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Event Information:
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Fri25Oct2024
The Holy Martyrs and Notaries Marcian and Martyrius.
Abstention from meat and foods that contain meat.
VESPERS ON THURSDAY EVENING
Kathisma Reading
The appointed psalms are chanted.
At Psalm 140
Tone 5
If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
Let all the groves of trees rejoice,* beholding the most precious Tree which was made joyous by the suffering of the Master,* shining forth grace like a flame of fire,* pouring forth gifts upon all like water,* and enlightening the thoughts of our souls,* washing away infirmities and driving away invisible passions,* and manifestly vanquishing foreign nations,* ever granting to the faithful victories, blessing and 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.
Worshipping with faith the place where the feet of the Lord stood,* as the prophet said, let us glorify Christ who was crucified, and with Himself crucified our transgressions,* who abolished the curse which originated with a tree,* and reconciled with the Father those who had withdrawn far from Him through evil thoughts;* and venerating the nails of his hands and feet, the spear and the reed,* the sponge and the crown of thorns, and the insults and mockery,* and all else He endured, let us venerate them with honour,* for by them we are saved.
From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
Let us crucify all our members with Christ, and let us die to the world;* and desiring to walk in the footsteps of Christ, the Ruler of this world,* let us take His divine Cross upon our shoulder* by rejecting the uprisings of the flesh and the evil lusts which draw our souls into sin,* thinking to stand before Him and to behold Him nailed to the Cross,* breathing His last and surrendering His soul into the hands of the Father,* that we may never be separated from Him.
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.
Having completed the course and kept the faith,* Marcian and Martyrius,* you have been wreathed with a crown of martyrdom!* You are unshakable pillars of the Church,* breasts flowing with wholesome milk,* beacons and shining pearls,* you have enlightened creation with the splendour of your piety!
Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
You were godly twins,* sharing a single heart and mind!* You destroyed the division of Arius,* by teaching worship of the unoriginate Son, co-eternal with the Father,* and worship of the Spirit:* the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity,* one Essence in three undivided Persons!
Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
You showed yourselves to be followers of Paul,* the preacher of holy truths:* You were like him in zeal; one with him in mind and heart:* You drowned the adversaries with your outpoured blood* drying up the torrent of wicked heresies!* You were revealed, Marcian and Martyrius,* to be rivers of true worship watering the Church of Christ!
Tone 1, Glory…
You were disciples and followers* of the one who preached and confessed the consubstantial Trinity.* You were persecuted with him, blessed ones,* for the sake of the Trinity.* You preferred death by the sword to blasphemous heresy.* Since God has adorned you with crowns of martyrdom* and you have received boldness before Him,* pray that those who honour your memory may be delivered from misfortunes!
Now…
“Lifted up upon the Tree, О my most sweet Child,* and having tasted gall and vinegar, You sweetened the bitter taste of Adam of old;* wherefore, as the righteous Judge, О Master who arose as Almighty,* sweeten me with Your healing Passion,”* said the Virgin, weeping.
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 5
О Lord, in the time of Moses the Prophet,* the form of Your Cross was once precisely revealed, and vanquished Your enemies;* and now, possessed of that same Cross, we ask Your help:* Strengthen Your Church, for the sake of Your great mercy, О Lover of mankind!
I have lifted up my eyes to You enthroned in heaven. Behold, as the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters, as the eyes of a maid are on the hands of her mistress, so are our eyes on the Lord our God until He has mercy on us.
Though a tree visible by nature, Your Cross, О Christ,* is invested with divine power;* and tangibly revealed to the world,* it wondrously and noetically works our salvation.* Bowing down before it, we glorify You, О Saviour.* Have mercy on us!
Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us; for we have been filled with shame; our soul is all too full of the mockery of the rich, of the contempt of the proud.
Despising all the things of earth, and manfully braving tortures,* you did not fail to attain your divine hopes,* but became heirs to the kingdom of heaven, О most lauded martyrs.* And as you have boldness before God who is the Lover of mankind,* ask peace for the world and great mercy for our souls.
Tone 3, Glory…
Marcian and Martyrius* conquered heresies with the shield of faith,* enlightening the world with the light of orthodoxy!* They are champions of the Trinity and spiritual beacons of the Church!* Obedient to Paul, the equal of the apostles,* they cast down the division of Arius and Nestorius,* refuting also the mingling of Sabellius and Severus.* They theologized about the Unity in Trinity,* the God Who was incarnate of the Virgin!* The most blessed ones preached to all one Christ in two natures!* Now that they have received crowns of victory from heaven,* these heralds of God pray for great mercy for our souls!
Now…
The all-immaculate one, beholding You lifted up upon the Tree,* cried out, weeping maternally: “O my supremely good Christ, my most beloved Son!* How have the iniquitous assembly lifted You up upon the Cross?”
Troparia
Tone 1
O Marcian and Martyrius, a pair of martyrs worthy of each other,* have crushed the infamy of Arius.* Obeying Paul the teacher of accurate statements,* they taught that the Son is consubstantial with the Father and the Spirit.* They died under the sword and have joined Christ.* They intercede with Him to save our souls.
Glory… Now…
O pure One, we have obtained your protection.* Through your intercession, we have been kept from harm* and surrounded at all times with the grace of your Son’s cross.* Therefore, we exalt you with great devotion.
DIVINE LITURGY ON FRIDAY MORNING
Troparia and Kontakia
Troparion, Tone 1: O Marcian and Martyrius, a pair of martyrs worthy of each other,* have crushed the infamy of Arius.* Obeying Paul the teacher of accurate statements,* they taught that the Son is consubstantial with the Father and the Spirit.* They died under the sword and have joined Christ.* They intercede with Him to save 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: You lived piously since your childhood, O Marcian and Martyrius,* and you came to crush Arius.* You preserved the teachings of the faith intact* by following the wise teacher, Paul.* You have found life in his company as defenders of the Trinity.
Prokeimenon, Tone 4
God is wonderful in His saints,* the God of Israel.
verse: In the churches bless God, the Lord from the fountains of Israel. (Psalm 67:36,27)
Epistle
1 Thessalonians 2:14-19
Alleluia, Tone 4
verse: The just cried out and the Lord heard them, and delivered them out of their afflictions.
verse: The afflictions of the just are many, and out of them all will the Lord deliver them. (Psalm 33:18,20)
Gospel
Luke 11:23-26
Communion Hymn
Rejoice in the Lord, O you just;* praise befits the righteous.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 32:1)