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Event Information:
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Sun20Aug2023
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost. Octoechos Tone 3; Post-feast of the Dormition; the Holy Prophet Samuel
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.
In Tone 5
If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
Christ was made flesh from you, all-pure Virgin!* He assumed the human likeness for our sake.* When He desired to take you from this world and receive you to Himself,* the disciples assembled to bury your pure body.* They gathered around you filled with joy.* When the time for your passing had come,* they worshipped, crying out with faith:* Rejoice, Mother of Him who grants the world 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.
When the time for your exodus had come,* the holy disciples stood before you and said:* As we behold your glorious and holy passing,* we honour the tent of your body as God's throne of fire!* The tabernacle of his glory now is carried to burial by our hands,* your body from which the world has received great mercy!
From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
Standing beside your bed,* asleep in accordance with nature's law,* the disciples of the redeemer prepared to carry your body to the grave.* They sang burial hymns to you, pure and holy Lady:* Rejoice, honoured abode of God!* Rejoice, helper of mankind!* Rejoice, pure chariot of divinity!* You are taken to the everlasting hills most wondrously!* The ark of glory passes over to God!* With Him, she takes up her rest forever,* asking for the faithful unending peace and great mercy!
In Tone 4
For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Samuel, she who gave birth to you,* received you as a worthy fruit of prayer!* As she had promised, with her maternal hands* she gave you, a rightly acceptable gift,* to God her benefactor!* Therefore the grace of the Spirit rested upon you, glorious one,* causing you to grow in innocence,* and adorning you with wisdom!
Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
You were invested as a priest with sacred chrism* and revealed to be a prophet who foresaw things to come!* At the command of God, you foretold the future and anointed a king.* You judged with justice the people of Israel* who ever sinned and withdrew themselves from their God,* truly-wondrous Samuel, the blessed bearer of God!
Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
Putting aside the gloom and weight of the flesh* you now behold him who you desired,* not in a mirror darkly or in shadows, as before,* but face to face!* You rejoice as you go about the heavens, most honoured prophet,* peer of the other prophets of God,* converser with the righteous and sharer in the portion of the angels!
In Tone 8, Glory…
You believed in Jesus, your Son and our God, Theotokos.* He was put to death as a Man, but as God, He arose!* Conforming to nature's law, you also died, Mother of God.* But you were taken into the bridal chamber of heaven!* The heavens are sanctified by your ascent* just as the earth was illumined by your childbearing!* Both angels and apostles assembled to bury your pure body.* They sang you a funeral hymn in fear* as they beheld your passage to life:* This is a change in the right hand of the Most High!* He dwelt within you and you shall never be moved!* Do not turn your face from us, most praiseworthy one!* We are your people, the sheep of your pasture:* We call on your name.* Through you may we receive salvation and great mercy!
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… Now…
The earth, O Virgin,* is blessed by your burial,* according to the law of nature.* But the heavens are made holy* by your wonderful ascent!
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.
In Tone 2, Glory…
As we celebrate the memory of Your prophet, Samuel,* O Lord, we beseech You through him: “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.
SUNDAY MATINS
Usual Beginning
Hexapsalm
Great Litany
God the Lord, Tone 3
Troparia, 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. (2)
In Tone 2, Glory…
As we celebrate the memory of Your prophet, Samuel,* O Lord, we beseech You through him: “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.
Psalter Reading
Stasis I: Psalms 9, 10
Stasis II: Psalms 11, 12, 13
Stasis III: Psalms 14, 15, 16Small Litany
Sessional Hymn I, Tone 3
Christ has arisen from the dead, the first fruits of those that sleep.* The First-born of creation and Creator of all that has come to be,* has renewed in Himself the corrupted nature of our race.* Death, no longer is your lord,* for the Master of all things has destroyed your dominion.
Arise, O Lord my God, let Your hands be lifted on high;* forget not Your poor to the end.
Having tasted death in the flesh, O Lord,* You have blotted out the bitterness of death by Your arising* strengthening mankind against it, and announcing the abolition of the ancient curse.* Defender of our lives, O Lord, glory be to You!
