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Event Information:

  • Fri
    10
    Apr
    2020

    Vespers with the Laying Out of the Holy Shroud on Great Friday

    Vespers with the Laying Out of the Holy Shroud

    At Psalm 140

    In Tone 1

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

    The whole creation was changed by fear,* when it saw You, O Christ, hanging on the Cross.* The sun was darkened,* and the foundations of the earth were shaken.* All things suffered with the Creator of all.* Of Your will You have endured this for our sakes.* O Lord, glory to You.

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

    The whole creation was changed by fear,* when it saw You, O Christ, hanging on the Cross.* The sun was darkened,* and the foundations of the earth were shaken.* All things suffered with the Creator of all.* Of Your will You have endured this for our sakes.* O Lord, glory to You.

    In Tone 2

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

    Why do the impious and transgressing people imagine vain things?* Why have they condemned to death the Life of all?* O mighty wonder! The Creator of the world is delivered into the hands of lawless men,* and He who loves mankind is raised upon the Cross,* that He may free the prisoners in hell who cry:* O long-suffering Lord, glory to You!

    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 most pure Virgin* saw You hanging on the Cross, O Word,* and with a mother’s love, she wept,* and bitterly her heart was wounded.* She groaned in anguish from the depth of her soul.* And in her grief she struck her face* and tore her hair,* and beating her breast, she cried, lamenting:* Woe is me, my Divine Child!* Woe is me, O Light of the world!* Why do You vanish from my sight, O Lamb of God?* Then the hosts of angels were seized with trembling,* and they said:* O Lord beyond our understanding, glory to You!

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

    Seeing You hanging on the Cross,* O Christ and Creator and God of all,* bitterly Your Virgin Mother cried:* O my Son, where is the beauty of Your form?* I cannot bear to look upon You crucified unjustly.* Make haste, then, to arise,* that I, too, may see* Your Resurrection on the third day from the dead.

    In Tone 6

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

    Today the Master stands before Pilate,* today the Maker of all things is given up to the Cross,* and of His own will is led as a lamb to the slaughter.* He who sent manna in the wilderness is transfixed with nails.* His side is pierced,* and a sponge with vinegar touches His lips.* The Deliverer of the world is struck on the face* and the Creator of all is mocked by His own servants.* How great is the Master’s love for mankind!* For those who crucified Him,* He prayed to His Father, saying:* Forgive them this sin,* for in their wickedness, they know not what they do.

    Glory…

    See how the lawless synagogue has condemned to death the King of the Creation!* They were not ashamed when he recalled His blessings, saying:* O My people, what have I done to you?* Have I not filled Judea with miracles?* Have I not raised the dead by My word alone?* Have I not healed every sickness and disease?* How then, have you repaid me?* Why have you forgotten Me?* In return for healing, you have given Me blows;* in return for life, you are putting Me to death.* You hang upon the Cross your benefactor as an evildoer,* your Lawgiver as a transgressor of the Law,* the King of all as one condemned.* O long-suffering Lord, glory to You!

    Now…

    A dread and marvellous mystery we see come to pass this day:* He whom none may touch is seized.* He who looses Adam from the curse is bound.* He who tries the hearts and inner thoughts of man is unjustly brought to trial.* He who closes the abyss is shut in prison,* He before whom the powers of heaven stand with trembling stands before Pilate.* The Creator is struck by the hand of His creature,* he who comes to judge the living and the dead is condemned to the Cross,* the destroyer of hell is enclosed in a tomb.* O You who endure all these things in Your tender love* who have saved all men from the curse,* O long-suffering Lord, glory to You!

    Prokeimenon, Tone 4
    They parted my garments among them,* and cast lots upon my vesture.
    verse: O God, my God, look upon me; why have you forsaken me?

    Reading I
    Exodus 33:11-23

    Prokeimenon, Tone 4
    Judge them, O Lord, that wrong me,* fight against them that fight against me.
    verse: They rewarded me evil for good.

    Reading II
    Job 42:12-17

    Reading III
    Isaiah 52:13-54:1

    Prokeimenon, Tone 6
    They laid me in the lowest pit, in dark places,* and in the shadow of death.
    verse: O Lord, God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before You.

    Epistle
    1 Corinthians 1:18-2:2

    Alleluia, Tone 6
    verse: Save me, O God, for the waters are come in, even unto my soul.
    verse: They gave me gall to eat, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
    verse: Let their eyes be darkened that they may not see.

    Gospel
    Matthew 27:1-38; Luke 23:39-43; Matthew 27:39-54; John 19:31-37; Matthew 27:5-61

    Aposticha

    In Tone 2

    Down from the Tree Joseph of Arimathea* took You dead who are the Life of all,* and he wrapped You, O Christ, in a linen cloth with spices.* Moved in his heart by love,* he kissed Your most pure body with his lips;* yet drawing back in fear, he cried to You, rejoicing:* Glory to Your self-abasement, O Lover of mankind!

    The Lord reigns,* he is clothed in majesty.

    When you, the Redeemer of all* were laid for the sake of all in a new tomb,* hell was brought to scorn,* and seeing You, drew back in fear.* The bars were broken and the gates were shattered,* the tombs were opened and the dead arose.* Then Adam in thanksgiving and rejoicing cried to You:* Glory to Your self-abasement, O Lover of mankind.

    For He has made the word firm,* which shall not be moved.

    In the flesh You were of Your own will* enclosed within the tomb,* yet in Your divine nature Your remain uncircumscribed and limitless.* You have shut up the treasury of hell, O Christ,* and emptied all his palaces.* You honoured this Sabbath with Your divine blessing,* with Your glory and Your radiance.

    Holiness befits Your house, O Lord,* for length of days.

    The powers of heaven beheld You, O Christ,* falsely accused by lawless men as a deceiver,* and they saw the stone before the tomb* sealed by the hands which pierced Your most pure side,* and they were filled with fear at Your ineffable forbearance.

    In Tone 5, Glory… Now…

    You were naked and cold in death,* O You who wear light as a robe,* and the noble Joseph and Nicodemus* removed You from the Cross,* with grief and tears so tender.* And Joseph mourned and prayed:* O what has happened, O gentle Jesus?* The sun saw You suspended on the Cross* and shrouded itself in darkness.* The earth quaked with fear* and the temple veil was rent asunder!* For my sake, O Saviour, You willingly endured the Passion.* How then shall I array Your Body, O my God?* How then shall I wrap You in this shroud?* How then shall I hymn Your burial?* O my Lord most merciful,* Your death and rising shall I praise* as I sing: O Lord, glory be to You!

    Troparion

    The noble Joseph took Your most pure Body down from the Cross.* He wrapped it in a clean linen with aromatic spices* and sadly laid it in a new tomb. (3)