Month: May 2014

During the reign of Emperor Alexius Commenus and Patriarch NicholasGrammaticus, the body of this saint was translated from Myra in Lycia to the town of Bari in Italy in 1007 A.D. This occurred because of the assault of the Muslims on Lycia. The saint appeared in a dream to an honorable priest in Bari and ordered that his relics be translated to this town. At that time, Bari was Orthodox and under the Orthodox Patriarch. During the translation of the relics of this saint many miracles occurred either by touching the relics or from the myrrh [oil] which abundantly flowed from his relics. “Also on this day, is commemorated the miracle of St. Nicholas to the Serbian King, Stephan of Decani: how St. Nicholas restored the sight to the blinded King Stephan. (The Prologue of Ohrid)

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GREAT VESPERS

At Psalm 140

In Tone 8

6. After following in the steps of Christ,
serving Him with devotion, Myrrhbearers,
you did not forsake Him even after His death.
Moved by compassion, you went, bearing myrrh with tears.
Therefore we celebrate your sacred memory!

5. The divine company of women
desiring to see the Life, slain, in the tomb,
came in the night and heard from the angels:
Christ is risen, as He said!
Go with haste and tell the disciples:
Drive away the sorrow from your souls!
Instead of tears, accept ineffable joy!

4. Myrrhbearers, today we faithful rejoice in your memory,
glorifying the most gracious Lord Who glorified you!
Entreat Him to grant us eternal glory, the joy of the saints:
For you always have boldness before Him, blessed ones!

In Tone 8

3. You have reached the heights of virtue, O blessed ambassador of Christ,
and have become the glorious wonder-worker of Myra.
While your body rests in Bari, receiving worthy veneration,
in spirit you visit the faithful everywhere,
delivering them from misfortune, O blessed one of the hierarchs.
Today, we call upon you with supplications and earnestly beseech you:
Pray, O bishop Nicholas, to the Saviour of all,
that He grant peace to the world and great mercy to our souls.

2. Let us the faithful honour with joy and hymns of praise
the translation of the precious relics of our intercessor,
who enlightens every nation with miracles,
consoles the sorrowing, and protects the poor.
For the sake of almsgiving, he fell into God’s debt;
for this he received a hundredfold reward.
To him we all cry out:
Pray, O bishop Nicholas, to the Saviour of all,
that He grant peace to the world and save our souls.

1. Because of your virtues you, O God-bearing Nicholas,
have entered the palaces of the angels and stand before your Master Christ,
Whose most humble servant you have become.
From your relics you exude myrrh;
you help the faithful by your miracles,
and lead the true believers to God.
Not from Bari do we call upon you, but from the heavenly Jerusalem,
where you are rejoicing with the apostles, prophets, and bishops.
Pray today to the Saviour of all,
that He grant peace to the world and save our souls.

In Tone 6, Glory…

Let us all together venerate with canticles of praise
the beauty of the hierarchs and the glory of the fathers,
the fountain of miracles and the great intercessor of the faithful,
crying out: Rejoice, O protector of the laity,
honourable archbishop and unshakeable pillar!
Rejoice, universal lamp that illumines all nations with miracles!
Rejoice, holy joy of the afflicted and sincere defender of the downtrodden!
Do not cease, O all-praised Nicholas,
even today to pray to Christ God for those who with faith and love
always honour your blessed and sacred memory.

In Tone 2, Now…

The Myrrhbearers came early to Your tomb, O Christ,
seeking You, to anoint Your most pure body,
enlightened by the angel’s words,
they proclaimed joyous things to the apostles:
The Leader of our salvation is risen!
He has captured death!
Granting to the world eternal life and great mercy!

 

Readings
(1) Proverbs 10:6-8; 8:6-21; (2) Proverbs 10:13-32; 11:1-10; (3) Wisdom 4:7-15

 

Aposticha

In Tone 5

Rejoice, O priestly leader, spotless vessel of virtue,
model of divine priesthood, great shepherd of your flock,
bearer of the torch of victory.
You hear the prayers of those who call upon you;
you grant petitions of the poor;
you rescue all who praise your name.
Now we ask you to Implore Christ
that He may shower abundant mercy on the world.

Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His faithful.

Rejoice, O saintly Father, temple of the Trinity;
pillar of the Church, protector of the faithful,
helper of all in trouble.
You are a star whose rays of prayer dispel the darkest trouble.
You are a quiet harbour for the storm-tossed,
for all adrift in the sea of life.
Pray to Christ to save our souls with his great mercy.

Your priests shall be clothed with holiness; your faithful shall ring out their joy.

Rejoice, O zealous man of God.
You appeared in a dream,
and you saved from death the ones unjustly sentenced.
You are a fountain in Myra, overflowing with scented myrrh.
You inspire us to keep from sin.
You are a sword that cuts the woods of error
you proved Arius to be a false teacher.
Pray to Christ to save our souls with His great mercy.

