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Event Information:
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Sat27Apr2024
Holy Priest-Martyr Simeon, Relative of the Lord. Our Venerable Father Stephen, Bishop of Volodymyr in Volhynia (1094).
VESPERS ON FRIDAY EVENING
Paschal Beginning
Kathisma Reading
The appointed psalms are chanted.
At Psalm 140
Tone 1
If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
The Word, who is consubstantial with God the Father,* has fashioned all things and grants life to all,* came forth from the Virgin, and assumed our flesh,* willingly becoming a man.* Since He is by nature good, He has poured forth for all* His wise teachings of ineffable wisdom.
I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
As the Master of the Law, You entered the court of the temple,* there You taught at Mid-feast, as is written, O Christ;* speaking with authority, You rebuked and censure dthe mindless scribes,* and all were amazed by the wisdom found in Your words* and by all the marvels* that were wrought by You.
From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
Christ, the Bestower of Wisdom, the Giver of all good things,* who pours forth divine streams from a never-ending spring,* cries out: Come to Me, all that thirst,* draw forth and drink the water of life.* And thus shall rivers of grace and divine gifts* issue freely from within yourselves.
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.
O Symeon, you showed yourself to be a most sacred priest,* a lawful athlete, a true kinsman of the Creator,* a right marvellous wonderworker, an all-radiant beacon,* a guide for the lost, an immovable pillar of the honoured Church,* an heir of the heavenly kingdom,* and a peer of the angels.
Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
Through bodily pangs, through all manner of most painful torment, and manifold struggles* you drew nigh to the cross, emulating Christ* who was crucified of His own will, O all-glorious hierarch.* Wherefore, rejoicing and celebrating your holy memory, O Symeon,* we receive release from our offenses* through your supplications.
Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
In sacred manner have you entered the celestial Church,* stained with blood in hallowed manner, O blessed one;* and you stand before the Trinity,* shining richly with the effulgence emitted therefrom, O you who are most rich.* Wherefore, O Symeon, celebrating today your radiant memorial,* we illumine the senses of our souls.
Tone 1, Glory…
The mid-point of the days of Pentecost has come.* Wherein Christ disclosed His divine might in part,* in that He strengthened the paralytic* and by a word raised him up from his bed.* In a God-befitting manner He wrought miracles in a body of clay,* and has granted to mankind everlasting life and great mercy.
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
Tone 3
By Your Cross, O Christ our Saviour,* the dominion of death has been abolished,* the devil’s deception has been dispelled,* while mankind, saved by faith,* each evening offers hymns to You.
The Lord is King, He is clothed with majesty;* the Lord is clothed with strength and He has girded Himself.
By Your Resurrection, O Lord,* the universe has been filled with light* and Paradise has been opened again,* while all creation, singing Your praise,* each evening offers hymns to You.
For He established the world* which shall not be shaken.
I glorify the power of the Father and the Son,* and I praise the authority of the Holy Spirit,* undivided, uncreated Godhead,* consubstantial Trinity,* that reigns from ages to ages.
Holiness becomes Your house, O Lord,* for length of days.
By Your passion, O Christ, You darkened the sun,* and by the light of Your Resurrection* You have made the whole universe radiant.* We beseech You to accept our evening hymn,* O Lover of mankind.
Tone 1, Glory… Now…
You, the Wisdom of God, came to the temple at Mid-feast,* teaching and reproving the disobedient Jews, the Pharisees, and Scribes,* and with boldness You cried to them:* He that thirsts, let him come to Me and drink living water,* and he shall never again thirst unto eternity.* From him that believes in My goodness,* rivers of eternal life shall pour forth from his noetic belly.* O how great is Your goodness and compassion,* O Christ our God! Glory be to You.
Troparion
Tone 8
At the mid-point of the Feast, O Saviour,* water my thirsty soul with streams of true godliness;* for You cried out to all: Let any who thirst, come to Me and drink.* Source of life, Christ our God, glory to You!
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 8: At the mid-point of the Feast, O Saviour,* water my thirsty soul with streams of true godliness;* for You cried out to all: Let any who thirst, come to Me and drink.* O Source of Life, Christ our God, glory to 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: At the mid-point of the Feast according to the Law,* Maker of all things and Master,* You said to those present, O Christ God:* Come, and draw the water of immortality.* And so we fall before You crying out with faith: Grant us Your mercies , for You are the source of our life.
Prokeimenon, Tone 3
Great is our Lord, and great is His strength;* and of His knowledge there is no end.
verse: Praise the Lord, for a psalm is good; may praise be sweet to Him. (Psalm 146:5,1)
Epistle
Acts 12:1-11
Alleluia, Tone 1
verse: Remember Your congregation which You acquired from the beginning.
verse: But God is our king before the ages; He has wrought salvation in the midst of the earth. (Psalm 73:2,12)
Gospel
John 8:31-42
Hymn to the Mother of God
Virginity is alien to mothers and child-bearing is foreign to virgins; yet in you, O Mother of God, both of them came together. Therefore, we and all the nations of the earth without ceasing magnify you.
Communion Hymn
Those who eat My flesh and drink My blood* abide in Me and I in them, says the Lord.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (John 6:56)
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.