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Event Information:

  • Sun
    22
    Aug
    2021

    Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Tone 4; Post-feast of the Dormition; Holy Martyr Agathonicus and those with him (286-305); Passing into Eternal Life (1964) of Bishop Symeon (Lukach) Confessor of Krasnoyarsk and Pastor of the Stanyslaviv (Ivano-Frankivs’k) Region

    GREAT VESPERS

    Kathisma Reading

    “Blessed is the man...” is sung.

    At Psalm 140

    In Tone 4

    1. 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.

    1. 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!

    1. 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.

    1. 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 4

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

    At your glorious Dormition* the heavens rejoice, and the armies of Angels exult.* The whole earth is glad, addressing its funeral hymn to you,* the Mother of the Master of all things,* all-holy Virgin who knew not wedlock,* who have delivered the human race from the ancestral condemnation.

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

    At a divine command* the chief Apostles gathered from the ends of the earth to bury you,* and when they saw you being taken from earth to heaven* they cried out with joy in Gabriel’s words:* “Rejoice, chariot of the whole Godhead!* Rejoice, for you alone by your childbearing* have joined together things on earth with those on high!”

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

    O Virgin Mother, Bride of God,* who carried the Life within your womb,* by your revered falling asleep you have passed over to immortal life.* Angels, Rulers and Powers, Apostles, Prophets and all creation escorted you,* and your Son received your most pure soul in His immaculate hands.

    In Tone 4

    1. For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.

    Seeking to regain the original beauty* and the splendour that surpasses all understanding,* you went joyously to the noble combat, O Agathonicus.* Having fought the enemy, you bravely crushed him into the ground.* You wove a brilliant crown of victory.* Entreat the Lover of mankind for those who honour you.

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

    Adorned with the wisdom of God,* you abounded with words which pour out life;* you refuted the foolish ones, reproved the torturer, and calmed the storm of idolatry.* You strengthened the faithful to persevere in God's grace.* For this you were cruelly burned alive,* but as a crown-bearer you entered the kingdom of heaven.

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

    Bathed in the blood of your passion, O Martyr,* you stood before the Master as a fragrant and pleasing sacrifice,* a pure and favourable gift,* a sacred offering and a spotless victim.* O Agathonicus, martyr of the Lord,* by your prayers watch over the whole Church in peace.

    In Tone 1

    Glory…

    Because the disciples had been both the eye-witnesses and servants of the Word,* it was also fitting that they should witness the final mystery,* the Dormition of his Mother according to the flesh.* They not only saw the ascension of the Saviour from earth to heaven,* but they also were witnesses of the translation of the Mother who bore Him.* They came to Zion to escort the Virgin, who surpasses the Cherubim,* as she hastened in her journey to heaven.* With them let us also bow low* before the One who intercedes for our souls.

    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.

    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…

    You were called an excellent treasure, O martyr Agathonicus,* and you became a temple and consecrated yourself to the King of all.* O seed of martyrs, you routed the power of the enemy* and grasped the reward of victory.* Now you stand before God on high as a crown-bearer.* Do not cease to entreat Him* in behalf of those who honour you.

    Now…

    O Theotokos, Christ your Son and our God* confirmed his two natures because He died as a man and rose as God.* O Mother of God, He also consented that you die* according to the law of nature* so that unbelievers might not question the workings of Providence.* O heavenly Bride, you were taken from earth* as though from the bridal chamber and entered heaven.* The atmosphere was sanctified by your passage through it,* just as earth was illumined by your giving birth.* The apostles assembled, and the angels carried you aloft.* After having buried your most pure body and having sung hymns,* they gazed in awe and fearfully said:* This is the ransom of the right hand of God* because He is within you, and He will not be moved.* O most honoured Mother, do not forsake us who look upon you.* We are your people and the sheep of your fold.* We invoke your name and ask for salvation and great mercy.

    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 4

    Glory…

    O Lord our God, Your holy martyrs* have deserved the crown of immortality* on account of their good fight.* Armed with Your strength, they have vanquished their persecutors* and crushed Satan's dreadful might.** Through their supplications, O Christ our God, save our souls.

    In Tone 1

    Now…

    In giving birth you retained your virginity,* in falling asleep you did not abandon the world, O Mother of God.* You passed into life, for you are the Mother of Life,* and by your prayers** you deliver 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 1: In giving birth you retained your virginity,* in falling asleep you did not abandon the world, O Mother of God.* You passed into life, for you are the Mother of Life,* and by your prayers* you deliver our souls from death.

    Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

    Kontakion, Tone 4: My Saviour and Deliverer from the grave* as God raised out of bondage the children of the earth* and shattered the gates of Hades;* and as Master, He rose on the third day.

    Now and for ever and ever. Amen.

    Kontakion, Tone 2: The tomb and death could not hold the Mother of God,* unceasing in her intercession and unfailing hope of patronage,* for, as the Mother of Life, she was transferred to life* by Him Who had dwelt in her ever-virgin womb.

    Prokeimenon, Tone 4

    How great are Your works, O Lord* You have made all things in wisdom.

    verse: Bless the Lord, O my soul: O Lord my God, You are exceedingly great. (Psalm 103:24,1)

    Prokeimenon, Tone 3

    verse: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour.

    Epistle

    1 Corinthians 16:13-24

    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: Rise up, O Lord, to the place of Your rest, You and the ark of Your holiness. (Psalm 131:8)

    Gospel

    Matthew 21:33-42

    Hymn to the Mother of God

    Seeing the pure one’s falling asleep, angels marvelled in wonder how the Virgin could ascend from earth to heaven.

    And the Irmos: O pure Virgin, in you are conquered the bounds of nature,* for childbirth remains virginal and death is betrothed to life.* Virgin after childbearing and alive after death, O Mother of God,* never cease to save your inheritance.

    Communion Hymn

    I will take the chalice of salvation;* and I will call upon the name of the Lord.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 115:13)

    Communion Hymn

    Praise the Lord from the heavens;* praise Him in the highest. (Psalm 148:1)* I will take the chalice of salvation;* and I will call upon the name of the Lord.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 115:13)