In Tone 4, Glory…

O bishop Nicholas, by sea,
You made your journey from Myra in Lycia to the city of Bari.
Your coffin was removed from the tomb
and transferred from the East to the far off West, O most glorious Nicholas.
It was followed by pious monks
who, by the will of God, performed services at your tomb.

In Tone 6, Now…

Joseph begged the body of Jesus.
He placed it in his own new tomb.
It is fitting for Him to come forth from it as from a wedding chamber!
You destroyed the dominion of death
and opened the gates of paradise to mankind:
Glory to You!

 

Troparia

In Tone 4
The day of radiant feasting is here,* the city of Bari rejoices, and the world exults with hymns and spiritual songs.* For today is the sacred feast* of the transfer of the precious and healing relics of the bishop and wonder-worker Nicholas.* Like a never-setting sun* he shines with radiant beams of light* dispelling the gloom of temptations and grief* from those who cry with faith:* Save us, great Nicholas, for you intercede for us.

In Tone 2, Glory… Now…
When You went down to death, O Life Immortal,* You struck Hades dead with the blazing light of Your divinity.* When You raised the dead from the nether world,* all the powers of heaven cried out:* “O Giver of Life, Christ our God, glory be to You!”

 

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DIVINE LITURGY

Troparia and Kontakia
Troparion, Tone 2: When You went down to death, O Life Immortal,* You struck Hades dead with the blazing light of Your divinity.* When You raised the dead from the nether world,* all the powers of heaven cried out:* “O Giver of Life, Christ our God, glory be to You!”

Troparion, Tone 2: The noble Joseph took down Your most pure body from the tree.* He wrapped it with a clean shroud and aromatic spices* and placed it in a new tomb.* But on the third day You arose, O Lord,* granting the world Your great mercy.

Troparion, Tone 4: The day of radiant feasting is here,* the city of Bari rejoices, and the world exults with hymns and spiritual songs.* For today is the sacred feast* of the transfer of the precious and healing relics of the bishop and wonder-worker Nicholas.* Like a never-setting sun* he shines with radiant beams of light* dispelling the gloom of temptations and grief* from those who cry with faith:* Save us, great Nicholas, for you intercede for us.

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

Kontakion, Tone 3: Like a star your relics have moved from east to west,* and the sea is hallowed by your passage;* holy bishop Nicholas, the city of Bari receives grace through you,* for you are revealed as one who works wonders:* illustrious, awesome, and merciful.

Now and for ever and ever. Amen.

Kontakion, Tone 2: You commanded the myrrh-bearers to rejoice, O Christ God,* and ended the grief of our mother Eve by Your Resurrection.* You ordered the apostles to proclaim to all:* “The Saviour is risen from the tomb.”

Prokeimenon, Tone 7
The venerable ones will exult in glory* and they shall be joyful in their beds.
verse: Sing to the Lord a new song; let His praise be in the assembly of the venerable ones. (Psalm 149:5,1)

Epistle
Acts 8:40-9:19; Hebrews 13:17-21

Alleluia, Tone 2
verse: Your priests shall clothe themselves with justice, and Your venerable ones shall rejoice.
verse: For the Lord has chosen Sion; He has chosen it for His dwelling. (Psalm 131:9,13)

Gospel
John 6:48-54; Luke 6:17-23

Hymn to the Mother of God
The Angel cried out to the One full of Grace: O chaste Virgin, rejoice! And again I say, Rejoice! Your Son has risen from the tomb on the third day, and raised the dead. Let all people rejoice! Shine, shine, O new Jerusalem, for the glory of the Lord has risen upon you! Exult now and be glad, O Sion! And you, O chaste Mother of God, take delight in the resurrection of your Son.

Communion Hymn
Receive the Body of Christ;* taste the fountain of immortality.* The just man shall be in everlasting remembrance;* of evil hearsay he shall have no fear*. Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 111:6)

The feast day of this great apostle and evangelist is celebrated on September 26. This day (May 8) commemorates the miracle which appeared at his grave. When John was over one hundred years old, he took seven of his disciples, went outside the town of Ephesus and ordered them to dig a grave in the form of a cross. After that, the elder went down into this grave and was buried. Later on, when the faithful opened John’s grave, they did not find his body. On May 8 of every year, dust is raised from his grave from which the sick are healed of various diseases. (The Prologue of Ohrid)

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GREAT VESPERS

At Psalm 140

In Tone 2

10. Hearing the joyful words
of the angels sitting in the tomb of the Word,
the women who had run there with good intentions
knew that the purpose of their group would be changed.
No  longer will you carry myrrh!
Instead, you will preach to the apostles:
He Who was hidden in the earth is risen from hell!
Initiate them into the mystery
of Him Who became Man for us!

