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Event Information:
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Sun20Jun2021
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, Sunday of All Saints of Rus'-Ukraine, Tone 3; the Holy Priest-Martyr Methodius, Bishop of Patara (311)
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.
- Let Your ears be attentive* to the voice of my prayer.
We adore Your precious Cross, O Christ,* and with hymns of praise we glorify Your Resurrection;* for by Your wounds we have all been healed.
- If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
Let us sing the praises of the Saviour,* Who was incarnate of the Virgin;* for He was crucified for our sake,* and on the third day He arose from the dead,* granting us His great mercy.
- I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
Christ descended into Hades and announced to those confined there:* Take courage, for today I have conquered death.* I am the Resurrection, the One Who will set you free.* I shattered the gates of the realm of death.
- From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
O Christ our God, we unworthily stand in Your most pure temple,* and offer to You our evening hymns.* From the depths of our souls we cry out to You:* O Lover of Mankind, Who has enlightened the world* by Your Resurrection on the third day,* deliver Your people from the hands of Your enemies.
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 St. Olga, morning star of Christ’s gospel proclaimed in the city of Kyiv,* and St. Volodymyr, equal-to-the-Apostles, Baptizer of Rus’-Ukraine,* and all holy princes, God-pleasing leaders of our nation!* By your holy lives you opened the doors of divine truth and grace.* You strengthened the Church of Christ in our Ukrainian lands.* You are our constant protectors and intercessors, our honour and glory.* Therefore, may your names shine forth forever,* and may they be for us an inspiration* to faithfulness and perseverance in the holy faith,* for the salvation of our souls.
- Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
All the choirs of the hierarchs,* mighty luminaries of the Ukrainian Church!* As faithful followers of the apostles and as good shepherds,* you faithfully preserved the flock entrusted to you;* you led it along paths of truth* and carefully fed it with spiritual food,* not hesitating to give up your lives for your sheep.* Therefore, together with St. Josaphat, the priest-martyr,* implore the Chief Shepherd, Christ God,* for the Ukrainian nation’s faithfulness to His commandments* and great mercy for our souls.
- Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
Venerable fathers of the Monastery of the Caves, Anthony and Theodosius,* the first flowers of the Ukrainian Church,* and all the countless righteous ones* who followed after their steps, dedicating their lives to God!* You shine forth as an example of Christian perfection,* and you teach us by prayer and self-denial* to configure ourselves to Christ God* for the salvation of our souls.* Therefore, implore the good God,* that we may be made worthy of your intercession,* and that together with you, through prayer and sacrifice,* we may obtain for Christ’s Church and our Ukrainian nation* mercy and God’s bountiful blessings.
Glory…
O Martyrs and confessors,* hierarchs and priests, religious and laity,* who, for the sake of Christ,* suffered in prisons and labour camps,* and were broken in spirit and wasted by beatings, starvation, and cold!* Your numbers and your names are known only to the all-knowing God.* You shed rivers of righteous blood;* and with your tears bedewed the prison cells and torture chambers.* Your martyrs’ blood testifies before heaven and earth* to your unwavering faith in God.* You are our powerful intercessors* before the throne of the Most High.* Therefore, with the Mother of God, implore the heavenly Father,* the Saviour Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, the Advocate,* a continuous blessing upon our Church and nation,* so that they could joyfully and freely* glorify your holy names.
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) Sirach 34:13-17; (2) Wisdom 3:1-9; (3) Sirach 1:11-21
Lytia
In Tone 2
Let us extol today the illustrious and sacred memory* of our first God-inspired rulers and clergy,* who delivered us from the darkness of idolatry* and brought us to the Sun of Justice, Christ our God.
May the supplications of the ancient righteous ones of the land of Ukraine* and the sufferings of our confessors of the holy Gospel* rise as fragrant incense before the throne of the Most High;* for it is by their sacrifices that the Church of Christ in Ukraine* is regenerated and strengthened.
In Tone 5
Glory…
Let a mighty ‘Hosanna’ today resound throughout heaven* and the golden fields of our wide steppes* from the prayerful hearts of the millions of our faithful* who glorify and thank You, O gracious and almighty God,* for the most precious gift, the Christian faith and the tablets of Christian holiness,* which our ancestors received from Your great goodness* and passed on to us for the sanctification and salvation of our souls.
