May 11, 2016
Holy Cyril and Methodius, Teachers of the Slavs and Equals to the Apostles

VESPERS

At Psalm 140

In Tone 4

  1. Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord;* O Lord, hear my voice!

Your disciples saw You ascend above the heavens
to take Your seat at the Father’s right hand.
You were never separated from Him, boundless Son!
Keeping Your promise, You sent the Paraclete,
Who renews the heavens and the earth,
filling Your holy apostles with divine wisdom.

  1. Let Yours ears be attentive* to the voice of my prayer.

Wondrous is Your incarnation, good Jesus!
You willingly endured the Cross and death, immortal One!
You rose from the dead on the third day;
after forty days You ascended on high,
returning to heaven from where You came down to us;
You have given peace to all those dwelling on earth,
leading us back to the Father!

  1. If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.

Seeing You received into the cloud, Lord,
Your chosen apostles were filled with sorrow.
They cried out with bitter tears:
Master, do not leave us as orphans!
In Your compassion, You loved us!
Send down to us from on high the all-merciful One,
the Holy Spirit, Who will illumine our souls!

In Tone 2

  1. I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.

With what crowns of praise shall we adorn the divinely-wise teachers,
the voices of wisdom sounding amid clouds of darkness,
enlightening those in the shadow of death with the light of the Gospel!
The great preachers of the undivided Trinity who grafted barren unbelievers
as branches into the fruitful tree of the orthodox Church
that they might obtain from Christ our God peace and great mercy.

  1. From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.

With what crowns of praise shall we adorn the divinely-wise teachers,
the voices of wisdom sounding amid clouds of darkness,
enlightening those in the shadow of death with the light of the Gospel!
The great preachers of the undivided Trinity who grafted barren unbelievers
as branches into the fruitful tree of the orthodox Church
that they might obtain from Christ our God peace and great mercy.

  1. For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.

With what songs of praise shall we glorify the divinely-wise teachers:
the golden-mouthed Cyril
who reached the heights of wisdom through his sweet preaching,
humbling the fierce pride of Islam!
And Methodius, the lover of solitude,
who in silence received the fruits of the Spirit.
Through their prayers, Christ our God, grant us great mercy.

  1. Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.

With what hymns of praise shall we magnify the divinely-wise teachers:
Cyril, who chose to live with wisdom in his youth.
He multiplied his talents to the glory of God;
and Methodius who renounced the things of this world for love of Christ.
He strove like an angel for the kingdom of heaven.
Through them, we have come to know God,
the eternal Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
receiving from Christ our God great mercy!

  1. Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.

With what spiritual songs shall we magnify you, most blessed teachers?
For the sake of the salvation of the Slavs you became equals to the apostles.
You laboured to enlighten them by the lamp of the Word of God,
opening for them the door of the written Word.
As we enter, we understand the blessed teaching of Christ,
receiving from Him peace and great mercy.

In Tone 6, Glory…

Come, lovers of feasts!
Let us glorify the apostolic labourers with songs of praise:
the pride of hierarchs, the enlighteners and fervent intercessors for the Slavic people!
Rejoice, Cyril, golden herald of the Word of God,
lighting up the mysteries of the Holy Trinity as the sun,
closing the blaspheming mouths of Islam!
Again, rejoice, Methodius!
You assisted him with prayers and miracles.
Most blessed fathers, never cease to intercede before Christ our God
for those who praise you with faith and love!

In Tone 5, Now…

Come, ranks of the faithful!
Let your hearts be enlightened as befits Christ’s disciples!
Let us sing in unison a hymn on Mount Olivet!
With the apostles, let us cry out David’s Psalm:
God has gone up with a shout!
The Lord, with the sound of the trumpet!
He has rescued the human race from destruction and the wrath to come!
He has illumined our souls!

Readings
(1) Deuteronomy 1:8-17; (2) Deuteronomy 10:14-21; (3) Wisdom 3:1-9

Aposticha

In Tone 8

The light of your lives, teachers equals-to-the-apostles,
has enlightened the Church like the stars.
The strength of your teaching has brought many nations to Christ.
You approached the unapproachable Light,
and now you dwell with the angels.
Therefore pray for us who honour your blessed memory!

Let Your priests be clothed in righteousness, and let Your saints shout for joy!

Come, all you faithful, let us magnify the teachers:
equals-to-the-apostles, and the glory of the Slavs.
Through them we are delivered from the snares of the devil,
receiving the blessing of Christ,
and learning the eternal Word which cleanses us from the darkness of sin.

The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue utters justice!

Divinely-wise Cyril, and God-loving Methodius,
apostles and first teachers of the Slavic church,
protectors of the faithful and lovers of righteousness,
sweet voices of the Holy Spirit!
You have great boldness before Christ, the great high priest:
pray for us, who honour your blessed memory,
that He will deliver our lives from corruption, as the greatly merciful One!

