GREAT VESPERS
Kathisma Reading
“Blessed is the man…” is sung.
At Psalm 140
In Tone 2
- Lead my soul forth from prison* that I may give thanks to Your name.
Come, let us adore God the Word,
Who was born of the Father before all ages,
and was incarnate of the Virgin Mary;
for of His own free will He suffered the Cross
and submitted Himself to burial,
and arose from the dead to save me, a sinful one.
- The just shall gather around me* when You have been good to me.
Christ our Saviour cancelled the decree that was written against us,
by nailing it to the Cross;
and He abolished the dominion of Death.
Let us glorify His Resurrection on the third day.
- Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord;* O Lord, hear my voice!
Let us, together with the archangels, sing of Christ’s resurrection;
for He is the Redeemer and Saviour of our souls.
He will come again in awesome glory and mighty power
to judge the world which He has fashioned.
- Let Yours ears be attentive* to the voice of my prayer.
Although You died and were buried,
the angel yet declared You as Master.
He said to the women: Come and see where the Lord was placed;
for He is risen as He foretold,
because He is almighty.
Therefore, we worship You, the only Immortal One,
and we beseech You to have mercy on us, O Giver of Life.
In Tone 2
- If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
When by divine inspiration you wisely left the cares of life
and set out on the labours of asceticism,
you went out with joy into the inaccessible wilderness,
inflamed with love of the Lord.
Having overcome the passions,
you lived like an angel by your perseverance in the good, O holy father.
- I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
Having renounced all human companionship from your youth, O holy father,
you were the first to seek the absolute solitude of the wilderness.
You surpassed all hermits, O holy Paul,
remaining unknown throughout your whole life.
But at the command of God, Anthony found you like a hidden treasure
and made you known throughout the world.
- From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
O holy Paul, as you lived your earthly life,
you dwelt with the wild beasts
and were served by a bird at the command of God.
Seeing this when he found you,
Anthony the Great was filled with amazement,
and he ceaselessly magnified the divine Providence of the Master of all.
- For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
O blessed Father, when by divine inspiration
you joyfully fled from the pleasures of this world,
you renounced the broad way and chose the narrow, straight, and rugged road.
You went into a spiritual refuge where you put on the divine habit,
denying yourself and stripping yourself of all passions.
- Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
You conceived the amazing plan of your life,
your wondrous behaviour, in your love for Christ,
whose ineffable poverty you cherished.
Without a home, living before the threshold of your parents
you endured need and tribulations.
But you were filled with divine graces and you inherited heaven
and the treasure which no one can ever take away.
- Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
Having the Holy Gospel before you, O father John,
you fulfilled It when you renounced your family inheritance
and spent your whole life in hardship and repentance.
Thus you now rejoice, O venerable father, since God has glorified you
with divine consolation and endless happiness.
In Tone 2, Glory…
Renouncing the world and all it contains, O venerable father,
you took up the Gospel of Christ and lived it completely.
In the hut where you dwelt as though in a mystic paradise,
treating your body with the utmost severity,
you put to death the murderous dragon.
Now you dwell in heaven, O holy John:
ask great mercy for us.
In Tone 2, Now…
O Virgin, the shadow of the Law passed away
with the realization of grace.
For as the bush had burned without being consumed,
so you gave birth while a virgin
and you remained a virgin.
Instead of the pillar of fire there rose the Sun of Justice.
Instead of Moses, Christ God came forth,
the Saviour of our souls.
Aposticha
In Tone 2
Your Resurrection, O Christ our Saviour,
has enlightened the whole universe;
and, through it, You call back to Yourself all Creation.
Almighty God, glory to You!
The Lord reigns, He is clothed in majesty. Robed is the Lord, and girt about with strength.
By the wood of Your Cross, O Saviour,
You have abolished the curse of the tree;
by Your burial You have destroyed the power of death;
and by Your Resurrection You enlightened the human race.
We, therefore, cry out to You:
O Christ our God, Giver of Life, glory to You!
For He has made the world firm, which shall not be moved.
O Christ, when You were nailed to the Cross,
the distorted nature of creation was made manifest.
The soldiers showed their inhumanity by piercing Your side with a lance,
and the people showed their ignorance of Your power
by asking that Your tomb be sealed.
But, in Your mercy, You accepted burial
and then arose on the third day.
O Lord, glory to You!
Holiness befits Your house, O Lord, for length of days.
O Christ, Giver of Life,
You freely endured the Passion for the sake of mortals.
In Your power You descended into Hades;
and snatching, as from a mighty monster, the souls of those who awaited Your coming,
You placed them in Paradise.
Therefore, show Your great mercy to us who glorify Your Resurrection,
and cleanse our souls.
Glory… Now…
We now behold a new wonder,
greater than the wonders of old.
For who has ever known a mother to bear a child without the help of man?
Who has known a mother to hold in her arms the Source of all Creation?
It was God’s own will to be born in this manner;
and you, O most pure Virgin, carried Him as an infant in your arms.
Because of this, you can approach God with the boldness of a mother.
Therefore, we venerate you, and ask you to always beseech Him
to have mercy on us and save our souls.
Troparia
In 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!”
In Tone 4
God of our fathers, You always treat us fairly.* Deprive us not of Your mercy,* but by their prayers direct our lives in peace.
In Tone 4, Glory…
Since your early youth, you have longed with fervor for the things of the Lord:* leaving the world and its pleasures, you became an example of the monastic life.* John most blessed, you built your hut at the door of your parents’ house* and overcame the devil’s guiles.* Wherefore Christ Himself has glorified you as you deserve.
Now…
O Mother of God, the mystery hidden from all eternity* and unknown even to the angels,* was revealed through you to those on earth:* God took on our human nature* and united it to His divine nature in a perfect but unconfused union.* Then, He willingly accepted the cross for our sake* and thereby raised again the first created man,*and saved our souls from death.
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!”
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Kontakion, Tone 2: You rose from the tomb, O almighty Saviour;* and Hades, seeing this wonder, was stricken with fear; and the dead arose.* Creation saw and rejoices with You, and Adam exults.* And the world, my Saviour, sings Your praises for ever.
Now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Theotokion, Tone 2: The tomb and death could not hold the Mother of God,* unceasing in her intercession and an unfailing hope of patronage,* for as the Mother of Life she was transferred to life* by Him Who had dwelt in her ever-virgin womb.
Prokeimenon, Tone 2
The Lord is my strength and my song of praise, and He has become my salvation.
verse: The Lord has indeed chastised me, but He has not delivered me to death. (Psalm 117:14,18)
Epistle
Colossians 3:12-16
Alleluia, Tone 2
verse: The Lord will hear you in the day of tribulation; the name of the God of Jacob will shield you.
verse: Lord, grant victory to the king and hear us in the day that we shall call upon You. (Psalm 19:2,10)
Gospel
Luke 18:18-27
Communion Hymn
Praise the Lord from the heavens;* praise Him in the highest.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 148:1)