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Event Information:
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Sun08May2022
Fourth Sunday after Pascha - Sunday of the Paralytic. Octoechos Tone 3. The Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian; Our Venerable Father Arsenius the Great (408-50)
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.
In Tone 1
- Let Your ears be attentive* to the voice of my prayer.
O ineffable goodness who created the human form,* You came to heal those who are ill.* O Christ, by Your word You raised the Paralytic at the Sheep Pool;* You healed the suffering of the woman with the flow of blood;* You showed mercy to the tormented daughter of the Canaanite woman;* and You did not disdain the prayer of the centurion.* Because of this we cry out in praise:* O Almighty Lord, glory to You!
- If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
O ineffable goodness who created the human form,* You came to heal those who are ill.* O Christ, by Your word You raised the Paralytic at the Sheep Pool;* You healed the suffering of the woman with the flow of blood;* You showed mercy to the tormented daughter of the Canaanite woman;* and You did not disdain the prayer of the centurion.* Because of this we cry out in praise:* O Almighty Lord, glory to You!
- I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
The Paralytic was like an unburied dead man,* and when he saw You, O Lord, he cried out:* Have mercy on me, for my bed has become my grave.* Of what use is my life?* I have no need for the Sheep Pool,* for there is none to put me into the water.* Therefore, I come to You, O Fountain of all healing,* that with all I may cry to You:* O Lord Almighty, glory to You!
In Tone 1
- From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
The beholder of ineffable revelations* and recounter of the most sublime mysteries of God,* the son of Zebedee, who set down in writing the Gospel of Christ,* has taught us to theologize* concerning the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
- For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
The beholder of ineffable revelations* and recounter of the most sublime mysteries of God,* the son of Zebedee, who set down in writing the Gospel of Christ,* has taught us to theologize* concerning the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
- Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
The harp of heavenly songs played by God,* the recorder of mysteries, the divinely eloquent mouth,* beautifully chants the hymn of hymns;* for, moving his lips as though they were strings,* and using his tongue as a plectrum,* he prays that we be saved.
- Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
Proclaiming with your thunderous tongue* the hidden Word of divine wisdom, O beloved of God,* you ever cry out, continually moving your lips:* In the beginning was the Word!* And you instruct every man in the knowledge of God.
In Tone 5
Glory…
Jesus went up to Jerusalem to the Sheep Pool* which in Hebrew was called Bethesda.* And there lay a great multitude of sick people in its five porticoes;* for the angel of the Lord went down at certain times and stirred the water,* granting healing to those who approach in faith.* The Lord saw there a man with a chronic illness,* and He asked him: Do you want to be healed?* The sick man replied:* I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred.* I have spent my money on physicians* and received no help from anyone.* The Physician of soul and body said to him:* Take up your pallet and walk;* proclaim to the whole world* the greatness of My mercy and My mighty deeds.
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) 1 John 4:9-16; (2) 1 John 4:20-5:5; (3) 1 John 3:21-4:6
Lytia
In Tone 1
Rivers of theology poured forth from your honoured mouth, O apostle,* and the Church of God, watered thereby, worships the consubstantial Trinity in Orthodoxy.* Pray now to the Trinity, O theologian John,* that our souls be made steadfast and saved.
The garden of purity has emitted for us the myrrh of sweet fragrance on this present feast,* that we may cry out to him: O Apostle John,* who reclined against the Master's breast,* who has rained down discourse upon the world* and preserved the Virgin as the apple of your eye,* beseech Christ, that He grant us great mercy.
O disciple of the Saviour, virgin and theologian, when Christ God was crucified* He committed the Virgin Theotokos to your care, in that you are virginal;* and you preserved her as the apple of your eye.* Wherefore, pray that our souls be saved.
As an eyewitness to ineffable mysteries, you cried out, exclaiming:* “In the beginning the pre-eternal Word was with God, and He was God!”* O Apostle John, intimate and faithful friend of Christ,* delight of the Trinity, unshakable confirmation of Ephesus and Patmos, our help.* Pray, O most blessed theologian, that the people who ever celebrate your memory with faith* be delivered from wicked enemies, material and noetic.
In Tone 5
O venerable father, having heard the voice of the Gospel of the Lord,* you forsook the world, holding riches and glory to be as naught.* Wherefore, you cried out to all:* “Love God and you shall find eternal grace.* Prefer nothing to His love, that when He shall come in His glory,* you shall find rest with all the saints.”* By his supplications, O Christ, preserve and save our souls.
In Tone 4
Glory… Now…
Reclining against the breast of Christ the Teacher at the Lord's supper,* O beloved disciple, you thereby came to know ineffable things,* and has thundered forth your heavenly voice for all to hear,* saying: “In the beginning was the Word,* and the Word was with God, and the Word was God:* Christ God, the Saviour of our souls,* the Light of truth Who enlightens every man* who comes into the world.”
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.
Let God arise;* let His enemies be scattered!
Today a sacred Pascha is revealed to us.* A new and holy Pascha.* A mystical Pascha.* A Pascha worthy of veneration.* A Pascha which is Christ the Redeemer,* a blameless Pascha.* A great Pascha.* A Pascha of the faithful.* A Pascha which has opened for us the gates of Paradise.* A Pascha which sanctifies all the faithful.
As smoke vanishes,* let them vanish.
Come* from that scene, O women bearers of glad tidings,* and say to Sion:* Receive from us the glad tidings of joy* of Christ’s Resurrection:* Exult and be glad,* and rejoice, O Jerusalem,* seeing Christ the King* who comes forth from the tomb like a Bridegroom in procession!
