Event Information:
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Sat21Dec2024
Saturday before the Nativity of Christ. Holy Martyr Juliana of Nicomedia (284-305).
Nativity Fast.
VESPERS ON FRIDAY EVENING
Kathisma Reading
The appointed psalms are chanted.
At Psalm 140
Tone 4
If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
“He is our God, and none other shall take His place!”* the prophet exclaimed in the Spirit;* “He has found every path of knowledge,* and thereby has made Himself like to men,* arraying Himself in flesh;* for He comes to be born of the divine Maiden and Virgin.* He who is unapproachable in essence* becomes accessible to me.”
I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
Your womb, O most immaculate Theotokos, is shown to be a bundle of flour,* ineffably bearing the uncultivated Wheat* in a manner past understanding and recounting.* You give birth in the cave of Bethlehem* to Him who will nurture all creation with divine understanding and grace,* and deliver mankind from soul-destroying famine.
From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
The unblemished heifer, bearing the fatted Calf within her womb,* comes to the holy cave to give birth to Him in all-glorious manner,* to wrap Him as a man in swaddling bands,* and to lay Him in a manger as a babe.* Celebrate the forefeast, O creation,* joyfully magnifying Him who has wrought* such glorious things on earth.
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 dyed for yourself a robe of salvation* in the stain of your blood, O most lauded one,* and illumined yourself in spirit,* you betrothed yourself to the immortal King* who preserves you incorrupt and undefiled to the ages of ages,* as a virgin all-adorned and unsullied* in the mansions of heaven.
Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
Having received wounds and been cast into the fire,* having endured the rending of your flesh,* and valiantly borne the boiling cauldron,* you were not vanquished in resolve, and did not sacrifice to graven images;* but, bowing your neck to death, you ascended to the heavens as a crown-bearer* through martyrdom by the sword.
Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
Adorned with drops of your blood,* you were most manifestly resplendent,* like the sun, O most lauded martyr, Juliana,* and dispelled the gloom of ungodliness by grace;* and you have illumined the faithful who honour your valiant struggles and your splendid and radiant memory,* which is salvific for all.
Tone 6, Glory…
Hold festival, O Sion!* Be glad, O Jerusalem!* O city of Christ God, receive the Creator,* who is contained by the cave and the manger!* Open your gates to me, that, entering through them,* I may see Him who holds creation in His hand* wrapped as a babe in swaddling-bands,* whom the angels hymn with unceasing songs:* the Lord, the Bestower of life, who saves our race.
Tone 5, Now…
A symbol of the undefiled Virgin and bride* was revealed in the Red Sea.* There, Moses divided the waters;* here, Gabriel is the messenger of the miracle.* There, the Israelites crossed the deep and their feet were not even wet;* here, the Virgin gives birth to Christ without human seed.* There, the sea remained uncrossed after the passing of Israel;* here, the immaculate remained incorrupt after giving birth to Emmanuel.* Therefore, O immortal God, who appeared in the flesh as true Man,* have mercy on us!
Prokeimenon, Tone 7
O God, You are my defender* and Your mercy goes before me.
verse: Deliver me from my enemies, O God; save me from those who rise up against me.
Aposticha
Tone 2
The predictions of all the prophets are now fulfilled;* for Christ is born of the pure divine Maiden* in the city of Bethlehem.
God shall come forth out of Teman,* and the Holy One out of a mountain overshadowed and densely wooded.
O honoured Bethlehem, glory, joy and boast of mortal men,* divine metropolis:* receive your Creator.
O Lord, I have heard Your report, and I was afraid;* O Lord, I considered Your works, and I was amazed.
The Word of the Father, by whom all things came into being,* is seen as a single Hypostasis in two natures,* dispassionately and unchangeably.
Tone 6, Glory… Now…
O Virgin who knew not wedlock, from whence have you come?* Who gave birth to you? Who was your mother?* How is it you hold the Creator in your arms?* How is it that your womb has not experienced corruption?* O the all-glorious and awesome mysteries wrought in you,* which we see performed on earth, O most holy one!* On earth we prepare for you your due as is meet:* the cave; and from the heavens we ask that a star be given.* The magi come from the lands of the East to those of the West,* to behold the salvation of men wrapped in swaddling-bands* in the manger.
Troparia
Tone 4
Your lamb, Juliana, O Jesus, cries in a loud voice:* “You, O my Bridegroom, I love; and, seeking You, I undergo martyrdom.* And with You I am crucified and buried in Your baptism,* and I suffer for Your sake that I may reign with You.* And I die on Your behalf that I may live in You.* Receive me as a spotless sacrifice,* sacrificed for You with love.”* Through her intercession in Your mercy save our souls.
Glory… Now…
Bethlehem, make ready, for Eden has been opened for all.* Ephrathah, be alert, for the Tree of life has blossomed forth from the Virgin in the cave.* Her womb has become a spiritual paradise* wherein the divine Fruit was planted,* and if we eat of it we shall live and not die like Adam.* Christ is coming forth to bring back to life* the likeness that had been lost in the beginning.
DIVINE LITURGY ON SATURDAY MORNING
Troparia and Kontakia
Troparion, Tone 4: Bethlehem, make ready, for Eden has been opened for all.* Ephrathah, be alert, for the Tree of life has blossomed forth from the Virgin in the cave.* Her womb has become a spiritual paradise* wherein the divine Fruit was planted,* and if we eat of it we shall live and not die like Adam.* Christ is coming forth to bring back to life* the likeness that had been lost in the beginning.
Troparion, Tone 4: Your lamb, Juliana, O Jesus, cries in a loud voice:* “You, O my Bridegroom, I love; and, seeking You, I undergo martyrdom.* And with You I am crucified and buried in Your baptism,* and I suffer for Your sake that I may reign with You.* And I die on Your behalf that I may live in You.* Receive me as a spotless sacrifice,* sacrificed for You with love.”* Through her intercession in Your mercy save our souls.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Kontakion, Tone 3: Today, the Virgin is on her way to the cave* where she will give birth in a manner beyond understanding* to the Word who is in all eternity.* Rejoice, therefore, O universe, when you hear it heralded.* With the angels and the shepherds, glorify Him who chose to be seen as anew born babe* while remaining God in all eternity.
Now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone 2: We, all the faithful, have found your shrine to be a place of spiritual healing,* and we cry aloud to you: “O glorious virgin martyr, Juliana,* pray unceasingly to Christ our God for all of us!”
Prokeimenon, Tone 8
Be glad in the Lord* and rejoice, you just.
verse: Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. (Psalm 32:11,1)
Epistle
Galatians 3:8-12
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, but out of them all will he Lord deliver them. (Psalm 34:18,20)
Gospel
Luke 13:18-29
Communion Hymn
Rejoice in the Lord, O you just;* praise befits the righteous.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 33:1)