GREAT VESPERS
Kathisma Reading
“Blessed is the man…” is sung.
At Psalm 140
In Tone 5
Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord;* O Lord, hear my voice!
O divinely wise Sabbas,
you stand together with the Angels and dwell with the holy monks;
you converse with the Prophets
and are co-heir of the Kingdom with the Martyrs and Apostles.
You dwell in the Light that knows no evening
and shine with His divine light and intense desire.
You stand before Him with boldness and unceasing enlightenment,
delighting in His beauties.
Entreat Christ, O holy Father,
and implore Him to grant to the Church unity, peace and great mercy!
Let Yours ears be attentive* to the voice of my prayer.
O divinely wise Sabbas,
you stand together with the Angels and dwell with the holy monks;
you converse with the Prophets
and are co-heir of the Kingdom with the Martyrs and Apostles.
You dwell in the Light that knows no evening
and shine with His divine light and intense desire.
You stand before Him with boldness and unceasing enlightenment,
delighting in His beauties.
Entreat Christ, O holy Father,
and implore Him to grant to the Church unity, peace and great mercy!
If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
O divinely wise Sabbas,
you stand together with the Angels and dwell with the holy monks;
you converse with the Prophets
and are co-heir of the Kingdom with the Martyrs and Apostles.
You dwell in the Light that knows no evening
and shine with His divine light and intense desire.
You stand before Him with boldness and unceasing enlightenment,
delighting in His beauties.
Entreat Christ, O holy Father,
and implore Him to grant to the Church unity, peace 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.
O divinely wise Sabbas,
you are an unquenchable lamp of abstinence,
a radiant beacon for monastics, illumined with rays of love.
You are an unshaken tower of patient endurance,
the support and strength of those who honour you with faith,
a treasury of healings and true dweller in the desert,
which you showed to be the Paradise of God bearing the divine fruit of salvation.
Entreat Christ, O holy Father,
and implore Him to grant to the Church unity, peace and great mercy!
From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
O divinely wise Sabbas,
you are an unquenchable lamp of abstinence,
a radiant beacon for monastics, illumined with rays of love.
You are an unshaken tower of patient endurance,
the support and strength of those who honour you with faith,
a treasury of healings and true dweller in the desert,
which you showed to be the Paradise of God bearing the divine fruit of salvation.
Entreat Christ, O holy Father,
and implore Him to grant to the Church unity, peace and great mercy!
For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
O divinely wise Sabbas,
you are an unquenchable lamp of abstinence,
a radiant beacon for monastics, illumined with rays of love.
You are an unshaken tower of patient endurance,
the support and strength of those who honour you with faith,
a treasury of healings and true dweller in the desert,
which you showed to be the Paradise of God bearing the divine fruit of salvation.
Entreat Christ, O holy Father,
and implore Him to grant to the Church unity, peace and great mercy!
Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
O divinely wise Sabbas,
you are a fiery pillar of the virtues,
a beacon guiding men from the sea of life to the harbour of God.
As a pure dwelling of the Holy Spirit, you cast down the spirits of deception.
You are an instructor of monastics,
a sure measure of abstinence,
a height of humility visible to all,
and a fountain pouring forth a depth of healing.
Entreat Christ, O venerable one,
and implore Him to grant to the Church unity, peace and great mercy!
Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
O divinely wise Sabbas,
you are a fiery pillar of the virtues,
a beacon guiding men from the sea of life to the harbour of God.
As a pure dwelling of the Holy Spirit, you cast down the spirits of deception.
You are an instructor of monastics,
a sure measure of abstinence,
a height of humility visible to all,
and a fountain pouring forth a depth of healing.
Entreat Christ, O venerable one,
and implore Him to grant to the Church unity, peace and great mercy!
In Tone 6, Glory…
You set your mind as master over the deadly passions,
keeping the image unharmed through the ascetic life.
Thus you rose into the perfect likeness, for bravely curbing nature,
you hastened to subject to that which is better:
and made the body servant to the spirit.
Therefore you were revealed as the chief of those living the monastic life,
a citizen of the desert,
a master teaching those who come to you,
a perfect example of virtue.
Now the shadows have been set aside, O Sabbas,
and in heaven you behold in purity the Holy Trinity,
as you pray with boldness for those who honour you with faith and love.
Now…
Who would not call you blessed, O Virgin most holy?