Glory… Now…
Awed by the beauty of your virginity* and the exceeding radiance of your purity,* Gabriel called out to you, O Theotokos:* What worthy hymn of praise can I offer to you?* And what shall I name you?* I am in doubt and stand in awe.* Wherefore as commanded, I cry to you:* Rejoice, O Full of Grace.
Psalter Reading
Stasis I: Psalm 17
Stasis II: Psalms 18, 19, 20
Stasis III: Psalms 21, 22, 23Small Litany
Sessional Hymn II, Tone 3
Awed by Your immutable Godhead* and by Your voluntary passion, O Lord,* Hades lamented: I tremble at Your body’s essence, which remains incorrupt.* I behold You, the One who is invisible, mystically making war against me;* wherefore those whom I hold cry out:* ‘Glory, O Christ, to Your Resurrection!’
I will confess You, O Lord, with my whole heart,* I will tell of all Your wonders.
We the faithful contemplate an ineffable mystery:* Your incomprehensible Crucifixion and Your inexplicable Arising.* For today Death and Hades have been despoiled,* but mankind has been clothed in incorruption.* Wherefore with thanksgiving we cry aloud to You:* Glory, O Christ, to Your Resurrection!
Glory… Now…
Mystically did you contain in your womb* the Incomprehensible and Uncircumscribed One,* consubstantial with the Father and the Spirit;* and we acknowledge in your Offspring one unconfused energy of the Trinity Who is glorified in the world.* And so with thanksgiving we cry to you, ** ‘Rejoice, O full of grace!’
Polyeleos
Evlogitaria
Small Litany
Hypakoe, Tone 3
A Cause of amazement by his appearance,* and source of refreshment by his speech,* the radiant Angel spoke to the myrrh-bearing women saying:* Why do you seek the living in a grave?* He has arisen, emptying the graves.* Know that the unchangeable One has changed corruption.* Wherefore cry to God saying,* ‘How fearful are Your works!* For You have saved mankind.’
Hymn of Ascent, Tone 3
Antiphon 1
You, O Word, delivered the captivity of Sion from Babylon,* Deliver me also* from the passions to life.
Those who sow in the South* with tears inspired by God,* shall in joy reap sheaves of everlasting life.
Glory… Now…
By the Holy Spirit,* together with the Father and the Son* shines forth the reflection of every good gift,* In Him all things live and have their being.
Antiphon 2
Except the Lord build the house of the virtues,* in vain do we labour.* While He protects our soul no one lays waste our city.
The Saints, O Christ, fruits of the womb,* are by the Spirit, always sons to You,* as You are to the Father.
Glory… Now…
The Holy Spirit is the inspiration of all that is holy and wise;* for He quickens every creature.* Let us worship Him* together with the Father and the Son, for He is God.
Antiphon 3
Those who fear the Lord are blessed* as they walk along the paths of His commandments;* for they partake of the life-giving fruit.
Be glad, Chief Shepherd,* beholding Your offspring around Your table* bearing the branches of good works.
Glory… Now…
In the Holy Spirit is a superabundance of glory;* for from Him proceeds forth grace and life* into all creation;* wherefore He is praised together with the Father and the Word.
Prokeimenon, Tone 3
Proclaim to the nations: God is king. The world He made firm in its place.
verse: O sing a new song to the Lord, sing to the Lord all the earth.
Let everything that lives, Tone 3
Gospel
Matthew 28:16-20
Hymn of Resurrection
Psalm 50
Verses at Psalm 50
Canon, Tone 3
Ode 1
Irmos: In time past by his divine command he gathered the waters into one heap* and divided the sea for the people of Israel:* this is our God, he is glorious,* to him alone we sing, for he is glorified.
Glory to your holy Resurrection, O Lord.
He condemned the earth to bring forth thorns, fruit of the transgressor’s sweat; he received in the flesh a crown of thorns from the hands of lawless men : this is our God, he has done away with the curse, he is glorified.
Glory to your holy Resurrection, O Lord.
He whom death smote is declared the conqueror who won the victory over death; for taking living flesh subject to suffering, he wrestled with the tyrant and raised up all with himself: he is our God, he is glorified.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
All nations glorify you, true Mother of God, who seedlessly bore your child; for he, our God, stole down into your hallowed womb and, invested with our being, God and man was born of you.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
O Virgin, every kind fittingly bends the knee to him who took flesh from you: heavenly things together with things on earth and those beneath the earth, for he is glorified.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
What of the transactions, O Maid, which took place in you! He, who is God, source of all good, giver without envy of the divine Spirit to us, took flesh from you: he is glorified.