Now…
You are the temple, the gate, the palace, and royal throne,* O most pure Virgin.* Through you my Saviour, Christ the Lord,* appeared as the Sun of Justice* to those who were sleeping in darkness,* desiring to enlighten those He had created in His own image.* Therefore, O all-gracious One, with a mother’s confidence,* pray to Him unceasingly that our souls may be saved.
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.
The Lord reigns, He is clothed in majesty. Robed is the Lord, and girt about with strength.
O Lord, Your life-giving Resurrection has enlightened the entire universe* and has revived Your creation which lay in corruption.* Therefore, we, who have been released from the curse of Adam, cry out to You:* Almighty Lord, glory to You!
For He has made the world firm, which shall not be moved.
O God, although in Your divine nature You are unchangeable,* yet in Your human nature You underwent change by suffering in the flesh.* All creation was prostrate with fear* when it saw You hanging on the Cross,* and it groaned in sorrow as it sang the praises of Your long-suffering.* But You descended into Hades and arose on the third day,* granting life and great mercy to the world.
Holiness befits Your house, O Lord, for length of days.
You suffered death, O Christ, to deliver mankind from death.* And when You arose from the dead on the third day,* You enlightened the world* and resurrected all who acknowledge You as God.
In Tone 4
Glory…
We glorify the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,* and render thanks to You, the Triune God of one essence,* for the precious treasure which You deigned to give* to our holy princes and teachers,* holy priests and monks, confessors and martyrs for the Church of Christ.* Their struggles are the source of our strength.* Therefore, by honouring their memory* we, together with them, beseechingly cry out:* Lord, grant that we may all be one,* that all the children of Rus’-Ukraine may extol You* with one heart and one voice, the only true God,* and become worthy of Your eternal bliss* in the light that knows no evening.
Now…
O most pure Virgin, hear the petitions of your servants.* Remove the burdens which oppress us,* and deliver us from our sorrows;* for you are the only firm and constant support on whom we rely.* O Mother of God, never permit us who call upon you* to be overwhelmed by our cares.* Hasten to fulfil the supplications of all who, in faith, cry out to you:* Rejoice, O Lady, helper of all mankind,* the joy, the refuge, and the salvation of our souls.
Troparia
In Tone 1
Rejoice, Mother of God, Virgin Mary, full of grace,* The Lord is with you.* Blessed are you among women,* and blessed is the fruit of your womb.* For you have borne Christ, the Saviour and Redeemer of our souls. (2)
In Tone 4
O you, who glorified Christ:* princes and bishops,* monastics and martyrs,* and steadfast confessors of Christian Ukraine throughout all times,*pray Christ God to look with favour on our people* and to grant them the grace to persevere in the faith* that the souls of prayerful faithful* who revere your sacred memory* may be saved.
DIVINE LITURGY
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 4: O you, who glorified Christ:* princes and bishops,* monastics and martyrs,* and steadfast confessors of Christian Ukraine throughout all times,*pray Christ God to look with favour on our people* and to grant them the grace to persevere in the faith* that the souls of prayerful faithful* who revere your sacred memory* may be saved.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Kontakion, Tone 3: You rose from the tomb, O compassionate Lord,* and led us out from the gates of death.* Today Adam exults and Eve rejoices,* and the prophets together with the patriarchs* unceasingly acclaim the divine might of Your power.
Now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone 4: You shine as bright beacons,* O God-inspired and righteous saints of our Church.* By your encouraging example,* you serve communities of faithful throughout the Christian world.* Therefore we humbly bow our heads to you* thanking our great and all-gracious God* Who has made you our intercessors in heaven* where you pray for our souls.
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
verse: Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His venerable ones.
Epistle
Romans 5:18-23; Romans 8:28-39
Alleluia, Tone 3
verse: In You, O Lord, have I hoped that I may not be put to shame for ever.
verse: Be a protector unto me, O God, and a house of refuge to save me. (Psalm 30:2,3)
verse: Blessed is the man who fears the Lord; he shall delight exceedingly in His commandments. (Psalm 111:1)
Gospel
Matthew 8:5-13; Matthew 5:1-16
Communion Hymn
Praise the Lord from the heavens;* praise Him in the highest. (Psalm 148:1)* Rejoice in the Lord, O you just;* praise befits the righteous.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 32:1)