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Event Information:
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Fri04Oct2024
The Holy Hieromartyr Hierotheus, Bishop of Athens Οur Venerable Father Francis of Assisi.
Abstention from meat and foods that contain meat.
VESPERS ON THURSDAY EVENING
Kathisma Reading
The appointed psalms are chanted.
At Psalm 140
Tone 2
If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
When You were nailed to the Cross, О Saviour,* the sun beheld and dimmed its rays in fear of You,* and the veil of the temple was rent in two;* the earth quaked, and the stones likewise split asunder with trembling,* unable to bear the sight of their Creator and God willingly suffering unjustly upon the Tree,* and reviled by men.
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 Cross was set up and You were pierced in the side with the spear, О Sinless Saviour,* the sun hid itself, unable to bear the sight;* the earth trembled, and when You were reviled, the rocks split asunder in fear;* and all creation cried out to You:* Glory be to Your crucifixion whereby You have saved all,* О Word and Lover of mankind!
From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
Wholly cast down to the ground, wholly wounded,* the most wicked serpent was brought low by a strange fall* when You were uplifted upon the Tree, О Lover of mankind.* And Adam who before was condemned* was loosed from the curse and became saved.* Wherefore, we also pray: Save us all, О Compassionate One,* and grant us Your kingdom!
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.
Receiving the grace of the most holy Spirit,* O most glorious Hierotheus,* you have now passed through all the earth,* teaching men to worship the Unity in three Hypostases:* the unoriginate Father, * the Source of the Godhead,* and with Him the Son Who is equally enthroned* and consubstantial with the Father,* Who was born of the Virgin* and became a man bearing flesh.
Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
As one pleasing to God* you offered up your soul as a sacred and divine gift,* and committed your sacred body as a thing divine,* which hallowed the souls of those who believe in God Almighty,* and poured forth salvation upon the faithful.* Wherefore, we bless your memory and burial,* we love your miracles and proclaim thy words.
Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
You beheld the twelve apostles* at the dormition of the all-glorious Ever-virgin,* the all-pure Theotokos, the Mother of the Lord,* and with you was Dionysius, who described the hierarchies.* With them we, the faithful,* bless your most festive and all-holy solemnity, O glorious Hierotheus.
Tone 2, Glory…
When you were present at the divine dormition of the Mother of God,* O blessed herald of God,* you gladdened the hearts of the faithful with divine proclamations,* delighting the sacred company of the apostles, the preachers of God,* and hymning the mysteries of God with divine ecstasy.* Wherefore, having received boldness before Christ, O hierarch Hierotheus,* pray in behalf of our souls.
Now…
When the unblemished ewe-lamb beheld her Lamb* willingly led as a man to the slaughter,* she said, weeping:* “Do You now hasten to leave me childless who gave You birth, O Christ,?* What is this that You have done, O Redeemer of all?* Even so I will hymn and glorify Your extreme goodness,* which is beyond understanding and all telling,* O Lover of mankind!”
Prokeimenon, Tone 6
My help is from the Lord,* Who made heaven and earth.
verse: I lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from where my help shall come.
Aposticha
Tone 2
О Christ God my Saviour, who saved Peter in the sea,* save me by the power of the Cross,* and have mercy on me.
In the morning, fill us with Your love; we shall exult and rejoice all our days. Give us joy to balance our affliction for the years when we knew misfortune. Show forth Your work to Your servants; let Your glory shine on their children.
They who ever enjoyed Your gifts cried aloud, “Crucify Him!”;* they who slew the righteous ones asked that a malefactor be released to them in place of the Benefactor.* But You kept silence, О Christ, enduring their savagery,* desiring to suffer and thus save us,* in that You love mankind.
Let the favour of the Lord be upon us: give success to the work of our hands, give success to the work of our hands.
Having hated the pleasures of life,* the passion-bearers were deemed worthy of the good things of heaven* and have made their abode together with the angels.* By their prayers, О Lord, have mercy and save us.
Tone 2, Glory… Now…
When iniquitous men raised You, the Life of all, up upon the Tree, О Saviour,* Your pure and most immaculate Mother,* standing forth and lamenting, exclaimed:* “O my sweet Child, light of my eyes, woe is me!* How have You suffered to be nailed to the Cross between two evildoers,* О You who have suspended the earth upon the waters?”
Troparia
Tone 4
Having shared the way of life of the apostles,* and having become a successor to their thrones,* labouring you found the divinely inspired way to contemplation.* Therefore, forthrightly ministering the word of truth,* you shed your blood for the faith, O hieromartyr Hierotheus.* Intercede with Christ our God for the salvation of our souls.
Glory… Now…
O Virgin, all immaculate Mother of Christ God,* a sword pierced your all-holy soul* when you saw your Son and God willingly crucified.* Therefore, O blessed One,* never cease to pray to Him* that He may grant us forgiveness of our sins.
DIVINE LITURGY ON FRIDAY MORNING
Troparia and Kontakia
Troparion, Tone 4: Having shared the way of life of the apostles,* and having become a successor to their thrones,* labouring you found the divinely inspired way to contemplation.* Therefore, forthrightly ministering the word of truth,* you shed your blood for the faith, O hieromartyr, Hierotheus.* Intercede with Christ our God for the salvation of our souls.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone 4: Having piously lived among the hierarchs,* and having trod the path of suffering,* you extinguished the sacrifices to idols* and were a defender for your flock, O godly one.* Therefore, venerating you, we sincerely cry to you:* “Rescue us from dangers by your prayers, O our father, Hierotheus.
Prokeimenon, Tone 7
The venerable ones will exult in glory and they shall be joyful in their beds.
verse: Sing to the Lord a new song; let His praise be in the assembly of the venerable ones. (Psalm 149:5,1)
Epistle
Philippians 3:8-19
Alleluia, Tone 2
verse: Your priests shall clothe themselves with justice, and Your venerable ones shall rejoice.
verse: For the Lord has chosen Sion; He has chosen it for His dwelling. (Psalm 131:9,13)
Gospel
Luke 7:31-35
Communion Hymn
The just man shall be in everlasting remembrance;* of evil hearsay he shall have no fear*. Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 111:6)