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Event Information:
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Mon28Oct2024
🕃 The Holy Martyr Parasceve of Iconium; The Holy Martyrs Terentius and Neonila; Our Venerable Father Stephen the Sabaite, Composer of Canons.
VESPERS ON SUNDAY EVENING
Kathisma Reading
There are no appointed psalms.
At Psalm 140
Tone 4
If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
Rome presents you as a garden of sweet-smelling flowers, O much suffering Parasceve,* perfuming the thoughts of the faithful with the fragrance of the virtues,* and ever dispelling the stench of the passions with grace, O glorious one,* beauty of the martyrs, boast of virgins,* and abyss of miracles.
I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
You have been given to all as glory beyond price by Christ our God,* having suffered in Rome; and, abiding therein, O glorious martyr,* you drive away from men the wickedness of the demons by your assistance.* Therefore, we all bless you and praise your holy sufferings today,* O much suffering Parasceve.
From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
Preserved by the power of Christ, O most glorious Parasceve,* you ignored the pain of your body* and entered upon your struggles with faithful resolve,* paying no heed to your human weakness;* and, strengthened by hope, you have received illumination* with those who came before you.
Tone 6
For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Assembling, we, the faithful, praise you with love* and bless your struggles, O martyr Parasceve.* Entreat Christ your Bridegroom,* that by your supplications He deliver us* from misfortunes and perils.
Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
Desiring to follow after Christ, your Bridegroom, O all-praised Parasceve,* you zealously drained the true cup of your blood,* like a melodious swallow giving voice* to a hymn to Christ God, the Creator of all,* for those who celebrate your memory.
Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
Honouring the sufferings of Christ,* your parents made you the namesake of the day on which they are commemorated;* and when you reached maturity, you withstood sufferings, enduring wounds;* and, dancing in prison as in a splendid bridal chamber, you cried out:* “I shall never be separated from You, O Lord!* Send me Your aid, and save me in Your great mercy!”
Tone 6, Glory…
The Queen stood at the right and of the Saviour, as David sang;* and your soul, adorned as with vesture of gold,* you set before your Lord as a sacrifice,* and you offered Him the blood of your body like incense of sweet savour.* O all-praised martyr Parasceve,* pray for us to Christ God, the Master of all,* that He save our souls.
Now…
О Theotokos, who at the sound of the archangel’s voice* conceived in your womb the Word,* who with the Father and the Spirit is equally beginningless,* you have been revealed to be more exalted than the cherubim, seraphim, and thrones.
Prokeimenon, Tone 8
And now bless the Lord,* all you servants of the Lord.
verse: Who stand in the temple of the Lord, in the courtyards of the house of our God.
Aposticha
Tone 6
At Your fearful Coming, O Christ,* may we not hear the words: I know you not.* For though, O Saviour, we have put our trust in You,* from negligence we have not kept not Your commandments;* yet we entreat You, spare our souls.
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.
I have no repentance and I have no tears.* Wherefore I entreat You, O Christ God:* before the end is here* turn me back and grant me compunction,* that I may be delivered from the torments of Hades.
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.
Your martyrs did not deny You, О Lord,* nor did they depart from Your commandments.* By their prayers have mercy on us.
Tone 8, Glory…
These things did Parasceve say to the tyrant,* “O ungodly and perverse governor, why do you rage against the Christians?* I have neither deprived you of a kingdom, nor destroyed your city,* yet you think to persuade me with foolish words.* I shall pay no heed to you or to your mindless words;* for I will not spare my flesh for my Christ, for He loves me* and shall bestow kingdom upon me.
Now…
Taking up the cry of the Archangel Gabriel, let us say:* Rejoice, O Mother of God, who has given birth to Christ,* the bestower of life upon the world!
Troparia
Tone 4
O all-wise and most lauded Parasceve, martyr of Christ,* having received the strength of faith and set aside your human weakness,* you vanquished the devil and put the tyrant to shame,* crying out and saying: “Come, cut my body asunder with your swords and burn me with fire;* for, rejoicing, I shall go to Christ my Bridegroom!”* Through her supplications, O Christ God, save our souls.
Glory… Now…
To the One who was reared in the Temple,* close to the Holy of Holies,* and who was full of faith, wisdom, and perfect virginity,* Gabriel, the captain and leader,* offered esteem and greetings from heaven when he said:* Rejoice, O blessed One! Rejoice, O glorified One!* The Lord is with you.
DIVINE LITURGY ON MONDAY MORNING
Troparia and Kontakia
Troparion, Tone 1: As spiritual lambs, through martyrdom you came to Christ, the Lamb and Shepherd,* for you had finished the course and kept the faith.* And so, today, with spiritual joy, O wondrous women,* we celebrate your holy memory* while magnifying Christ.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone 4: We celebrate the memory of Christ’s women martyrs* and with faith ask for help that we all may be saved from every tribulation.* And we cry: “Our God is with us,* and He has glorified these women as He willed!”
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 2:20-3:8
Alleluia, Tone 1
verse: With expectation I have waited for the Lord, and He was attentive to me, and He heard my prayer.
verse: He brought me out of the pit of misery and the mud of the swamp. (Psalm 39:2,3)
Gospel
Luke 11:29-33
Communion Hymn
Rejoice in the Lord, O you just;* praise befits the righteous.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 32:1)