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Event Information:
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Sun03May2020
Fourth Sunday after Pascha – Sunday of the Paralytic, Tone 3; The Repose of our Venerable Father Theodosius, Hegumen of the Monastery of the Caves at Kyiv and Organizer of the Cenoebitic (Common) Life in Rus’ (1074) and the Holy Martyrs Timothy and Maura (286-305)
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 power of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;* and I praise the dominion of the undivided Divinity,* the consubstantial Trinity* who reigns forever and ever.
In Tone 1
- Let Your ears be attentive* to the voice of my prayer.
O ineffable goodness who created the human form,* You came to heal those who are ill.* O Christ, by Your word You raised the Paralytic at the Sheep Pool;* You healed the suffering of the woman with the flow of blood;* You showed mercy to the tormented daughter of the Canaanite woman;* and You did not disdain the prayer of the centurion.* Because of this we cry out in praise:* O Almighty Lord, glory to You!
- If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
O ineffable goodness who created the human form,* You came to heal those who are ill.* O Christ, by Your word You raised the Paralytic at the Sheep Pool;* You healed the suffering of the woman with the flow of blood;* You showed mercy to the tormented daughter of the Canaanite woman;* and You did not disdain the prayer of the centurion.* Because of this we cry out in praise:* O Almighty Lord, glory to You!
- I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
The Paralytic was like an unburied dead man,* and when he saw You, O Lord, he cried out:* Have mercy on me, for my bed has become my grave.* Of what use is my life?* I have no need for the Sheep Pool,* for there is none to put me into the water.* Therefore, I come to You, O Fountain of all healing,* that with all I may cry to You:* O Lord Almighty, glory to You!
In Tone 5
- From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
O venerable father, God-bearing Theodosius!* You laboured greatly during this earthly life:* with hymns, fasting, and persistent prayer* you became a model for your disciples.* Today you celebrate with the bodiless ones the angels,* unceasingly glorifying Christ, the Word of God, the Redeemer,* Who died on the cross and delivered the human race from deceit.* Pray to Him, venerable father,* that He grant peace and great mercy to the world.
In Tone 1
- For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
O venerable father, God-bearing Theodosius!* You laboured greatly during this earthly life:* with hymns, fasting, and persistent prayer* you became a model for your disciples.* Today you celebrate with the bodiless ones the angels,* unceasingly glorifying Christ, the Word of God, the Redeemer,* Who died on the cross and delivered the human race from deceit.* Pray to Him, venerable father,* that He grant peace and great mercy to the world.
- Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
O venerable father, God-bearing Theodosius!* You truly merited the divine life,* having obtained it through purity and fasting;* for while still alive you renounced everything,* and passed over to the true life.* You now are glorifying with the heavenly hosts Him,* Who mystically took flesh from the Virgin and overthrew Hades* and raised those who had fallen asleep from time beyond memory.* Intercede with Him, O venerable father,* that He may grant peace and great mercy to the world.
- Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
O venerable father, God-bearing Theodosius!* You found life because you loved purity,* and the grace of the Holy Spirit dwelled in within you,* like a most pure light shining upon you.* You now are unceasingly glorifying Christ, Who is one God in two natures,* Who suffered on the cross in the flesh,* but as God was incapable of suffering.* Pray to Him, venerable father,* that He may grant peace and great mercy to the world.
In Tone 5, Glory…
Jesus went up to Jerusalem to the Sheep Pool* which in Hebrew was called Bethesda.* And there lay a great multitude of sick people in its five porticoes;* for the angel of the Lord went down at certain times and stirred the water,* granting healing to those who approach in faith.* The Lord saw there a man with a chronic illness,* and He asked him: Do you want to be healed?* The sick man replied:* I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred.* I have spent my money on physicians* and received no help from anyone.* The Physician of soul and body said to him:* Take up your pallet and walk;* proclaim to the whole world* the greatness of My mercy and My mighty deeds.
In Tone 3, Now…
O Lady most honourable,* how could we but be rapt in wonder* at your giving birth to the incarnate God* who without a mother was born of a Father before all ages.* You gave Him birth in the flesh without a father,* without a man’s 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 profess in true faith* that you are the Mother of God.
Readings
(1) Wisdom 4:7-15; (2) Wisdom 3:1-9; (3) Wisdom 5:15-6:3
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.
Let God arise;* let His enemies be scattered!