Irmos: Your sacred and glorious memory, all-adorned with divine glory, O Virgin,* has gathered all the faithful in gladness,* who, led by Miriam with choirs and timbrels, hymn your only-begotten Son,* for gloriously has He been glorified.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
Let the immaterial ranks accompany your divine and immaterial body to Sion, for the multitude of the apostles, coming together of a sudden from the ends of the earth, stood before you, O Theotokos. With them we also glorify your honoured memory, O pure one.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
The honours of victory over nature have you taken, having given birth to God, O pure one; yet, emulating your Creator and Son, you submit to the laws of nature in supernatural manner. Wherefore, having died, you rise with your Son unto everlasting life.
Irmos: O You Who were born of the Virgin,* drown, I pray You, the three parts of my soul in the depths of dispassion,* as You did of old drown the mounted captains of Pharaoh,* that in the mortality of my body, as on a timbrel, I may chant a hymn of victory.
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
O wise offspring of a barren woman, by your supplications vouchsafe my barren soul to put forth the good fruits of the virtues, that I may praise your splendid festival with sacred hymns, O Samuel.
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
He, Who of old loosed the womb of Sarah, manifestly fulfilled the entreaty of Hannah and, through grace, made that barren woman fertile, O Samuel, and was well pleased that you shone forth from her like a star.
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
Having dyed your divine vesture in sacred manner, O all-blessed one, you enlightened your soul with the mystic rays of the Spirit, learning every mystery and serving Almighty God like an angel, O divinely wise one.
Glory… Now…
He Who, as the pre-eternal Son, is with the Father, in latter times truly became your Son, incarnate, O pure one, and for the sake of their faith, as God He adopted all who laboured for the cruel adversary.
Ode 3
Irmos: Almighty Lord,* you brought all things from nothing into being,* created by the Word, perfected by the Spirit.* Make me firm in your love.
Glory to your holy Resurrection, O Lord.
The ungodly man was brought to shame by your cross; he dug a pit and opened it up and fell into it himself; the horn of the lowly, O Christ, is lifted up in your resurrection.
Glory to your holy Resurrection, O Lord.
The proclamation of righteousness to the nations as water has covered the seas, O Lover of man, for you have risen from the grave and revealed the splendour of the Trinity.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
Glorious things are spoken of you, the living city of the King who reigns for ever. For through you, O Lady, God dwelt among those on earth.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
The rod from Jesse’s root had budded, as foretold, from the Virgin rose the flower for us, you, O Christ. Holy are you, O Lord .
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
You were born of the Virgin that you might make the sons of earth partakers of the divine, taking our flesh you came to poverty. Holy are you, O Lord.
Irmos: O Christ, creative and almighty Wisdom and Power of God,* establish the Church immovable and unshaken;* for You alone are holy* Who rest in the saints.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
The glorious apostles, seeing you to be a mortal woman, yet, in manner transcending nature, the Mother of God, O all-immaculate one, with awe touched with their hands you who are resplendent in glory, perceiving you to be a habitation acceptable to God.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
When God preserved with the glory of His divinity the honour of the animate ark wherein the Word became flesh, the judgment of retribution overtook the insolent one through the severing of his audacious hands.
Irmos: Neither in wisdom, nor in power, nor yet in riches do we boast;* but in You, O Christ, hypostatic Wisdom of the Father;* for none is holy save You,* O Lover of mankind.
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
Having cleaved unto God in most exalted manner, O glorious one, you were beloved of Him, adorned with divine wisdom and made comely in soundness of soul.
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
Showing forth an angelic life on earth, O Samuel, you had angels conversing with you openly and teaching you things past understanding, O blessed one.
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
Having acquired the radiant eye of your soul, through grace you truly behold things afar off as though they were near at hand, showing yourself to be a prophet of the Almighty.
Glory… Now…
Jesus Christ came forth from you incarnate, and has deified us by taking on our flesh, O all-immaculate one. Wherefore, we honour you as His Mother.
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.