Glory…

Rejoice, blessed ones who enlightened us with the knowledge of God!
Rejoice, Cyril, living source of spiritual wisdom:
you quenched the thirst of the Slavic people!
Rejoice, Methodius, pure dwelling of prayer:
now you stand in the glory of Christ.
Therefore never cease to pray that we may glorify Him
as we magnify you throughout the ages!

In Tone 5, Now…

Lord, You did not cast aside Your body at Your Ascension!
The hosts of angels attending You
cried out in joy and amazement to the hosts on high:
Lift up your heads, O gates!
Let the King of glory enter!
He ascends on high, robed in human flesh and upborne by the cherubim;
O Lord, glory to You!

Troparia

In Tone 4
As equals to the apostles in the way you lived* and teachers of the Slavic lands,* O Cyril and Methodius, divinely wise,* intercede with the Master of all* to confirm the Slavic nations in orthodoxy and oneness of mind;* to grant peace to the world and save our souls.

In Tone 4, Glory… Now…

You ascended in glory, O Christ our God,* giving joy to Your disciples by the promise of the Holy Spirit,* and assuring them through your blessing* that You are the Son of God,* the Redeemer of the world.

DIVINE LITURGY

Antiphon 1
Clap your hands, all you nations;* shout to God with the voice of joy.
Through the prayers of the Mother of God, O Saviour, save, us.
For the Lord most high is awesome,* a great king of all the earth.
Through the prayers…
He has subdued peoples to us,* and nations under our feet.
Through the prayers…
God ascended amid shouts of joy;* the Lord at the sound of the trumpet.
Through the prayers…
Glory… Now…  Only-Begotten Son…

Antiphon 3
Son of God, who ascended in glory, save us who sing to You: Alleluia.

Troparia and Kontakia
Troparion, Tone 6: Angelic powers were upon Your tomb* and the guards became like dead men;* Mary stood before Your tomb* seeking Your most pure body.* You captured Hades without being overcome by it.* You met the Virgin and granted life.* O Lord, risen from the dead,* glory be to You!

Troparion, Tone 4: You ascended in glory, O Christ our God,* giving joy to Your disciples by the promise of the Holy Spirit,* and assuring them through your blessing* that You are the Son of God,* the Redeemer of the world.

Troparion, Tone 8: Christ our God, You are glorified above all, You established our fathers as beacons on earth and through them guided all of us to the true faith. Glory to You, most compassionate Lord.

Troparion, Tone 4: As equals to the apostles in the way you lived* and teachers of the Slavic lands,* O Cyril and Methodius, divinely wise,* intercede with the Master of all* to confirm the Slavic nations in orthodoxy and oneness of mind;* to grant peace to the world and save our souls.

Kontakion, Tone 3: Let us extol our two sacred teachers.* By their translation of Scriptures* they tapped for us a well that brings knowledge of God.* Drawing from it abundantly to this very day* we call you blessed, O Cyril and Methodius.* As you stand before the throne on high,* fervently pray to God to save our souls.

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

Kontakion, Tone 8: The apostles’ preaching and the Fathers’ doctrine confirmed the Church’s one faith, and wearing the garment of truth woven from theology that descends from on high, she rightly imparts the mystery of godliness and sings its glory.

Now and for ever and ever. Amen.

Kontakion, Tone 6: When you had fulfilled Your plan for us* and united things on earth with those in heaven,* You ascended in glory, O Christ our God,* in no way distant, but remaining in separable,* You cried to those who love You:* I am with You and there is none against you.

Prokeimenon, Tone 4
Blessed are You, Lord God of our fathers, and praised and glorified is Your Name forever.
verse: For You are righteous in everything that You have done to us.

Prokeimenon, Tone 7
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His venerable ones.

Epistle
Acts 20:16-18, 28-36; Hebrews 7:26-8:2

Alleluia, Tone 1
verse: The God of gods, the Lord, spoke and summoned the earth from the rising of sun to its setting.
verse: Gather to Him His devout ones, who with sacrifice make covenant with Him.
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.

Gospel
John 17:1-13; John 10:9-16

Hymn to the Mother of God
O my soul, magnify the Lord who in glory ascended bodily into the heavens.** O Mother of God,* you transcended both mind and word,* and in time, ineffably bore the Timeless One:* it is you who, with one accord,* we, the faithful, magnify.

Communion Hymn
Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him the highest.* Rejoice in the Lord, O you just; praise befits the righteous.* The just man shall be in everlasting remembrance;* of evil hearsay he shall have no fear.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia.

Instead of “We have seen the true light” and “Let our mouths be filled,” we sing:
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, above all the earth be Your glory.