Who would not sing a hymn of praise
to the glory of your giving birth without pain or travail?
The Only-begotten Son Himself,
begotten of the Father before all ages,
was made flesh out of you in a manner
that cannot be explained, O Woman most pure!
And for our sake, He Who is God by nature
assumed the nature of a man.
He is not divided into two persons;
He is understood to have two natures
without commixion or confusion.
O noble and blessed Woman,
intercede with Him that He may mercy on our souls.
Readings
(1) Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9; (2) Wisdom of Solomon 5:15-6:3; (3) Wisdom of Solomon 4:7-15
Aposticha
In Tone 5
Rejoice, truly precious vessel of the fragrance of ascetic struggles,
as you took your cross upon your shoulder and offered yourself to Christ the Master!
Blessed Father, you trampled the base presumption of the flesh,
enlightening your soul with virtues
and taking flight towards desire for God.
Now as we stand around your most holy shrine, all-blessed Sabbas,
we ask that by your prayers we may receive God’s love for mankind,
and that the world be granted great mercy.
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.
God-bearing Sabbas,
in your godly wisdom, O venerable Father,
you approached the fire of the Spirit,
revealing yourself in the world as a divinely glowing ember,
enlightening the souls of those who faithfully come to you
and leading them to the unfading light.
Moistened from on high with the dew of divine grace,
you quenched the burning fire of the desert.
Therefore, Christ, the Lord of divine righteousness,
has openly granted you a crown of victory, O blessed one.
Entreat Him to grant our souls great mercy!
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord; who delights in His commandments.
Divinely wise Sabbas,
your life was manifested as a ladder,
spanning the gulf between earth and the heavens.
You ascended the heights and were counted worthy to converse with Christ the Master;
having enlightened your mind with this radiance, most blessed one,
you received a splendour equal to that of the Angels.
Now as you stand before Him, O venerable one,
pray that we who celebrate your divine and most holy memory may stand with you,
and that He will grant the world great mercy!
In Tone 8, Glory…
We honour you, O Sabbas our Father,
the instructor of a multitude of monks.
We have indeed learned to walk rightly in your footsteps.
You are blessed, for having laboured for Christ,
you denounced the power of the Enemy.
You were a converser with the Angels
and a companion of the venerable and righteous ones.
Together with them, entreat the Lord that He may grant mercy to our souls!
Now…
Unwedded Virgin,
you ineffably conceived God in the flesh.
O Mother of God most high,
accept the cries of your servants, O blameless one!
Grant cleansing of transgressions to all!
Receive our prayers and pray to save our souls!
Troparia
In Tone 8
With streams of your tears you cultivated the barren desert,* with deep sighs your toils bore fruit a hundredfold.* You became a beacon, shining throughout the world by your wonders,* our venerable Father, Sabbas.* Pray to Christ God that our souls may be saved.
Glory… Now…
O gracious Lord, for the sake of mankind You were born of a virgin;* through Your death on the cross You conquered death;* and through Your resurrection You revealed yourself as God.* O merciful Lord, do not disdain those whom You have created with Your own hands,* but show forth Your love for mankind.* Accept the intercession which the Mother, who bore You, makes in our behalf.** O Saviour, save Your despairing people!
DIVINE LITURGY
Troparia and Kontakia
Troparion, Tone 8: With the streams of your tears you cultivated the barren desert,* with deep sighs your toils bore fruit a hundredfold.* You became a beacon, shining throughout the world by your wonders,* our venerable Father, Sabbas.* Pray to Christ God that our souls may be saved.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone 8: In your virtue,* O blessed Sabbas,* you offered yourself to God from childhood* as an unblemished sacrifice,* becoming a gardener* in the garden of godliness.* Thus you became the adornment of monastics,* a praiseworthy citizen of the desert.* And so we cry to you:* Rejoice, most wealthy Sabbas.
Prokeimenon, Tone 7
Precious in the sight of the Lord* is the death of His venerable ones.
verse: What shall I render to the Lord for all the things He has rendered to me? (Psalm 115:6,3)
Epistle
Galatians 5:22-6:2
Alleluia, Tone 6
verse: Blessed is the man who fears the Lord; he shall delight exceedingly in His commandments.
verse: His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth. (Psalm 111:1,2)
Gospel
Matthew 11:27-30
Communion Hymn
The just man shall be in everlasting remembrance;* of evil hearsay he shall have no fear.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 111:6-7)