Father. And the priest proclaims: O God, have mercy on us and bless us: And we perform the prescribed 16 bows with the prayer of St. Ephrem, as prescribed.

The parayekklisiarch, after bowing to the rector and receiving his blessing, goes and rings the bell. The presider then begins: “Come, let us worship”—three times, followed by three small bows. The reader then recites the psalm: “Bless the Lord, O my soul,” in a soft and gentle voice. The priest then recites the customary evening prayers before the Holy Doors. After the psalm, “Glory,” “And now,” and “Alleluia” are recited three times, followed by three bows. The Great Litany is recited, and we read the 18th kathisma: “To the Lord in my sorrow.” After each antiphon, “Glory,” “And now,” and “Alleluia” are recited three times, followed by three small bows.

ON MONDAY AT VESPERS

“I cried out to the Lord”: stichera on tone 6.
St. Joseph, Tone 2

I have committed every sin, / I have surpassed all in debauchery; / if I wish to repent, / I have no streams of tears! / If I continue to live frivolously even now, / I am liable to punishment. / But grant me repentance, O only good God, / and have mercy on me!

Grant me streams of tears, Christ, / on this glorious day of fasting, / so that I may mourn and wash away the defilement caused by my pleasures, / and appear before You purified, / when You, the Judge, deign / to come down from Heaven, O Lord, to judge mankind, / as the Judge and the One Righteous One.

St. Theodore the Studite, Tone 5

Come with zeal, / having the strong weapon of fasting as a shield, / let us repel every cunning deception of the enemy, O faithful ones. / Let us not be beguiled by the delights of the passions, / nor fear the fire of temptations; / through this, Christ the Lover of Mankind / will crown us with rewards for our patience. / Therefore, praying with boldness, / we fall down and cry out, asking for peace, / and for great mercy upon our souls.

And three from the Menaion. Glory, and now, to the Mother of God. “A light of joy:”

Prokeimenon, Tone 6

Salvation comes from the Lord, / and Your blessing is upon Your people.

Verse: O Lord, why have those who oppress me multiplied?

Ps 3:9, 2

1. Reading from Genesis

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. And God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. And God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

And God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And it was so. And God made the firmament, and God separated the waters that were under the firmament from the waters that were above the firmament. And God called the firmament “heaven.” And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. The waters under the heavens were gathered together into their places, and the dry land appeared. God called the dry land “earth,” and the gathered waters He called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

And God said, “Let the earth bring forth vegetation—grass bearing seed according to its kind, and fruit trees bearing fruit with their seed in them, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And so it was. The earth brought forth vegetation—grass bearing seed according to its kind, and fruit trees bearing fruit with their seed in them, each according to its kind on the earth. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning: the third day.

Genesis 1:1–13

Prokeimenon, Tone 5

The Lord will hear me / when I call to Him.

Verse: When I called, God, the God of my righteousness, heard me.

Ps 4:4b, 2a

2. Reading from Proverbs

The Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, who reigned over Israel, to gain wisdom and instruction, and to understand words of discernment; to gain insight into the twists and turns of speech (and the solutions to riddles), to understand true justice and how to administer judgment; so that this may give the upright resourcefulness, and to the young—discernment and understanding; for whoever heeds them will become wiser, and the discerning will gain guidance; and he will understand a proverb, an obscure saying, the words of the wise, and riddles. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord; and sound understanding is for all who practice it; reverence for God is the beginning of discernment; but the wicked will regard wisdom and instruction as worthless. Listen, my son, to your father’s laws, and do not reject your mother’s teachings, for then you will receive a crown of grace for your head and a golden necklace around your neck. Son! Do not let the wicked men deceive you; and do not agree if they invite you, saying: “Come with us, join us in shedding blood; and let us bury the righteous man unjustly in the ground, and devour him alive like hell, and wipe out his memory from the earth.” We will seize his valuable possessions and fill our houses with plunder; cast your lot among us, and let us all share a common purse—let us have one bag.” [My son!] Do not set out on the road with them, and turn your foot away from their paths, for their feet run toward evil, and they are quick to shed blood. For it is not in vain that birds’ nets are set. For those who participate in murder heap misfortune upon themselves; and the destruction of lawless men is disgraceful. Such are the ways of all who commit iniquity; for by their wickedness they cut off their own souls. Wisdom is sung of at the crossroads, but audacity is displayed in the streets.

Proverbs 1:1–20

Grant us this, O Lord: And three bows. Priest: Let us offer the evening prayer:

Stichera on the psalter, tone 3

Let us fast a fast / that is pleasing and acceptable to the Lord; / true fasting is abstaining from vices, / restraining the tongue, refraining from anger, / renouncing lusts, / slander, lies, and perjury. / Abstaining from all these things—this is true fasting / and it is pleasing! (2)

And to the martyrs: Great is the power of Your martyrs, O Christ: / for though they rest in their tombs, they drive out evil spirits, / and have abolished the enemy’s power, / having accomplished, with faith in the Trinity, / a feat for the sake of piety.

Glory, and now, to the Theotokos: O Theotokos, Protectress of all who pray to You, / with You we dare, and in You we boast, / and in You is all our hope; / pray to Him Who was born of You / for Your unworthy servants.

The canonarch also performs the customary bows to each choir, and the singers do the same to him. Now the dismissal: The Holy Trinity: And three small bows. Priest: For Yours is the Kingdom: And after “Amen”: Rejoice, O Virgin Mother of God: And a great bow. Glory: Christ the Baptist: And a bow. And now: Pray for us: And a bow. Also, Under the protection of Your mercy: without a bow. Lord, have mercy, 40, in a gentle voice. Glory, and now: The highest honor of the Cherubim: Bless us in the Name of the Lord, Father. Priest: Blessed is Christ, our God: Reader: Amen. Heavenly King: And we silently recite the prayer of the Venerable Ephrem: O Lord and Master of my life: And I make three great bows and twelve small ones. And again the aforementioned prayer and one great bow. The Trisagion. Lord, have mercy, 12 times. And the prayer: Most Holy Trinity, consubstantial Lordship: Also: May the name of the Lord be blessed from now on and forever. Three times. And three small bows. Glory, and now: I will bless the Lord at all times: Then, It is truly meet: and a bow. The other choir: Glory, and now: Lord, have mercy, three times. Bless. And the dismissal according to custom. When the meal is served, we proclaim Psalm 144: “I will exalt You, O my God”: And the dismissal takes place. Upon exiting into the narthex, we sing the stichera of the holy temple as is customary. The priest also recites the customary prayers and commemorates the departed. And the final dismissal takes place. This order of Vespers is observed throughout the entire Holy Lent, when there is no Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. It is not customary to celebrate it until Wednesday, since the entire brotherhood fasts, as has been handed down to us; and whoever is able should remain in fasting until Friday.

The Rule of the Holy Mountain prescribes that on the first day one should not eat at all. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, it is proper to eat one liter of bread and water, and nothing else except salt with the bread.

It should be noted that at the Lavra of our Venerable Father Savva, Vespers are sung not in the church but in the cells.

In the communal monasteries of Palestine, Vespers are sung as follows:

ON MONDAY AT VESPERS

Priest: Blessed be our God always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.

Reader: Amen. Glory to You, our God, glory to You.

Heavenly King: The Holy Trinity. Glory, and now: Most Holy Trinity: O Lord, have mercy. (3) Glory, and now: Our Father: Priest: For Thine is the Kingdom: Reader: Amen. Lord, have mercy. (12) Glory, and now: Come, let us worship: (3)

Psalm 69

O God, come to my aid; O Lord, make haste to help me. May those who seek my life be put to shame and disgrace; may those who wish me harm be turned back and put to shame; may those who say to me, “All is well, all is well,” be put to shame at once. May all who seek You, O God, rejoice and be glad in You, and may those who love Your salvation say without ceasing, “Let the Lord be exalted.” But I am poor and needy; O God, help me. You are my helper and my deliverer—O Lord, do not delay!

And we sing this Great Canon of our venerable father Andrew of Crete, of Jerusalem, repeating the refrain before each troparion: Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Ode 1, Tone 6

Irmos: My helper and protector / has become my salvation: / He is my God, and I will glorify Him, / the God of my father—and I will exalt Him, / for He has been glorified in splendor! (2)

Refrain: Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Where shall I begin to lament / the deeds of my wretched life? / How shall I begin, O Christ, / this present song of lamentation? / But You, O Merciful One, / grant me forgiveness of my sins.

Come, wretched soul with your flesh, / confess to the Creator of all things, / and finally refrain from your former folly, / and offer tears of repentance to God.

Having imitated the first Adam in his transgression, / I have found myself cut off from God, / and from the eternal Kingdom, and from its sweetness, / because of my sins.

Alas, my wretched soul! / Why did you become like the first Eve? / For you looked with evil intent, were bitterly wounded, / touched the tree, and presumptuously tasted / the reckless fruit.

Instead of the sensual Eve, / a mental Eve rose up within me— / a passionate thought in the flesh— / showing what is pleasant, / yet always delivering to the taste / a bitter drink.

Adam was rightly cast out of Eden, / since he did not keep Your single commandment, Savior; / how then will I suffer, / always rejecting Your life-giving words?

Glory, to the Trinity: O Transcendent Trinity, worshiped as One, / take from me this heavy burden of sin / and, as the Merciful One, / grant me tears of contrition.

And now, to the Mother of God: O Mother of God, Hope and Protection of those who sing Your praises! / Take from me the heavy burden of sin, / and as the Pure Lady, / accept me as I repent.

Song 2

Irmos: Hear, O heaven—and I will proclaim, / and I will sing of Christ, / Who came in the flesh from the Virgin. (2)

Hear, O heaven—and I will proclaim; / O earth! Hear the voice / of one who repents before God / and sings His praises.

Look upon me, O God, in Your mercy, / with Your merciful eye, / and accept my heartfelt confession.

I have sinned more than all people, / I alone have sinned before You; / but have mercy, as God, O Savior, / on Your creation.

By revealing the ugliness of my passions, / through my lustful desires, / I have distorted the beauty of my mind.

A storm of evil engulfs me, / O merciful Lord, / but, as You did for Peter, / stretch out Your hand to me as well.

I have defiled the garment of my flesh / and stained that / in which Your image, Savior, / and likeness reside.

I have darkened the beauty of my soul / with the delights of my passions / and have utterly reduced my entire mind / to dust.

I have now torn my first garment, / which the Creator wove for me from the beginning, / and therefore I lie naked.

I have clothed myself in torn garments, / which the serpent wove for me with his counsel, / and I am ashamed.

I shed the tears of a harlot, O Merciful One; / have mercy on me, Savior, / through Your compassion.

I gazed upon the beauty of the tree in the garden / and was beguiled by my mind, / and now I lie naked and am ashamed.

All the leaders of evil / have labored upon my back, / continuing their lawlessness / against me.

Glory, in the Trinity: I sing of You, the One in three Persons, / God of all: / the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

And now, to the Mother of God: Most Pure Virgin Mother of God, / the one and only, all-glorified, / pray earnestly for our salvation.

Hymn 3

Irmos: On the unshakable rock of Your commandments, O Christ, / establish my thoughts. (2)

Fire from the Lord, O soul, / poured down like rain, / the Lord consumed / the land of Sodom in ancient times.

Flee to the mountain, O soul, / like Lot, whom you know, / and hasten to take refuge in Zogor.

Flee from the fire, O soul, / flee from the burning of Sodom, / flee from destruction in the divine flame.

I alone have sinned before You, / I have sinned more than anyone else, Christ the Savior, / do not despise me!

You, the Good Shepherd, / seek me out—Your lamb— / and do not despise me, who have gone astray.

You, Sweetest Jesus, / You are my Creator! / Through You, Savior, I am justified.

I confess before You, Savior: / I have sinned, I have sinned against You, / but forgive me, pardon me, / as You are Merciful.

Glory to the Trinity: O Trinity, One God! / Save us from delusion, / from temptations, and from misfortunes.

And now, to the Mother of God: Rejoice, Womb that bore God, / rejoice, Throne of the Lord, / rejoice, Mother of our Life.

Hymn 4

Irmos: The prophet heard / of Your coming, O Lord, and was afraid, / that You would be born of a Virgin and appear to mankind, and he proclaimed: / “I have heard the news of You, and I was afraid.” / Glory to Your power, O Lord! (2)

Do not despise Your works, / do not neglect Your creation, O Righteous One. / Though I alone have sinned, as a human being, / more than any other human being, O Lover of Mankind, / yet You, as Lord of all, / have the power to forgive sins.

