New Texts arriving in the evening of April 17, 2024!
Event Information:
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Sun14Feb2021
Sunday of Cheesefare - Sunday of Forgiveness, Tone 4; the Repose of Our Venerable Father Constantine the Philosopher, in the Monastic Life, Cyril, Teacher of the Slavs (869); and our Venerable Father Auxentius (457-74); and the Venerable Maron the Wonder
Polyeleos Feast
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.
- Let Your ears be attentive* to the voice of my prayer.
Come, all you people,* let us sing the praises of our Saviour’s resurrection on the third day.* For we have, thereby, been delivered from the invincible bonds of Hades,* and we have received incorruption, together with eternal life.* Therefore, we cry out to You* after Your crucifixion, burial, and resurrection:* Save us by Your resurrection, for You love mankind.
In Tone 6
- If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
The Lord my Creator took me as dust from the earth* and formed me into a living creature* breathing into me the breath of life and giving me a soul;* He honoured me,* setting me as a ruler upon the earth over all things visible,* and making me a companion of the angels.* But Satan the deceiver,* using the serpent as his instrument,* enticed me by food;* he parted me from the glory of God* and gave me over to the earth* and to the lowest depths of death.* But, Master, in compassion, call me back again.
- I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
In my wretchedness I have cast off the robe woven by God,* disobeying Your divine command, O Lord, at the counsel of the enemy;* and I am clothed now in fig leaves and in garments of skin.* I am condemned to eat the bread of toil in the sweat of my brow,* and the earth has been cursed so that it bears thorns and thistles for me.* But, Lord, who in the last times was made flesh of a Virgin, call me back again* and bring me into Paradise.
- From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
O precious Paradise, unsurpassed in beauty,* tabernacle built by God, unending gladness and delight,* glory of the righteous, joy of the prophets and dwelling of the saints,* with the sound of your leaves* pray to the Maker of all:* may He open to me the gates which I closed by my transgression,* and may He count me worthy* to partake of the Tree of Life* and of the joy that was mine* when I dwelt in you before.
In Tone 4
- For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
О Father, you shone with the beauty of virtue,* and you went about the whole world,* like a bee putting the purest honey of divine wisdom* in the good hearts of those believing in the one Christ,* who came on earth and visited our lowliness* with his endless mercy and humility.
- Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
With the wisdom of meekness* and filled with love of God and knowledge of the true faith,* you netted the cities and countryside for God, О blessed Cyril.* By grace you came to those who had not received saving wisdom,* and therefore, we praise you with holy hymns.
- Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
You lived а life without fault and worthy of praise,* and your death was precious to God in the eyes of all.* Glorious with righteousness, О Father,* you gave your soul into God’s hands.* Therefore, we ask you to pray to him for mercy* for those who faithfully praise you.
In Tone 6
Glory…
Adam sat before Paradise and lamenting his nakedness,* he wept: “Woe is me!* By evil deceit was I persuaded and led astray,* and now I am an exile from glory.* Woe is me!* In my simplicity I was stripped naked,* and now I am in want.* O Paradise, no more shall I take pleasure in your joy;* for I shall return to the earth from whence I was taken.* O merciful and compassionate Lord,* to You I cry aloud: I am fallen, have mercy on me.”
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) Deuteronomy 1:8-17; (2) Deuteronomy 10:14-21; (3) Wisdom 3:1-9
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 Lord reigns, He is clothed in majesty. Robed is the Lord, and girt about with strength.
By hanging on the Cross, O Almighty One,* You shook the whole creation to its foundations.* When You Yourself were laid in the grave,* You raised to life those who had been lying in the graves,* and You granted life and incorruption to mankind.* We, therefore, praise and glorify Your resurrection on the third day.
For He has made the world firm, which shall not be moved.
O Christ, the lawless people showed their ingratitude to You, their Benefactor,* by delivering You to Pilate who condemned you to be crucified.* But You willingly suffered death and burial;* and, as God, You rose by Your own power on the third day,* granting us everlasting life and great mercy.
Holiness befits Your house, O Lord, for length of days.
The women, shedding bitter tears, came to see You in Your tomb;* and not finding Your body, they lamented, saying:* O Saviour and King of All, how were You stolen?* What place holds Your life-bearing body?* An angel answered them, saying:* Do not weep, but go and proclaim that the Lord is risen,* filling our hearts with joy;* for He alone is most compassionate.
In Tone 8
Glory…
The pure spiritual memory of the saints dwelt in your pure heart,* О venerable father, most blessed Cyril.* It showed you to be an exorcist terrifying to the evil spirits* and а doctor of hidden illnesses.* Therefore, since you have confidence before God, the Lover of mankind,* pray to him without ceasing to free us from stain of soul and body.
In Tone 6
Now…
Adam was cast out of Paradise through eating from the tree.* Seated before the gates he wept,* lamenting with a pitiful voice and saying:* “Woe is me,* what have I suffered in my misery!* I transgressed one commandment of the Master,* and now I am deprived of every blessing.* O most holy Paradise, planted for my sake and shut because of Eve,* pray to Him that made you and fashioned me,* that once more I may take pleasure in your flowers.”* Then the Saviour said to him:* “I desire not the loss of the creature which I fashioned,* but that he should be saved and come to knowledge of the truth;* and when he comes to me I will not cast him out.”
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.”
Glory…
From your childhood you befriended wisdom,* O God-inspired Cyril.* Beholding her as a pure virgin all radiant* you took her as a bride for yourself,* and as with beads of gold* she adorned your mind and soul.* O blessed Cyril,* like your namesake of Alexandria* we have found you wise in name and truth.
Now...
O Mother of God, the mystery hidden from all eternity* and unknown even to the angels,* was revealed through you to those on earth:* God took on our human nature* and united it to His divine nature in a perfect but unconfused union.* Then, He willingly accepted the cross for our sake* and thereby raised again the first created man,*and saved our souls from death.
DIVINE LITURGY
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: From your childhood you befriended wisdom,* O God-inspired Cyril.* Beholding her as a pure virgin all radiant* you took her as a bride for yourself,* and as with beads of gold* she adorned your mind and soul.* O blessed Cyril,* like your namesake of Alexandria* we have found you wise in name and truth.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Kontakion, Tone 2: With teaching that was sound and divinely inspired* you enlightened the world as with luminous rays.* Flashing like lightning and surrounding the world* you scattered the radiant word of God* in the west, the north, and the southern lands,* bringing light to the world with your wonders, O blessed Cyril.
Now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone 6: O Master, Guide to Wisdom*, Bestower of prudent counsel,* Instructor of the foolish and Defender of the poor ones;* make firm my heart and give it understanding.* Give me a word, O Word of the Father:* Behold, I shall not stop my lips from crying out to You:* In Your mercy, have mercy on me who am fallen.
Prokeimenon, Tone 8
Pray and give praise to the Lord our God.
verse: In Judea God is known; His name is great in Israel.
Prokeimenon, Tone 7
verse: Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His venerable ones.
Epistle
Romans 13:11-14:4; Hebrews 7:26-8:2
Alleluia, Tone 6
verse: It is good to give praise to the Lord, and to sing to Your name, O Most High.
verse: To announce Your mercy in the morning and Your truth every night.
verse: Blessed is the man who fears the Lord; he shall delight exceedingly in His commandments.
verse: His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth. (Psalm 111:1,2)
Gospel
Matthew 6:14-21; John 10:9-16
Communion Hymn
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)