Ikos
Hedge round my thoughts, O my Christ, for I make bold to hymn Your pure Mother as the bulwark of the world. Strengthen me on the tower of words, and help me amid weighty thoughts, for You fill with lightning them that cry out and ask it of You with faith. Therefore, grant me a bountiful tongue and thought unashamed; for every gift of splendour comes down from You, O Bestower of light, Who had dwelt in her ever-virgin womb.
Kontakion, Tone 4
Enlightened by the spirit* your pure heart, having seen the distant in the present* became a vessel of brilliant prophecy;* and so we honour you, O blessed and glorious prophet, Samuel.
Sessional Hymn, Tone 3
Raised on the judgments of the law,* you were shown to be an honoured anointing,* having served as priest like Aaron;* and illumining your heart by the Spirit,* you saw things afar off as though they were near at hand, O honoured prophet.* Entreat Christ God, that He grant our souls peace and great mercy.
Glory… Now…
Your seedless conception in giving birth,* and your incorrupt mortality in your dormition,* a twofold wonder within a wonder,* have merged in you, O Theotokos.* For how are you who have not known man a pure nourisher of an Infant?* And how do you, the Mother of God, perfume with myrrh a mortal body?* Wherefore, with the angel we cry to you:* Rejoice, O you who are full of grace!
Ode 4
Irmos: A mighty love you have shown to us, O Lord,* for you have given over to death for us your only-begotten Son;* therefore we thank you and cry to you:* Glory to your power, O Lord.
Glory to your holy Resurrection, O Lord.
Scars and bruises compassionately bearing, insult of blows enduring, long-patient under the spitting, O Christ; through these you have wrought my salvation. Glory to your power, O Lord.
Glory to your holy Resurrection, O Lord.
Life in mortal body, you conversed with deatiaor the sake of the misery of the poor and the sighing of the needy; and. destroying the destroyer, O glorified One, you raised up all with yourself, only Lover of man.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
Remember, O Christ, your flock won by your Passion: visit the afflicted, accept the compassionate prayers of your Mother glorified and save it, O Lord, by your power.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
You, O Lord, who weighed out the mountains in the scales of divine knowledge, have been hewn from the Virgin, the stone uncut by human hands. Glory to your power, O Lover of man.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
With most drastic remedy you have healed our sick nature, O Lord, in the Virgin, for in her you compounded the healing medicine, your pure divinity, O Word.
Irmos: The sayings and images of the prophets revealed Your incarnation from the Virgin, O Christ.* The splendour of Your effulgence goes forth to the enlightenment of the nations* and the abyss gave forth her voice to You with gladness:* Glory to Your power, O You Who loves mankind.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
Behold, O you people, and marvel, for the holy and openly manifest mountain of God is exalted on high to the mansions of heaven: the earthly heaven becomes a celestial and incorrupt habitation.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
Your death became a passage to an everlasting and better life, O pure one, translating you from transitory life to that which is truly divine and eternal, that you might behold your Son and Lord in gladness, O pure one.
Irmos: Seated in glory upon the throne of the Godhead,* Jesus most divine is come upon a light cloud,* and with His incorrupt arm He has saved them that cry:* Glory to Your power, O Christ!
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
Adorned in sacred manner with an exemplary life, the saving laws of God were entrusted to you to proclaim to transgressing Israel who ever drives away the merciful.
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
Eli the priest is condemned because of his iniquitous sons and by the righteous Judge is cut off from the service of God; and the priestly Samuel is installed in his place because of his guileless soul, as one obedient to Him Who called.
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
Standing forth alone with the justification of the law, like Aaron of old, you served the King of all and offered to Him the sacrifices prescribed by the law, which prefigured the saving sacrifice of Christ.
Glory… Now…
Without abandoning the bosom of the Father, the Savior was well pleased to descend into your womb as a newborn Babe, O Virgin, for the restoration of our souls. To Him do we cry: Glory to Your power, O Christ!
Ode 5
Irmos: Early I wake to you the Creator of all* and the peace which passes all understanding:* guide me in your ordinances,* for they are light.
Glory to your holy Resurrection, O Lord.
Through the envy of the Jews handed over to an unrighteous judge, you, the all-seeing who judges all the earth in righteousness, delivered Adam from the ancient condemnation.
