GREAT VESPERS
Kathisma reading
“Blessed is the man…” is sung.
At Psalm 140
In Tone 3
- Lead my soul forth from prison* that I may give thanks to Your name.
By Your Cross, O Christ our Saviour,
the power of Death has been vanquished
and the deceit of the devil has been destroyed.
Therefore, mankind, saved by faith,
offers You hymns of praise forever.
- The just shall gather around me* when You have been good to me.
O Lord, all creation has been enlightened by Your resurrection,
and Paradise has been reopened;
therefore, all creation extols You
and offers You hymns of praise forever.
- Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord;* O Lord, hear my voice!
I glorify the powers of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
and I praise the dominion of the undivided Divinity,
the consubstantial Trinity,
Who reigns forever and ever.
- Let Yours ears be attentive* to the voice of my prayer.
We adore Your precious Cross, O Christ,
and with hymns of praise we glorify Your Resurrection;
for by Your wounds we have all been healed.
- If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
Let us sing the praises of the Saviour,
Who was incarnate of the Virgin;
for He was crucified for our sake,
and on the third day He arose from the dead,
granting us His great mercy.
- I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
Christ descended into Hades and announced to those confined there:
Take courage, for today I have conquered death.
I am the Resurrection, the One Who will set you free.
I shattered the gates of the realm of death.
- From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
O Christ our God, we unworthily stand in Your most pure temple,
and offer to You our evening hymns.
From the depths of our souls we cry out to You:
O Lover of Mankind, Who has enlightened the world
by Your Resurrection on the third day,
deliver Your people from the hands of Your enemies.
In Tone 6
- For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Through the anointing of the priesthood and the blood of martyrdom,
you drew near to God, most perfect and all-glorious Cyprian!
You are the flower of nature;
the adornment of preaching, the summit of wisdom and a rule of true dogmas,
a harmonizer of the canons:
you are the splendour of the churches!
- Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
Most honourable Cyprian, glory of athletes and crown of martyrs:
by your sermons you persuaded the divinely wise
to maintain their courage most valiantly
in the face of imprisonment, bondage and varied tortures,
nakedness, binding and bitter cold,
with wounding and death at the end.
- Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
You are the splendour of virgins and martyrs, Justina!
You opposed the spells of demons with hymns to the Spirit!
By the sign of the Cross, you preserved your virginity,
offering yourself to Christ as a most holy sacrifice!
You are an unconquered martyr,
receiving the crowns of victory!
In Tone 2, Glory…
Most blessed Cyprian, you turned aside indeed
from the falsehood and lore of idolatrous teaching!
You armed yourself for salvation with the sword of the Cross,
throwing away the books of sorcery as you put off the old man!
The knowledge of the consubstantial Trinity lived within you!
with the angels, ever beseech Him, O bishop, that we may be saved!
In Tone 3, Now…
O Lady most honourable,
how can we but be rapt in wonder
at you giving birth to the Incarnate God
who, without a mother, was born of the Father before all ages?
You gave Him birth in the flesh without a father,
without a man instrumentality.
He is God and man whose two natures are intact,
neither one losing any of its properties.
Therefore, O Virgin Mother,
intercede with Him to save the souls
of those who believe and confess in true faith
that you are the Mother of God.
Aposticha
In Tone 3
O Christ, Who darkened the sun by Your passion
and enlightened all creation by Your resurrection,
accept our evening prayer; for You love mankind.
The Lord reigns, He is clothed in majesty. Robed is the Lord, and girt about with strength.
O Lord, Your life-giving Resurrection has enlightened the entire universe
and has revived Your creation which lay in corruption.
Therefore, we, who have been released from the curse of Adam, cry out to You:
Almighty Lord, glory to You!
For He has made the world firm, which shall not be moved.
O God, although in Your divine nature You are unchangeable,
yet in Your human nature You underwent change by suffering in the flesh.
All creation was prostrate with fear
when it saw You hanging on the Cross,
and it groaned in sorrow as it sang the praises of Your long-suffering.
But You descended into Hades and arose on the third day,
granting life and great mercy to the world.
Holiness befits Your house, O Lord, for length of days.
You suffered death, O Christ, to deliver mankind from death.
And when You arose from the dead on the third day,
You enlightened the world
and resurrected all who acknowledge You as God.
In Tone 2, Glory…
Let us praise Cyprian, the divinely shining lamp,
the conversor with Paul and sharer of his labours!
He dwells with the angels;
having received an incorruptible crown from the one God.
He ever prays that our souls may be saved!
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 3
Let the heavens be glad, let the earth rejoice,* for the Lord has done a mighty deed with His arm.* He trampled death by death. He became the first-born of the dead;* He saved us from the abyss of Hades* and granted great mercy to the world.
In Tone 4, Glory…
You participated in the ways of the apostles,* and were enthroned as their successor!* You discovered action as an entrance into vision, inspired one of God.* Therefore directing the word of truth,* you suffered for the faith to the shedding of your blood!** Bishop and martyr Cyprian pray to Christ God that our souls may be saved!
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 3: Let the heavens be glad, let the earth rejoice,* for the Lord has done a mighty deed with His arm.* He trampled death by death. He became the first-born of the dead;* He saved us from the abyss of Hades* and granted great mercy to the world.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Kontakion, Tone 3: You rose from the tomb, O compassionate Lord,* and led us out from the gates of death.* Today Adam exults and Eve rejoices,* and the prophets together with the patriarchs* unceasingly acclaim the divine might of Your power.
Now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Theotokion, Tone 3: Today the Virgin stands before us in the church* and together with the choirs of saints invisibly prays to God for us.* Angels are worshipping with hierarchs,* Apostles exult with prophets,* for the Mother of God prays in our behalf to the eternal God.
Prokeimenon, Tone 3
Sing to our God, sing; sing to our King, sing.
verse: Clap your hands, all you nations; shout unto God with the voice of joy. (Psalm 46:7,2)
Epistle
Galatians 1:11-19
Alleluia, Tone 3
verse: In You, O Lord, have I hoped that I may not be put to shame for ever.
verse: Be a protector unto me, O God, and a house of refuge to save me. (Psalm 30:2,3)
Gospel
Luke 7:11-16
Communion Hymn
Praise the Lord from the heavens;* praise Him in the highest.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 148:1)