The end is drawing near, O soul, it is drawing near, / yet you do not rejoice, nor do you prepare yourself; / time is running out, arise: the Judge is near, at the door. / Like a dream, like a flower, the time of life flees— / why do we toss and turn in vain?

Arise, O my soul! / Reflect on the deeds you have done, / and picture them before your eyes, / and shed a few drops of your tears, / boldly lay your deeds and thoughts before Christ / and justify yourself.

There is no sin, no deed, no evil in life / in which I, the Savior, have not sinned / in thought, word, and will, / in intention, mind, and deed, / as no one else has ever done.

That is why I was condemned, / that is why I, wretched one, was accused by my own conscience, / which is the strictest thing in the world; / my Judge and Deliverer, who knows all things! / Have mercy on me, deliver me, and save me, Your servant.

The ladder that the great one among the patriarchs / saw in ancient times / points, my soul, / to an active ascent and a wise climb; / therefore, if you wish to live in deeds, and in knowledge, / and in contemplation—be renewed.

The patriarch was forced / to endure the heat of the day / and the frost of the night, / working hard each day, / tending flocks, fighting, and serving as a slave, / so that he might be united with his two wives.

By “two wives” understand / action and knowledge in contemplation: / by Leah, as the mother of many children—action, / and by Rachel, as the one obtained through many labors—knowledge, / for without labor neither action nor contemplation, / my soul, will be accomplished.

Glory, O Trinity: Indivisible in essence / and unconfused in Persons, / I proclaim Thee, O Triune and One God, / as the sole Sovereign and Co-Throne-Bearer. / I sing to Thee a great hymn, / sung thrice in the heavenly realm.

And now, to the Mother of God: You give birth and yet remain a Virgin, / preserving your virginity by nature forever; / He who was born of You renews the laws of nature, / and the virginal womb gives birth. / Wherever God wills, the order of nature is overcome, / for He does whatever He wills.

Song 5

Irmos: From the night, as dawn breaks, / I who strive toward You, Lover of mankind, / enlighten me, I pray, / and guide me, too, in Your commandments, / and teach me, Savior, / to do Your will. (2)

I spent my life constantly in the night, / for the night of sin was for me / darkness and deep gloom; / but show me to be a son of the day, Savior.

Imitating Reuben, I, wretched one, / carried out a lawless and criminal plan before God the Most High, / defiling my bed, just as he defiled his father’s bed.

I confess before You, Christ the King: / I have sinned, I have sinned, / like the brothers of old who sold Joseph— / the fruit of purity and chastity.

That righteous soul was bound by kinship; / the beloved was sold into slavery— / a foreshadowing of the Lord; / but you, O soul, have sold yourself entirely / to your own evil deeds.

Follow the example of the righteous and chaste Joseph, / O wretched and pitiful soul, / and do not defile yourself with reckless desires, / ceaselessly committing iniquity.

Even if Joseph was once in a pit, / O Lord, / it was a foreshadowing of Your burial and Resurrection; / but what can I ever offer You that is like this?

Glory, O Trinity: We glorify You, O Trinity, the One God: / “Holy, holy, holy are You: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, /—a simple Being, / the One who is ceaselessly worshiped.

And now, to the Mother of God: From you, O incorrupt, virginal Mother who knew no man, / God, who created the ages, / took on my nature / and united it with Himself.

Song 6

Irmos: I cried out with all my heart / to the merciful God, / and He heard me from the deepest hell, / and brought my life out of destruction. (2)

O Savior, the tears of my eyes, / and from the depths of my groaning, / I offer up with a cry from my heart: / “O God, I have sinned against You; / have mercy on me!”

You have strayed, O soul, from your Lord, / like Daphan and Aviron; / but cry out for mercy from the depths of Hades, / lest the abyss of the earth cover you.

Like a raging heifer, / you have become like Ephraim, O soul; / but like a gazelle escaping from snares, preserve your life, / by inspiring your mind with deeds and contemplation.

May the hand of Moses assure us, O soul, / how God can whiten and purify / a leprous life; / and do not despair for yourself, / even though you are leprous.

Glory, in the Trinity: “I am the Trinity, undivided and inseparable, / distinguished by Persons, / and the Unity, united by nature,” / — proclaims the Father, and the Son, and the Divine Spirit.

And now, to the Theotokos: Your womb gave birth to God for us, / Who took on our likeness; / Pray to Him, O Mother of God, as the Creator of all, / that through your prayers we may be justified.

Lord, have mercy (3). Glory, and now:

Kontakion, Tone 6

My soul, my soul, arise—why do you sleep? / The end is drawing near, and you are about to be put to shame. / Arise, then, that Christ God, / who is everywhere present and fills all things, may have mercy on you!

Hymn 7

Irmos: We have sinned, we have committed / iniquity and injustice before You, / and we have not kept nor done / as You commanded us. / But do not forsake us to the end, / O God of our fathers! (2)

I have sinned, I have committed iniquity, / and rejected Your commandment, / for I was already born in sin, / and have added wounds to my sores; / but have mercy on me Yourself, / O Merciful God of our fathers.

I have confessed the secrets of my heart / to You, my Judge; / look upon my humility, / look upon my sorrow, / hear my self-condemnation now, / and have mercy on me Yourself, O Merciful / God of my fathers.

Saul, having once lost his father’s donkeys, / suddenly attained the kingship, the path to fame; / but take heed, O soul, lest you forget yourself, / preferring your animalistic desires / to the Kingdom of Christ.

David, once the Father of God, / though my soul has sinned grievously: / he was pierced by the arrow of adultery / and, as by a spear, was wounded by retribution for murder, / but you yourself suffer from the gravest of those deeds— / your own wayward desires.

David once added iniquity to iniquity, / mixing murder with adultery, / but he soon offered sincere repentance; / you, however, have committed worse deeds, my soul, / without repenting before God.

David once inscribed, / writing, as on an icon, a hymn, / in which he confesses what he had done, crying out: / “Have mercy on me, for I have sinned against You alone, O God of all. / Cleanse me Yourself!”

Glory, Triune: the Trinity, Simple, Indivisible, / Consubstantial and One in Nature: / as Lights and Light, and—Three Holy Ones and One Holy One— / the Triune God is sung; / but sing, O soul, and glorify Life and Lives, /—the God of all.

And now, to the Mother of God: We sing to You, we bless You, / we worship You, Mother of God, / for You bore in Your womb / the One of the Indivisible Trinity—Christ God— / and You Yourself revealed to us, / who live on earth, the heavenly.

Hymn 8

Irmos: Whom the heavenly hosts glorify, / and before Whom the Cherubim and Seraphim tremble, / all that breathes and is created, / sing, bless, / and exalt Him for all ages! (2)

Have mercy on the sinner, O Savior, / lift up my mind to repentance, / accept me, the penitent one, and have mercy on the one who cries out: / “I have sinned before You, save me; / I have committed iniquity, have mercy on me!”

Elijah the charioteer, / having mounted the chariot of virtues, / was once as if lifted up to heaven / above all things earthly; / meditate, O my soul, on his ascent.

Elisha, having once received Elijah’s grace, / obtained abundant grace from God; / but you, O my soul, have not partaken of that grace / because of your intemperance.

The flow of the Jordan, by the grace of Elijah, / once ceased for Elisha / on both sides; / but you, O my soul, have not partaken of that grace / because of your lack of self-control.

The woman of Shunem once / welcomed the righteous man with kindness, / but you, O soul, have not brought into your home / either a stranger or a traveler; / for this you will be cast out of the palace with weeping.

You, wretched soul, have always / imitated the impure character of Hyesius; / cast aside his love of money, at least in your old age, / and avoid the fire of Gehenna / by turning away from your evil deeds.

Glory, to the Trinity: Father without beginning, Son co-eternal, / Good Comforter, Righteous Spirit; / Parent of the Word of God, / The Father’s Word without beginning, / Living and creative Spirit, / Trinity and One, have mercy on me.

And now, to the Theotokos: As if from a purple fabric, O Most Pure One, / the mental crimson—the flesh of Emmanuel— / was woven within Your womb; / therefore we truly honor You, O Theotokos.

Hymn 9

Irmos: The birth from a seedless conception is inexpressible, / the Fruit of the Mother who knew no man is spotless: / for God’s birth renews the laws of nature. / Therefore we, all generations, / as the Mother of our God / rightly magnify You. (2)

I have set before you, O soul, / the Book of Moses on the origin of the world, / and after it—all the hidden Scriptures, / which tell of the righteous and the unrighteous; / of these, O soul, you imitated the latter, not the former, / having sinned before God.

The Law has lost its power, the Gospel is ineffective, / and you hold all Scripture in contempt: / the prophets have lost their power, as have all the words of the righteous. / Your sores, O soul, have multiplied, / and there is no physician to heal you!

I bring you examples from the New Testament, / which lead you, O soul, to contrition. / Therefore, emulate the righteous and turn away from the sinful, / and appease Christ through prayer, fasting, / purity, and reverence.

Christ, having become incarnate, / called the robbers and harlots to repentance. / O soul, repent: the door of the Kingdom is already open, / and the first to enter it are the Pharisees, the tax collectors, / and the repentant adulterers.

Christ became an infant, / uniting Himself with me in the flesh, / and willingly experienced / all that is proper to human nature, except sin, / setting an example for you, O soul, / and revealing the image of His condescension.

Christ saved the Magi, / called the shepherds, / made many infants martyrs, / and glorified the elder and the aged widow. / You, O soul, have imitated neither their deeds nor their lives; / but woe to you when you stand before the Judgment.

The Lord fasted for forty days in the desert, / and at last grew hungry, / revealing His human nature. / O soul, do not lose heart: if the enemy attacks you, / may he be repelled from your feet by prayer and fasting.

Glory to the Trinity: Let us glorify the Father, exalt the Son, / and worship the Divine Spirit with faith /—the indivisible Trinity, One in essence, / as Light and Lights, and Life and Lives, / who gives life and enlightens the ends of the world.

And now, O Mother of God: Preserve Your city, / O Most Pure Mother of God. / For under Your protection it reigns in faith, / and from You it receives strength, / and with Your assistance / it victoriously repels every temptation, / and takes its enemies captive, / and keeps them in subjection.

Refrain: Venerable Father Andrew, pray to God for us.

Andrew, most venerable and thrice-blessed Father, / Shepherd of Crete! / Do not cease to pray for those who sing your praises, / that we may all be delivered from wrath, sorrow, and corruption, / and from boundless sins, / as we honor your memory with faith.

Irmos: The birth without seed is inexpressible, / from the Mother who knew no husband, the spotless Fruit: / for the birth of God renews the laws of nature. / Therefore, we, all generations, / as the Mother of our God / rightly magnify you. (And a bow)

And we continue the Great Compline.
Psalm 4

When I called, the God of my righteousness heard me; in my distress You gave me room. Have mercy on me and hear my prayer. O sons of men, how long will you be heavy of heart? Why do you love vanity and seek falsehood? And know that the Lord has done wondrous things for His Holy One. The Lord will hear me when I call to Him. Be angry—but do not sin; do not brood over what you say in your hearts; be contrite on your beds. Offer sacrifices of righteousness and trust in the Lord. Many say, “Who will show us any good?”—The light of Your face, O Lord, has marked us! You have filled my heart with joy; they are filled to the brim with the fruit of Your wheat, wine, and oil. I will lie down in peace and sleep at once, for You, O Lord, alone have given me hope to live.

Psalm 6

O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger, nor discipline me in Your wrath. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are shaken, and my soul is deeply troubled; and You, O Lord, how long? Turn to me, O Lord; deliver my soul; save me for the sake of Your mercy. For there is no one among the dead who remembers You; in the grave, who will praise You? I am weary from my groaning; every night I wash my bed with my tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. My eyes are dim with grief; I have grown old among all my enemies. Depart from me, all you who do wrong, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping; the Lord has heard my plea; the Lord has accepted my prayer. May all my enemies be put to shame and confounded; may they turn back and be put to shame very soon.

Psalm 12

How long, O Lord, will You forget me forever? How long will You turn Your face away from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and have sorrow in my heart day and night? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look upon me and hear me, O Lord my God; enlighten my eyes, lest I fall asleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against him.” Those who oppress me will rejoice if I falter, but I trust in Your mercy. My heart will rejoice in Your salvation; I will sing to the Lord, who has shown me favor, and I will sing praises to the name of the Lord Most High.