Glory to your holy Resurrection, O Lord.
Christ, risen from the dead, grant peace to your churches in the invincible power of your cross, and save our souls.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
You alone, the Ever-virgin who received the Word of God unbounded by the whole creation, are declared the holy tabernacle wider than the heavens.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
O Virgin, the Word of God, your Son, creator of Adam, first-formed man, was no created being even though he fashioned for himself from you a living flesh.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
Equal to the Father, Son of the Virgin, Word of God, fulness of person in two natures, Jesus is Lord, perfect God and perfect man.
Irmos: We confess the divine and ineffable beauty of Your virtues, O Christ;* for having shone forth from eternal glory as the co-eternal and hypostatic Effulgence,* incarnate of the Virgin’s womb You have shone forth as the Sun* upon them that are in darkness and shadow of death.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
The choir of the apostles assembled, borne as on a cloud to Sion from the ends of the earth, to serve you, the light cloud through whom God Most High, the Sun of righteousness, has shone forth upon them that are in darkness and shadow.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
More harmonious than clarions, the God-pleasing tongues of the theologizing men sounded forth to the Theotokos, playing a funeral hymn inspired by the Spirit: Rejoice, O incorrupt fountain of God’s life-creating incarnation which saves all!
Irmos: The impious do not perceive Your glory, O Christ;* but, waking at dawn out of the night, O Only-begotten One, we hymn You,* the Effulgence of the glory of the Father of the Godhead,* O You Who love mankind.
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
Having been made wise by the divine Spirit, thou were a servant of God from your infancy, O glorious one, anointing kings with the oil of chrism and through grace, at the behest of God.
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
To Saul who remained disobedient, O blessed Samuel, your foretold his rash actions, the divine will and his open abandonment by the divine Spirit.
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
Ever living with the Israelites in guilelessness, manifestly denounced their wicked turning away from God, setting them aright as a priest of God, a prophet most true.
Glory… Now…
Abiding with us in His lovingkindness, the Saviour became incarnate of your sacred blood in manner past understanding, O all-immaculate one; and being God and man, He is known as the Lover of mankind.
Ode 6
Irmos: The deepest abyss of sins has surrounded me* and my spirit fails me;* but stretch out your mighty arm, O Lord my pilot, as to Peter,* and save me.
Glory to your holy Resurrection, O Lord.
The abyss of mercy and pity has surrounded me in your tender descent, O Lord, for, made flesh and taking the form of a servant, you made me as God and glorified me with yourself.
Glory to your holy Resurrection, O Lord.
The one who dealt death has undergone death through seeing the One put to death now brought to life: these things are the tokens of your Resurrection, O Christ, and the rewards of your pure Passion.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
Only All-pure, beyond understanding you were mediator between the Creator and man, pray to
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
Without lot or share in form, he has taken our form from a Maid untouched, becoming man in form and in substance without change in his divinity.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
From the abyss of sins, from the storms of passions sweeping tumultuously over me, All-pure, deliver me; for you are a harbour and an abyss of marvels for the faithful who run to you.
Ode 6
Irmos: The inner fire of the sea from the deep which gives rise to the whales* was a prefiguring of Your three-day burial, whereof Jonah was shown to be the proclaimer;* for, remaining unharmed as he was before he was sent forth, he cried:* I will sacrifice to You with a voice of praise, O Lord!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
God, the King of all, gives you that which transcends nature; for, as He kept you a virgin during your birthgiving, so did He preserve your body untouched by corruption in the tomb; and He glorified you with Himself by a divine translation, rendering you honour as a Son to His Mother.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
Truly, O Virgin, your Offspring set you in the Holy of Holies as the splendid candlestick of the immaterial Light, the golden censer of the divine Ember, the jar and the staff, the divinely inscribed tablet, the holy ark, the table of the Word of life.
Irmos: Prefiguring Your three-day burial,* within the whale the prophet Jonah cried out, praying:* Deliver me from corruption,* O Jesus, King of hosts!
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
Your discourse, rendered divine through the grace of the Word, revealed things afar off as though they were near at hand, O prophet Samuel, vessel of the divine Spirit.
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
Elevated by exalted visions and deeds as a prophet and godly priest of the Almighty, you cleanse the people with the services of the law, O right wondrous one.