So let sinners flee from before the face of God;* but let the righteous rejoice!
The myrrh-bearing women* at the break of dawn* drew near to the tomb of the LifeGiver.* There they found an angel* sitting upon the stone,* he greeted them with these words:* Why do you seek the living among the dead?* Why do you mourn the incorrupt amid corruption?* Go: proclaim the glad tidings to His disciples.
This is the day which the Lord has made:* Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Pascha of beauty!* The Pascha of the Lord!* Pascha!* A Pascha worthy of all honour* has dawned on us.* Pascha! Let us embrace each other joyously!* Pascha, ransom from affliction!* For today as from a bridal chamber* Christ has shown forth from the Tomb,* and filled the women with joy saying:* “Proclaim the glad tidings to the Apostles!”
In Tone 6
Glory…
O apostle of Christ, evangelist and theologian,* as an initiate of ineffable mysteries you have thundered forth upon us* the ineffable doctrines of wisdom,* explaining to the faithful that He was in the beginning,* and discounting that there was a time when He did not exist,* thus rejecting the words of the heretics.* And as you were shown to be the beloved intimate and friend of Christ,* like the eloquent Isaiah and Moses the God-seer,* pray earnestly for our souls, in that you have boldness before God.
Now…
This is the day of Resurrection,* let us be illumined by the Feast!* Let us embrace each other!* Let us call “Brothers!”* even those that hate us* and forgive all by the Resurrection,* and so let us cry:
Christ is risen from the dead,* trampling death by death,* and to those in the tombs* giving life! (3)
Troparia
In Tone 1
Hail, 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 Deliverer of our souls. (2)
In Tone 2
O beloved apostle of Christ our God,* hasten, deliver a people without defense.* He who received you when you leaned upon His breast accepts you as you bow in prayer.* Implore Him, O Theologian, to scatter the cloud of nations that besets us,* asking peace and great mercy for us.
DIVINE LITURGY
After the priest has exclaimed, Blessed be the Kingdom… and the people have responded, Amen, the clergy sing the Paschal Troparion once and the people repeat it. Then, the clergy sing the first half, and the people conclude it.
Paschal Troparion
Christ is risen from the dead,* trampling death by death,* and to those in the tombs* giving life.
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 2: O beloved apostle of Christ our God,* hasten, deliver a people without defense.* He who received you when you leaned upon His breast accepts you as you bow in prayer.* Implore Him, O Theologian, to scatter the cloud of nations that besets us,* asking peace and great mercy.
Kontakion, Tone 3: Lord, as of old You raised the Paralytic,* lift my soul by Your divine presence,* for by many sins and foolish actions,* I, too, am now afflicted and crippled.* Raise me, that being saved I may cry to You:* Glory to Your power, O merciful Christ.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Kontakion, Tone 8: Though You descended into a tomb, O Immortal One,* yet You destroyed the power of Hades;* and You rose as victor, O Christ God,* calling to the myrrh-bearing women: Rejoice!* and giving peace to Your Apostles:* You, who grant Resurrection to the fallen."
Now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone 2: O virgin apostle, who can recount your mighty works?* For you pour out wonders and healings* and you pray for our souls as Theologian and friend of Christ.
Prokeimenon, Tone 1
Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, as we have hoped in You.
verse: Rejoice in the Lord, O you just; praise befits the righteous. (Psalm 32:22,1)
Prokeimenon, Tone 8
Their utterance has gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. (Psalm 18:5)
Epistle
Acts 9:32-42; 1 John 1:1-7
Alleluia, Tone 1
verse: Of Your mercies, O Lord, I will sing forever; with my mouth I will proclaim Your truth from generation to generation.
verse: For You have said, "Mercy will be established forever." (Psalm 32:22,1)
verse: The heavens shall confess our wonders, O Lord, and Your truth in the church of the saints. (Psalm 88:6)
Gospel
John 5:1-15; John 19:25-27; 21:24-25
Hymn to the Mother of God
The Angel cried out to the One full of Grace: O chaste Virgin, rejoice! And again I say, Rejoice! Your Son has risen from the tomb on the third day, and raised the dead. Let all people rejoice! Shine, shine, O new Jerusalem, for the glory of the Lord has risen upon you! Exult now and be glad, O Sion! And you, O chaste Mother of God, take delight in the resurrection of your Son.
Communion Hymn
Receive the Body of Christ;* taste the fountain of immortality.* Their utterance has gone forth into all the earth,* and their words unto the ends of the world.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 18:5)
Instead of Blessed is He Who comes… we sing:
Christ is risen from the dead,* trampling death by death,* and to those in the tombs* giving life.
Instead of We have seen the true light… we sing:
Christ is risen from the dead,* trampling death by death,* and to those in the tombs* giving life.
Instead of May our mouths be filled… we sing three times:
Christ is risen from the dead,* trampling death by death,* and to those in the tombs* giving life.
Instead of Blessed be the name of the Lord… we sing three times:
Christ is risen from the dead,* trampling death by death,* and to those in the tombs* giving life.
At the dismissal, instead of Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and ever. Amen. we chant:
Christ is risen from the dead,* trampling death by death,* and to those in the tombs* giving life.
After the final Amen, the Troparion Christ is risen is sung as at the beginning of the Liturgy, but with the addition:
And to us He has granted life eternal;* we bow down before His resurrection on the third day.