Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts for Friday of the First Week of the Great Fast

LITURGY OF THE PRESANCTIFIED GIFTS

At Psalm 140

In Tone 5

Lead my soul forth from prison* that I may give thanks to Your name.

Come, O faithful, let us fulfil the works of God in the light;
and let us walk with dignity as in the light of day;
let us tear up every unjust contract,
and let us cast aside every object of scandal for our neighbour.
Let us turn away from the pleasures of the flesh,
so that we may grow in our spiritual gifts.
Let us give food to the poor;
let us draw near to Christ, and in repentance, let us say:
O our God, have mercy on us.

The just shall gather around me* when You have been good to me.

In Tone 4

Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord;* O Lord, hear my voice!

О Father, you shone with the beauty of virtue,
and you went about the whole world,
like a bee putting the purest honey of divine wisdom
in the good hearts of those believing in the one Christ,
who came on earth and visited our lowliness
with his endless mercy and humility.

Let Yours ears be attentive* to the voice of my prayer.

If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.

I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.

With the wisdom of meekness
and filled with love of God and knowledge of the true faith,
you netted the cities and countryside for God, О blessed Cyril.
By grace you came to those who had not received saving wisdom,
and therefore, we praise you with holy hymns.

In Tone 2

From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.

Come, all you friends of the martyrs,
let us celebrate this feast in the joy of the Spirit;
for, on this day, the holy martyr Theodore prepares a spiritual banquet for us,
the lovers of the feast;
he brings joy to our hearts,
and we cry out to him:
Rejoice, invincible warrior, who has vanquished powerful tyrants;
and for the love of Christ our God,
you gave given over your body of flesh to torments.
Rejoice, for in the midst of dangers,
you showed yourself to be a valiant soldier of the heavenly army.
Therefore, we pray to you, O glory of martyrs,
intercede for the salvation of our souls.

For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.

O holy martyr Theodore,
you generously grant the God-given grace of your miracles
to all the faithful who hasten to you.
We rejoice in this, and we sing:
You are the liberator of captives and healer of the sick,
the wealth of the poor and salvation of those who sail the seas,
the defender of those who cherish your holy memory;
now, for all of us who praise you,
beseech Christ for His great mercy.

Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.

O holy martyr Theodore,
you are truly the “gift of God,”
for, being alive even after your death,
you are attentive to the requests of those who come to you.
A son was once seized from his mother
and made a prisoner in the pagan army;
the widow bathed your sanctuary with her tears;
and you were moved with compassion.
You mounted a white horse and mysteriously returned her child;
and even now, you do not cease to work miracles.
Beseech Christ our God to save our souls.

Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.

O Theodore, thrice-blessed,
with your name, I praise the gift of God;
you are a shining torch of the divine brightness.
By your deeds you have illuminated the universe.
You have shown yourself to be stronger than fire,
and you crushed the head of the treacherous dragon.
Therefore, Christ has placed on your head the crown of victory.
And now that you enjoy the divine favour,
O holy and great martyr,
beseech God for the salvation of our souls.

In Tone 6, Glory…

The enemy used the apostate emperor as his servant
against the Christian people who were purified by the Fast;
he tried to defile them with food polluted by the blood of sacrifices.
But, you more wisely foiled his plan,
by appearing in a dream to the bishop of that time
and warning him of the danger.
We also offer you our sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and we honour you with the title of protector
as we celebrate the annual memory of this event.
We beseech you to preserve us from the evil designs of the enemy
by interceding with God for us,
O holy martyr Theodore.

In Tone 3, Now…

O Lady most honourable,
how could we but be rapt in wonder at your giving birth
to the incarnate God who without a mother was born of a Father before all ages.
You gave Him birth in the flesh without a father,
without a man’s 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 profess in true faith that you are the Mother of God.

Prokeimenon I, Tone 5
May the Lord answer in time of trial;* may the name of Jacob’s God protect you!
verse: May He send you help from His shrine and give you support from Sion!