Look upon me and hear me, O Lord, my God; enlighten my eyes, lest I fall asleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, “I have gained the upper hand against him.”

Glory, and now: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to You, O God. (3) O Lord, have mercy. (3) Glory, and now:

Psalm 24

To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. My God, I trust in You—may I never be put to shame, and may my enemies not mock me; for all who wait for You will not be put to shame: let the lawless be put to shame in vain. Reveal Your ways to me, O Lord, and teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God, my Savior, and I have waited for You all day long. Remember Your compassion, O Lord, and Your lovingkindness, for they have been from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth or my folly; by Your mercy, remember me for Your goodness’ sake, O Lord. The Lord is good and righteous; therefore, He will guide the way of the sinners. He guides the humble in justice; He teaches the humble His ways. All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth for those who seek His covenant and His testimonies. For Your name’s sake, O Lord, have mercy on my sin, for it is great. Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he has chosen. His soul will dwell among the blessings, and his descendants will inherit the land. The Lord is a stronghold for those who fear Him, and He will reveal His covenant to them. My eyes are ever on the Lord, for He will deliver my feet from the snare. Look upon me and have mercy on me, for I am lonely and destitute. The sorrows of my heart have multiplied; deliver me from my troubles. Look upon my humility and my weakness, and forgive all my sins. Look upon my enemies—for they have multiplied and hate me with unjust hatred. Preserve my soul and deliver me, that I may not be put to shame, for I trust in You. The upright and sincere have joined me, for I have waited for You, O Lord. Deliver Israel, O God, from all its sorrows!

Psalm 30

In You, O Lord, I trust; let me never be put to shame. By Your righteousness, deliver me and set me free; incline Your ear to me; hasten to save me; be my God and my refuge, to save me. For You are my stronghold and my refuge; for Your name’s sake You will guide me and sustain me; You will deliver me from this snare that has been set for me, for You are my protector, O Lord. Into Your hands I commit my spirit; You have delivered me, O Lord, God of truth. You hate those who in vain pursue what is vain; but I have trusted in You, O Lord; I will rejoice and be glad in Your mercy, for You have looked upon my humility, saved my soul from calamity, and have not delivered me into the hands of the enemy; You have set my feet in a spacious place. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes are dimmed by anger, my soul and my inner being. For my life is spent in suffering, and my years in groaning; my strength is weakened by poverty, and my bones are shaken. I have become a byword to all my enemies, and especially to my neighbors; a terror to my acquaintances—those who see me outside my home flee from me. I have been forgotten as though I were dead; in my heart I have become like a shattered vessel, for I have heard the taunts of many who live around me, as they gathered together against me, determined to take my soul. But I have put my trust in You, O Lord; I have said, “You are my God.” My lot is in Your hands; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who pursue me. Show Your face to Your servant; save me by Your mercy. O Lord, let me not be put to shame for calling upon You; let the wicked be put to shame, and let them be cast down to Sheol. May the deceitful lips be silenced, those who speak against the righteous with arrogance and contempt. How great is the abundance of Your goodness, O Lord, which You have hidden for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who hope in You before the sons of men! You hide them in a secret place before Your face from the turmoil of mankind; You shelter them in a tent from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the Lord, for He has wonderfully shown His mercy in the fortified city . But I said in my distress: ‘I am cast out from the sight of Your eyes’—therefore You heard the voice of my supplication when I called to You. Love the Lord, all You who are His saints, for the Lord seeks truth and repays those who show boundless pride. Be strong, and let your hearts take courage, all you who hope in the Lord!

Psalm 90

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide under the shadow of the God of heaven. He will say to the Lord, “You are my shield and my refuge, my God, in whom I trust.” For He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will hide you under His wings, and you will take refuge under His wings—His truth will surround you like a shield. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day; nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the destruction that strikes at noon. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only look on with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. For You, O Lord, are my hope! You have made the Most High your refuge. No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your tent; for He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways—they will bear you up in their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the asp and the viper; you will trample the lion and the dragon. “For he has trusted in Me, and I will deliver him; I will protect him, for he has known My name. He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I am with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him; I will satisfy him with long life and show him My salvation.”

Glory, and now: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to You, O God. (3) Lord, have mercy. (3) Glory, and now:

Then the verses are sung antiphonal (Isaiah 8:8b–10; 12b–14a; 18a; 9:2, 6) with the refrain after each verse: For God is with us.

God is with us; know this, all nations, / and submit yourselves. / For God is with us. (2)

Hear this to the ends of the earth. / For God is with us.

O mighty ones, submit yourselves. / For God is with us.

For if you rise up again, / you will be defeated again. / For God is with us.

And whatever plan you devise, / the Lord will bring it to ruin. / For God is with us.

And whatever words you may speak, / they will not stand against us. / For God is with us.

We will not fear your threats / nor be dismayed. / For God is with us.

But we will revere the Lord, our God, / and He will be our refuge. / For God is with us.

And if I put my hope in Him, / He will be my sanctification. / For God is with us.

I will put my trust in Him, / and He will save me. / For God is with us.

Here I am, along with the children God has given me. / For God is with us.

The people who walked in darkness / have seen a great light. / For God is with us.

You who dwell in the land and shadow of death, / a light will shine upon you. / For God is with us.

For a Child has been born to us, / a Son has been given to us. / For God is with us.

Whose government will rest upon His shoulder. / For God is with us.

And His peace has no end. / For God is with us.

And His name is called: / The Angel of the Great Council. / For God is with us.

Wonderful Counselor. / For God is with us.

God the Mighty, the Ruler, / the Lord of the world. / For God is with us.

Father of the age to come. / For God is with us.

God is with us; let the nations know / and submit. / For God is with us. (2)

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. God is with us.

Now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen. God is with us.

For God is with us.

Troparia

As the day draws to a close, I give thanks to You, O Lord; / I pray: grant me, O Savior, / an evening and night free from sin / and save me.

Glory: As the day draws to a close, I praise You, O Lord; / I pray: grant me, O Savior, / an evening and night free from sin / and save me.

And now: Having lived through the day, I sing Your praises, O Holy One; / I pray: grant me, O Savior, / an evening and night free from the enemy’s wiles / and save me.

The Cherubim, incorporeal by nature, glorify You with ceaseless hymns. / The six-winged Seraphim exalt You with unceasing exclamations. / And the entire host of Angels praises You with thrice-holy songs. / For You are the Father, existing before all things, / and You have Your Son, co-eternal with You, / and, bearing the equally honored Spirit of life, You reveal the indivisible Trinity. / Most Holy Virgin, Mother of God, witnesses of the Word and ministers, / all the hosts of prophets and martyrs, / having immortal life, / intercede earnestly for us all, / for we all are in distress, / so that, having been delivered from the deception of the evil one, / we may proclaim the angelic hymn: / Holy, Holy, Holy, Thrice-Holy Lord, / have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

After this, in a low voice:

The Creed

1 I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. 2 And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-Begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one essence with the Father, through whom all things were made. 3 Who for us humans and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man. 4 Who was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered, and was buried. 5 And rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures. 6 And ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 7 And will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end. 8 And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father, who is worshiped and glorified together with the Father and the Son, who spoke through the prophets. 9 The one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. 10 I acknowledge one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins. 11 I look forward to the resurrection of the dead, 12 and the life of the world to come. Amen.

And verses with bows:

Most Holy Lady, Mother of God, pray for us sinners. (3)

All the heavenly hosts of holy angels and archangels, pray for us sinners. (2)

Saint John, the prophet, the Forerunner, and the Baptist of our Lord Jesus Christ, pray for us sinners. (2)

Holy and glorious Apostles, prophets, and martyrs, and all the saints, pray for us sinners. (2)

Our reverend and godly fathers, shepherds and teachers of the universe, pray for us sinners. (2)

(Here the patron saint of the church is also commemorated.)

O invincible, indestructible, and divine power of the holy and life-giving Cross, do not forsake us sinners. (2)

O God, have mercy on us sinners. (2)

O God, have mercy on us sinners, and forgive us. (without bowing)

The Trisagion. Glory, and now: Most Holy Trinity: O Lord, have mercy. (3) Glory, and now: Our Father: Priest: For Thine is the Kingdom: Reader: Amen.

On Monday and Wednesday evenings, troparia, tone 2

Enlighten my eyes, Christ my God, / that I may not fall asleep the sleep of death, / that my enemy may not say: / “I have gained the upper hand against him.”

Glory: Be the protector of my soul, O God, / for I walk amidst many snares; / deliver me from them, O Good One, / and save me, O Lover of mankind.

And now: We have no boldness because of our many sins, / but entreat the One born of You, O Virgin Mother of God! / For the Mother’s intercession holds great power before the gracious Lord. / Do not despise the supplications of sinners, All-Pure One, / for He who endured suffering for our sake is merciful and has the power to save.

Lord, have mercy. (40) Glory, and now:

We magnify You, who are more glorious than the Cherubim / and incomparably more glorious than the Seraphim, / who virginally gave birth to God the Word, / the true Mother of God.

Bless us in the name of the Lord, Father.

Priest: Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us.

Reader: Amen.

Prayer of St. Basil the Great

O Lord, O Lord, who has delivered us from every arrow that flies by day, deliver us also from every danger that lurks in the darkness; accept our evening sacrifice—the offering of our hands. Grant us, then, to walk the path of the night blamelessly, without experiencing evil, and deliver us from every confusion and fear that befalls us from the devil. Grant our souls contrition and our thoughts concern for the trial at Your judgment, which is terrible and righteous. Nail our flesh to the cross with fear of You and put our earthly members to death, so that even in the silence of sleep we may be enlightened by the contemplation of Your judgments. Remove from us every unseemly dream and every pernicious desire, and raise us up at the hour of prayer, strengthened in faith and prospering in the fulfillment of Your commandments, through the favor and goodness of Your Only-Begotten Son, with whom You are blessed, together with Your all-holy, good, and life-giving Spirit, now, and always, and forever and ever. Amen.

Come, let us worship our King, our God.

Come, let us worship and prostrate ourselves before Christ, our King and God.

Come, let us worship and prostrate ourselves before Christ Himself, our King and God.

Psalm 50

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions; wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You alone have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight—so that You may be justified in Your words and prevail when You are judged. For behold, I was conceived in iniquity, and my mother bore me in sin. For behold, You have loved truth; You have revealed to me the hidden and secret things of Your wisdom. You will sprinkle me with hyssop—and I will be cleansed; You will wash me—and I will be whiter than snow; You will let me hear joy and gladness—and my humbled bones will rejoice. Turn Your face away from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with Your mighty Spirit. I will teach the wicked Your ways, and the ungodly will turn to You. Deliver me from bloodguilt, O God, O God of my salvation; then my tongue will rejoice in Your truth . O Lord, You will open my lips, and my lips will proclaim Your praise. For if You had desired sacrifices, I would have offered them—but You take no pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. O Lord, in Your favor, bless Zion, and may the walls of Jerusalem be rebuilt—then You will accept with favor the sacrifice of righteousness, the offering and the burnt offerings; then they will lay young bulls upon Your altar.

Psalm 101

O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come before You. Do not turn Your face away from me on the day I am in distress; incline Your ear to me on the day I call upon You; hear me quickly. For my days have vanished like smoke, and my bones have withered like dry twigs. I have been cut down like grass, and my heart has withered, so that I have forgotten to eat my bread. Because of the sound of my groaning, my bones have clung to my flesh. I have become like a pelican in the wilderness; I have become like an owl among the ruins. I have not slept and have become like a bird sitting alone on the roof. All day long my enemies reviled me, and those who praised me swore by me. For I ate ashes like bread, and I mixed my drink with tears because of Your anger and Your wrath, for You lifted me up only to cast me down. My days have faded like a shadow, and I have withered like grass. But You, O Lord, remain forever, and Your memory endures from generation to generation. You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for the time has come to show her mercy; the time has come, for Your servants love her stones and mourn over her dust. The nations will fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth will fear Your glory; for the Lord will rebuild Zion and appear in His glory. He has looked upon the prayer of the humble and has not despised their supplication. Let this be written down for a future generation, and the people yet to be formed will praise the Lord, for He has looked down from His holy height, The Lord has looked down from heaven to earth to hear the groans of the captives, to set free the children of those who have been slain, to proclaim the name of the Lord in Zion and His praise in Jerusalem, when the nations gather together and the kings—to serve the Lord. He turned to Him on the way, in the days of his strength: “Make known to me my few days; do not take me away in the midst of my days; Your years endure from generation to generation.” In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands; they will perish, but You will remain; all of them will wear out like a garment, and like a robe You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will never end. The sons of Your servants will find refuge, and their descendants will be established forever.