9. Very early in the morning
the Myrrhbearing women came to the tomb in fear
bringing myrrh for the Giver of life:
Christ Who died to slay hell!
But the divine angel stood before them and cried:
Why do you seek the life-bearing Lord among the dead?
Go, proclaim the Resurrection!

8. Blessed Joseph,
you bear in your arms the Word enthroned upon the cherubim!
You carried on your shoulders Him Who first took our flesh,
and then died to give life to us who lay dead.
Then, you mourned His death with the Myrrhbearers;
now you see His Resurrection and rejoice!

In Tone 1

7. The beholder of ineffable revelations
and recounter of the most sublime mysteries of God,
the son of Zebedee, who set down in writing the Gospel of Christ,
has taught us to theologize
concerning the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

6. The beholder of ineffable revelations
and recounter of the most sublime mysteries of God,
the son of Zebedee, who set down in writing the Gospel of Christ,
has taught us to theologize
concerning the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

5. The harp of heavenly songs played by God,
the recorder of mysteries, the divinely eloquent mouth,
beautifully chants the hymn of hymns;
for, moving his lips as though they were strings,
and using his tongue as a plectrum,
he prays that we be saved.

4. Proclaiming with your thunderous tongue
the hidden Word of divine wisdom, O beloved of God,
you ever cry out, continually moving your lips:
In the beginning was the Word!
And you instruct every man in the knowledge of God.

In Tone 8

3. O divinely wise father Arsenius,
having illumined your mind with fountains of tears,
you conversed with God,
and by unceasing purification and effulgence
was shown to be a most radiant pillar of piety,
shining as with fire, O blessed one, boast of monks.
And now, by your supplications, preserve us all.

2. O divinely wise father Arsenius,
having girt your mind round about with abstinence,
you caused it to ascend to the primal Cause,
and, forsaking the turbulence of the world and shunning its tumults,
you truly mingled purity of mind with the utmost desire, O blessed and all-wise one.

1. O venerable father Arsenius, seeking after God,
and piously desiring to be illumined by His radiant effulgence,
you abandoned all the splendour of high position and the imperial palace,
and received an immortal inheritance,
abiding now with Christ, O divinely blessed one.

In Tone 1, Glory…

O you of the race of man,
let us offer goodly praise as is meet to the beloved and virginal John,
the son of thunder, the foundation of the words of God, the author of theology,
the first preacher of the truth of the dogmas of the wisdom of God;
for having the Divine continually within him, he said:
In the beginning was the Word,
Who is inseparable from the Father and of the same essence with the Father,
revealing to us through himself the orthodoxy of the Holy Trinity.
And he has likewise shown us that He creates with the Father
and bears life and the light of Truth.
O awesome wonder! O uttermost wisdom!
For, full of love, he was also filled with theology through glory, honour and faith,
as a founder of our pure Faith.
Wherefore, we shall receive everlasting blessings on the day of judgment.

In Tone 1, Now…

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
came to the tomb, seeking the Lord.
They saw an angel, like lightning,
sitting upon the stone.
He said to them:
Why do you seek the Living among the dead?
He is risen, as He said!
You will find Him in Galilee!
Lord, Who rose from the dead, glory to You!

 

Readings
(1) 1 John 3:21-4:6; (2) 1 John 4:11-16; (3) 1 John 4:20-5:5

 

Lytia

In Tone 1

Rivers of theology poured forth from your honoured mouth, O apostle,
and the Church of God, watered thereby, worships the consubstantial Trinity in Orthodoxy.
Pray now to the Trinity, O theologian John,
that our souls be made steadfast and saved.

The garden of purity has emitted for us the myrrh of sweet fragrance on this present feast,
that we may cry out to him: O Apostle John,
who reclined against the Master’s breast,
who has rained down discourse upon the world
and preserved the Virgin as the apple of your eye,
beseech Christ, that He grant us great mercy.

O disciple of the Saviour, virgin and theologian, when Christ God was crucified
He committed the Virgin Theotokos to your care, in that you are virginal;
and you preserved her as the apple of your eye.
Wherefore, pray that our souls be saved.

As an eyewitness to ineffable mysteries, you cried out, exclaiming:
“In the beginning the pre-eternal Word was with God, and He was God!”
O Apostle John, intimate and faithful friend of Christ,
delight of the Trinity, unshakable confirmation of Ephesus and Patmos, our help.
Pray, O most blessed theologian, that the people who ever celebrate your memory with faith
be delivered from wicked enemies, material and noetic.

In Tone 5

O venerable father, having heard the voice of the Gospel of the Lord,
you forsook the world, holding riches and glory to be as naught.
Wherefore, you cried out to all:
“Love God and you shall find eternal grace.
Prefer nothing to His love, that when He shall come in His glory,
you shall find rest with all the saints.”
By his supplications, O Christ, preserve and save our souls.