Reading I
Genesis 2:20-3:20
Adam gave names to all the cattle, to all the birds of heaven, and to all the wild animals of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. Thus God brought a trance upon Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and filled up the flesh in its place. Then the Lord God built the rib He took from Adam into a woman, and brought her to him. So Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh.” Now the two were naked, both Adam and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Now the serpent was more cunning than all the wild animals the Lord God made on the earth. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat from every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees of the garden; but from the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You shall not eat from it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You shall not die by death. For God knows in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw the tree was good for food, was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree beautiful to contemplate, she took its fruit and ate. She also gave it to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of the two were opened, and they knew they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. Then they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden that afternoon, and Adam and his wife hid themselves within the tree in the middle of the garden from the presence of the Lord God. So the Lord God called Adam and said to him, “Adam, where are you?” He replied, “I heard Your voice as You were walking in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” Thus He said, “Who said you were naked? Have you eaten from the one tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” Then Adam said, “The woman You gave me, gave me of the tree, and I ate.” So the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Thus the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than all the wild animals of the earth. On your breast and belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head, and you shall be on guard for His heel.”

To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply your pain and your groaning, and in pain you shall bring forth children. Your recourse will be to your husband, and he shall rule over you.” Then to Adam He said, “Because you heeded the voice of your wife, and ate from the one tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground in your labours. In toil you shall eat from it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground from which you were taken. Earth you are, and to earth you shall return.” So Adam called his wife’s name Life, because she was the mother of all living.

Prokeimenon II, Tone 6
O Lord, arise in Your strength;* we shall sing and praise Your power.
verse: O Lord, Your strength gives joy to the king; how Your saving help makes him glad!

Reading II
Proverbs 3:19-34
The ways of wisdom are good ways,
And all her paths are in peace.
She is a tree of life for all who cleave to her,
And she is security for those who lean upon her as upon the Lord.
God by wisdom founded the earth
And prepared the heavens with discernment.
With perception the depths were broken up,
And the clouds flowed with dew.
My son, do not be careless,
But keep my counsel and thinking,
That your soul may live,
And grace may be around your neck.
And there will be healing for your flesh
And care for your bones,
That you may walk confidently in peace in all your ways,
And your foot may not stumble.
For if you sit down, you will be without fear,
And if you lie down, your sleep will be pleasant.
And do not be afraid of intimidation when it comes upon you,
Nor of the attack of the ungodly when it comes at you;
For the Lord will be over all your ways,
And He will plant your feet firmly, that you may not be shaken.
Do not withhold doing good to the needy,
When you may give a helping hand;
Do not say, when you are able to do good,
“Come back tomorrow, and I will give you something”;
For you do not know what the next day will bring forth.
Do not devise evil things against your friend
Who dwells beside you and trusts in you.
Do not be ready to quarrel with a man in vain,
Lest he do you some harm.
Do not incur the reproach of evil men,
Neither seek their ways.

Reading III
Deuteronomy 1:8-17
“Behold, I am delivering the land in your presence; go in and inherit the land I swore to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—to give it to them and their seed after them.’

“So I spoke to you at that time, saying, ‘I alone am not able to bear you. The Lord your God multiplied you, and here you are today, as the stars of heaven in multitude. May the Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times more numerous than you are, and bless you, just as He said. How can I alone bear your labors, your burdens, and your lawsuits? Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and I will make them leaders over you.’

“Then you answered me and said, ‘The thing you told us to do is good.’ So I took from you wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men and made them leaders over you: leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens; judges to interpret the law for you.

“Then I commanded your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the cases between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the resident alien with him. You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall judge the small and the great; you shall not shrink before any man’s presence, for the judgment is God’s. The case too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it.’ “

Reading IV
Deuteronomy 10:14-21
“Indeed, heaven and heaven of heaven belong to the Lord your God, also the earth and everything in it. The Lord chose your fathers to love them; and He chose their seed after them, you above all nations, as it is this day. Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice for the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, and loves the resident alien, giving him food and clothing. Therefore, love the resident aliens, for you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and hold fast to Him, and take oaths in His name. He is your boast and your God, who did these great and glorious things for you, the things you saw with your own eyes.”

Reading V
Wisdom 3:1-9
The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
And no torture will ever touch them.
In the eyes of the undiscerning they seemed to have died,
And their departure was considered to be misfortune,
And their passage from us to be their destruction;
But they are at peace.
For though in man’s view they were punished,
Their hope is full of immortality.
Though chastened in a few things,
Great kindness will be shown them,
For God tested them and found them worthy of Himself.
He tested them like gold in a furnace
And accepted them as a whole burnt offering.
In the time of their visitation they will shine forth,
And they will run about like sparks through straw.
They will judge nations and rule over peoples,
And the Lord shall reign over them unto the ages.
Those who trust in Him will understand truth,
And the faithful shall continue with Him in love,
Because grace and mercy are upon His elect.