Today a sacred Pascha is revealed to us.* A new and holy Pascha.* A mystical Pascha.* A Pascha worthy of veneration.* A Pascha which is Christ the Redeemer,* a blameless Pascha.* A great Pascha.* A Pascha of the faithful.* A Pascha which has opened for us the gates of Paradise.* A Pascha which sanctifies all the faithful.
As smoke vanishes,* let them vanish.
Come* from that scene, O women bearers of glad tidings,* and say to Sion:* Receive from us the glad tidings of joy* of Christ’s Resurrection:* Exult and be glad,* and rejoice, O Jerusalem,* seeing Christ the King* who comes forth from the tomb like a Bridegroom in procession!
So let sinners flee from before the face of God;* but let the righteous rejoice!
The myrrh-bearing women* at the break of dawn* drew near to the tomb of the LifeGiver.* There they found an angel* sitting upon the stone,* he greeted them with these words:* Why do you seek the living among the dead?* Why do you mourn the incorrupt amid corruption?* Go: proclaim the glad tidings to His disciples.
This is the day which the Lord has made:* Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Pascha of beauty!* The Pascha of the Lord!* Pascha!* A Pascha worthy of all honour* has dawned on us.* Pascha! Let us embrace each other joyously!* Pascha, ransom from affliction!* For today as from a bridal chamber* Christ has shown forth from the Tomb,* and filled the women with joy saying:* “Proclaim the glad tidings to the Apostles!”
In Tone 8, Glory…
Countless monks honour you, father Theodosius, as their teacher,* following in your footsteps,* we have truly learned to live righteously.* Blessed are you who have toiled for Christ and have brought low the power of the enemy,* O friend of the angels and companion of the venerable ascetics.* pray with them to the Lord,* that He may have mercy on our souls.
Now…
This is the day of Resurrection,* let us be illumined by the Feast!* Let us embrace each other!* Let us call “Brothers!”* even those that hate us* and forgive all by the Resurrection,* and so let us cry:
Christ is risen from the dead,* trampling death by death,* and on those in the tombs* bestowing life! (3)
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 8
Glory…
Raised in virtue, O father Theodosius,* from childhood you loved the monastic life* and attained your desire courageously.* You lived in a cave adorning your life with fasting and radiance* and abided in prayer like the bodiless powers.* You shone like a beacon in the land of Rus’.** Entreat Christ God to save our souls.
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 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.
Troparion, Tone 8: Raised in virtue, O father Theodosius,* from childhood you loved the monastic life* and attained your desire courageously.* You lived in a cave adorning your life with fasting and radiance* and abided in prayer like the bodiless powers.* You shone like a beacon in the land of Rus’.* Entreat Christ God to save our souls.
Kontakion, Tone 3: Today we revere the star of Rus’, blessed Theodosius,* who shone from the east and came to the west;* for he enriched this whole land and all of us* with gentleness and miraculous wonders* by the practice and the grace of the monastic rule.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Kontakion, Tone 3: Lord, as of old You raised the Paralytic,* lift my soul by Your divine presence,* for by many sins and foolish actions,* I, too, am now afflicted and crippled.* Raise me, that being saved I may cry to You:* Glory to Your power, O merciful Christ.
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 1
Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, as we have hoped in You.
verse: Rejoice in the Lord, O you just; praise befits the righteous. (Psalm 32:22,1)
Prokeimenon, Tone 7
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His venerable ones.
Epistle
Acts 9:32-42; Hebrews 13:7-16
Alleluia, Tone 1
verse: Of Your mercies, O Lord, I will sing forever; with my mouth I will proclaim Your truth from generation to generation.
verse: For You have said, “Mercy will be established forever.” (Psalm 32:22,1)
verse: Your priests shall clothe themselves with justice, and Your venerable ones shall rejoice.
Gospel
John 5:1-15; Matthew 11:27-30
Hymn 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)
Instead of “Blessed is He Who comes…” and “We have seen the true light…” we sing:
Christ is risen from the dead,* trampling death by death,* and to those in the tombs* giving life.
Instead of “May our mouths be filled…” we sing three times:
Christ is risen from the dead,* trampling death by death,* and to those in the tombs* giving life. (3)
Instead of “Blessed be the name of the Lord…” we sing three times:
Christ is risen from the dead,* trampling death by death,* and to those in the tombs* giving life. (3)
After the final “Amen”, the Troparion “Christ is risen” is sung as at the beginning of the Liturgy, but with the addition:
And to us he has granted life eternal;* we bow down before his resurrection on the third day.