GREAT VESPERS
Kathisma reading
“Blessed is the man…” is sung.
At Psalm 140
In Tone 3
- Lead my soul forth from prison* that I may give thanks to Your name.
By Your Cross, O Christ our Saviour,
the power of Death has been vanquished
and the deceit of the devil has been destroyed.
Therefore, mankind, saved by faith,
offers You hymns of praise forever.
- The just shall gather around me* when You have been good to me.
O Lord, all creation has been enlightened by Your resurrection,
and Paradise has been reopened;
therefore, all creation extols You
and offers You hymns of praise forever.
- Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord;* O Lord, hear my voice!
I glorify the powers of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
and I praise the dominion of the undivided Divinity,
the consubstantial Trinity,
Who reigns forever and ever.
- Let Yours ears be attentive* to the voice of my prayer.
We adore Your precious Cross, O Christ,
and with hymns of praise we glorify Your Resurrection;
for by Your wounds we have all been healed.
- If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
Let us sing the praises of the Saviour,
Who was incarnate of the Virgin;
for He was crucified for our sake,
and on the third day He arose from the dead,
granting us His 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.
Christ descended into Hades and announced to those confined there:
Take courage, for today I have conquered death.
I am the Resurrection, the One Who will set you free.
I shattered the gates of the realm of death.
In Tone 6
- From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
The Lord my Creator took me as dust from the earth
and formed me into a living creature
breathing into me the breath of life and giving me a soul;
He honoured me,
setting me as a ruler upon the earth over all things visible,
and making me a companion of the angels.
But Satan the deceiver,
using the serpent as his instrument,
enticed me by food;
he parted me from the glory of God
and gave me over to the earth
and to the lowest depths of death.
But, Master, in compassion, call me back again.
- For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
In my wretchedness I have cast off the robe woven by God,
disobeying Your divine command, O Lord, at the counsel of the enemy;
and I am clothed now in fig leaves and in garments of skin.
I am condemned to eat the bread of toil in the sweat of my brow,
and the earth has been cursed so that it bears thorns and thistles for me.
But, Lord, who in the last times was made flesh of a Virgin, call me back again
and bring me into Paradise.
- Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
O precious Paradise, unsurpassed in beauty,
tabernacle built by God, unending gladness and delight,
glory of the righteous, joy of the prophets and dwelling of the saints,
with the sound of your leaves
pray to the Maker of all:
may He open to me the gates which I closed by my transgression,
and may He count me worthy
to partake if the Tree of Life
and of the joy that was mine
when I dwelt in you before.
- Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
Adam was banished from Paradise through disobedience and cast out from delight,
beguiled by the words of a woman.
Naked he sat outside the garden, lamenting, “Woe is me!”
Therefore let us all make haste to accept the season of the Fast
and hearken to the teaching of the Gospel,
that we may gain Christ’s mercy
and receive once more a dwelling-place in Paradise.
Glory…
Adam sat before Paradise and lamenting his nakedness,
he wept: “Woe is me!
By evil deceit was I persuaded and led astray,
and now I am an exile from glory.
Woe is me!
In my simplicity I was stripped naked,
and now I am in want.
O Paradise, no more shall I take pleasure in your joy;
for I shall return to the earth from whence I was taken.
O merciful and compassionate Lord,
to You I cry aloud:
I am fallen, have mercy on me.”
In Tone 3, Now…
O Lady most honourable,
how can we but be rapt in wonder
at you giving birth to the Incarnate God
who, without a mother, was born of the Father before all ages?
You gave Him birth in the flesh without a father,
without a man 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 confess in true faith
that you are the Mother of God.
Aposticha
In Tone 3
O Christ, Who darkened the sun by Your passion
and enlightened all creation by Your resurrection,
accept our evening prayer; for You love mankind.
The Lord reigns, He is clothed in majesty. Robed is the Lord, and girt about with strength.
O Lord, Your life-giving Resurrection has enlightened the entire universe
and has revived Your creation which lay in corruption.
Therefore, we, who have been released from the curse of Adam, cry out to You:
Almighty Lord, glory to You!
For He has made the world firm, which shall not be moved.
O God, although in Your divine nature You are unchangeable,
yet in Your human nature You underwent change by suffering in the flesh.
All creation was prostrate with fear
when it saw You hanging on the Cross,
and it groaned in sorrow as it sang the praises of Your long-suffering.
But You descended into Hades and arose on the third day,
granting life and great mercy to the world.
Holiness befits Your house, O Lord, for length of days.
You suffered death, O Christ, to deliver mankind from death.
And when You arose from the dead on the third day,
You enlightened the world
and resurrected all who acknowledge You as God.
In Tone 6, Glory…
Adam was cast out of Paradise through eating from the tree.
Seated before the gates he wept,
lamenting with a pitiful voice and saying:
“Woe is me,
what have I suffered in my misery!
I transgressed one commandment of the Master,
and now I am deprived of every blessing.
O most holy Paradise, planted for my sake and shut because of Eve,
pray to Him that made you and fashioned me,
that once more I may take pleasure in your flowers.”
Then the Saviour said to him:
“I desire not the loss of the creature which I fashioned,
but that he should be saved and come to knowledge of the truth;
and when he comes to me I will not cast him out.”
Now…
Christ the Lord, my Maker and Saviour,
came out of your pure womb in the likeness of me, O Woman without stain,
and He delivered Adam from the original curse.
Therefore, O Woman all pure,
since you are the Mother of God and a true Virgin,
we never tire of calling you with the salutation of the angel:
“Hail, O Lady,
O our intercessor, our shield,
and the Redemptress of our souls!”
Troparia
In Tone 3
Let the heavens be glad, let the earth rejoice,* for the Lord has done a mighty deed with His arm.* He trampled death by death. He became the first-born of the dead;* He saved us from the abyss of Hades* and granted great mercy to the world.
Glory… Now…
We sing your praises, O Virgin;* for, as the Mother of God, you always intercede for the salvation of the human race.* It is from you that our God and Your Son took flesh. * Then, by suffering the passion on the Cross,* and out of love for mankind, He delivered us from corruption.
DIVINE LITURGY
Troparia and Kontakia
Troparion, Tone 3: Let the heavens be glad, let the earth rejoice,* for the Lord has done a mighty deed with His arm.* He trampled death by death. He became the first-born of the dead;* He saved us from the abyss of Hades* and granted great mercy to the world.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone 6: O Master, Guide to Wisdom*, Bestower of prudent counsel,* Instructor of the foolish and Defender of the poor ones;* make firm my heart and give it understanding.* Give me a word, O Word of the Father:* Behold, I shall not stop my lips from crying out to You:* In Your mercy, have mercy on me who am fallen.
Prokeimenon, Tone 8
Pray and give praise to the Lord our God.* Pray and give praise to the Lord our God.
verse: In Judea God is known; His name is great in Israel. (Psalm 75:12,2)
Epistle
Romans 13:11-14:4
Alleluia, Tone 6
verse: It is good to give praise to the Lord, and to sing to Your name, O Most High.
verse: To announce Your mercy in the morning and Your truth every night. (Psalm 91:2,3)
Gospel
Matthew 6:14-21
Communion Hymn
Rejoice in the Lord, O you just;* praise befits the righteous.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 32:1)