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
Saul proved himself unworthy, having transgressed God’s command; and in his stead God commanded you to anoint the meek David with chrism, O divinely wise Samuel.
Glory… Now…
Eve has been delivered from pain, O all-immaculate one; for you gave birth without pain to Christ our God Who has manifestly healed the sufferings and pain of all.
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.
Ikos
Let heaven and earth dance together today and with one mind sing to Christ God for he has raised from the graves those held in bonds. All creation rejoices together and brings to our Creator and Redeemer of all its fitting songs. For today, as giver of life, with himself he drew mortal man from Hell and lifts him up to heaven, he dashes down the pride of the enemy and breaks in pieces the gates of Hell by the divine might of his authority.
Ode 7
Irmos: As, long ago, your dew refreshed the three godly children in the Chaldean flames,* so shine with the enlightening fire of your Godhead* upon us who cry to you:* Blessed are you, God of our fathers.
Glory to your holy Resurrection, O Lord.
The fair veil of the temple was rent in the cross of the Creator, clearly announcing the hidden truth in the scriptures to the faithful who cry to you: Blessed are you, God of our fathers.
Glory to your holy Resurrection, O Lord.
When your side was pierced, O Christ, drops of your life-giving blood, flowing from God by divine dispensation, distilled upon the earth and re-made those born of the earth who cry to you: Blessed are you, God of our fathers.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, the Lord
Let us the faithful glorify the Good Spirit with the Father and the only-begotten Son, one in three, as we worship the first cause and one Godhead, crying: Blessed are you, God of our fathers.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
Death is bold, but when it joined battle with you, God in person made flesh of the Virgin, you destroyed it.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
We all know you as God-bearer for you conceived God in your womb; undefiled, you bore that one of the Trinity who was made flesh. Blessed is the fruit of your womb, All-pure.
Irmos: The divine will, opposing the shameless rage and the fire,* bedewed the fire and put wrath to shame by the divinely inspired three-stringed lyre of the venerable youths,* opposing the musical instruments amid the flames, chanting:* O all-glorious God of our fathers, blessed are You!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
Enraged, Moses smashed the divinely wrought tablets which had been inscribed by the divine Spirit; but the Master, preserving unharmed her who gave birth to Him, has now caused her to dwell in the mansions of heaven. Celebrating with her, let us cry out to Christ: O all-glorious God of our fathers, blessed are You!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
On the cymbals of pure lips, with the music of a radiant heart, on the high-sounding clarion of exalted thought, clapping our diligent hands on the renowned and chosen day of the repose of the pure Virgin, let us cry aloud: O all-glorious God of our fathers, blessed are You!
Irmos: The three youths in Babylon,* transforming the command of the tyrant into foolishness,* cried out in the midst of the flame:* Blessed are You, O Lord God of our fathers!
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
She that gave birth to you, having prayed a sacred prayer, brings you to the King of all as a great gift, chanting: O Lord God of our fathers, blessed are You!
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
Divine grace enlightened you who lived within the temple and ministered to the Master of heaven according to the rank of Aaron, O glorious Samuel.
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
You judged the people of Israel with divine discourse, O blessed one, ever declaring the righteousness of God to them and averting all adverse harm by earnest supplication.
Glory… Now…
Having truly given birth to the fire of the Godhead, O all-pure one, you were shown to be unconsumed. Wherefore, as you are merciful and right loving, O Theotokos, burn up the tinder of my passions.
Ode 8
Irmos: In the unbearable fire, unharmed by the flames,* the young men, famed for their fear of God, stood as one and sang the divine hymn:* Bless the Lord, all you his works,* and exalt him throughout all the ages.
Glory to your holy Resurrection, O Lord.
The brightness of the temple was rent when your cross was set on Golgotha: all creation bowed down together and raised the song: Bless the Lord, all you his works, and exalt him throughout all the ages.
Glory to your holy Resurrection, O Lord.