Prayer of Manasseh, King of Judah

O Lord Almighty, God of our fathers—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—and of their righteous seed, You who created heaven and earth with all their splendor, who bound the sea with the word of Your command, who enclosed the abyss and sealed it with Your awesome and glorious name, whom all fear, and tremble before the face of Your power, for no one can stand before the splendor of Your glory, and Your terrible wrath against sinners is unbearable! Yet the mercy of Your promise is boundless and unfathomable; for You are the Most High Lord, merciful, long-suffering, and abounding in mercy, and You have compassion on the evil deeds of mankind. You, O Lord, in the abundance of Your goodness, have promised repentance and forgiveness to those who have sinned against You, and in the abundance of Your compassion, You have ordained repentance for sinners as a means of salvation. Behold, O Lord, God of Hosts, You did not require repentance of the righteous Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who did not sin against You, but You have required repentance of me, a sinner, because I have sinned more than the number of grains of sand in the sea. My iniquities have multiplied, O Lord; my iniquities have multiplied, and I am unworthy to lift up my eyes and behold the heights of heaven because of the multitude of my wrongdoings. I am bound by many iron chains, so that I cannot lift up my head, and I find no relief, for I have aroused Your wrath and done evil in Your sight: I have not fulfilled Your will nor kept Your commandments. And now I bow the knees of my heart, in need of Your goodness. I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, and I acknowledge my iniquities; but I beseech You: forgive me, O Lord, forgive me, and do not destroy me because of my iniquities; do not, in Your everlasting wrath, remember my evil deeds, and do not condemn me to the deepest places of the earth. For You, O God, are “ ”—the God of those who repent—and You will show me all Your goodness, for You will save me, though I am unworthy, by Your great mercy, and I will praise You unceasingly all the days of my life, for all the heavenly hosts sing Your praises, and Your glory endures forever and ever. Amen.

The Trisagion. Glory, and now: Most Holy Trinity: Lord, have mercy. (3) Glory, and now: Our Father: Priest: For Thine is the Kingdom: Reader: Amen.

Penitential Troparia, Tone 6

Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, / for, finding no excuse for ourselves, / we sinners offer this prayer to You, our Master: / “Have mercy on us!”

Glory: O Lord, have mercy on us, for we trust in You; / do not be greatly angered against us / and do not remember our iniquities; / but look upon us now, as the Merciful One, / and deliver us from our enemies. / For You are our God, and we are Your people; / we are all the work of Your hands / and we call upon Your name.

And now: Open to us the gates of mercy, / O Blessed Mother of God, / so that, trusting in You, we may not be put to shame, / but may be delivered from our troubles through Your prayers, / for You are the salvation of the Christian race.

Lord, have mercy. (40) Glory, and now:

We magnify You, who are more glorious than the Cherubim / and incomparably more glorious than the Seraphim, / who virginally gave birth to God the Word, / the true Mother of God.

Bless us in the name of the Lord, Father.

Priest: Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us.

Reader: Amen.

And the prayer: O Lord God, Almighty Father, Lord, Only-Begotten Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit! One Godhead, one Power, have mercy on me, a sinner, and save me, Your unworthy servant, in ways known to You, for You are blessed forever and ever. Amen.

Come, let us worship our King, our God.

Come, let us worship and prostrate ourselves before Christ, our King and God.

Come, let us worship and prostrate ourselves before Christ Himself, our King and God.

Psalm 142

O Lord, hear my prayer; give ear to my supplication in Your truth; hear me in Your righteousness, and do not enter into judgment with Your servant, for no one living is righteous before You. For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has brought my life down to the dust; he has placed me in darkness, like those who have been dead from of old. My spirit is faint within me; my heart is troubled within me. I have remembered the days of old; I have meditated on all Your works; I have pondered the works of Your hands. I have stretched out my hands to You; my soul is like parched land before You. Hear me quickly, O Lord, for my spirit is faint: do not turn Your face away from me, and let me not be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear of Your mercy early in the morning, for I trust in You; show me, O Lord, the way I should go, for to You I have lifted up my soul. Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord, for to You I have fled. Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; Your good Spirit will lead me into the land of righteousness. For the sake of Your name, O Lord, You will revive me; by Your righteousness You will bring my soul out of sorrow; and by Your mercy You will destroy my enemies and cut off all who oppress my soul, for I am Your servant.

Daily Doxology

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. We praise You, we bless You, we worship You, we glorify You, we thank You for Your great glory. Lord, Heavenly King, God, Almighty Father, Lord, Only-Begotten Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit! Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us. You who take away the sins of the world, accept our prayer; You who sit at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For You alone are Holy; You alone are the Lord, Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father. Amen. Every night I will bless You and praise Your name forever and ever. Lord, You have been our refuge from generation to generation. I said: “Lord, have mercy on me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.” Lord, I have taken refuge in You; teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we will see light. Extend Your mercy to those who know You. Grant, O Lord, that we may be preserved from sin this night. Blessed are You, O Lord, God of our fathers, and Your name is to be praised and glorified forever. Amen. May Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, as we put our hope in You. Blessed are You, O Lord; teach me Your commandments. Blessed are You, O Lord; enlighten me with Your commandments. Blessed are You, O Holy One; enlighten me with Your commandments. Lord, Your mercy endures forever; do not despise the works of Your hands. Praise is due to You, song is due to You, glory is due to You, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and always and forever and ever. Amen.

The Trisagion. Glory, and now: Most Holy Trinity: O Lord, have mercy. (3) Glory, and now: Our Father: Priest: For Thine is the Kingdom: Reader: Amen.

Troparion, Tone 6

O Lord of powers, abide with us, / for we have no other helper in our sorrows / but You; / O Lord of powers, have mercy on us. The other chanting group repeats.

First voice. Verse 1: Praise God in His saints, / praise Him in the firmament of His power.

O Lord of hosts, be with us: – we repeat after each verse.

Second voice. Verse 2: Praise Him for His might, / praise Him for the multitude of His greatness.

Verse 3: Praise Him with the sound of trumpets, / praise Him with the psaltery and the harp.

Verse 4: Praise Him with the timpani and in the dance, / praise Him with strings and the organ.

Verse 5: Praise Him with melodious cymbals; praise Him with resounding cymbals. / Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!

And both choirs together: Praise God in His holy ones. / Praise Him in the firmament of His power.

O Lord of hosts, be with us, / for we have no other helper in our afflictions / but You; / O Lord of hosts, have mercy on us.

Glory: O Lord, if we did not have Your saints as intercessors, / and Your goodness, which has compassion on us, / how would we dare, O Savior, to sing Your praises, / You whom the angels praise unceasingly? / O Knower of Hearts, have mercy on our souls.

And now: O Mother of God, my sins are countless— / I take refuge in You, O Pure One, in need of salvation. / Look mercifully upon my feeble soul / and intercede before Your Son and our God, / that I may be granted forgiveness / for the grave sins I have committed, / O One and Only Blessed One.

Most Holy Mother of God, / do not forsake me throughout my life, / do not entrust me to human protection, / but defend and have mercy on me Yourself!

I place all my hope / in You, Mother of God; / keep me under Your protection.

Lord, have mercy. (40)

And the prayer: Christ God, who at all times and in every hour receives worship and glory in heaven and on earth, long-suffering, most merciful, loving the righteous and showing mercy to sinners, calling all to salvation with the promise of future blessings! You Yourself, O Lord, accept our prayers at this hour and direct our lives toward Your commandments: sanctify our souls, purify our bodies, correct our intentions, cleanse our thoughts, and deliver us from every sorrow, misfortune, and torment. Protect us with Your holy Angels, so that, guarded and guided by their host, we may attain unity in faith and an understanding of Your ineffable glory, for You are blessed forever and ever. Amen.

Lord, have mercy. (3) Glory, and now:

With the highest honor of the Cherubim / and the incomparably more glorious Seraphim, / we magnify You, the Virgin who gave birth to God the Word, / the true Mother of God.

Bless us in the name of the Lord, Father.

Priest: O God, have mercy on us and bless us; let the light of Your face shine upon us, and have mercy on us.

Reader: Amen.

Then the priest recites the prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian with 16 bows:

Lord and Master of my life! Do not deliver me to the spirit of idleness, vanity, lust for power, and idle talk. (Bow)

But grant me, Your servant, the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love. (Bow)

Yes, O Lord and King, grant that I may see my own sins and not condemn my brother, for You are blessed forever and ever. Amen. (Bow)

Also, 12 small bows with the prayer:

O God, cleanse me, a sinner.

And again, the entire prayer: O Lord and Master of my life: and one great bow.

The Trisagion. Glory, and now: Most Holy Trinity: Lord, have mercy. (3) Glory, and now: Our Father: Priest: For Thine is the Kingdom: Reader: Amen. Lord, have mercy. (12)

Prayer to the Most Holy Mother of God,
composed by Paul, a monk of the Monastery of the Mother of God Evergetis,
that is, the Benefactress

Immaculate, Unstained, Innocent, Blameless, Pure Virgin, Bride of God, Sovereign Lady! You who, through Your wondrous conception, united the Word of God with mankind and joined the fallen nature of our race with the Heavenly Powers; You are the sole hope of those who have lost hope, the help of those under attack, the ready defense of those who take refuge in You, and the refuge of all Christians! Do not despise me, a sinner, a wretched one, who has rendered myself utterly unworthy through shameful thoughts, words, and deeds, and who, through the carelessness of my mind, have become a slave to worldly pleasures. But have mercy on me, a sinner and a stray, with Your love for mankind, as the Mother of the God who loves mankind, and accept the prayer I offer You with unclean lips, and with motherly boldness, implore Your Son and our Lord and Master, that He may open to me, too, the compassionate depths of His goodness and, overlooking my countless sins, turn me toward repentance and make me a faithful fulfiller of His commandments. And remain with me always, as a merciful, compassionate, and benevolent one, in this life—a fervent Intercessor and Helper, shielding me from the attacks of my enemies and guiding me toward salvation; and at the hour of my departure, guarding my wretched soul and driving away the dark apparitions of evil demons from it; and on the dreadful Day of Judgment, delivering me from eternal punishment and making me an heir to the ineffable glory of Your Son and our God. And may I receive it, my Lady, Most Holy Mother of God, through Your intercession and protection, by the grace and love for mankind of Your only Son, our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be all glory, honor, and worship, together with His Father without beginning and His all-holy, good, and life-giving Spirit, now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Prayer of the Monk Antiochus to Our Lord Jesus Christ

And grant us, O Lord, as we go to sleep, rest for body and soul, and preserve us from the dark sleep of sin and from every dark and nocturnal indulgence. Tame the surges of our passions; quench the fiery arrows of the Evil One, cunningly aimed against us; calm the rebellions of our flesh; and lull to sleep every thought of ours concerning the earthly and material. And grant us, O God, an alert mind, a chaste intellect, a sober heart, and a light sleep free from every satanic dream. Raise us up at the hour of prayer, steadfast in Your commandments and firmly holding fast within ourselves the memory of Your judgments. Grant us praise throughout the night, that we may sing, bless, and glorify Your most honored and majestic Name—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Most Glorious Ever-Virgin, Mother of Christ our God, bring our prayer to Your Son and our God, that through Your intercession He may save our souls.

Prayer of Saint John

My hope is the Father, my refuge is the Son, my protection is the Holy Spirit; Holy Trinity, glory to You!

Priest: Glory to You, Christ God, our hope, glory to You.

Choir: Glory; and now, O Lord, have mercy. (3) Bless us.

Then all bow down to the ground, and the priest, instead of the dismissal, recites the prayer:

Most merciful Lord, Jesus Christ, our God! Through the intercession of our all-pure Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, by the power of the holy and life-giving Cross, through the protection of the holy, incorporeal Heavenly Hosts, and by the prayers of the holy and glorious prophet, John the Forerunner and Baptist, the holy, glorious, and all-praised Apostles, the holy, glorious, and victorious martyrs, our venerable and God-bearing Fathers, the holy and righteous God-parents Joachim and Anna, and all Your saints, make our prayer acceptable, grant us forgiveness of our sins, cover us with the shadow of Your wings, drive away from us every enemy and adversary, bring peace to our lives, O Lord, have mercy on us and grant us Your peace, and save our souls, as You are good and love mankind.