In Tone 4, Glory… Now…

Reclining against the breast of Christ the Teacher at the Lord’s supper,
O beloved disciple, you thereby came to know ineffable things,
and has thundered forth your heavenly voice for all to hear,
saying: “In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God:
Christ God, the Saviour of our souls,
the Light of truth Who enlightens every man
who comes into the world.”

 

Aposticha

In Tone 4

Theologizing concerning the Son of the Most High,
Who with the Father is equally everlasting and of the same essence,
immutable Light from Light, the impress of the hypostasis of the Father,
Who shone forth timelessly and dispassionately from Him,
the Creator and Lord of all the ages, Christ our God,
you preached to the world, O beloved,
as the One Who brought light forth out of darkness.
Entreat Him that He save and enlighten our souls.

Their sound has gone forth into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.

Receiving the light of the Comforter,
illumined therewith you theologized and proclaimed to all, O beloved,
that He proceeds from the Father
and through the Son is revealed to mankind,
equal in honour, equally enthroned
and of the same essence with the unoriginate Father and God the Word.
Wherefore, we honour you in hymns as the foundation of the divine Faith,
which you preserve unshaken through your supplications to the Lord.

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the work of His hands.

Having ascended to the summit of theology,
you learned the ineffable mysteries of God:
the single essence of the Godhead,
His single glory, kingdom and dominion, ever distinct in three Hypostases,
yet essentially indivisible and united in unconfused divine unity.
And, rendering glory, O theologian,
you preached the indivisible Trinity.
Entreat Him that He save and enlighten our souls.

In Tone 6, Glory…

O apostle of Christ, evangelist and theologian,
as an initiate of ineffable mysteries you have thundered forth upon us
the ineffable doctrines of wisdom,
explaining to the faithful that He was in the beginning,
and discounting that there was a time when He did not exist,
thus rejecting the words of the heretics.
And as you were shown to be the beloved intimate and friend of Christ,
like the eloquent Isaiah and Moses the God-seer,
pray earnestly for our souls, in that you have boldness before God.

In Tone 2, Now…

The women sprinkled spices mixed with tears on Your grave,
but their mouths were filled with laughter
when they said:  The Lord is risen!

 

Troparia

In Tone 2
O beloved apostle of Christ our God,* hasten, deliver a people without defense.* He who received you when you leaned upon His breast accepts you as you bow in prayer.* Implore Him, O Theologian, to scatter the cloud of nations that besets us,* asking peace and great mercy for us. Twice

and then, “Rejoice, Mother of God, Virgin Mary, full of grace…”

 

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DIVINE LITURGY

Troparia and Kontakia
Troparion, Tone 2: When You went down to death, O Life Immortal,* You struck Hades dead with the blazing light of Your divinity.* When You raised the dead from the nether world,* all the powers of heaven cried out:* “O Giver of Life, Christ our God, glory be to You!”

Troparion, Tone 2: The noble Joseph took down Your most pure body from the tree.* He wrapped it with a clean shroud and aromatic spices* and placed it in a new tomb.* But on the third day You arose, O Lord,* granting the world Your great mercy.

Troparion, Tone 2: O beloved apostle of Christ our God,* hasten, deliver a people without defense.* He who received you when you leaned upon His breast accepts you as you bow in prayer.* Implore Him, O Theologian, to scatter the cloud of nations that besets us,* asking peace and great mercy.

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

Kontakion, Tone 2: O virgin apostle, who can recount your mighty works?* For you pour out wonders and healings* and you pray for our souls as Theologian and friend of Christ.

Now and for ever and ever. Amen.

Kontakion, Tone 2: You commanded the myrrh-bearers to rejoice, O Christ God,* and ended the grief of our mother Eve by Your Resurrection.* You ordered the apostles to proclaim to all:* “The Saviour is risen from the tomb.”

Prokeimenon, Tone 8
Their utterance has gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
verse: The heavens tell the glory of God, and the firmament declares the work of His hand. (Psalm 18:5,2)

Epistle
Acts 8:26-39

Alleluia, Tone 1
verse: The heavens shall confess our wonders, O Lord, and Your truth in the church of the saints.
verse: God is glorified in the assembly of the saints. (Psalm 88:6,8)

Gospel
John 6:40-44

Hymn to the Mother of God
The Angel cried out to the One full of Grace: O chaste Virgin, rejoice! And again I say, Rejoice! Your Son has risen from the tomb on the third day, and raised the dead. Let all people rejoice! Shine, shine, O new Jerusalem, for the glory of the Lord has risen upon you! Exult now and be glad, O Sion! And you, O chaste Mother of God, take delight in the resurrection of your Son.

Communion Hymn
Receive the Body of Christ;* taste the fountain of immortality.* Their utterance has gone forth into all the earth,* and their word unto the ends of the world.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 18:5)