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Event Information:
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Sun03Apr2022
Fifth Sunday of the Great Fast: Our Venerable Mother, Mary of Egypt. Octoechos Tone 4. Our Venerable Father and Confessor Nicetas, Hegumen of the Monastery of Medicius (824)
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.
- If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
O Saviour, with the angels we sing the praises of Your resurrection on the third day.* For the very ends of the universe have, thereby, been enlightened,* and we have been saved from the deceit of the enemy.* Therefore, we cry out to You,* Almighty Saviour, Giver of Life, and Lover of mankind:* Save us by Your resurrection.
- I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
O Christ our God, You have demolished the brazen gates of Hades.* You have broken asunder the bonds of death,* and lifted up the fallen human race.* Therefore, we cry out with one accord:* O Lord, who arose from the dead, glory to You!
In Tone 6
- From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
The pollution of past sins* prevented you from entering the church* to see the elevation of the Holy Cross;* but then your conscience and the awareness of your actions* turned you, O wise in God,* to a better way of life.* And, having looked upon the icon of the blessed Maid of God,* You have condemned all your previous transgressions,* O Mother worthy of all praise,* and so have gone with boldness to venerate the precious Cross.
- For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
The pollution of past sins* prevented you from entering the church* to see the elevation of the Holy Cross;* but then your conscience and the awareness of your actions* turned you, O wise in God,* to a better way of life.* And, having looked upon the icon of the blessed Maid of God,* You have condemned all your previous transgressions,* O Mother worthy of all praise,* and so have gone with boldness to venerate the precious Cross.
- Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
Having worshipped at the holy places with great joy,* you have received saving grace for the journey of virtue,* and with all haste you have set out upon the good path you have chosen.* Crossing the stream of the Jordan,* with eagerness you have gone to live* in the dwelling place of the Baptist.* you have tamed the savagery of the passions* through your ascetic way of life,* and boldly you have broken the rebelliousness of the flesh,* O Mother ever-glorious.
- Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
Having gone to dwell in the wilderness,* you had blotted out from your soul the images of your sensual passions,* and marked upon it the God-given imprint of holiness.* You attained such glory, blessed Mother,* as to walk upon the surface of the water,* and in your prayers to God you were raised up from the earth.* And now, all-glorious Mary,* standing before Christ with boldness,* entreat Him for our souls.
In Tone 4
Glory…
The power of Your Cross, O Christ,* has worked wonders,* for even the woman who was once a harlot* chose to follow the ascetic way.* Casting aside her weakness,* bravely she opposed the devil;* and having gained the prize of victory,* she intercedes for our souls.
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 2
Glory…
The desire of your soul and the passions of your flesh* you have cut down with the sword of abstinence;* your sinful thoughts you have choked with the silence of the ascetic life.* With the streams of your tears you have watered all the wilderness,* and caused the fruits of repentance to spring up for us:** therefore, O saint, we celebrate your memory.
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 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... 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 8: The divine image was faithfully preserved in you, O mother,* for taking up the Cross, you followed Christ.* By your deeds you have taught us to see beyond the flesh, which passes,* and care for the soul, a thing immortal.* And so, O venerable Mary,* your spirit rejoices with the angels.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone 3: Once you were filled with every impurity,* now through repentance you have been revealed as a bride of Christ,* following the angelic life, you crushed demons with the weapon of the Cross.* Therefore, O glorious Mary, you have been shown to be a bride of the kingdom.
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 4
God is wonderful in His saints,* the God of Israel. (Psalm 67:36)
Epistle
Hebrews 9:11-14; Galatians 3:23-29
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)
Gospel
Mark 10:32-45; Luke 7:36-50
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)