You have risen, Christ, from the grave, by the divine power of the cross you have raised man overthrown by treachery and set him straight again, crying out and saying: Bless the Lord, all you his works, and exalt him throughout all the ages.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
You are declared to be the temple of God, living resting-place and ark, for you, pure Mother of God, have reconciled the Creator to mortal man and fittingly we his works sing your praises and exalt you throughout all the ages.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
Peerless Mother, surpassing far the ranks of angels and set so near to God: O Virgin, blessed one, we bless your child and highly exalt him throughout all the ages.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
You revealed a fairness more beautiful than nature, shining forth the flesh of God; O Virgin, blessed one, we bless your child and highly exalt him throughout all the ages.
Irmos: The almighty Angel of God showed forth for the youths a flame* which bedewed the venerable and utterly consumed the ungodly;* and He made the Theotokos a life-creating well-spring* pouring forth destruction for death and life for them that chant:* O you who have been delivered,* let us hymn and exalt the one Creator for all ages!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
With discourses the whole multitude of theologians accompanied the sacred coffin of the Theotokos in Sion, exclaiming: to where do you go, O tabernacle of the living God? Cease not to regard them that chant with faith: O you who have been delivered, let us hymn and exalt the one Creator for all ages!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
You go forth, O all-immaculate one, lifting up your hands, the hands wherewith you bore God in the flesh; and as a Mother you with boldness said to Him Who was born of you: Preserve forever them whom You have given to me, who cry out to You: O you who have been delivered, let us hymn and exalt the one Creator for all ages!
Irmos: O almighty Deliverer of all,* descending into the midst of the flame* You bedewed the pious ones and taught them to chant:* Bless and hymn the Lord, all you works!
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
Arrayed in the vesture of Aaron, you entered into the Holy of Holies, purifying Israel with sacrifices prefiguring the saving sacrifice of the Lamb, O all-blessed one.
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
Receiving the radiance of the Spirit with pure thought, O Samuel, you proclaimed things far off in the future as though they were in the present, as a divine prophet. Wherefore, we faithfully praise you.
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
Chosen was David among the sons of Jesse, as you revealed, anointing him with holy chrism, O Samuel, and crying out: Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord!
Glory… Now…
Vouchsafe to me your lovingkindness, O merciful and God-loving Mistress, and deliver me from Gehenna and the outer darkness thereof, that I may honour you with faith and love.
Magnificat
Ode 9
Irmos: Marvel new and meet for God!* Through the shut gate of the Virgin the Lord surely passes through.* Unclothed in the entering, flesh-bearing in the coming forth* God has appeared and the gate remains fast closed.* We magnify her beyond utterance* the Mother of God.
Glory to your holy Resurrection, O Lord.
O Word of God, awful it is to see you, the Creator, hanging on the tree, God suffering in human fashion for the sake of his servants; while lying lifeless in the tomb you yet had loosed the dead from Hell; for this, O Christ, we magnify you as almighty.
Glory to your holy Resurrection, O Lord.
Laid dead in the grave, O Christ, you saved our forefathers from the corruption of death; you raised the dead and made life to blossom and, leading mortal nature by the hand to the light, you clothed it with divine incorruptibility; for this we magnify you, fountain of everliving light.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
Temple and throne of God you are declared to be, All-pure, wherein he who dwells in the highest took up his abode, born without man and guarding entire the doors of your flesh. Holy One, by your unceasing prayers bring swiftly the nations in final subjection to our king.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
For the devoted faithful, no songs in praise of you, O Virgin, can satisfy; for ever in their yearning they acquire divine and spiritual yearning as they magnify the Mother of God.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
You have appointed for us, O Christ, an ambassador who cannot be gainsaid: she who bore you. Treating with her, may you in your mercy grant us the Spirit freely imparting all goodness who through you proceeds from the Father.
Irmos: In you are the laws of nature overcome, O pure Virgin,* for your birthgiving is virginal and death is betrothed to life.* A Virgin giving birth and alive after death, O Theotokos,* you have saved your inheritance.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
The angelic hosts were amazed, seeing their Master in Sion, bearing in His arms a woman's soul; for as befits a Son, He exclaimed to her in all-pure manner: Come, O pure one, and be glorified with your Son and God!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
The choir of angels buried your body, which had received God, gazing upon it with fear, and exclaiming with a loud voice: O Theotokos who ascends to your Son in the heavenly mansions, you ever save your inheritance!
