Priest: Blessed is our God always, now and forever and to the ages of ages.
People: Amen.
Reader: Come, let us worship and bow down before our King and God.
Come, let us worship and bow down before Christ our King and God.
Come, let us worship and bow down before Christ himself, our King and God.
Psalm 103 (104)
Bless the Lord, O my
soul. O Lord, my God, you are very great.
You are clothed in praise
and honor; who covers yourself with light
as with a garment,
spreading out the heavens as a curtain.
You cover your chambers with
the waters; you make the clouds your chariot;
you walk on the wings
of the wind, you make the angels spirits
and your ministers a
flaming fire.
You established the earth on its sure foundation;
it shall never be moved.
You covered it with the deep as with a
garment;
the waters shall stand on the hills.
At your rebuke they
shall flee; at the voice of your thunder they shall be alarmed.
They
go up to the mountains and down to the plains
to the place which you
founded for them.
You have set a boundary which they shall not pass
neither shall they turn again to cover the earth.
You send forth
fountains among the valleys;
the waters shall run between the
mountains.
They shall give drink to all the beasts of the field;
the
wild donkeys shall quench their thirst.
By them the birds of the
heavens shall have their habitation;
they shall sing among the rocks.
You water the
mountains from your chambers;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit
of your miracles.
You make grass grow for the cattle, and
vegetation
for the service of man that you may bring bread out of the
earth,
and wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face
cheerful,
and bread which strengthens man’s heart.
The trees of the
plain shall be full of sap,
even the cedars of Lebanon which you have
planted.
There birds will build their nests; the stork has her home
in the fir trees.
The high mountains are a refuge for stags, and the
rock for the rabbits.
You appointed the moon for seasons; the
sun knows his going down.
You make darkness and it is night; in it
all the wild beasts of the forest will creep about.
Young lions roar
for prey, and seek their food from God.
The sun rises, and they
gather together, and lie down in their dens.
Man goes forth to his
work, and to his labor until the evening.
O Lord, how great
are your works. In wisdom you have made them all.
The earth is
filled with your creation. This great and wide sea,
in which are
innumerable living things both small and great.
There sail the ships,
and there is Leviathan which you have made to play there.
All wait
for you, to give them their food in due season.
When you give it to
them, they will gather it up; when you open your hand,
they shall be
filled with goodness. But when you have turned away your face,
they
shall be troubled. When you take away their breath, they fail, and
return
to their dust. You sent forth your Spirit, and they are
created; and you renew
the face of the earth. May the glory of the
Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works; who looks
upon the earth and makes it tremble;
who touches the mountains and
they smoke.
I will sing praises to the Lord all my life;
I will sing
praises to my God as long as I live.
May my meditation be sweet to
him; I will rejoice in the Lord.|
May sinners and wicked men disappear
from the earth and may they be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
(Again)
The sun knows its
going down. You make darkness, and it is night.
O Lord, how great are
your works.
In wisdom you have made them all.
Glory to the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever and to the ages of
ages. Amen.
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Alleluia. Glory to you, O God (3).
Lord, you are our hope, glory to
you.
The Great Litany
Priest: In peace let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Priest: For the
peace of God and the salvation of our souls
let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Priest: For peace in
the whole world, for the stability of the holy churches of God,
and
for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Priest: For this
holy house and for those who enter it with faith,
reverence, and the
fear of God, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Priest: For our
Archbishop (Name), and our Bishop (Name),
the honourable presbyters,
the deacons in the service of Christ,
and all the clergy and laity,
let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Priest: For our
country, the president,
and all those in civil authority and public
service,
let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Priest: For this
parish and city, for every city and town,
and for the faithful who
live in them, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Priest: For
favorable weather, an abundance of the fruits of the earth,
and
temperate seasons, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Priest: For
travelers by land, sea and air, for the sick, the suffering,
for
captives, and for their salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Priest: For our
deliverance from all affliction, wrath, danger, and distress,
let us
pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Priest: Help us,
save us, have mercy upon us and protect us,
O God, by your grace.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Priest: Remembering
our most holy, pure, blessed,
and glorious Lady, the Theotokos and
ever‑virgin Mary,
with all the saints, let us commit
ourselves and one another
and our whole life to Christ our God.