And we say: Amen.

Rite of Forgiveness

The priest, bowing to the congregation, says: Bless me, holy fathers, and forgive me, a sinner, for all in which I have sinned in deed, word, thought, and all my senses.

And we reply: May God forgive you, holy father.

The priest recites the following litany:

Let us pray for our Most Holy Patriarch (name), and for our Most Reverend Metropolitan (or: Archbishop, or: Bishop) (name), and for all our brethren in Christ.

[In monasteries: For our venerable abbot (name) and the brethren of this holy monastery.]

The choir responds to each petition: O Lord, have mercy.

For our God-protected country, its authorities, and all its people.

For those who hate us and those who love us.

For those who show us mercy and serve us.

For those who have commanded us, the unworthy, to pray for them.

For the deliverance of those in captivity.

For our fathers and brothers who have fallen away.

For those sailing the seas.

For those who lie infirm.

Let us also pray for an abundance of the earth’s fruits.

And for every Orthodox Christian soul.

Let us honor the memory of the Orthodox bishops and the founders of this holy church (or: this holy monastery).

Our parents and all our fathers and brothers who have departed before us, both here and everywhere, who are Orthodox.

Let us also pray for ourselves:

Choir: Lord, have mercy. (3)

Priest: Through the prayers of our holy fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us.

We: Amen.

In monasteries, the brothers bow, asking forgiveness from the abbot and saying:

Bless me, holy Father, and forgive me, a sinner.

And having received forgiveness from the abbot, we go to our cells, reciting the following prayer:

Forgive those who hate and wrong us, O Lord, Lover of mankind. Repay those who do good with good. Grant our brothers and relatives their petitions for that which leads to salvation, and grant them eternal life. Visit the sick and grant them healing. Guide those who are at sea. Accompany those who are traveling. Grant forgiveness of sins to those who serve and show us mercy. Have mercy, by Your great mercy, on those who have entrusted us, the unworthy, to pray for them. Remember, O Lord, our fathers and brothers who have departed before us, and grant them rest where the light of Your face shines. Remember, O Lord, our brothers who are in captivity, and deliver them from every misfortune. Remember, O Lord, those who offer sacrifices and do good deeds in Your holy Churches, and grant their petitions for what leads to salvation, and grant them eternal life. Remember, O Lord, us also, Your humble, sinful, and unworthy servants, and enlighten our minds with the light of the knowledge of You, and guide us along the path of Your commandments, through the prayers of our Most Pure Lady, the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, and all Your saints, for You are blessed forever. Amen.*

ON TUESDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK
AT MATINS

According to the 2nd stichera of the Sedal, tone 2

Most blessed is the grace of the all-holy fast: / for through it Moses was glorified / and received the Law inscribed on the tablets; / the young men proved themselves stronger than fire. / Let us therefore, with its help, quench the burning passions of the flesh, / crying out to Christ the Savior: / “Grant us all repentance / and deliver us from Gehenna!”

Glory, same tone: The time for repentance has come. / Show the fruits of abstinence, O my soul! / Look upon those who have repented before, and cry out to Christ: / “I have sinned; save me, / just as You, O Lord, saved the tax collector, / whom You restored from the heart, O Good One, / You who are truly the Most Merciful!”

And now, to the Theotokos: ardent Protectress of Christians, / ever pray to Your Son, O Theotokos, / to deliver us from every wickedness and cunning of the adversary, / and to grant us forgiveness for our sins, / through the compassion of Your heart, / by Your intercessions, O Virgin Mother!

According to the 3rd stichos of the Sedalen, Tone 5

Lord, as we continue this saving fast / on the second day, we cry out to You: / “Bring our hearts, Your servants, to contrition, / and accept our prayers offered with reverence, / granting us to move swiftly along the path of fasting, / purification, and great mercy.”

Glory: we repeat the same.

And now, O Mother of God: Root, from which the Divine Flower has sprung, / Ark, Lamp, and Vessel of manna, all of gold, / holy Table, bearing the Bread of Life! / Intercede with Him—Your Son and God— / together with the holy Forerunner, that He may have mercy on and save / those who confess You as the Mother of God.

Canon from the Menaion and the Triodion.
Ode 2, Tone 2

And the second ode of the Psalter is sung.

Irmos: Behold, behold, it is I, / who saved the people of Israel in the sea and fed them in the wilderness, / and brought forth water from the rock for mortals, / so that, having borne the nature that had fallen into ruin in ancient times, / I might draw them to Myself through ineffable mercy!

Be sober, stay alert, lament, shed tears; / through fasting, O soul, cast off the whole burden of sin; / flee from the fire through fervent repentance; / and tear off the garment of sorrowful passions, / putting on the divine garment.

Let us all, through fasting, ascend the mountain of excellent deeds, / leaving behind the temptations of pleasures that draw us down to earth; / and, entering the darkness of sacred contemplation, / let us behold the one, longed-for beauty of Christ, / mysteriously receiving deification / through divine ascents.

Alas for me! What will become of me? / What shall I do, committing sin / and fearing not the Lord, you shameless one? / Because of this, I am condemned even before the judgment. / O Righteous and Good Judge, / turn to me and save me, / I who have grieved You more than any mortal!

Theotokos: Uncultivated earth, which brought forth the Nourisher of all, / who opens His hand and, according to His good pleasure, / satisfies all living things with divine power! / Strengthen our hearts with the life-giving Bread, / worn out by the satiety / of our grievous sins.

Another Tri-ode, Tone 5

Irmos: Behold, behold:

Come, let us enter together into the inner peace of the soul, / offering prayers to the Lord and crying out: / “Father, who dwells in Heaven! / Ease and forgive our debts, / as the One who is Merciful!”

Revealing the joy of our souls during this fast, / let us not be gloomy, / as we await the end of these longed-for days, / for the light of pious deeds has shone upon us.

Glory, to the Trinity: The beginningless, uncreated / Unity in three Persons, / Lady, Kingdom of all ages! / You are glorified—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit— / by multitudes of angels and all humanity.

To the Mother of God: We sing Your praise, O Virgin, full of every virtue, / the glory of our race, / for through You we have attained deification— / for You gave birth to Christ, our Savior and God, / who has freed us from the curse.

Glory to You, our God, glory to You.

What has quenched the fire? / What has shut the mouths of the beasts? / —Fasting, which delivered the youths from the furnace, / and the prophet Daniel from being devoured by the lions. / Let us also joyfully welcome Him, brothers!

Irmos: Behold, behold, that I am God, / who took on flesh of My own free will, / to save Adam, who fell into sin through deception / at the serpent’s instigation.

Hymn 8

Irmos: To Moses in the burning bush:

Cast aside, O soul, the slumber of grievous negligence, / and, keeping watch, be zealous for the divine commandments: / the Bridegroom is approaching; hasten / to go out with a lamp to meet Him.

Severely wounded by the sword of sensual pleasures, / heal me, O Word, with Your healing—Your compassionate, merciful care— / so that I may / gratefully glorify You forever.

Refrain from harmful passions, from envy and hatred, / from every vice, O soul, / nourishing yourself with food that brings, in a spiritual way, / a higher delight.

Theotokos: O Pure Mother of God, / heal the wounds of my soul, the passions of my heart, / and the straying of my mind, / as the sole Helper of sinners / and a Wall for those under siege.

Another Triodion Hymn

Irmos: Creator of all things:

Having inspired us with self-restraint of the soul, / let us all lift up prayers to heaven / that are pleasing to the Lord.

Having received a spirit of contrition, / let us weep for the salvation of our souls, / singing to Christ forever.

Let us bless the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Lord.

Trinitarian Hymn: Trinity of one essence, / and Uncreated Unity, and God of all, / we exalt You for all ages.

Theotokos: Intercede for those who sing Your praises, O All-Pure One, / that they may be delivered / from every temptation and danger.

Glory to You, our God, glory to You.

Having rejected the riches of the wealthy with contempt, / let us fast together with Lazarus, / that Abraham’s bosom may warm us as well.

We praise, bless, and worship the Lord, singing His praises and exalting Him forever and ever.

Irmos: The Creator of all creation, / before Whom the Angels tremble, / sing His praises, O people, and exalt Him for ever and ever.

Hymn 9

Irmos: Who among those born on earth has heard:

Who among those born on earth, having slipped, / has ever so provoked God’s wrath? / Who has followed the impulses of malice / and become a den of sin, as I, the wretched one? / But, O God, who desires mercy for all, / have mercy on me.

O host of God-like angels! / Plead with God to grant swift reconciliation / and save this soul, which is lost in the abyss of worldly pleasures / and tossed about by the storm of passions, / and which suffers from the attacks of hostile spirits.

Come, soul, lightened by the wings / of the virtues of fasting, / rise up from vice, which drags you down to the earth, / and delight in the brightest contemplations, / which bring the sweetness of virtue, / becoming godlike through faith.

To the Mother of God: Who can give voice to praises / to You, O Pure One, who gave birth beyond all understanding / to the Lord and Master worthy of praise, / whom the rulers of the angelic hosts extol? / Pray to Him, then, for sinful mankind, / O Virgin who knew no marriage.

Another Triodion Hymn

Irmos: Isaiah, rejoice:

The time is favorable, the day of salvation: / let us offer God the gifts of virtue; / at this time, having cast aside the works of darkness, / let us clothe ourselves in the armor of light, brothers, / as Paul proclaims.

Let us, just as the Lord defeated the enemy through fasting, / shatter his arrows and wiles with it: / “Get away from me, Satan,”—let everyone proclaim, / when he tempts us.

Glory, to the Trinity: As consubstantial with You, I sing Your praises, / O beginningless, holy, and life-giving Trinity; / indivisible Unity: / Father, the Unbegotten, and the begotten Word and Son, / and the Holy Spirit, save us who sing Your praises.

To the Mother of God: Beyond all understanding is the Birth of the Lord from You, O Mother of God: / for the conception in You took place without a man, / and Your pregnancy was virginal— / for the One Born is God. / As we magnify Him, we praise You, O Virgin.

Glory to You, our God, glory to You.

As we advance through fasting toward the mountain of prayer, / we too shall see God with a pure heart, / receiving the tablets of the commandments within us, / like Moses, whose face shone / with the glory of His love.

Irmos: Isaiah, rejoice! / The Virgin conceived in her womb / and gave birth to the Son, Emmanuel, / God and man, / whose name is the East. / As we magnify Him, we praise the Virgin.

Luminary.

Stichera on the psalter, tone 3

Let us begin, O people, the spotless fast, / which is salvation for our souls; / let us submit ourselves to the Lord with reverence, / anoint our heads with the oil of charity, / and wash our faces with the water of purity; / let us not be verbose in our prayers, / but as we have been taught, let us cry out: / “Our Father, Who art in Heaven, / forgive us our sins, / as the Lover of mankind!” (2)

And to the martyrs: Before kings and tyrants, / Christ’s warriors cast aside fear, / and with blessed boldness and courage they confessed Him / as Lord, God, and King, / and they intercede for our souls.

Glory, and now, to the Mother of God: O Mother of God, Protectress of all who pray to You, / with You we dare, and in You we boast, / and in You is all our hope; / pray to Him Who was born of You / for Your unworthy servants.

ON TUESDAY AT THE SIXTH HOUR

Troparion of the Prophecy, Tone 1

Since we are sojourners on earth, / like all our fathers, / preserve our brief life in sinlessness, our Savior, / and have mercy on us, O Lover of mankind.

Glory, and now: and we repeat the same.

Prokeimenon, Tone 4

Hear the voice of my prayer, / my King and my God.

Verse: Hear my words, O Lord; understand my cry.

