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Event Information:

  • Wed
    15
    May
    2019

    Mid-Pentecost; Our Venerable Father Pachomius the Great (346)

    GREAT VESPERS

    Kathisma
    from the 9th Kathisma

    At Psalm 140

    In Tone 4

    1. If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.

    The mid-point of the feast has arrived;
    the days which begin with the resurrection of the Saviour
    and are fulfilled in the divine feast of Pentecost.
    Truly it unites both Feasts and draws light from their double brightness,
    giving honour to the ascension of the Lord,
    which prefigures our glory.

    1. I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.

    Truly Sion heard and was glad
    when it received the glad tidings of the resurrection of Christ.
    Faithful children also rejoiced at beholding it.
    Seeing the blood of Christ washed away by the Holy Spirit,
    the Church prepares to worthily celebrate
    the joyous midpoint of these two holy feasts.

    1. From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.

    The over-abundant outpouring of the divine Spirit over all is drawing near,
    as it is written by the prophet Joel.
    The promise of Christ, given to His disciples
    after His death, burial and resurrection,
    proclaims the coming of the Comforter.

    In Tone 5

    1. For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.

    Today the feast of mid-Pentecost appears in it grace and brightness,
    and as the noon hour divides the day,
    so this feast stands at the middle of the paschal season.
    It radiates the light of the resurrection of Christ
    and reflects the signs of eternal life.
    It discloses the ascension into heaven,
    and it foretells the coming of the most beloved Spirit,
    the glorious feast of Pentecost.
    And so it bestows upon our souls peace and great mercy.

    1. Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.

    Today we have come to the midweek of the festal season.
    As a river of divine glory, the Lord gives streams of goodness to all and calls out:
    All who thirst, come to Me and drink deeply,
    because I am the Fountain of compassion and the Ocean of mercy.
    From Him flows forgiveness to the peoples;
    He washes away sin and cleanses infirmities.
    he saves those who celebrate His resurrection,
    embraces with love those who honour His glorious ascension,
    and bestows upon our souls peace and great mercy.

    1. Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.

    He stood in the centre of the temple, the infinite God.
    He is God in essence, yet became incarnate for our sakes,
    taking upon Himself the limits of the flesh,
    from which the living water of His word comes to everyone,
    saying: Come, and purify your hearts
    and quench the heat of your passions.
    Let no one be deprived of drink.
    The water that I give is the grace of God
    by which you partake of the better and eternal life.
    Whoever drinks of it will share with Me, the Creator,
    the kingdom and the glory of God.

    In Tone 6, Glory… Now…

    The mid-week of the festal season has arrived, O Christ,
    the midpoint of Your resurrection and the coming of Your Holy Spirit.
    Coming together, we glorify the mystery of Your miracles;
    and filled with fear, we cry out to You:
    Send down upon us Your great mercy!

    Readings
    (1) Micah 4:2, 3; 6:1-5, 8; (2) Isaiah 55:1-13; (3) Proverbs 9:1-11

    Aposticha

    In Tone 1

    The middle of the fifty days is here,
    wherein Christ manifested His divine power.
    He healed the paralytic, raising him from his bed by a word.
    In the flesh He worked signs and wonders,
    granting His people eternal life and great mercy.

    Remember Your people whom You chose long ago.

    You came to the temple, O Wisdom of God, in the midst of the feast,
    to teach and edify the Jews, the scribes and the Pharisees:
    Let all who thirst come to Me and drink the water of life.
    They will never thirst again.
    Whoever believes in Me, streams of living water shall flow from them.
    How great is Your goodness and Your compassion.
    Glory to You, O Christ our God!

    God is our King from time past, the Giver of help throughout all the land.

    Jesus went up to the temple in the middle of the feast.
    He proclaimed to the stiff-necked people:
    Let all who thirst come to me and drink.
    I will give them the water of life, and they will never thirst again.
    Living streams will flow from the hearts of those who believe in Me.
    They will find the Light of the world.

    In Tone 8, Glory… Now…

    While You taught the scribes in the midst of the feast, O Saviour,
    they murmured: How can this man who never studied be learned?
    They would not believe that You are the Wisdom who created the world.
    O Lord, glory to You!

    Troparion

    In Tone 8
    At the mid-point of the Feast, O Saviour,* water my thirsty soul with streams of true godliness;* for You cried out to all: Let any who thirst, come to Me and drink.* Source of life, Christ our God, glory to You!

     

    DIVINE LITURGY

    Troparia and Kontakia
    Troparion, Tone 8:     At the mid-point of the Feast, O Saviour,* water my thirsty soul with streams of true godliness;* for You cried out to all: Let any who thirst, come to Me and drink.* O Source of Life, Christ our God, glory to You!

    Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.

    Kontakion, Tone 4: At the mid-point of the Feast according to the Law,* Maker of all things and Master,* You said to those present, O Christ God:* Come, and draw the water of immortality.* And so we fall before You crying out with faith: Grant us Your mercies, for You are the source of our life.

    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 Him. (Psalm 146:5,1)

    Epistle
    Acts 14:6-18

    Alleluia, Tone 1
    verse: Remember Your congregation which You acquired from the beginning.
    verse: But God is our king before the ages; He has wrought salvation in the midst of the earth. (Psalm 73:2,12)

    Gospel
    John 7:14-30

    Hymn to the Mother of God
    Virginity is alien to mothers and child-bearing is foreign to virgins; yet in you, O Mother of God, both of them came together. Therefore, we and all the nations of the earth without ceasing magnify you.

    Communion Hymn
    Those who eat My flesh and drink My blood* abide in Me and I in them, says the Lord.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (John 6:56)