People: To You, O Lord.
Priest: For to You
belong all glory, honor, and worship,
of the Father and the Son and
the Holy Spirit,
now and forever and to the ages of ages.
People: Amen.
(Then the people begin singing: “Lord, I have cried out to you” in the designated tone:)
Psalm 140 (141)
People: Lord, I have
cried out to you, hear me.
Hear me, O Lord. Lord, I have cried out to
you, hear me.
Receive the voice of my prayer when I cry out to you.
Hear me, O Lord.
Let my prayer be set
forth as incense before you,
the lifting up of my hands as an evening
sacrifice.
Hear me, O Lord.
(If the commemorated
saint has a doxastikon,
we sing six resurrection stichera from the
Octoechos and four of the saint;
“Glory” of the saint, and “Now
and always” and the Theotokion of the Octoechos.
If the saint has
no doxastikon, we sing seven resurrection stichera
and three from the
saint, “Glory… Now and always” and the Theotokion of the tone.)
Psalm 141
Verse 1. Bring my soul out of prison that I may give thanks to your name.
Verse 2. The righteous will surround me; for you will deal bountifully with me.
Psalm 129 (130)
Verse 3. Out of the depths I cry to you O Lord. Lord, hear my voice.
Verse 4. Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
Verse 5. If you, O
Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord who could stand?
But there is
forgiveness with you.
Verse 6. For your
name’s sake I have waited for you,
O Lord; my soul waits for your
word. My soul has trusted in the Lord.
Verse 7. From the morning watch 'til night from the morning watch let Israel trust in the Lord.
Verse 8. For with
the Lord is mercy and with him is plenteous redemption;
and he shall
redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Psalm 116 (117)
Verse 9. Praise the Lord, all you nations; praise him, all you people.
Verse 10. For his
mercy has been abundant toward us;
and the truth of the Lord endures
forever.
Resurrection Stichera of The Eight Tones
First Tone
Accept our evening
prayers, holy Lord, and grant us remission of our sins,
for you alone
revealed the resurrection to the world.
Encircle Zion,
people, and surround her.
Give glory to him who is risen from the
dead,
for he is our God and has delivered us from our iniquities.
Come, people let us
praise and worship Christ,
glorifying his resurrection from the dead,
for he is our God and has delivered the world from the deception of
the enemy.
Heavens, be glad!
Foundations of the earth,
sound the trumpets! Hills, shout for joy!
For behold, Emmanuel has nailed our sins to the cross and he,
the
Giver of life, has put death to death by raising up Adam, as a loving
God.
Let us praise him
who of his own will was crucified for us in the flesh.
He suffered,
was buried and rose from the dead. Let us say:
Confirm your Church in
the true faith and bring peace to our lives,
O Christ, for you are
good and loving God.
As we the unworthy
stand before your life-giving sepulcher,
we offer a hymn of praise to
your ineffable compassion, Christ our God.
For you are without sin
and have accepted
the cross and death in order to grant the world
resurrection, as a loving God.
Let us praise the
Word who is without beginning and
is co‑eternal with the
Father. He came forth ineffably from
the Virgin’s womb and for our
sake he willingly accepted
the cross and death and rose in glory. Let
us say:
Glory to you, O Lord, Giver of life and Savior of our souls.
Glory to the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever and to the ages of
ages. Amen.
Theotokion
Let us praise Mary
the Virgin, glory of all the world
and doorway to heaven, who,
begotten of man,
gave birth to the Lord, and who, adornment of the
faithful,
is hymned by the angelic hosts. For she has been shown to
be heaven and the temple of the Godhead. She is the one
who, breaking
down the wall of enmity, ushered in peace
and threw open the Kingdom.
With her as the anchor of our faith,
we have a defender in the Lord
to whom she gave birth.
Take courage, therefore, people of God, take
courage,
for he, the Almighty, will defeat your enemies.
Second Tone
Come, let us adore
God the Word, begotten of the Father before all ages,
who took flesh
from the Virgin Mary.
For he willingly suffered the cross and
submitted himself to burial,
and he rose from the dead and saved me,
the one who has gone astray.
Our Savior Christ
blotted out the bond that pledged us to the decree by
nailing it to
the cross, and he abolished the dominion of death.