Ps 5:3a, 2

Reading from the Prophecies of Isaiah

Thus says the Lord: If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you are unwilling and disobedient, the sword shall devour you—for the mouth of the Lord has spoken! How has the faithful city, Zion, full of justice, become a harlot! Righteousness once dwelt in her, but now murderers dwell in her. Your silver is worthless; your merchants mix wine with water; your rulers are rebellious, accomplices of thieves, lovers of bribes, seekers of rewards, who do not defend the cause of the fatherless and do not uphold the rights of widows. Therefore, thus says the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, [the Ruler of Israel]: Woe to the mighty in Jerusalem! For my wrath against my adversaries will not cease, and I will execute judgment on my enemies; I will lay my hand upon you and purify you with fire until you are completely cleansed; I will destroy the rebellious, remove all the lawless from you, and humble all the arrogant. I will restore your judges as before and your counselors as they were from the beginning; and afterward you will be called ‘the City of Righteousness, the Faithful Capital—Zion.’ For her captives will be rescued through justice and through mercy. And the lawless and the sinners will be crushed together, and those who have forsaken the Lord will vanish forever. Therefore, they will be put to shame for their idols, which they themselves chose, and put to shame for their graven images, which they themselves desired, [and put to shame for the works of their hands, which they devised]. For they will be like a terebinth tree that has shed its leaves, and like a garden without water. Their strength will be like flax, and their labor like sparks of fire; the lawless and the sinners will be consumed together, and there will be no one to quench the fire. The word that came to Isaiah, the son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem: In the last days, the mountain of the Lord and the house of God will be revealed on the tops of the mountains, and it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will come to it. And many nations will go and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths!”

Isaiah 1:19–31; 2:1–3

Prokeimenon, Tone 4

O Lord, do not rebuke me / in Your anger.

Verse: Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak.

Ps 6:2a, 3a

ON TUESDAY AT VESPERS

I cried out to the Lord: stichera on the 6th, tone 2

Having been cast out of paradise in ancient times to eat bitter food, / let us hasten to dwell there again through abstinence from passions, / crying out to our God: / “You who stretched out Your hands on the Cross, / who drank vinegar and tasted gall, / and endured the torments of the nails, / having wrested from our souls all the most bitter delights, / by the compassion of Your heart, save Your servants!”

Having once been cast out of Paradise by eating from the tree, / we have been restored to it through Your Cross. / We present it to You as an intercession, O Most Merciful One, / and with faith we all beseech You: / “Send down upon us now, during this time of fasting, / springs of tears / that cleanse away all the defilement of our passions and sins, / so that we may all cry out to You earnestly: / Lord, glory to You!”

Another stichera, tone 2

Grant me, too, the sweetness of abstinence, O Word, / as You once granted Paradise to Adam: / to partake of every commandment of Yours, O our God, / and always to abstain from the fruit / which You have forbidden—from sin— / so that I may soon meet Your life-giving Passion on the Cross / with joy.

And three from the Menaion. Glory, and now, the Theotokos of the Cross. “A light of joy:”

Prokeimenon, Tone 6

O Lord, my God! / In You I trust; save me.

Verse: Deliver me from all who persecute me.

Ps 7:2

1. Reading from Genesis

God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light to the earth, (and) to separate the day from the night; and let them serve as signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years; and let them give light in the firmament of the heavens to shine upon the earth.” And so it was. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars; and God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth, to rule over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

And God said, “Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” And it was so. And God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters teemed, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

Genesis 1:14–23

Prokeimenon, Tone 5

O Lord, our God, / how wonderful is Your name throughout the earth.

Verse: For Your splendor is exalted above the heavens!

Psalm 8: 2

2. Reading from Proverbs

Wisdom is sung at the city gates, but in the streets she displays boldness; (and) she is proclaimed from the tops of the walls, and she sits at the gates of the rulers. At the city gates she proclaims boldly: “As long as the upright hold fast to righteousness, they will not be put to shame; but the foolish, being lovers of audacity, having become wicked, have hated discernment and have become subject to rebuke. Behold, I will speak to you the words of my breath, and I will teach you my word. Since I called, and you did not listen; and I continued speaking—and you did not pay attention; but you rendered my counsel ineffective and paid no heed to my rebukes—therefore I will laugh at your downfall; and I will rejoice when ruin comes upon you; and when confusion overtakes you suddenly, and destruction, like a storm, comes upon you; or when distress and siege come upon you, (or when destruction comes upon you). For it will be that when you call upon me, I will not hear you; the wicked will seek me , but they will not find me. For they have hated wisdom and have not chosen the fear** of the Lord for themselves; they have refused to heed (my) counsel, but have mocked my rebukes; therefore they will taste the fruit of their own ways and be filled with their own wickedness, [and with their lusts]. For because they have oppressed the little ones, they will be slain, and judgment will destroy the wicked. But whoever listens to me will pitch his tent in hope and be at peace, fearing no evil.”

* in the Greek Miney: counsel ** in the Slavonic Miney: words

Proverbs 1:20–33

Grant us, O Lord: And three bows. Priest: Let us offer the evening prayer:

Stichera from the psalter, tone 8

Let us observe the fast, / not only by abstaining from food, / but by turning away from every carnal passion: / so that, having subdued the flesh that tyrannizes us, / we may become worthy of the Communion of the Lamb— / the Son of God, who was willingly sacrificed for the world, / and spiritually celebrate the Savior’s Resurrection from the dead, / having ascended to the heights of virtue, / in the radiance and delight of excellent deeds / bringing joy to the Lover of Mankind. (2)

And to the martyrs: Your martyrs, O Lord, / having forgotten this present life, / and having endured sufferings for the sake of the life to come, / have become heirs to it. / Therefore they rejoice with the angels. / Through their intercessions, grant Your people / great mercy.

Glory, and now, to the Mother of God: “O unheard-of wonder! / O new mystery! / O awe-inspiring work!”— / cried the Virgin when she beheld You on the Cross, / hung between two thieves. / For Him whom she had given birth to painlessly / in a wondrous manner, / she wept, exclaiming: / “Alas for me, my most beloved Child! / How has a cruel and ungrateful people / nailed You to the Cross?”

And the rest of the service, as prescribed.

ON TUESDAY AT VESPERS

Priest: Blessed be our God always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.

Reader: Amen. Glory to You, our God, glory to You.

Heavenly King: Holy, Holy, Holy. Glory, and now: Most Holy Trinity: Lord, have mercy. (3) Glory, and now: Our Father: Priest: For Thine is the Kingdom: Reader: Amen. Lord, have mercy. (12) Glory, and now: Come, let us worship: (3)

Psalm 69

And we sing this Great Canon of our venerable father Andrew of Crete and Jerusalem, repeating the refrain after each troparion: Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Song 1, Tone 6

Irmos: My helper and protector / has become my salvation: / He is my God, and I will glorify Him, / the God of my father—and I will exalt Him, / for He has been glorified in splendor! (2)

Refrain: Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Surpassing Cain’s murder, / by my own will I became a murderer of my own conscience, / reviving the flesh and arming myself against it / with my deceitful deeds.

I have not equaled Abel in righteousness, O Jesus; / I have never offered You gifts pleasing to You— / neither deeds pleasing to God, nor a pure sacrifice, / nor a blameless life.

Like Cain, we too, wretched souls, / have offered to the Creator of all things / wicked deeds, / a corrupt sacrifice, / and a life unworthy; / and for this we are condemned.

Just as the Creator gave life to clay, / You have granted me flesh, bones, / breath, and life; / but, my Creator, my Redeemer, and my Judge, / accept me as I repent!

I confess to You, Savior, the sins I have committed, / and the wounds of my soul and body, / which murderous inner thoughts / have ruthlessly inflicted upon me.

Though I have sinned, Savior, / I know that You are the Lover of mankind: / You punish with compassion and show mercy with joy, / You look upon the weeping / and hasten like a father to call back the prodigal.

Glory, to the Trinity: O Transcendent Trinity, worshiped as One, / take from me this heavy burden of sin / and, as the Merciful One, / grant me tears of repentance.

And now, to the Mother of God: O Mother of God, Hope and Protection of those who sing Your praises! / Take from me the heavy burden of sin, / and as the Pure Lady, / accept me as I repent.

Hymn 2

Irmos: Listen, O heaven—and I will proclaim, / and I will sing of Christ, / Who came in the flesh from the Virgin. (2)

Sin has sewn leather tunics for me as well, / having stripped me of the first / garment woven by God.

I clothed myself in the garment of shame / like the leaves of a fig tree / as a rebuke for my wayward passions.

I have clothed myself in garments stained / and defiled with blood / by the course of a passionate and sensual life.

I have been subjected to the torment of passions / and to physical decay, / and because of this, the enemy now torments me.

Having preferred a life of love for possessions and wealth / to non-attachment, O Savior, / I now bear a heavy burden.

I have adorned the idol of the flesh / of vile thoughts with multicolored garments / and am condemned.

I have zealously sought only outward splendor, / while neglecting / the inner, God-like tabernacle.

I have hidden the beauty of the original image, / Savior, with my passions, / but You, as You once did with the drachma, / seek it out and find it.

I have sinned, and like a harlot I cry out to You: / “I alone have sinned before You; / accept my tears as a sacrifice, Savior!”

“Have mercy,”—like the tax collector, I cry out to You, / “Have mercy on me, Savior, / for none of the children of Adam, like me, / has sinned against You!”

Glory, in the Trinity: I sing of You, the One God in three Persons, / the God of all: / the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

And now, to the Mother of God: Most Pure Virgin Mother of God, / the one and only, all-glorified, / pray earnestly for our salvation.

Hymn 3

Irmos: Establish, O Lord, upon the rock of Your commandments / my wavering heart, / for You alone are Holy and Lord. (2)

In You I have found the source of life, / O Conqueror of death, / and I cry out to You from my heart before the end: / “I have sinned; have mercy on me and save me!”

I have sinned, O Lord, / I have sinned before You! Have mercy on me: / for there is no sinner among men / whose sins I have not surpassed.

I imitated those who committed fornication / in the days of Noah, O Savior, / and inherited their punishment: / drowning in the flood.

I imitated Ham, known to all, / the one who dishonored his father; my soul, / you did not cover your neighbor’s shame, / but turned your face away / and went back.

Like Lot fleeing the fire, / avoid sin, O my soul, / flee from Sodom and Gomorrah, / avoid the flames of every reckless desire.

Have mercy, O Lord, have mercy on me; I cry out to You, / when You come with Your Angels / to reward everyone according to their deeds.

Glory, to the Trinity: A simple, uncreated Unity, / an eternal Nature, / celebrated in Three Persons, / save us who worship with faith / the power of Your might.

And now, to the Mother of God: The Son, born of the Father before time began, / in time, O Mother of God, / though You knew no man, You gave birth to Him— / O wondrous miracle! / —remaining a Virgin and nursing Him with milk.

Song 4

Be vigilant, O my soul, / and perfect yourself, as the greatest among the patriarchs, / so that you may acquire action with reason, / that you may be enriched with a mind that beholds God, / and penetrate the impenetrable darkness through contemplation, / and become a great merchant.

The twelve patriarchs—/ having begotten the greatest among the patriarchs—/ mysteriously established for you, my soul, / a ladder of active ascent, / arranging the wisdom of the children as steps, / and your own steps as ascents / upon them.

Imitating the despised Esau, / you, my soul, gave to your tempter / the birthright of your original beauty, / and were deprived of your father’s prayer, / and fell into temptation in two ways, wretched one: / in deed and in mind; / therefore, repent now.

Esau was called Edom / because of his extreme lust for women; / for, constantly burning with intemperance / and defiling himself with pleasures, / he was named Edom, / which means: “the burning of a sin-loving soul.”

Having heard of Job on his bed of sores, / you, O my soul, and of his vindication, / did not emulate his courage, / did not have a steadfast will in all that you learned, / saw, and experienced, / but proved impatient.

Once seated on a throne—/now naked, on a bed of sores, covered in ulcers;/rich in children and glorious—/he suddenly became childless and homeless;/and behold, he regarded his bed of sores as his palace /and his ulcers as pearls.

Glory, O Trinity: Indivisible in essence / and unconfused in Persons, / I proclaim Thee, O Triune and One Godhead, / as the sole Sovereign and Co-Throne-Bearer. / I sing to Thee a great hymn, / sung thrice in the heavenly realm.

And now, O Mother of God: You give birth and yet remain a Virgin, / preserving your virginity by nature forever; / He who was born of You renews the laws of nature, / and the virginal womb gives birth. / Wherever God wills, the order of nature is overcome, / for He creates whatever He wills.

Song 5

Irmos: From the night, as dawn breaks, / I who strive toward You, Lover of Mankind, / enlighten me, I pray, / and guide me, too, in Your commandments, / and teach me, Savior, / to do Your will. (2)

O soul, you have heard of Moses in the ark, / carried in ancient times upon the waters by the river’s waves, / and how, as if in a palace, he escaped the bitter calamity— / Pharaoh’s plot.

Have you heard, poor soul, of the midwives / who were once commanded to kill / male infants—an act of chastity; / but now, like the great Moses, / drink the milk of wisdom.

