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Event Information:
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Sat25May2019
Third Finding of the Precious Head of the Holy, Glorious Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist John
GREAT VESPERS
At Psalm 140
In Tone 1
- Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord;* O Lord, hear my voice!
The Fountain of wonders came to the well at noon,
to ensnare the daughter of Eve.
Once, Eve had been driven out of Paradise by the serpent's guile;
now a woman of Samaria came to draw water.
The Saviour saw her and said to her:
Give me a drink of water
and I will fill you with the waters of eternal life!
She ran to the town and proclaimed to the crowd:
Come and see the Messiah, the Lord!
He is the Saviour of our souls!- Let Yours ears be attentive* to the voice of my prayer.
The Lord of compassion came to the well
and conversed with a woman of Samaria.
She said: Give me Your water that I may never thirst again!
I will drink from the Fountain of joy and redemption!
Life-giving Lord, glory to You!- If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
The Word of the Father,
the co-eternal Son without beginning,
came and sat by the well,
though He is the Fountain of healing!
A Samaritan woman came to draw water;
when the Saviour saw her, He said to her:
Give me a drink! Go, call your husband!
She thought she was speaking not to God, but to a man:
She said: I have no husband! trying to evade Him,
but the teacher said: You speak the truth,
for you have had five husbands,
and the one living with you now is not even a husband.
She was amazed by His words and ran back to the town!
She said to the crowd: Come, see the Messiah!
He grants the world great mercy!In Tone 8
- I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
Blessed Forerunner John, your head shone from the ground
with rays brighter than the sun.
It enlightens the faithful.
We have it has a divine treasure
and draw rich grace from it,
sanctifying our souls, our bodies and thoughts.
As we celebrate, we call you blessed.- From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
Blessed Forerunner John, your head shone from the ground
with rays brighter than the sun.
It enlightens the faithful.
We have it has a divine treasure
and draw rich grace from it,
sanctifying our souls, our bodies and thoughts.
As we celebrate, we call you blessed.- For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Your holy head, blessed Forerunner, poured out abundant grace.
It was shown without his foreknowledge
to the priest who was wise in God.
He quickly went with faith and grace
and openly brought about its sanctified coming
with the emperor and the divinely wise people
who fervently maintain the orthodox faith.- Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
Your holy head, blessed Forerunner, poured out abundant grace.
It was shown without his foreknowledge
to the priest who was wise in God.
He quickly went with faith and grace
and openly brought about its sanctified coming
with the emperor and the divinely wise people
who fervently maintain the orthodox faith.- Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
We celebrate the third revelation of your precious head.
When it was severed, glorious one,
the Trinity crowned it for your godly zeal.
The ranks of angels, the company of martyrs,
the apostles of God and all the prophets rejoice in its discovery.
Together with them, ever remember us, Forerunner of the Lord!In Tone 6, Glory…
O Forerunner, your head, divinely preserved,
has risen from the bosom of the earth
as a treasury of graces of God.
Having received it, we bow down in reverence, O glorious prophet of Christ.
Through you, we have been given wondrous miracles
and have obtained the remission of our sins.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) Isaiah 40:1-11; (2) Malachi 3:1-18; (3) Wisdom 4:7-15.Aposticha
In Tone 2
Come, O faithful: let us venerate the head which was cut off by a sword:
the precious head of the Forerunner,
commemorating its finding on this day.
Let us go out to meet it with hymns, wholeheartedly honouring it
as a fountain which pours forth the grace of healing upon us.
This is the head which was once cut off by the foolish Herod,
goaded by the grudging of Herodias.O precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His faithful.
As gold is taken from the mines,
so has the head of the Forerunner come forth from the earth,
radiant in its reliquary.
He still speaks, clearly accusing Herod, the adulterous murderer;
and he illumines our souls with his light.
In our hymns today, we the faithful venerate the Forerunner
who intercedes for us before God.The just will flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a Lebanon cedar.
The head of the Baptist lay long hidden underground
like a treasure in a chest.
Today it is revealed to the whole world, pouring forth abundant streams of healing,
stopping illnesses, and shedding light on our souls.
We rejoice in its divine consolations as we sing the praises of the Forerunner.In Tone 8, Glory... Now…
In Your unsearchable plan, Christ our God,
You were seen on earth!
When the woman of Samaria heard Your words, Lover of mankind,
she left her jar at the well and ran to the town.
She said: Come and see Him Who knew every secret hidden in my heart!
Could He be the long-awaited Messiah,
Who will grant us great mercy?Troparia
In Tone 4
O prophet and forerunner,* Christ has revealed to us your head as divine treasure concealed in the earth.* Assembled for this discovery* we praise Christ with hymns inspired of God.* Through your intercessions He saves us from corruption.Glory... Now...
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.”
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 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 4: O prophet and forerunner,* Christ has revealed to us your head as divine treasure concealed in the earth.* Assembled for this discovery* we praise Christ with hymns inspired of God.* Through your intercessions He saves us from corruption.
Kontakion, Tone 6: The Forerunner, a luminous and divine support in the world,* the lampstand of the sun,* has revealed his resplendent and divine head to the ends of the earth.* He hallows those who bow and cry out in faith:* “Save us all, O most wise Baptist of Christ.”
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Kontakion, Tone 8: Drawn to the well by faith,* the Samaritan woman beheld You, the Water of Wisdom,* and drinking abundantly of You,* she inherited the heavenly Kingdom for ever,* becoming everlastingly glorious.
Now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone 8: Though You descended into a tomb, O Immortal One,* yet You destroyed the power of Hades;* and You rose as victor, O Christ God,* calling to the myrrh-bearing women: Rejoice!* and giving peace to Your Apostles:* You, who grant Resurrection to the fallen.
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)Prokeimenon, Tone 7
The just man shall be glad in the Lord and shall hope in Him. (Psalm 63:11)Epistle
Acts 15:35-41; 2 Corinthians 4:6-15Alleluia, 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: Light is risen for the just and joy for the righteous of heart.
verse: Truth sprang up from the ground, and righteousness bent down from heaven. (Psalm 96:11; 84:12)Gospel
John 10:27-38; Matthew 11:2-15Hymn 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
Receive the Body of Christ;* taste the fountain of immortality.* Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the highest. (Psalm 148:1)* The just man shall be in everlasting remembrance;* of evil hearsay he shall have no fear.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 111:6)