GREAT VESPERS
Kathisma Reading
“Blessed is the man…” is sung.
At Psalm 140
In Tone 4
- Lead my soul forth from prison* that I may give thanks to Your name.
We never cease to adore Your life-giving Cross, O Christ our God,
And we glorify Your resurrection on the third day.
For You, Almighty One, have thereby restored the corrupted nature of all
and reopened the way to heaven,
since You alone are gracious and You love mankind.
- The just shall gather around me* when You have been good to me.
O Saviour, You have absolved the penalty of disobedience,
committed through the tree of Eden,
by willingly being nailed to the tree of the Cross.
As Almighty God, You descended into Hades
and broke asunder the bonds of death.
We, therefore, venerate Your resurrection from the dead,
and joyfully cry out to You:
Almighty Lord, glory to You!
- Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord;* O Lord, hear my voice!
O Lord, You have battered down the gates of Hades,
and by Your death You have dissolved the realm of death.
You have freed mankind from corruption,
bestowing life, incorruption, and Your great mercy upon the world.
- Let Yours ears be attentive* to the voice of my prayer.
Come, all you people,
let us sing the praises of our Saviour’s resurrection on the third day.
For we have, thereby, been delivered from the invincible bonds of Hades,
and we have received incorruption, together with eternal life.
Therefore, we cry out to You
after Your crucifixion, burial, and resurrection:
Save us by Your resurrection, for You love mankind.
In Tone 4
- If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
With the net of charity, admirable James,
you drew the human race from the sea of vanity,
and yielded them to the practice of the Master’s commands.
As His apostle, He enlightened your understanding; as His preacher,
He revealed to you His incomprehensible divinity,
O most blessed one!
- I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
With the net of charity, admirable James,
you drew the human race from the sea of vanity,
and yielded them to the practice of the Master’s commands.
As His apostle, He enlightened your understanding; as His preacher,
He revealed to you His incomprehensible divinity,
O most blessed one!
- From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
In the form of fire, the radiance of the Spirit descended on you.
He made you His chosen vessel.
Zealously you drove away the mist of godlessness
and enlightened the world with the mystery of faith
by the wisdom of your words,
most honourable Apostle James, eyewitness of Christ.
- For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
In the form of fire, the radiance of the Spirit descended on you.
He made you His chosen vessel.
Zealously you drove away the mist of godlessness
and enlightened the world with the mystery of faith
by the wisdom of your words,
most honourable Apostle James, eyewitness of Christ.
- Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
With the lightning bolts of your preaching,
you enlightened those who sat in the darkness of ignorance, glorious James.
Through faith, you revealed them to be the children of God the Master.
You loved him through suffering and death and so inherited his glory
wise, faithful, and inspired disciple.
- Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
With the lightning bolts of your preaching,
you enlightened those who sat in the darkness of ignorance, glorious James.
Through faith, you revealed them to be the children of God the Master.
You loved him through suffering and death and so inherited his glory
wise, faithful, and inspired disciple.
Glory…
By receiving the grace of the Holy Spirit, O James,
you were numbered with the holy choir of apostles;
for a mighty wind descended from heaven,
and a fiery tongue breathed upon you,
with which you burned away the thorns of the nations’ godlessness.
Pray to Christ God, as His preacher,
that He may save our souls!
In Tone 4, Now…
O Mother of God, because of You David the Prophet
became an ancestor of God;
he foretold and sang a joyous hymn of praise
and cried out to Him who worked wonders in you:
“The Queen stood at your right hand.”
God revealed you as a life-giving mother,
when He chose to be incarnate of you without a father.
He renewed in man His image which the passions had corrupted.
He found the lost sheep in the mountains, carried it on His shoulders,
offered it to the Father, generously numbered it among the powers of heaven,
and saved the whole world, since He is Christ of great and rich mercy.
Readings
(1) 1 John 1:1-7; (2) James 1:1-12; (3) Jude 1:1-25
Aposticha
In Tone 4
In being lifted upon the Cross, O Lord,
You abolished the curse which we had inherited from our ancestors.
By going down into Hades,
You freed from eternal captivity those imprisoned there,
and granted incorruption to the human race.
We, therefore, praise Your life-giving and redeeming resurrection.