Irmos: Eve, through weakness, dwelt under the curse of disobedience;* but you, O Virgin Theotokos,* have budded forth blessing upon the world with the Offspring of your pregnancy.* Wherefore, we all magnify you.
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
Standing as a servant before the face of our Master and God, O blessed one, adorned with a blameless life, you performed your ministry, receiving divine rays and prophesying most manifestly.
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
From the womb of your mother were shown to be a vessel of the Holy Spirit, O glorious one; and resplendent in your sacred vesture, you pleased God with meekness of heart and comeliness of thought, O you who are most rich.
Holy prophet Samuel, pray to God for us!
Today, O God-bearer, your memory has, like the sun, shone upon us rays of rich gifts, enlightening the souls of them that honour you and driving away the darkness of evil deeds. Wherefore, we all call you blessed.
Glory… Now…
A stranger to the corruption of man, you took into your womb the incorrupt Word Who delivers us who have become corrupt through many sins by the suffering of His incorrupt flesh, O all-immaculate one, who alone are incorrupt.
Small Litany
Holy is the Lord
Hymn of Light
O faithful, let us gather with the disciples on the mountain in Galilee* to behold Christ as He says to them:* I have received all power over all things on high and those below.* Let us learn how He taught them to baptize all nations* in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,* and how He promised His disciples* to be present with them to the end of the world.
Glory…
Let Samuel be hymned who before his conception was given as a gift to God Most High by his most blessed mother, and who anointed kings, as priest and prophet.
Now…
O apostles, having gathered here from the ends of the earth, bury my body in the Garden of Gethsemane. And, O my Son and God, receive my spirit!
Praises
Stichera of the Praises, Tone 3
Come all you nations,* acknowledge the power of the dread mystery;* for Christ our Saviour, the beginningless Word,* was crucified for us and was willingly buried* and arose from the dead to save the whole universe.* Let us worship Him.
You guards recounted all the marvels, O Lord,* but, by filling their right hands with money,* the Sanhedrin of folly thought to conceal Your Resurrection,* which the world glorifies;* have mercy upon us.
All things have been filled with joy on receiving proof of the Resurrection.* For Mary Magdalene having come to the tomb,* found an Angel seated upon the stone,* radiant in shining raiment, saying:* Why do you seek the living among the dead?* He is not here, but He has arisen, as He foretold,* and goes before you into Galilee.
In Your light, O Master and Lover of mankind,* shall we see light.* For arose from the dead,* granting salvation to the race of mankind,* wherefore all creation glorifies You, the only sinless one;* have mercy upon us.
O how your mysteries transcend those of nature, O pure one!* For as the Mother of God, you have now passed over to Him in splendour, O Theotokos.
O how your mysteries transcend those of nature, O pure one!* For as the Mother of God, you have now passed over to Him in splendour, O Theotokos.
The tomb of the all-holy Theotokos* is a ladder to heaven,* leading up them* that hymn her divine dormition.
When you were translated unto Him Who was born of you, O Virgin,* the apostles arrived on clouds* to bury thy body.
In Tone 1, Glory…
The Lord appeared to His disciples* who had hastened to the mountain for His ascension from here below,* and they bowed before Him.* They learned of His universal power* and were sent to all the peoples of the earth* to announce His resurrection from the dead* and His return from earth to heaven.* He also promised to be with them always,* and His word is truth;* for He is Christ our God, the Saviour of our souls.
In Tone 2, Now…
You are truly most blessed, O virgin Mother of God.* Through the One who was incarnate of you,* Hades was chained, Adam revived, the curse wiped out,* Eve set free, Death put to death,* and we ourselves were brought back to life.* That is why we cry out in praise;* Blessed are You, O Christ our God,* who finds in this your good pleasure. Glory to You!
Great Doxology
Trisagion Prayers
Troparion, Tone 2
Today salvation has come to the world.* Let us sing to Him who is risen from the tomb,* the Author of Life who has crushed Death by his death* and bestowed on us victory and great mercy.
Insistent Litany
Litany of Supplication
Great Dismissal
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: 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 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 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 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 3
My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour.
Epistle
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
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: Rise up, O Lord, to the place of Your rest, You and the ark of Your holiness. (Psalm 131:8)
Gospel
Matthew 19:16-26
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
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 (Psalm 115:13).* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia.