Liturgical Services
AT SMALL VESPERS
At Lord, I have cried we insert 4 Stichera, and sing the 3 Resurrection Stichera from the Octoichos, and 1 by Anatolios, as at Great Vespers.
Glory. Tone 5.
Jesus went up to Jerusalem, as at Great Vespers.
Both now. Theotokion, the Dogmatic. Tone 3.
Greatest wonder: a Virgin gives birth, and that which was born is God before the ages. Manifest the giving birth, that which was accomplished was beyond nature. O fearsome Mystery! What was apprehended remains ineffable, and that which was contemplated is not understood. Blessed are you, most pure Maiden, daughter of Adam the earthborn, and manifested as Mother of God Most High. Implore him that our souls may be saved.Then O Joyful Light and the Prokeimenon The Lord is King with its verses. After Grant, Lord etc., we sing the first Resurrection Sticheron of the Aposticha of Great Vespers, and the following Prosomia of the Mother of God.
Tone 3.
Verse: Listen, daughter, and see, and incline your ear; and forget your people and your father’s house.Through the great boon you brought us, O Immaculate, along with the Angels we glorify your Offspring, who deigned to be born of your womb through his deep compassion and to refashion the human race.
Verse: I shall remember your name in every generation and generation.
We sinners have all gained you, pure Virgin, as refuge and divine protection in life. Therefore we all implore your compassion. Do not turn from us, we beg, but take pity and save us.
Verse: The rich among the people of the land will entreat your favour.
Mother of God, Ever-Virgin, we your servants made from earth, with Gabriel the chief captain, fittingly offer your our ‘Hail!’ For you became cause of joy and exultation for the world.
Glory, Both now. Tone 8.
In Solomon’s porch as at Great Vespers.Now Master, Trisagion etc. and the Resurrection Apolytikion.
And the Dismissal.
AT GREAT VESPERS
After Christ has risen, at Lord I have cried we insert 10 Stichera, and we sing 7 of the Resurrection from the Octoichos.
Tone 3.
By your Cross, Christ Saviour, death’s might has been abolished, the devil’s deception destroyed, while the human race, saved by faith, each evening offers you its hymn.By your Resurrection, Lord, the universe has been filled with light and Paradise has been opened again, while all creation as it sings your praise, each evening offers you its hymn.I glorify the power of the Father and the Son, and I praise the authority of the Holy Spirit, undivided, uncreated Godhead, consubstantial Trinity, that reigns from age to age.
Other Stichera, by Anatolios.
We worship your precious Cross, O Christ, and we praise and glorify your Resurrection, for by your stripes we have all been healed.We praise the Saviour who took flesh from the Virgin; for he was crucified for us and rose on the third day, granting us his great mercy.
Going down to those in Hades, Christ proclaimed the good tidings, saying, ‘Be of good courage; now have I conquered! I am the Resurrection; I will bring you up, abolishing the gates of death’.We who stand unworthily in your most pure house sing an evening hymn, as we cry out of the depths, ‘Christ God, who enlightened the world by your Resurrection on the third day, deliver your people from the hand of your foes, O Lover of mankind’.
Two Idiomel Stichera of the Paralytic. Tone 1.
Compassionate Christ, who fashioned humankind with your immaculate hand, you came to heal the sick. You raised the Paralytic at the Sheep Pool through your word; you cured the pain of the woman with the issue of blood; you had pity on the possessed daughter of the woman of Canaan; and you did not despise the request of the Centurion. Therefore we cry: All-powerful Lord, glory to you! (Twice)An unburied corpse, the Paralytic, when he saw you, cried out, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, for my bed has become for me a tomb. What does life hold for me? I cannot crave the Sheep Pool, for I have no one to put me in when the waters are stirred up. But I come to you, the source of healing, that I may cry with all: All-powerful Lord, glory to you!’
Glory. Tone 5.
Jesus went up to Jerusalem, to the Sheep Pool, called by the Jews Bethesda, having five porches. For in these lay a great multitude of the sick. For an Angel of God would come at from time to time, stir it up and grant strength to those who approached with faith. And the Lord, seeing a man who had been sick for many years, said to him, ‘Do you want to be made whole?’ The sick man answered, ‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. I have spent all my livelihood on physicians, and it has not been granted me to find mercy’. But the physician of souls and bodies said to him, ‘Take up your bed and walk, while proclaiming my power and my great mercy in the ends of the earth.’
Both now. Theotokion. Tone 3.
How should we not marvel at your Offspring, who is both God and man, all-honoured one? For without knowing man, O all-blameless, you gave birth in the flesh to a Son without father, begotten from the Father before the ages without mother, in no way undergoing change, or mixture or separation, but preserving intact the identity of either nature. Therefore, Sovereign Lady, Virgin Mother, implore him that the souls may be saved of those who with right belief acknowledge you as Mother of God.
At the Liti.
The Sticheron of the Saint of the Monastery.
The Sticheron of the Saint of the Monastery.
Glory. Tone 5. Composition of Koumoulas.
A man was lying in sickness at the Sheep Pool, and seeing you, Lord, he cried out, ‘I have no one when the water is stirred up to put me in it. While I am moving forward another gets there before me and receives the healing, while I lie sick’. And at once the Saviour, moved with compassion, says to him, ‘For your sake I have become man, for your sake I have clothed myself in flesh, yet you say ‘I have no one’? Take up your bed, and walk!’ All things are possible for you, all things obey you, all things are subject to you; remember us all and have mercy, O Holy One, as you love humankind.
Both now. The same tone.
You are the temple, the gate, the palace and the throne of the King, all-honoured Virgin; through you my Redeemer, Christ the Lord, has appeared to those who sleep in darkness, for he is the Sun of justice, who wishes to enlighten all those whom he fashioned according to his own image, by his own hand. Therefore, all-praised One, as you have a mother’s boldness towards him, intercede with him unceasingly that our souls may be saved.
At the Aposticha, Resurrection Sticheron. Tone 3.
By your passion, O Christ, you darkened the sun, and by the light of your Resurrection you made the whole universe radiant. Accept our evening hymn, O Lover of mankind.
Then the Easter Stichera with their Verses.
Tone 5.
Verse: Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered, and let those that hate him flee before his face.A sacred Pascha has been shown forth to us to-day, a new and holy Pascha, a mystic Pascha, an all-venerable Pascha, a Pascha that is Christ the Redeemer, a spotless Pascha, a great Pascha, a Pascha of the faithful, a Pascha that has opened to us the gates of Paradise, a Pascha that hallows all the faithful.
Verse: As smoke vanishes, so let them vanish, as wax melts before the fire.
Come from the scene, O women bearers of good tidings, and say to Zion: Receive from us the tidings of joy, of the Resurrection of Christ. Exult, dance and be glad, O Jerusalem, for you have seen Christ the King as a bridegroom come forth from the tomb.
Verse: So let sinners perish at the presence of God, and let the just be glad.
The Myrrh-bearing women at early dawn came near the tomb of the Giver of life; they found an Angel sitting on the stone, and he, addressing them in this manner, said: Why do you seek the living among the dead? Why do you mourn the Incorruptible amid corruption? Go, proclaim it to his Disciples.
Verse: This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us be glad and rejoice in it.
A Pascha of delight, Pascha, the Lord’s Pascha, an all-venerable Pascha has dawned for us, a Pascha on which let us embrace one another with joy. O Pascha, ransom from sorrow! To-day Christ has shone forth from the tomb as from a bridal chamber, and has filled the women with joy, saying: Proclaim it to the Apostles.
Glory. Tone 8.
In Solomon’s Porch a great crowd of sick was lying, and at the mid-point of the Feast, Christ, finding a paralytic who had been lying there for thirty eight years, said to him with the voice of the Master, ‘Do you want to be made whole?’ The sick man answered him, ‘Sir, I have no man to put me in the pool when the water is stirred up’. But he said to him, ‘Take up your bed. See, you have been made whole. Sin no more.’ At the prayers of the Mother of God, O Lord, send down upon us your great mercy.
Both now. Tone 5.
It is the day of Resurrection; let us be radiant for the festival, and let us embrace one another. Let us say, brethren, even to those who hate us: let us forgive all things at the Resurrection, and so let us cry: Christ has risen from the dead; by death he has trampled on death, and to those in the graves given life.
Apolytikion. Tone 3.
Let everything in heaven rejoice, let everything on earth be glad, for the Lord has shown strength with his arm; by death he has trampled on death; he has become the first-born from the dead; from the belly of Hell he has delivered us, and granted the world his great mercy.
Theotokion.
Virgin Mother of God, we praise you as the means of the salvation of our race; for your Son and our God, who through the Cross accepted suffering in the flesh he had taken from you, has redeemed us from corruption, for he loves humankind.
And Dismissal.
AT MATINS
After the 1st Psalter reading, Kathismata of the Resurrection.
Tone 3.
Christ has risen from the dead, the first fruit of those who sleep; the first born of creation, and creator of all that has come into being; he has renewed in himself the nature of our race that had perished. Death, you no longer lord it, because the Master of all has abolished your might.
Glory.
Having tasted death in the flesh, Lord, you cut out the bitterness of death by your Rising, and you strengthened mankind against it, revoking the defeat of the ancient curse. O Protector of our life, Lord, glory to you.
Both now. Theotokion. Model melody.
Awed by the beauty of your virginity, and by the splendour of your purity, Gabriel cried aloud to you, O Mother of God, ‘How can I praise you as I should? By what name shall I address you? I am troubled and amazed. Therefore as I was commanded I cry to you: Hail, full of grace!’
After the 2nd Psalter reading, Kathismata.
Tone 3. Awed by the beauty.
Having accepted all that is human, having made your own all that is ours, you were well-pleased, my Maker, to be nailed on a cross; having chosen to endure death as man, that you might redeem humanity from death as God; therefore as Giver of life we cry out to you: Glory, O Christ, to your compassion!
Glory.
All things in heaven rejoiced with longing, all those on earth stood amazed with fear, when the immaculate voice came to you, O Mother of God: for one festival shone on both, because he delivered the First-formed from death: therefore with the Angel we cry out to you: Hail, pure Virgin-mother!
After Psalm 118, the Evlogitaria.
Then the Ypakoï. Tone 3.
Terrifying them by his appearance, calming them by his words, the dazzling Angel said to the Myrrh-bearing women: ‘Why do you seek the living in the grave? Know that the Changer of corruption is the Unchangeable; say to God: How fearful are your works! For you have saved the human race.’
Then the Anavathmi of the Tone. Antiphon 1.
You rescued from Babylon the captivity of Zion: snatch me too from the passions into life, O Word.Those who sow in the south with God-given tears will reap in joy ever-living sheaves.
Glory. Both now.
From the Holy Spirit the giving of all good things shines out as from the Father and the Son, in whom all things live and move.
Antiphon 2.
If the Lord does not build the house of the virtues, we labour in vain: but when he protects the soul, no one sacks our city.From the fruit of the womb the Saints are ever by the Spirit made sons to you, O Christ, as to the Father.
Glory. Both now.
By the Holy Spirit are seen all holiness and wisdom, for he gives existence to all creation. Let us worship him, for he is God, with the Father and the Son.
Antiphon 3.
Those who fear the Lord are blessed, they walk in the paths of his commandments: for they eat every fruit which has life.Be glad, Chief Shepherd, seeing your offspring around your table: bearing branches of good works.
Glory. Both now.
With the Holy Spirit is all the wealth of glory, from whom comes grace and life to all creation: for he is hymned with the Father and the Word.
Prokeimenon.
Say among the nations that the Lord is king: he has made the world so firm that it can never be moved.Verse: Sing to the Lord a new song: sing to the Lord all the earth. Then Let everything that has breath, Resurrection Gospel 5. Having seen the Resurrection. Psalm 50 etc. The Canons of Easter, with the Irmi, and of the Mother of God to 8, and that of the Paralysed Man to 6.
Easter Canon. Tone 1. Ode 1.
Irmos.
The day of Resurrection, let us be radiant, O peoples: Pascha, the Lord’s Pascha; for Christ God has brought us from death to life, and from earth to heaven, as we sing the triumphal song.
Troparia.Let us purify our senses, and we shall see Christ shining forth, in the unapproachable light of the resurrection, and we shall clearly hear Him saying ‘Rejoice!’, as we sing the triumphal song.Let the heavens as is fitting rejoice, and let the earth be glad, let the whole world, both seen and unseen, keep the feast: for Christ has risen, our eternal joy.
Canon of the Mother of God. Tone 1.
The boundary of death you forced open, all-pure Virgin, by bearing Christ the eternal Life, who shone out to-day from the tomb, and enlightened the world.Having seen your Son and God risen from the dead, you rejoice with the Apostles, O holy and full of grace, and as cause of the joy of all, O all-pure Mother of God, you first received the greeting ‘Rejoice’.The Acrostic in the first Troparia: Theophan. Ode 1. The same Irmos.
Canon of the Paralysed Man. Tone 3.
[O God, you are glorious in your wonders; you do marvels; you turned the deep into earth, covered chariots and saved a people who sing to you, as God our redeemer.]Whose Acrostic is in the 9th Ode: Joseph. Composition of Joseph of Thessaloniki. Ode 1. The Irmos.
Troparia.
O only King, who perform signs and do marvels, as merciful you willingly underwent the Cross; having put death to death by death, you have given us life.At Christ’s Rising let us dance with faith today, O peoples: Hell has been despoiled; rapidly he gave up the prisoners he held, as they hymned the wonderful works of God. O Christ, who once with divine power braced the limbs of the paralytic by your word and ordered him who had been weak for many years to take up his bed, heal my fearsomely sick soul. Once the Angel would come down into the Sheep Pool and cure one person each year; but now by divine Baptism Christ cleanses unnumbered multitudes. Prince of Angels, Chief Captain of the ministers on high, protect, and guard those who have come together in your venerable temple and who sing God’s praises.
Glory.
With the Bodiless ones let us ceaselessly sing the praise of God without beginning in three persons but one nature, Father, Word, Spirit, with kingdom and might undivided.
Both now. Theotokion.
O holy one, ever save this your city, which honours you, from dangers, capture by aliens, civil war, the sword and every other threat.
Katavasia. The day of Resurrection.
Ode 3. Irmos.
Come let us drink a new drink, not one marvellously brought forth from a barren rock, but the Source of incorruption, which springs up from the tomb of Christ, in whom we are established.
Troparia.
Now all things are filled with light, both heaven and earth and those beneath the earth: so let all creation sing Christ’s rising, by which it is established.Yesterday I was buried with You O Christ, to-day I rise with You as You arise: yesterday I was crucified with You, glorify me with You, Saviour, in your Kingdom.
Of the Mother of God. The same Irmos.
Holy one, to-day I return to life undefiled through the goodness of Him who was born from you and whose brightness shines to the ends of the earth.Seeing the God, whom you conceived in the flesh, rising from the dead as he said, O holy one, dance; and magnify him as God, O immaculate.
Of the Paralysed Man. The Irmos.
[Barren and sterile soul, acquire fruit of good renown, and blessed with offspring cry out: my heart is established; none is holy; none is just but you, O Lord.]
Troparia.
The sun of old seeing you hanging upon the tree, O Word, withdrew its light, the whole earth was shaken; when you died the dead arose, O all-powerful.When you came with your soul to the belly of the earth, Hell speedily gave up the souls he had acquired, which loudly sang a song of thanks to your might, O only Lord. O most Good, heal my soul which for many many years has been grievously sick; that I may tread the paths which you have marked out for those who long for you. With the ranks on high make intercession, O Archangel of God, for those who hymn you in faith, guarding and protecting us who fall into the snares of life’s passions.
Glory.
Glory let us cry aloud to Father, Son and Spirit: for God is one by nature, whom all the powers of heaven glorify in fear, crying: Holy, Holy, Holy!
Both now. Theotokion.
Your conceiving was without seed, your child-bearing beyond understanding, O immaculate Virgin-mother; an awesome thing, greatest marvel, feared by Angels, glorified by mortals, O Maiden, Sovereign Lady .
Katavasia. Come let us drink.
Kathismata. Tone 3.
A word alone braced the limbs of the paralytic, when the universal word of him who through compassion appeared on earth for our sakes was uttered; and so too he walked on carrying his bed, although the Scribes could not bear to see what had been done, held as they were by wicked envy which paralyses souls.
Glory. Both now. Theotokion. Model Melody.
Awed by the beauty of your virginity, and by the splendour of your purity, Gabriel cried aloud to you, O Mother of God: ‘How can I praise you as I should? By what name shall I invoke you? I am troubled and amazed. Therefore, as I was commanded, I cry to you: Hail, full of grace!’
Ode 4. Irmos.
Let the Prophet Avvakum, inspired by God, keep the divine watch with us, and show forth the radiant Angel, who with resounding voice declares: ‘To-day brings salvation to the world, for Christ has risen as omnipotent’.
Troparia.
Christ appeared as a male who opened a virgin womb: but as our food he is called ‘lamb’: ‘unblemished’, as our Passover without stain: and ‘perfect’ for he is true God.As a yearling lamb, for us the blessed crown, Christ was willingly sacrificed for all, a cleansing Passover: and from the tomb the fair sun of justice has shone for us again.God’s forebear David dancing leaped before the Ark, mere shadow : but seeing the fulfilment of the types, let us, God’s holy people, inspired, rejoice, for Christ is risen as omnipotent.
Of the Mother of God. Same Irmos.
Even He who fashioned Adam your forefather, O holy one, is fashioned from you, and by his own death He has destroyed Adam’s death to-day, and shed light on all with the divine beams of his Resurrection.Seeing Christ, whom your bore, shining in beauty from the dead, O Pure one, fair and lovely and spotless among women, as you rejoice to-day with the Apostles at the salvation of all, glorify him.
Of the Paralysed Man. The Irmos.
[In the shadowed mountain Avvakum foresaw your immaculate womb, O Pure one, therefore he raised the cry: God will come from Theman and the Holy One from a shadowed, wooded mountain.]
Troparia.
Consumed by envy the Hebrew people crucified you on a tree, O Lord; and having annulled the sentence of death, you rose from the dead as mighty, raising the world with you.‘Why, O women, do you seek the inexhaustible Sweetness with sweet spices? he has risen’, the one who was seated clothed in white said to the Myrrhbearers, ‘and fills the whole world with fragrance. Bearing the image of a servant in your surpassing compassion, O Word, you passed by on your way and restored health to the man who had lain sick for many years, and ordered him to take up his bed. An Angel of the Lord went down at a certain time and stirred up the water in the Sheep Pool, making one, and only one person well; but Christ saves countless multitudes by divine Baptism. Prince of the Angels, guide of the erring, God’s Chief Captain, be among us at this hour, and offer all our prayers to the only Maker and Master.
Glory.
The holy Trinity is united in nature, divided in persons: the Father beyond all being, and the co-eternal Son and the Holy and alone all-powerful Spirit.
Both now. Theotokion.
How did you give suck, O pure one? How give birth to an infant more ancient than Adam? How bear in your embrace as Son him who is borne on the shoulders of the Cherubim? As he understands, as he knows, he who gave everything being.
Katavasia. Let the Prophet.
Ode 5. Irmos.
Let us arise in the early dawn, and instead of myrrh, offer praises to the Master; and we shall see Christ, the Sun of Justice, who causes life to dawn for all.
Troparia.
Those who were held by Hades’ bonds, seeing your measureless compassion, press forward to the light, O Christ, with joyful step, praising an eternal Passover.
With torches in our hands let us go forth to meet Christ as he comes from the grave, like a bridegroom, and with the festive ranks of Angels, let us feast God’s saving Passover.
Of the Mother of God. Same Irmos.
O pure Mother of God, the assembly of the devout is enlightened by the divine, lifegiving rays of the Resurrection of your Son, and is filled with joy.You did not open the gates of the Virgin, when You took flesh; You did not break the seals of the grave, O King of creation. Therefore when she saw You risen, she rejoiced.
Of the Paralysed Man. The Irmos.
[Shed on my humble soul, O Christ, the rays of your light which knows no evening, and guide me to the fear of you; for your commands are light.]
Troparia.
You were lifted up on the tree of the Cross and you lifted up the whole world with you; and among the dead as God you raise those who have been dead since time began.Christ has risen as he said, having emptied the palaces of Hell, and he appears to the Apostles, giving them a share in the joy that lasts forever. A snow-white, dazzling Angel appeared to the women saying, ‘Do not weep. Our life has arisen, having given life to the dead in the graves’. As you raised the Paralysed Man, O Christ, heal my soul crippled by transgressions, and lead me aright to walk in your straight paths. Michael, Prince of Angels, save the people which throngs your temple to-day and proclaims the wonderful works of God.
Glory.
Equal in honour, triple Unity, separated faithfully in persons but united in nature, are Father, Son and the divine Spirit.
Both now. Theotokion.
We hymn your child-bearing without seed and your birth-giving beyond understanding, O Pure one, calling you blessed as Mother of the Maker of all things and Master.
Katavasia. Let us arise at early dawn.
Ode 6. Irmos.
You went down to the deepest parts of the earth, and You shattered the everlasting bars that held fast those that were fettered, O Christ. And on the third day like Jonas from the whale, You arose from the tomb.
Troparia.
Keeping the seals intact O Christ, You rose from the tomb, You who did not harm the locks of the Virgin’s womb at your birth, and You have opened to us the gates of Paradise.O my Saviour, the living, unslain Victim, as God offering yourself willingly to the Father, You raised up with Yourself all Adam’s race, in rising from the tomb.
Of the Mother of God. The same Irmos.
Prisoner of old of death and corruption, the human race has been brought back through Him was took flesh from your spotless womb to incorruptible and everlasting life, O Virgin Mother of God.He who went down, O Holy one, into your womb, dwelt there and took flesh beyond understanding, went down into the lowest parts of the earth and raised Adam with Himself when He rose from the tomb.
Of the Paralysed Man. The Irmos.
[The deep of the passions has risen up against me, and a tempest of contrary winds; but come quickly, my Saviour, save me and deliver me from corruption, as you saved the Prophet from the beast.]
Troparia.
Willingly you were raised on a tree, you were placed as a dead man in a tomb, and having given life to all the dead in Hell together, you rose, O Christ, by divine power.Hell meeting you below was embittered, Merciful one, and hastily gave back his prisoners, as they hymned your dread Resurrection, Saviour, with never silent voices. The divine Disciples, when they saw the life of all come from the grave, with great desire, right judgement and gladness of soul worshipped the risen Christ. he who of old had lain for many years on a bed of pain, at your order, O Christ, was made whole, and with hymns glorified your compassion, O Giver of life. Michael, Prince of Angels, who stand by the throne of the Master, be present among us now and guide us who have gained you as a fervent protector towards paths of life.
Glory.
With the dread armies above, I reverence you, Trinity in persons; I proclaim you, Unity in Being, O Father without beginning, Son, right Spirit, God of all.
Both now. Theotokion.
He who bears all things by divine spirit is held, Virgin Mother of God, in your arms. He snatches us all from the enslaving hand of the foe, for he is compassionate.
Katavasia. You went down to the deepest.
Kontakion. Tone 3. Today the Virgin.
By your divine presence, O Lord, raise my soul, grievously paralysed by sins of every kind and by unnatural deeds, as you also raised the Paralysed Man of old, that saved I may cry to you: O merciful Christ, glory to your might.
The Ikos.
You grasp the ends of the earth in the hollow of your hand, Jesu, God without beginning with the Father, Master of all things with the Holy Spirit; you appeared in flesh, healing diseases and banishing sufferings, giving light to the blind, and with a divine word you raised up the Paralysed Man, ordering him to walk quickly and to take up on his shoulders the bed which had borne him; therefore with him we all sing praises and cry out: O merciful Christ, glory to your might.
Synaxarion of the Menaion, then the following:
On the same day, the fourth Sunday from Easter, we remember the Paralysed Man, and as is fitting we celebrate so great a wonder.
Verses.Strength to the paralysed, the word of Christ.
In your boundless mercy, Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.And so this word was healing, this alone.
Ode 7. Irmos.
He who delivered the Children from the furnace, becoming man suffers as a mortal, and through suffering he clothes the mortal with the glory of incorruption: the only blessed and most glorious God of our fathers’.
Troparia.
The holy women hastened after You with sweet spices. Whom they sought with tears as a mortal, they worshipped with joy as the living God, and they proclaimed the mystic Passover, O Christ, to your disciples.We feast death’s slaughter, the overthrow of Hell, the first fruits of a new eternal life: and dancing we hymn the cause: the only blessed and most glorious God of our fathers.How truly holy and all-festive is this saving night, how full of light, herald of the bright day of the resurrection, in which the timeless Light shone bodily for all from the tomb.
Of the Mother of God. The same Irmos.
Having slain death, your Son, O all-pure one, has to-day given to all life that endures to ages of ages: the only blessed and highly exalted God of our fathers.
he who reigns over all creation becoming man dwelt in your womb, O full of God’s grace, and having endured the cross and death he has risen as God and raised us with him, for he is all powerful.
Of the Paralysed Man. The Irmos.
[You made the flame of the furnace like dew, and You saved the children unburned; blessed are You O Lord, the God of our fathers.]
Troparia.
When it saw you stretched upon the Tree the sun withdrew its light, unable to shine on the world when you, O King of all, had willingly set to give light to all nations.You arose, having emptied the graves and despoiled Hell by your almighty power; therefore, O Christ, we hymn your holy and divine Rising. ‘Why do you seek the living as one dead? he has risen. he is not in the tomb’ the divine Angel, in appearance as flashing lightning, cried to the Myrrhbearers. With a word you healed the Paralysed Man, who had lain sick for many years, and you cried to him: Take up your bed, and go, praising the wonderful works of God. Michael, Chief Captain of the Lord, guide those who in faith have crowded into your divine temple to praise God; protect them by your mediation from every kind of danger.
Glory.
O Trinity, save from every kind of danger those who in faith hymn you as God of all and Master, and make them sharers in your good things.
Both now. Theotokion.
You remained Virgin when above reason you bore without change him who was born of the Father without beginning before all ages; therefore, Pure one, we call you blest.
Katavasia. He who delivered the Children.
Ode 8. Irmos.
This chosen and holy day is the first of Sabbaths, the Queen and Lady, the Feast of Feasts and the Festival of Festivals on which we bless Christ to all the ages.
Troparia.
Come let us share in the new fruit of the vine, of joy divine, and in the kingdom of Christ, on the glorious day of the Resurrection, hymning Him as God to all the ages.Lift your eyes around you, O Zion, and see: for behold like beacons shedding light divine your children have come to you, from West and North, from the Sea and from the East, blessing Christ in you to all the ages.Almighty Father, Word and Spirit, nature united in three Persons, beyond all being and beyond all Godhead, into You we have been baptised and we bless to all the ages.
Of the Mother of God. The same Irmos.
As the creator came into the world through you, O Virgin Mother of God, He tore open the womb of Hell and gave us mortals the Resurrection; therefore we bless Him to the ages.Your Son, O Virgin, having overthrown the might of death, in his resurrection, as a mighty God, has exalted us with himself and deified us; therefore we praise him to the ages.
Of the Paralysed Man. The Irmos.
[The God who is glorified unceasingly in the highest by Angels, O heaven of heavens, earth, mountains, hills and deeps and all the human race, bless him in hymns as Creator and Redeemer.]
Troparia.
The veil was rent when you were crucified, O our Saviour, and death gave up the dead whom it had swallowed; and Hell was stripped bare when it saw you in the lowest regions of the earth.Where death is your sting? Where grave is now your victory? You have been slain and destroyed by the risen King; you reign no longer; the Mighty One has taken away those whom you held prisoner. ‘Run quickly, announce the Resurrection to the Apostles’, cried the shining young man to the Myrrhbearers, ‘The Master has risen, and with him wondrously the dead from time’s beginning’. The Paralysed Man, who had lain for many years, cried: Have mercy on me, afflicted by distress, O Redeemer. But he orders him to take up his bed with haste and to walk upright. O Chief Captain, as leader of the immaterial Powers, with them ask for us redemption from faults, correction of life and enjoyment of the eternal good things of heaven.
Glory.
Let us hymn in consort the uncreated, indivisible Essence, the three-personned Godhead, Father without beginning, and Son and Holy Spirit, crying with the Seraphim the dread melody.
Both now. Theotokion.
Of old Isaias saw you as a book, Ever-virgin, in which the timeless Word had been inscribed by the Father’s finger, saving us from all unreason, who hymn you with sacred words.
Katavasia. This chosen.
Ode 9. Irmos.
Megalynarion: Magnify, O my soul, Him who suffered willingly, and was buried, and arose from the grave on the third day.
‘Shine, shine, O New Jerusalem, for the glory of the Lord has risen upon you; dance now and be glad, O Zion, and you too rejoice, O pure Mother of God, at the arising of Him to whom you gave birth’.
Megalynarion: Magnify, O my soul, Christ the Giver of life, who arose from the grave on the third day.
‘Shine, shine, O New Jerusalem, for the glory of the Lord has risen upon you; dance now and be glad, O Zion, and you too rejoice, O pure Mother of God, at the arising of Him to whom you gave birth’.
Megalynarion: Christ is the new Passover, the living sacrificial victim, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
O your divine and beloved and sweetest voice; You have truly promised that you will be with us unto the end of the world, O Christ; and we faithful rejoice, having this as an anchor of hope.
Megalynarion: To-day the whole creation is glad and rejoices, for Christ has risen and Hell has been despoiled.
O great and most sacred Pascha, Christ; O Wisdom and Word and Power of God! Grant that we may partake of You fully in the unwaning day of your Kingdom.
Of the Mother of God. The same Irmos.
Now in harmony, O Virgin, we faithful call you blessed: Hail gate of the Lord: Hail living city: Hail through whom to-day the light of the Resurrection from the dead of Him who was born from you has shone for us.Rejoice, be glad, divine gate of the light; for Jesus, who set in the tomb, has dawned shining more brightly than the sun, and shedding his rays on all the faithful, O Sovereign Lady full of God’s grace.
Of the Paralysed Man. The Irmos.
[In the bush on Mount Sinai Moses saw you, who received in your womb unburned the fire of the Godhead; Daniel saw you as an unhewn mountain; Isaias cried of a stem that had blossomed from the root of Jesse.]
Troparia.
 esu, lifted up upon the tree, you lifted us up with you; and placed willingly in a tomb, you raised from the graves all the dead, who praise your incomprehensible might and your invincible power. Word most fair, you dawned most fair from the grave as a bridegroom from his chamber; you abolished the gloom of Hell, and delivered the prisoners, who sang in consort: Glory to your glory! Glory, Jesu our God, to your Rising! wiftly the women came to the all-holy grave bringing sighs and tears with sweet spices, and they were taught in faith Christ’s Rising, which we celebrate, rejoicing in gladness of soul. nergy of body followed your order, O Christ, and the man formerly Paralysed was seen going by in haste, bearing the bed on which he had lain for many years, and praising your great power. lead for enlightenment for us, great Chief Captain, who always stand in the great light, and give peace to our life forever shaken by the assaults of the serpent and by life’s difficulties, O holy one.
Glory.
 oly, Holy, Holy, I cry with the powers above, as with all reverence I glorify you, light and lights, life and lives, Father, Word and Holy Spirit, three-personned Unity, inseparable might, unconfused Godhead.
Both now. Theotokion.
e came from your light-bearing womb, Christ the great Sun, and enlightened the world, O immaculate, with his bright rays, and he removed the darkness of the transgression; therefore we hymn you as cause of all good, O bride of God.
Katavasia. Shine, shine.
Holy is the Lord our God (´ 3).
Exapostilarion of Easter.
Having fallen asleep in the flesh as a mortal, O King and Lord, you rose again on the third day, raising up Adam from corruption, and abolishing death. O Pascha of incorruption, O salvation of the world.
Another of the Paralysed Man. Women hear.
The Lord who loves mankind and is full of pity came to the Sheep Pool to heal diseases; he found a man who had been lying there for many years and cried out to him: Take your bed, go, towards the ways of justice.At Lauds we insert 8 stichera, 4 of the Resurrection in Tone 3 and the 4 of Easter with their verses. Come all you nations, know the power of the dread mystery; for Christ our Saviour, the Word in the beginning, was crucified for us and willingly buried and arose from the dead to save the world. Let us worship him. The guards related all the marvels, Lord; but the Sanhedrin of folly filled their hands with bribes and thought to hide your Resurrection, which the world glorifies. Have mercy on us. All things are filled with joy, having received proof of the Resurrection; for Mary Magdalen came to the tomb, found an angel, dazzling in white, sitting on the stone, and he said: ‘Why do you seek the living with the dead? he is not here, but he has risen as he said, and goes ahead to Galilee.’In your light, Master who love mankind, we shall see light; for you have risen from the dead, giving life to the human race, that all creation may glorify you, the only sinless one. Have mercy on us.
Tone 5.
Verse: Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered: and let those that hate him flee before his face.A sacred Pascha has been shown forth to us to-day, a new and holy Pascha, a mystic Pascha, an all-venerable Pascha, a Pascha that is Christ the Redeemer, a spotless Pascha, a great Pascha, a Pascha of the faithful, a Pascha that has opened to us the gates of Paradise, a Pascha that hallows all the faithful. Verse:As smoke vanishes, so let them vanish: as wax melts before the fire. Come from the sight, O women bearers of good tidings, and say to Zion: Receive from us the tidings of joy, of the Resurrection of Christ. Exult, dance and be glad, O Jerusalem, for you have seen Christ the King as a bridegroom come forth from the tomb. Verse: So let sinners perish at the presence of God: and let the righteous be glad. The Myrrhbearing women at early dawn came near the tomb of the Giver of life; they found an Angel sitting on the stone, and he, addressing them in this manner, said: Why do you seek the living among the dead? Why do you mourn the Incorruptible amid corruption? Go, proclaim it to his Disciples. Verse: This is the day that the Lord has made: let us be glad and rejoice in it. A Pascha of delight, Pascha, the Lord’s Pascha, an all-venerable Pascha has dawned for us, a Pascha on which let us embrace one another with joy. O Pascha, ransom from sorrow! To-day Christ has shone forth from the tomb as from a bridal chamber, and has filled the women with joy, saying: Proclaim it to the Apostles.
Glory. Tone 8.
O Lord, the pool did not cure the Paralysed Man, but your word renewed him, nor did his sickness of so many years hinder it, for the force of your voice was shown to be sharper; and he cast off the weight so hard to carry and carried the burden of his bed as a witness to the multitude of your mercies; glory to you.
Both now. Tone 5.
It is the day of Resurrection; let us be radiant for the festival, and let us embrace one another. Let us say, O brethren, even to those who hate us: let us forgive all things at the Resurrection, and so let us cry: Christ is risen from the dead; death he trampled down by death, and to those in the tombs he has given life.
Great Doxology and Dismissal.
Before the 1st Hour the Eothinon. Tone 5.
How wise are your judgements, O Christ! How did you let Peter understand your Resurrection from the grave clothes alone; but, as you walked with Luke and Cleopas, talked with them, and as you talked did not at once reveal yourself? And so you were reproached as being only a stranger in Jerusalem and not one who had shared to the end in her counsels. But disposing all things for the advantage of the creature you had fashioned, you both unfolded the prophecies concerning yourself and in the blessing of bread made yourself known to them, whose hearts before this were on fire for knowledge of you, and who were already proclaiming clearly to the assembled Disciples your Resurrection, through which have mercy upon us.
[Note the printed Pentecostaria wrongly give the Eothinon as number 3 for this Sunday]
NOTICE.
Note that the office of the Paralysed Man is sung for three days: on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. |
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Archimandrite Ephrem © |
