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Event Information:
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Sun10May2020
Fifth Sunday after Pascha – Sunday of the Samaritan Woman, Tone 4; The Holy Apostle Simon the Zealot
GREAT VESPERS
Kathisma Reading
“Blessed is the man...” is sung.
At Psalm 140
In Tone 4
- Lead my soul forth from prison* that I may give thanks to Your name.
We never cease to adore Your life-giving Cross, O Christ our God,* and we glorify Your Resurrection on the third day.* For You, almighty One, have thereby restored the corrupted nature of all* and reopened the way to heaven,* since You alone are gracious and You love mankind.
- The just shall gather around me* when You have been good to me.
O Saviour, You have absolved the penalty of disobedience,* committed through the tree of Eden,* by willingly being nailed to the tree of the Cross.* As almighty God, You descended into Hades* and broke asunder the bonds of Death.* We, therefore, venerate Your Resurrection from the dead* and joyfully cry out to You: * almighty Lord, glory to You!
- Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord;* O Lord, hear my voice!
O Lord, You have battered down the gates of Hades,* and by Your death You have dissolved the realm of Death.* You have freed mankind from corruption,* bestowing life, incorruption, and Your great mercy upon the world.
In Tone 1
- Let Your ears be attentive* to the voice of my prayer.
At the sixth hour, You came to the well, O Fountain of Wonders,* to ensnare the fruit of Eve;* for at that very hour, * she had been driven from Paradise by the guile of the serpent.* When the Samaritan woman came to draw water,* You said to her, O Saviour:* Give Me water to drink, and I will give you waters of eternal life.* And the woman hastened to the city and proclaimed to the people:* Come and see Christ the Lord, the Saviour of our souls.
In Tone 2
- If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
When the Lord came to the well of Jacob,* the Samaritan woman entreated Him, saying:* Give me the water of faith, O Giver of life,* that I may obtain the waters of baptism, joy and salvation.* O 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.
Truly, the Son, Word and God, co-eternal with the Father,* the Fountain of Wonders Himself, came to the fountain,* where a woman of Samaria came to draw water.* And when the Saviour saw her, He said to her:* Give me water to drink and go and call your husband.* But she addressed Him as man and not as God;* wishing to conceal the truth from Him,* she said: I have no husband.* And the Master replied: You have said the truth, that you have no husband;* for you have had five husbands,* and the one whom you now have is not your husband.* Amazed by these words, she went to the town* and proclaimed to the crowds, saying:* Come and behold Christ who grants the world great mercy.
In Tone 4
- From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
The wondrous Simon, boast of the apostles,* passed across the earth like a brilliant lightning bolt!* He dispelled the darkness of idolatry* with his saving, brilliant and divine teachings!* He enlightened all people to glorify one God in Three Persons,* indivisible and undivided!
- For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
The wondrous Simon, boast of the apostles,* passed across the earth like a brilliant lightning bolt!* He dispelled the darkness of idolatry* with his saving, brilliant and divine teachings!* He enlightened all people to glorify one God in Three Persons,* indivisible and undivided!
- Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
Like a rolling wheel, the blessed Simon ran swiftly through the ends of the earth!* He burned away the madness of idolatry from all the land,* lighting brilliant beacons with piety,* he kindled luminous fires of grace for the faithful* that they may worship one God in Three Persons,* indivisible and undivided!
- Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
The most radiant and all-wondrous apostle Simon,* the teacher of the nations, the net of God,* draws us up from the depth of perdition with the height of theology!* The true preacher now wisely leads all to the knowledge of Christ.* He sets before us his accomplishments* as a pleasing feast of all good things!
In Tone 2
Glory…
You were called the namesake of zeal, admirable Simon,* for you zealously imitated the all-powerful God!* He revealed you to be filled with divine miracles,* for having unusual zeal, blessed one, you were aptly called "the Zealot,"* and obtained a calling consistent with your character!* Therefore, as you dwell on high with the choirs of heaven,* entreat the Word, O seer of God,* that He may grant us great mercy!
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) 1 John 4:9-16; (2) 1 John 4:20-5:5; (3) 1 John 3:21-4:6
Aposticha
In Tone 4
In being lifted upon the Cross, O Lord,* You abolished the curse which we had inherited from our fathers.* By going down into Hades,* You freed from eternal captivity those imprisoned there* and granted incorruption to mankind.* We, therefore praise Your life-giving and redeeming Resurrection.
The Paschal Stichera are now sung in the customary manner:
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 6
Glory...
Most holy Simon, disciple and apostle of Christ,* like a high flying eagle you soared over creation!* You burned up the falsehood of idolatry with the fiery sound of your teachings,* leading the nations out of the depths of ignorance* into the knowledge of God.* Now pray to Christ that He be merciful to us on the day of judgment!
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 to those in the tombs* giving life! (3)
Troparia
In 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.”
In Tone 3
Glory…
Holy Apostle Simon, intercede with the merciful God* to grant to our souls* forgiveness of sins.
In Tone 8
Now…
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!
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 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!
Troparion, Tone 3: Holy Apostle Simon, intercede with the merciful God* to grant to our souls* forgiveness of sins.
Kontakion, Tone 2: With praises let all of us call blessed* the divinely eloquent Simon.* He diligently planted the teachings of wisdom in the hearts of the godly* and stands now at the throne of glory* rejoicing with the bodiless powers and praying unceasingly for all of us.
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 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
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 8
Their utterance has gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
Epistle
Acts 11:19-26, 29-30; 1 Corinthians 4:9-16
Alleluia, 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: The heavens shall confess Your wonders, O Lord, and Your truth in the church of the saints. (Psalm 88:6)
Gospel
John 4:5-42; Matthew 13:54-58
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
Receive the Body of Christ;* taste the fountain of immortality.* Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the highest. (Psalm 148:1)* Their utterance has gone forth into all the earth,* and their words unto the ends of the world.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 18:5)
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.