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 1
- If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
Most wise and praised Apostle Jude,
your sound has gone out into all the earth,
guiding as lightning to the never-fading Light
those darkened by the delusion of ungodliness.
Since now you are radiant with this Light,
beseech great mercy for our souls!
- I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
Most wise and praised Apostle Jude,
your sound has gone out into all the earth,
guiding as lightning to the never-fading Light
those darkened by the delusion of ungodliness.
Since now you are radiant with this Light,
beseech great mercy for our souls!
- From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
As if you were a war-chariot of Christ, O wondrous Jude,
you put down the pride of idols.
By the Word of God, you mystically made captivity captive,
and gained life incorruptible, O glorious Apostle.
Since now you delight in this life,
beseech great mercy for our souls!
- For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
As if you were a war-chariot of Christ, O wondrous Jude,
you put down the pride of idols.
By the Word of God, you mystically made captivity captive,
and gained life incorruptible, O glorious Apostle.
Since now you delight in this life,
beseech great mercy for our souls!
- Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
You were a disciple of our incarnate God,
O Jude, Apostle of Christ.
You were sent by Him truly as a sheep among wolves,
by your speech turning them away from impiety,
bringing them to piety and a godly understanding of the holy Trinity.
Therefore we praise you.
- Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
You were a disciple of our incarnate God,
O Jude, Apostle of Christ.
You were sent by Him truly as a sheep among wolves,
by your speech turning them away from impiety,
bringing them to piety and a godly understanding of the holy Trinity.
Therefore we praise you.
In Tone 8, Glory…
You received openly the grace of the divine Spirit, O Apostle Jude,
as a participant in the sacred choir of the Apostles.
When the fiery breath came down from heaven,
breathing forth with a tongue of fire,
you utterly consumed the thorns of idolatry.
O Preacher, entreat Christ God that our souls may be saved!
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) Jude 1-10; (2) Jude 11-16; (3) Jude 17-25
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 2, Glory…
You are wondrous indeed, O Apostle Jude!
You were filled with divine zeal,
burning with ardour for the almighty God,
Who revealed you to be filled with divine miracles.
You possessed a wondrous passion,
and obtained a reverent manner through God-like action.
Therefore you are exalted and dwell with the Angels on high.
Since you behold God, pray to the Word, Christ our God,
that He may grant us great mercy!
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 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 1, Glory…
As we know you to be Christ’s relative* and a steadfast martyr,* O Jude, we praise you with sacred hymns.* You trampled on error and kept the faith.* And so on this day as we feast your memory* through your prayers, O apostle,** we receive release from our sins.
Now…
O Holy Tabernacle, when Gabriel called out to you:* Rejoice, O Virgin, full of grace,* the Lord of All became incarnate of you,* as the righteous David had foretold.* In bearing your Creator, you have shown yourself to surpass the vastness of the heavens.* We, therefore, cry out: Glory to Him Who dwelt in you!* Glory to Him Who came forth from you!* Glory to Him Who has set us free** through your life-giving birth!
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 1: As we know you to be Christ’s relative* and a steadfast martyr,* O Jude, we praise you with sacred hymns.* You trampled on error and kept the faith.* And so on this day as we feast your memory* through your prayers, O apostle,* we receive release from our 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: O Jude, because of your solid mind* you were shown to be a chosen disciple and firm pillar of the Church of Christ.* You proclaimed to the nations His holy word* teaching them to believe in the one God* from Whom you received glory and the gift of healing* to cure the ills of those who flee to you,* O apostle, worthy of all praise.
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 word unto the ends of the world. (Psalm 18:5)
Epistle
Romans 10:1-10; Jude 1:1-10
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 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
Matthew 8:28-9:1; John 14:21-24
Communion Hymn
Praise the Lord from the heavens;* praise Him in the highest.* Their utterance has gone forth into all the earth,* and their word unto the ends of the world.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 18:5)