Just as the great Moses / dealt a blow to the Egyptian mind, / you, wretched soul, did not kill him; / and tell me, how will you settle / in the desert of passions through repentance?

The great Moses settled in the desert; / go then, O soul, and imitate his life, / so that you too may be present / at the Theophany in the burning bush.

Depict, O soul, the rod of Moses, / which struck the sea and parted the depths, / as the sign of the divine Cross, / through which you too / may accomplish great things.

Aaron offered to God fire that was unadulterated and pure; / but Ophni and Phinehas offered, like you, O soul, / an impure life estranged from God.

Glory, Triune: We glorify You, O Trinity, the One God: / “Holy, holy, holy are You: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, /—a simple Being, / the One who is ceaselessly worshiped.

And now, to the Mother of God: From you, O incorrupt, virginal Mother who knew no man, / God, who created the ages, / took on my nature / and united the human nature with Himself.

Song 6

Irmos: I cried out with all my heart / to the merciful God, / and He heard me from the depths of hell, / and brought my life out of destruction. (2)

O Savior, the waves of my sins, / like those in the Red Sea that returned, / suddenly engulfed me, / just as they once engulfed the Egyptians and their horsemen.

Your choice is foolish, O soul, / like that of Israel in ancient times: / for you recklessly preferred / the sensual satiety of passions / to the divine manna.

You have preferred, O soul, the wells of Canaanite thoughts / to the rock with a stream of water, / from which, as it were, the cup of wisdom / pours forth streams of theology.

You, my soul, have preferred pork, pots, and Egyptian food / to heavenly food, / just as the foolish people once did in the wilderness.

When Moses, Your servant, / struck the rock with his staff, / he symbolically foreshadowed Your life-giving ribs, / from which we all, Savior, / draw the drink of life.

Test, O soul, and survey, like Joshua, / the Promised Land, what it is like, / and dwell in it through the fulfillment of the law.

Glory, in the Trinity: “I am the Trinity, undivided, inseparable, / distinguished by Persons, / and Unity, united by nature,” / — proclaims the Father, and the Son, and the Divine Spirit.

And now, to the Mother of God: Your womb gave birth to God for us, / Who took on our likeness; / Pray to Him, O Mother of God, as the Creator of all, / that through your prayers we may be justified.

Lord, have mercy (3). Glory, and now:

Kontakion, Tone 6

Hymn 7

Irmos: We have sinned; we have committed / iniquity and injustice before You, / and we have not kept nor done / as You commanded us. / But do not forsake us to the end, / O God of our fathers! (2)

When the Ark was being carried on a chariot, / Uzzah, whom You know, / veered toward the oxen at that moment, / and by merely touching it, he experienced God’s wrath upon himself; / but shun his audacity, O soul, / and revere the Divine with reverence.

You have heard of Absalom, / how he rebelled against nature; / you know his wicked deeds, / by which he defiled the bed of David, his father. / Yet you yourself imitated his passionate / and sensual desires.

You have subjugated your free dignity to your body, / for having found another Ahithophel—an enemy— / you, O soul, have yielded to his counsel; / but Christ Himself has destroyed them, / so that you might be saved in every way.

Solomon, the wondrous one, / filled with the grace of wisdom, / having once committed an evil act against God, / fell away from Him. / You yourself, O soul, through your life, / worthy of a curse, became like him.

Drawn by the delights of his passions, / Solomon defiled himself. / Alas, the zealous defender of wisdom / became a lover of wanton women and alienated from God. / You yourself, O soul, imitated him in your mind / with vile sensuality.

You, O soul, have envied Rehoboam, / who did not heed his father’s counselors, / and likewise the most wicked servant, Jeroboam, the ancient rebel. / But cease imitating them and cry out to God: / “I have sinned; have mercy on me!”

Glory, to the Trinity: The Trinity, Simple, Indivisible, / Consubstantial and One in Nature: / as Lights and Light, and—Three Holy Ones and One Holy One— / the Triune God is praised; / but sing, O soul, and glorify Life and Lives, /—the God of all.

Hymn 8

Irmos: Whom the heavenly hosts glorify, / and before Whom the Cherubim and Seraphim tremble, / all that breathes and has been created, / sing, bless, / and exalt Him for all eternity! (2)

O soul, you have become jealous of Uzziah, / and you bear his leprosy within yourself twofold, / for you think of what is wrong and do what is unlawful. / Let go of what you cling to, / and turn to repentance.

You have heard, O soul, of the people of Nineveh, / who repented before God in sackcloth and ashes; / you did not imitate them, but proved more stubborn than all / who sinned both before and after the Law.

You have heard of Jeremiah, O soul, / who, in a ditch filled with mud, cried out toward the city of Zion / with weeping and sought tears; / imitate his life of lamentation, and you will be saved.

Jonah fled to Tarshish, / foreseeing the conversion of the Ninevites: / for he knew, as a prophet, God’s mercy, / and therefore burned with zeal, / lest the prophecy prove false.

You have heard, O soul, / how Daniel in the den shut the mouths of the beasts; / you have learned how the youths who were with Azariah / quenched the burning flame of the furnace by their faith.

From the Old Testament / I have brought all these to you, O soul, as examples; / imitate the righteous in their godly deeds, / but, on the contrary, avoid / the sins of the wicked.

Glory to the Trinity: Father without beginning, Son co-eternal, / Good Comforter, Righteous Spirit; / Parent of the Word of God, / the Father’s Word without beginning, / Living and Creative Spirit, / Trinity-One, have mercy on me.

And now, to the Mother of God: As if from a purple fabric, O Most Pure One, / the mental crimson—the flesh of Emmanuel— / was woven within Your womb; / therefore we truly honor You, O Mother of God.

Hymn 9

Irmos: The birth from a seedless conception is inexpressible, / the Fruit of the Mother who knew no man is spotless: / for the birth of God renews the laws of nature. / Therefore we, all generations, / as the Mother of our God / rightly magnify You. (2)

Christ was tempted: / the devil tempted Him, / showing Him stones, / that He might turn them into bread; / he led Him up a mountain, / that He might behold all the kingdoms of the world in a single moment; / fear, O soul, this deed, / be sober and pray to God at every hour.

The desert-loving dove, / the voice of one crying out, / the lamp of Christ, preached repentance; / but Herod committed lawlessness with Herodias: / take heed, my soul, lest you become entangled in the nets of the lawless, / but love repentance.

The Forerunner of grace dwelt in the desert, / and from all Judea and Samaria / those who listened to him flocked / and confessed their sins, / receiving baptism with zeal. / But you did not imitate them, O soul.

Marriage is honorable and the marriage bed is undefiled, / for Christ once blessed them, / partaking of food in the flesh, / and at the wedding in Cana turning water into wine, / and performing this first miracle, / so that you might be transformed, O soul.

Christ strengthened the paralytic, / who had lifted his bed, / and raised the dead youth—the widow’s son— / just as He raised the centurion’s son; / and, revealing Himself to the Samaritan woman, / He ordained for you, O soul, / service to God in the Spirit.

The Lord healed the woman with the issue of blood / by the touch of the hem of His garment, / cleansed the lepers, / enlightened and restored the blind and the lame, / and healed the deaf and the mute, as well as the woman bent over, with a word, / so that you might be saved, O wretched soul.

Glory, in the Trinity: Let us glorify the Father, exalt the Son, / and worship the Divine Spirit with faith— / the indivisible Trinity, One in essence, / as Light and Lights, and Life and Lives, / who gives life and enlightens the ends of the world.

And now, to the Mother of God: Preserve Your city, / Most Pure Mother of God. / For under Your protection it reigns in faith, / and from You it receives strength, / and with Your assistance / it victoriously repels every temptation, / and takes its enemies captive, / and keeps them in subjection.

Refrain: Venerable Father Andrew, pray to God for us.

And we continue the Great Compline.
Psalm 4

When I called out, the God of my righteousness heard me; in my distress, You gave me room to breathe. Have mercy on me and hear my prayer. O sons of men, how long will you be heavy of heart? Why do you love vanity and seek after lies? Know that the Lord has done marvelous things for His holy one. The Lord will hear me when I call to Him. Be angry—but do not sin—in what you say in your hearts; be contrite on your beds. Offer a sacrifice of righteousness and trust in the Lord’s . Many say, “Who will show us any good?”—The light of Your face has marked us, O Lord! You have filled my heart with joy; they are filled to the brim with the fruit of Your wheat, wine, and oil. I will lie down in peace and sleep at once, for You, O Lord, alone have given me hope to live.

Psalm 6

O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger, nor discipline me in Your wrath. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are shaken, and my soul is deeply troubled; and You, O Lord, how long? Turn to me, O Lord; deliver my soul; save me for Your mercy’s sake. For none among the dead remembers You; who in the grave will give You praise? I am weary from my groaning; every night I wash my bed with my tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. My eyes are dim with grief; I have grown old among all my enemies. Depart from me, all you who do wrong, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping; the Lord has heard my plea; the Lord has accepted my prayer. May all my enemies be put to shame and confounded; may they turn back and be put to shame very soon.

Psalm 12

Look upon me and hear me, O Lord, my God; enlighten my eyes, lest I fall asleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, “I have gained the upper hand against him.”

Glory, and now: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to You, O God. (3) O Lord, have mercy. (3) Glory, and now:

Psalm 24

To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. My God, I trust in You—may I never be put to shame, and may my enemies not mock me; for all who wait for You will not be put to shame: let the lawless be put to shame in vain. Reveal Your ways to me, O Lord, and teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God, my Savior, and I have waited for You all day long. Remember Your compassion, O Lord, and Your lovingkindness, for they have been from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth or my folly; by Your mercy, remember me for Your goodness’ sake, O Lord. The Lord is good and righteous; therefore, He gives the law to those who err in the way. He guides the humble in justice; He teaches the humble His ways. All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth for those who seek His covenant and His testimonies. For Your name’s sake, O Lord, have mercy on my sin, for it is great. Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will give him the law in the way he has chosen. His soul will dwell among the blessings, and his descendants will inherit the land. The Lord is a stronghold for those who fear Him, and He will reveal His covenant to them. My eyes are ever on the Lord, for He will deliver my feet from the snare. Look upon me and have mercy on me, for I am lonely and destitute. The sorrows of my heart have multiplied; deliver me from my troubles. Look upon my humility and my weakness, and forgive all my sins. Look upon my enemies—for they have multiplied and hate me with unjust hatred. Preserve my soul and deliver me, that I may not be put to shame, for I trust in You. The gentle and upright have joined me, for I have waited for You, O Lord. Deliver Israel, O God, from all its sorrows!

Psalm 30

In You, O Lord, I trust; let me never be put to shame. By Your righteousness, deliver me and set me free; incline Your ear to me; hasten to save me; be my God and my refuge, to save me. For You are my stronghold and my refuge; for Your name’s sake You will guide me and sustain me; You will rescue me from this snare that has been set for me, for You are my protector, O Lord. Into Your hands I commit my spirit; You have delivered me, O Lord, God of truth. You hate those who in vain pursue what is vain; but I have trusted in You, O Lord; I will rejoice and be glad in Your mercy, for You have looked upon my humility, saved my soul from calamity, and have not delivered me into the hands of the enemy; You have set my feet in a spacious place. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes are dimmed by anger, my soul and my inner being. For my life is spent in suffering, and my years in groaning; my strength is weakened by poverty, and my bones are shaken. I have become a byword to all my enemies, and especially to my neighbors; a terror to my acquaintances—those who see me outside my home flee from me. I have been forgotten as though I were dead; in my heart I have become like a shattered vessel, for I have heard the taunts of many who live around me, as they gathered together against me, determined to take my soul. But I have put my trust in You, O Lord; I have said, “You are my God.” My lot is in Your hands; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who pursue me. Show Your face to Your servant; save me by Your mercy. O Lord, let me not be put to shame for calling upon You; let the wicked be put to shame, and let them be cast down to Sheol. May the deceitful lips be silenced, those who speak against the righteous with arrogance and contempt. How great is the abundance of Your goodness, O Lord, which You have hidden for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who hope in You before the sons of men! You hide them in a secret place before Your face from the turmoil of mankind; You shelter them in a tent from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the Lord, for He has wonderfully shown His mercy in the fortified city. But I said in my distress: ‘I am cast out from the sight of Your eyes’—therefore You heard the voice of my supplication when I called to You. Love the Lord, all You who are His saints, for the Lord seeks truth and repays those who show boundless pride. Be strong, and let your hearts take courage, all you who hope in the Lord!

