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Event Information:
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Sun27Mar2022
Fourth Sunday of the Great Fast: St. John Climacus. Octoechos Tone 3. Our Holy Mother Matrona of Thessalonica
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.
In Tone 8
- From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
O holy father John,* truly have you ever carried on your lips the praises of the Lord,* and with great wisdom have you studied the words of Holy Scripture,* that teach us how to practice the ascetic life.* So have you gained the riches of grace,* and you have become blessed,* overthrowing all the purposes of the ungodly.
- For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
O holy father John,* truly have you ever carried on your lips the praises of the Lord,* and with great wisdom have you studied the words of Holy Scripture,* that teach us how to practice the ascetic life.* So have you gained the riches of grace,* and you have become blessed,* overthrowing all the purposes of the ungodly.
- Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
Most glorious father John,* with the fountain of your tears you have cleansed your soul,* and by keeping vigils through the night* you have gained God’s mercy.* You were raised on wings, O blessed one,* to the love of Him and of His beauty;* and as is right you dwell now in His unending joy,* with your fellow soldiers in the spiritual fight,* O holy saint of God.
- Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
O holy father John,* through faith you have lifted up your mind on wings to God;* hating the restless confusion of this world,* you have taken up your Cross;* and, by following Him who sees all things* you have subjected your rebellious body to His guidance through ascetic discipline,* by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In Tone 5
Glory…
O holy father,* hearing the voice of the Gospel of the Lord,* you have forsaken the world, counting as naught its riches and its glory;* and so you have cried out to all:* “Love God,* and you shall find eternal grace.* Set nothing higher than His love,* that, when He comes in glory,* you may find rest with all the saints.”* At their prayers, O Christ, guard and save our souls.
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.
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 2
Glory…
Let us honour John, angel upon earth and man of God in heaven,* adornment of the world, joy of the good and virtuous, glory of the ascetics.* For planted in the house of God he has blossomed with the flower of holiness,* and spread abroad like a cedar in the desert,* causing the sheep of Christ’s spiritual flock to increase* in sanctity and righteousness.
Now…
We now behold a new wonder,* greater than the wonders of old.* For who has ever known a mother to bear a child without the help of man?* Who has known a mother to hold in her arms the Source of all Creation?* It was God’s own will to be born in this manner;* and you, O most pure Virgin, carried Him as an infant in your arms.* Because of this, you can approach God with the boldness of a mother.* Therefore, we venerate you, and ask you to always beseech Him* to have mercy on us and save our souls.
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.
Glory… 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
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 1: O John, our God-bearing father,* you were shown to be a citizen of the desert,* an angel in bodily form,* and a worker of miracles.* Through fasting, prayers and vigils you received heavenly gifts* to heal the sick and the souls of those who, in faith, run to you.* Glory to Him who gives you strength.* Glory to Him who crowned you.* Glory to Him who works healing for all through you.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone 4: On the heights of true abstinence,* the Lord established you as a reliable star,* giving light for guidance to the ends of the earth,* O father John, our teacher.
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
The venerable ones will exult in glory* and they shall be joyful in their beds. (Psalm 149:5)
Epistle
Hebrews 6:13-20; Ephesians 5:9-19
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: They who are planted in the hose of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. (Psalm 91:14)
Gospel
Mark 9:17-31; Matthew 4:25-5:12
Hymn to the Mother of God
In you, O Full of Grace, all creation rejoices: the angelic ranks and all the human race. Sanctified temple and spiritual paradise, virgins’ pride and boast, from whom God is made flesh and became a little Child; and He who is our God before all ages, He made your womb a throne, and He made it wider that all the heavens. In you, O Full of Grace, all creation rejoices. Glory be to you.
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)