The Lord reigns, He is clothed in majesty. Robed is the Lord, and girt about with strength.
By hanging on the Cross, O Almighty One,
You shook the whole creation to its foundations.
When You Yourself were laid in the grave,
You raised to life those who had been lying in the graves,
and You granted life and incorruption to mankind.
We, therefore, praise and glorify Your resurrection on the third day.
For He has made the world firm, which shall not be moved.
O Christ, the lawless people showed their ingratitude to You, their Benefactor,
by delivering You to Pilate who condemned you to be crucified.
But You willingly suffered death and burial;
and, as God, You rose by Your own power on the third day,
granting us everlasting life and great mercy.
Holiness befits Your house, O Lord, for length of days.
The women, shedding bitter tears, came to see You in Your tomb;
and not finding Your body, they lamented, saying:
O Saviour and King of All, how were You stolen?
What place holds Your life-bearing body?
An angel answered them, saying:
Do not weep, but go and proclaim that the Lord is risen,
filling our hearts with joy;
for He alone is most compassionate.
In Tone 5, Glory…
We praise in faith, glorious James, the honourable day of your memory:
not because you are the son of Alpheus,
but because you are Christ’s apostle; a preacher of his ineffable incarnation.
Since you stand before the throne of the Master,
with the angels, the choirs of apostles and martyrs,
pray without ceasing that our Saviour and God will save us.
Now…
O most pure Virgin,
you are the temple, the gate, the palace, and the throne of the King.
Christ, our Redeemer and Lord,
appeared through you to those who slumbered in darkness.
For He, as the Sun of Righteousness,
wishes to enlighten those whom He created with His own hands
according to His own image.
Therefore, O Lady, whom we always praise in song,
we beseech you to intercede with Christ for the salvation of our souls;
for, as His Mother, you can approach Him with the greatest confidence.
Troparia
In Tone 4
When the disciples of the Lord learned from the angel* the glorious news of the resurrection* and cast off the ancestral condemnation,* they proudly told the apostles:* “Death has been plundered!* Christ our God is risen,*granting to the world great mercy.”
In Tone 3
Holy apostle James, intercede with the merciful God* to grant to our souls* forgiveness of sins.
Glory… Now…
We sing your praises, O Virgin;* for, as the Mother of God, you always intercede for the salvation of the human race.* It is from you that our God and Your Son took flesh. * Then, by suffering the passion on the Cross,** and out of love for mankind, He delivered us from corruption.
DIVINE LITURGY
Troparia and Kontakia
Troparion, Tone 4: When the disciples of the Lord learned from the angel* the glorious news of the resurrection* and cast off the ancestral condemnation,* they proudly told the apostles:* “Death has been plundered!* Christ our God is risen,* granting to the world great mercy.”
Troparion, Tone 3: Holy apostle, James, intercede with the merciful God* to grant our souls* forgiveness of sins.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Kontakion, Tone 4: My Saviour and Deliverer from the grave* as God raised out of bondage the children of the earth* and shattered the gates of Hades;* and as Master, He rose on the third day.
Now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone 2: With praises let us all extol James as a herald of God;* he firmly planted the doctrines of wisdom in the souls of the godly.* For he stands before the Master’s throne of glory* and rejoices with all the angels* unceasingly praying for all of us.
Prokeimenon, Tone 4
How great are Your works, O Lord* You have made all things in wisdom.
verse: Bless the Lord, O my soul: O Lord my God, You are exceedingly great. (Psalm 103:24,1)
Prokeimenon, Tone 8
Their utterance has gone forth into all the earth,* and their words unto the ends of the world.
Epistle
Galatians 2:16-20; 1 Corinthians 4:9-16
Alleluia, Tone 4
verse: Poise yourself and advance in triumph and reign in the cause of truth, and meekness, and justice.
verse: You have loved justice and hated iniquity. (Psalm 44:5,8)
verse: The heavens shall confess Your wonders, O Lord, and Your truth in the church of the saints.
verse: God is glorified in the assembly of the saints.
Gospel
Luke 8:5-15; Luke 10:16-21
Communion Hymn
Praise the Lord from the heavens;* praise Him in the highest.* Their utterance has gone forth into all the earth,* and their words unto the ends of the world.* Alleluia, alleluia, * alleluia.