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Event Information:
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Tue30Apr2019
Holy Apostle James, Brother of Saint John the Theologian
GREAT VESPERS
Kathisma
“Blessed is the man…” is sung.At Psalm 140
In Tone 4
- If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
Risen from the dead, Almighty,
You came to Your friends behind closed doors.
To Thomas You showed the wounds of the nails,
the side which was pierced by a lance,
strengthening and confirming him, O Word,
for belief that in Your compassion
You endured the saving Passion.- I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
The Lord said to Thomas, the twin:
do not be faithless, but believing,
because of my great condescension and boundless emptying!
I am truly He Who suffered
and rose again from the tomb on the third day.
I have robbed the treasure of hell,
giving life to the dead of all ages!- From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
Thomas was amazed, beholding You:
You are my Lord and my God!
I believe, Lover of mankind, that You are He
Who suffered and so healed our passions.
I fall down before Your majesty,
and I proclaim to the world Your awesome and saving Resurrection!In Tone 4
- For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
You drew men up from the depths of vanity with a fisher's rod of grace.
You obeyed the commands of the Teacher, worthy James,
who enlightened all your thoughts
and revealed you as an apostle and holy preacher,
expounding His incomprehensible Divinity, most blessed one.- Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
The illumination of the Spirit descended on you in the form of fire
and made you a divine vessel, blessed one,
dispelling with power the darkness of godlessness;
enlightening the world with the brightness of your all wise words.
Preacher of mysteries, leader of the apostles,
James, the eye-witness of Christ.- Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
You illumined those lying in the darkness of ignorance
with the lightning flash of your preaching, glorious James!
You revealed them to be sons through faith of the Master and God
whose passion and death you imitated with zeal.
You became an heir of the glory, O wise one,
as one speaking from God and a most faithful disciple.In Tone 8, Glory...
Come, let us praise James with hymns of psalms:
the preacher of heavenly mysteries and expounder of the Gospel;
for he was revealed as a river of the mystical Paradise,
watering spiritual furrows with heavenly streams,
revealing them to bear fruit to Christ God,
who, by his prayers, grants cleansing, enlightenment and great mercy!In Tone 1, Now…
The disciples were assembled on the eighth day,
and the Savior appeared to them!
He gave them peace and said to Thomas:
Come, apostle! Feel My hands, which were pierced by the nails!
Most wonderful doubt of Thomas!
It brought the hearts of the faithful to knowledge!
My Lord and my God, glory to You!Prokeimenon
of the dayReadings
(1) James 1:1-12; (2) James 1:13-27; (3) James 2:1-13Aposticha
In Tone 8
Blessed, God-seer James, after you listened to the voice of the Word,
you paid no heed to the service and customs of your father,
for you left behind the life of earthly cares and passed over the spiritual sea!
You stirred its depths with the precepts of godliness and with your heavenly thunder,
apostle most blessed of God!Their proclamation has gone out into all the earth and their words to the ends of the universe!
All-blessed James, by your deeds you served the Word,
the cause of life and of the future age.
Truly you deprived Israel of its first born privilege
when it forsook the worship of the true God,
while recalling it to sonship as the new Israel!The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament proclaims His handiwork!
You are now appointed a prince over all the earth,
as it is written of you, glorious one,
since you became a disciple of the Creator of all.
In fervent zeal, you suffered murder by the transgressor's sword,
taking you from the revered company of the twelve apostles.In Tone 1, Glory...
You followed after Christ and despised the world,
hiding his teachings in your treasury, godly James.
You were revealed to be His apostle.
Therefore, going to the nations with the commandments of the Savior,
you enlightened the souls in the darkness of delusion and passion,
that they might believe in the consubstantial Trinity!In Tone 2, Now…
After Your rising, Lord,
though the doors were shut,
You came to Your assembled disciples, granting them peace.
Even Thomas believed, seeing Your hands and side,
and he confessed You as Lord and God
Who saves those who hope in You, Lover of mankind.Troparia
In Tone 7
While the tomb was sealed, O Christ God, You dawned as life from the sepulcher, and while the doors were shut, You came to Your disciples, the Resurrection of all, renewing a right spirit in us through them, according to Your great mercy.In Tone 3, Glory…
O James, worthy of all praise,* chosen apostle of Christ and only brother of the beloved theologian;* ask God to bestow on those who hymn you forgiveness of sins* and to grant our souls great mercy.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
After the priest has exclaimed, Blessed be the Kingdom… and the people have responded, Amen, the clergy sing the Paschal Troparion once and the people repeat it. Then, the clergy sing the first half, and the people conclude it.
Paschal Troparion
Christ is risen from the dead,* trampling death by death,* and to those in the tombs* giving life.Troparia and Kontakia
Troparion, Tone 7: While the tomb was sealed, O Christ God, You dawned as life from the sepulcher, and while the doors were shut, You came to Your disciples, the Resurrection of all, renewing a right spirit in us through them, according to Your great mercy.Troparion, Tone 3: O James, worthy of all praise,* chosen apostle of Christ and only brother of the beloved theologian.* Ask God to bestow on those who hymn you forgiveness of sins* and to grant our souls great mercy.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Kontakion, Tone 2: When you heard God’s voice calling out to you,* you spurned the love of your father* and fled to Christ with your kinsman, O glorious James.* With him you were favoured to see the Lord’s divine transfiguration.
Now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone 8: With his searching hand, Thomas explored Your life-giving side, O Christ God. For when You entered while the doors were shut, he called out to You with the rest of the Apostles: You are my Lord and my God!
Prokeimenon, Tone 3
Great is our Lord and great is His strength;* and of His knowledge there is no end.
verse: Praise the Lord, for a psalm is good; may praise be sweet to our God. (Psalm 146:5,1)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
Acts 4:1-10; Acts 12:1-11Alleluia, Tone 8
verse: Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord, let us acclaim God our Saviour. (Psalm 94:1)
verse: For God is the great Lord and the great king over all the earth. (Psalm 94:3)
verse: The heavens shall confess our wonders, O Lord, and Your truth in the church of the saints. (Psalm 88:6)
verse: God is glorified in the assembly of the saints. (Psalm 88:8)Gospel
John 3:16-21; Luke 5:1-11Hymn to the Mother of God
The Angel cried out to the One full of Grace: O chaste Virgin, rejoice! And again I say, Rejoice! Your Son has risen from the tomb on the third day, and raised the dead. Let all people rejoice! Shine, shine, O new Jerusalem, for the glory of the Lord has risen upon you! Exult now and be glad, O Sion! And you, O chaste Mother of God, take delight in the resurrection of your Son.Communion Hymn
Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem.* Praise your God, O Sion. (Psalm147:1)* Their utterance has gone forth into all the earth,* and their word unto the ends of the world.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 18:5)