Psalm 90

Glory, and now: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to You, O God. (3) Lord, have mercy. (3) Glory, and now:

Then the verses are sung antiphonal (Isaiah 8:8b–10; 12b–14a; 18a; 9:2, 6) with the refrain after each verse: For God is with us.

God is with us; know this, all nations, / and submit yourselves. / For God is with us. (2)

Hear this to the ends of the earth. / For God is with us.

O mighty ones, submit yourselves. / For God is with us.

For if you rise up again, / you will be defeated again. / For God is with us.

And whatever plan you devise, / the Lord will bring it to ruin. / For God is with us.

And whatever words you may speak, / they will not stand against us. / For God is with us.

We will not fear your threats / nor be dismayed. / For God is with us.

But we will revere the Lord, our God, / and He will be our refuge. / For God is with us.

And if I put my hope in Him, / He will be my sanctification. / For God is with us.

And I will trust in Him, / and I will be saved by Him. / For God is with us.

Here I am, along with the children God has given me. / For God is with us.

The people who walked in darkness / have seen a great light. / For God is with us.

You who dwell in the land and shadow of death, / a light will shine upon you. / For God is with us.

For a Child has been born to us, / a Son has been given to us. / For God is with us.

Whose government will rest upon His shoulder. / For God is with us.

And His peace has no end. / For God is with us.

And His name is called: / The Angel of the Great Council. / For God is with us.

Wonderful Counselor. / For God is with us.

Mighty God, Ruler, / Prince of Peace. / For God is with us.

Father of the Age to Come. / For God is with us.

God is with us; let the nations know / and submit. / For God is with us. (2)

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. God is with us.

Now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen. God is with us.

For God is with us.

Troparia

As the day draws to a close, I give thanks to You, O Lord; / I pray: grant me, O Savior, / an evening and night free from sin / and save me.

Glory: As the day draws to a close, I praise You, O Lord; / I pray: grant me, O Savior, / an evening and night free from sin / and save me.

And now: Having lived through the day, I sing Your praises, O Holy One; / I pray: grant me, O Savior, / an evening and night free from the enemy’s wiles / and save me.

After this, in a low voice:

The Creed

1 I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. 2 And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-Begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one essence with the Father, through whom all things were made. 3 Who for us humans and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and of the Virgin Mary , and became man. 4 Who was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered, and was buried. 5 And rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures. 6 And ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 7 And will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end. 8 And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father, who is worshiped and glorified together with the Father and the Son, who spoke through the prophets. 9 The one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. 10 I acknowledge one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins. 11 I look forward to the resurrection of the dead, 12 and the life of the world to come. Amen.

And verses with bows:

Most Holy Lady, Mother of God, pray for us sinners. (3)

All the heavenly hosts of holy angels and archangels, pray for us sinners. (2)

Saint John, the prophet, the Forerunner, and the Baptist of our Lord Jesus Christ, pray for us sinners. (2)

Holy and glorious Apostles, prophets, and martyrs, and all the saints, pray for us sinners. (2)

Our reverend and God-bearing fathers, shepherds and teachers of the universe, pray for us sinners. (2)

(Here the patron saint of the church is also commemorated.)

O invincible, indestructible, and divine power of the holy and life-giving Cross, do not forsake us sinners. (2)

O God, have mercy on us sinners. (2)

O God, have mercy on us sinners, and forgive us. (without bowing)

The Trisagion. Glory, and now: Most Holy Trinity: Lord, have mercy. (3) Glory, and now: Our Father: Priest: For Thine is the Kingdom: Reader: Amen.

On Tuesday and Thursday evenings
troparia, tone 8

You know, O Lord, that my unseen enemies do not slumber, / and You, my Creator, are aware of the weakness of my wretched flesh; / therefore I commit my spirit into Your hands. / Cover me with the wings of Your goodness, / so that I may not fall into the sleep of death, / and enlighten the eyes of my mind with the riches of Your divine words, / and awaken me at the appointed time to glorify You, / for You alone are good and love mankind.

Verse: Look upon me and hear me, O Lord, my God.

How dreadful is Your judgment, O Lord, / where the angels stand and people are brought in, / the books are opened, deeds are examined, / and thoughts are tested! / What verdict will be mine, who was conceived in sin? / Who will quench the flame for me, who will dispel the darkness for me, / if You, O Lord, do not have mercy on me as the Lover of mankind?

Glory: Grant me tears, O God, / as You once did to the sinful woman, / and deign to let me wash Your feet, / which have freed me from the path of error, / and to offer You fragrant myrrh—a pure life, / which I have attained through repentance, / so that I too may hear Your longed-for voice: / “Your faith has saved you; go in peace!”

And now: Having unashamed hope in You, O Mother of God, I shall be saved; / having received protection from You, O All-Pure One, I shall not be afraid. / I will pursue my enemies and bind them, / clothed, as in armor, in Your protection alone. / And beseeching Your almighty help, I cry out to You, O Lady: / “Save me through Your intercession / and rouse me from this dark sleep to glorify You / by the power of Your Son and God, who was incarnate from You.”

Lord, have mercy. (40) Glory, and now:

We magnify You, who, with the highest honor of the Cherubim / and the incomparably greater glory of the Seraphim, / gave birth as a virgin to God the Word, / the true Mother of God.

Bless us in the name of the Lord, Father.

Priest: Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us.

Reader: Amen.

Prayer of St. Basil the Great

Lord, Lord, who has delivered us from every arrow flying by day, deliver us also from every danger lurking in the darkness; accept our evening sacrifice—the offering of our hands. Grant us, then, to walk the night’s path blamelessly, without experiencing evil, and deliver us from every confusion and fear that befalls us from the devil. Grant our souls contrition and our thoughts concern for the trial at Your judgment, which is terrible and righteous. Nail our flesh to the cross with fear of You and put our earthly members to death, so that even in the silence of sleep we may be enlightened by the contemplation of Your judgments. Remove from us every unseemly dream and every pernicious desire, and raise us up at the hour of prayer, strengthened in faith and prospering in the fulfillment of Your commandments, through the favor and goodness of Your Only-Begotten Son, with whom You are blessed, together with Your all-holy, good, and life-giving Spirit, now, and always, and forever and ever. Amen.

Come, let us worship our King, our God.

Come, let us worship and prostrate ourselves before Christ, our King and God.

Come, let us worship and prostrate ourselves before Christ Himself, our King and God.

Psalm 50

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions; wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You alone have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight—so that You may be justified in Your words and prevail when You are judged. For behold, I was conceived in iniquity, and my mother bore me in sin. For behold, You have loved truth; You have revealed to me the hidden and secret things of Your wisdom. You will sprinkle me with hyssop—and I will be cleansed; You will wash me—and I will be whiter than snow; You will let me hear joy and gladness—and my humbled bones will rejoice. Turn Your face away from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with Your mighty Spirit. I will teach the wicked Your ways, and the ungodly will turn to You. Deliver me from bloodguilt, O God, O God of my salvation; then my tongue will rejoice in Your righteousness. O Lord, You will open my lips, and my lips will proclaim Your praise. For if You had desired sacrifices, I would have offered them—but You take no pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. O Lord, in Your favor, bless Zion, and may the walls of Jerusalem be rebuilt—then You will accept with favor the sacrifice of righteousness, the offering and the burnt offerings; then they will lay young bulls upon Your altar.

Psalm 101

O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come before You. Do not turn Your face away from me on the day I am in distress; incline Your ear to me on the day I call upon You; hear me quickly. For my days have vanished like smoke, and my bones have withered like dry twigs. I have been cut down like grass, and my heart has withered, so that I have forgotten to eat my bread. Because of the sound of my groaning, my bones have clung to my flesh. I have become like a pelican in the wilderness; I have become like an owl among the ruins. I have not slept and have become like a bird sitting alone on the roof. All day long my enemies reviled me, and those who praised me swore by me. For I ate ashes like bread, and I mixed my drink with tears because of Your anger and Your wrath, for You lifted me up only to cast me down. My days have faded like a shadow, and I have withered like grass. But You, O Lord, remain forever, and the memory of You endures from generation to generation. You will arise and have mercy on Zion, for the time has come to show her mercy; the time has come, for Your servants love her stones and mourn over her dust. The nations will fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth will fear Your glory; for the Lord will rebuild Zion and appear in His glory. He has looked upon the prayer of the humble and has not despised their supplication. Let this be written down for a future generation, so that the people yet to be formed may praise the Lord, for He has looked down from His holy height, The Lord has looked down from heaven to earth to hear the groans of the captives, to set free the children of those who have been slain, to proclaim the name of the Lord in Zion and His praise in Jerusalem, when the nations gather together and the kings—to serve the Lord. He turned to Him on the way, in the days of his strength: “Make known to me my few days; do not take me away in the midst of my days; Your years endure from generation to generation.” In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands; they will perish, but You will remain; all of them will wear out like a garment, and like a robe You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will never end. The sons of Your servants will find refuge, and their descendants will be established forever.

Prayer of Manasseh, King of Judah

O Lord Almighty, God of our fathers—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—and of their righteous seed, You who created heaven and earth with all their splendor, who bound the sea with the word of Your command, who enclosed the abyss and sealed it with Your awesome and glorious name, whom all fear, and tremble before the face of Your power, for no one can stand before the splendor of Your glory, and Your terrible wrath against sinners is unbearable! Yet the mercy of Your promise is boundless and unfathomable; for You are the Most High Lord, merciful, long-suffering, and abounding in mercy, and You have compassion on the evil deeds of mankind. You, O Lord, in the abundance of Your goodness, have promised repentance and forgiveness to those who have sinned against You, and in the abundance of Your compassion, You have ordained repentance for sinners as a means of salvation. Behold, O Lord, God of Hosts, You did not require repentance of the righteous Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who did not sin against You, but You have required repentance of me, a sinner, because I have sinned more than the number of grains of sand in the sea. My iniquities have multiplied, O Lord; my iniquities have multiplied, and I am unworthy to lift up my eyes and behold the heights of heaven because of the multitude of my wrongdoings. I am bound by many iron chains, so that I cannot lift up my head, and I find no relief, for I have aroused Your wrath and done evil in Your sight: I have not fulfilled Your will nor kept Your commandments. And now I bow the knees of my heart, in need of Your goodness. I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, and I know my iniquities; but I beseech You: forgive me, O Lord, forgive me, and do not destroy me because of my iniquities; do not, in Your everlasting wrath, remember my evil deeds, and do not condemn me to the deepest places of the earth. For You, O God, are the God of those who repent, and You will show me all Your goodness; for You will save me, though I am unworthy, by Your great mercy, and I will praise You unceasingly all the days of my life, for all the heavenly hosts sing Your praises, and Your glory endures forever and ever. Amen.

The Trisagion. Glory, and now: Most Holy Trinity: O Lord, have mercy. (3) Glory, and now: Our Father: Priest: For Thine is the Kingdom: Reader: Amen.

Penitential Troparia, Tone 6

Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, / for, finding no excuse for ourselves, / we sinners offer this prayer to You, our Lord: / “Have mercy on us!”

Lord, have mercy. (40) Glory, and now:

We magnify You, who are more glorious than the Cherubim / and incomparably more glorious than the Seraphim, / who virginally gave birth to God the Word, / the true Mother of God.

Bless us in the name of the Lord, Father.

Priest: Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us.

Reader: Amen.

Come, let us worship our King, our God.

Come, let us worship and prostrate ourselves before Christ, our King and God.

Come, let us worship and prostrate ourselves before Christ Himself, our King and God.

Psalm 142

O Lord, hear my prayer; give ear to my supplication in Your truth; hear me in Your righteousness, and do not enter into judgment with Your servant, for no one living is righteous before You. For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has brought my life down to the ground; he has placed me in darkness, like those who have been dead from of old. My spirit is faint within me; my heart is troubled within me. I have remembered the days of old; I have meditated on all Your works; I have pondered the works of Your hands. I have stretched out my hands to You; my soul is like parched ground before You. Hear me quickly, O Lord, for my spirit is faint: do not turn Your face away from me, and let me not be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear of Your mercy early in the morning, for I trust in You; show me, O Lord, the way I should go, for to You I have lifted up my soul. Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord, for to You I have fled. Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; Your good Spirit will lead me into the land of righteousness. For the sake of Your name, O Lord, You will revive me; by Your righteousness You will bring my soul out of sorrow; and by Your mercy You will destroy my enemies and cut off all who oppress my soul, for I am Your servant.