Let us worship his
third day resurrection.
Together with the
Archangels, let us praise the resurrection of Christ.
He is the
Deliverer and Saviour of our souls.
He will come again in awesome
glory and mighty power
to judge the world he fashioned.
The angel proclaimed
you Master, crucified and buried.
And he said to the women: Come and
see the place where
the Lord lay. For he is risen as he foretold, for
he is almighty.
Therefore, we worship you who alone are immortal.
Have mercy on us, O Christ, Giver of life.
You have abolished
the curse of the tree by your cross,
and by your burial you have done
away with the dominion of death,
while by your rising you have
enlightened mankind.
Therefore, we cry out to you: Glory to you,
O
Christ, our God and benefactor.
The gates of death
opened before you in fear,
O Lord, and the gatekeepers of Hades,
beholding you,
were filled with awe. You destroyed the gates of brass
and
crushed the posts of iron.
You led us out of the valley of the
shadow of death and broke our chains.
Let us open our
mouths and sing hymns of salvation.
Come and fall down in the house
of the Lord and say:
Pardon our sins, you who hung upon the cross and
rose from the dead,
and yet are forever in the bosom of the Father.
Glory to the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever and to the ages of
ages. Amen.
Theotokion
At the coming of
grace, the shadow of the law passed away.
Just as the bush that
burned was not consumed,
so have you given birth and remained a
virgin.
Instead of a pillar of fire, the Sun of Righteousness shone
forth;
instead of Moses, Christ, the salvation of our souls appeared.
Third Tone
Your cross, Christ
Savior, has destroyed the power of death
and has abolished the
deception of the devil.
Therefore mankind saved by faith, offers you
hymns of praise forever.
All of creation has
been enlightened by your resurrection,
O Lord, and paradise has once
again been opened.
Therefore, all creation extols you and offers
hymns of praise forever.
I glorify the might
of the Father and the Son and the power of the Holy Spirit,
the
undivided, uncreated Godhead,
the consubstantial Trinity that reigns
to the ages of ages.
We worship your
precious cross,
O Christ, and praise and glorify your resurrection,
for by your wounds we have all been healed.
We praise the Savior
who took flesh from the Virgin,
for he was crucified for our sake and
rose on the third day,
bestowing on us his great mercy.
Going down to those
in Hades, Christ gave them the good news saying:
Take courage, I am
now triumphant. I am the resurrection.
I shall lead you forth, for I
have broken the gates of death.
We who are unworthy
to stand in your immaculate house
send up to you our evening hymn, O
Christ our God,
and call upon you from the depths to deliver your
people
from the hands of their adversaries.
You have enlightened the
world by your third‑day resurrection,
O loving God.
Glory to the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever and to the ages of
ages. Amen.
Theotokion
How can we not be
amazed at your giving birth to God
and man in one, most‑holy
Virgin? For although you
have never known man, you have brought forth
without
blemish and without a father a son in the flesh, begotten
of
the Father without a mother before all ages.
He suffered no change,
confusion or division,
but kept in full the properties of each
nature.
Therefore, Lady, Virgin‑Mother, entreat him to save the
souls
of those who in the true faith acknowledge you to be the
Theotokos.
Fourth Tone
Ever venerating your
life‑giving cross, O Christ our Lord,
we glorify your
resurrection on the third day.
By it you have restored corrupt human
nature,
O mighty One, and have reopened for us
the upward path to
heaven, for you only are a good and loving God.
Having willingly
been nailed to the wood of the Cross,
you abolished the penalty of
disobedience
committed through the tree, and by descending into Hades
you have broken the bonds of death.
Therefore, we worship your
resurrection from the dead,
and, rejoicing, we cry: Almighty Lord,
glory to you.
You demolished by
your Death, O Lord, the gates of hades;
you dissolved the realm of
death; and freed the human race
from corruption, granting the world
life and incorruptibility and Great Mercy.
Come, all you
people, let us sing the praises of the Savior’s resurrection
on the
third day by which we have been delivered
from the unbreakable bonds
of Hades.
Having received incorruption and life, we cry out:
You who
were crucified, buried, and rose save us by your resurrection,
O only
loving God.
Angels and men, O
Savior, sing the praises of your third‑day rising,
for it has
shed light to the ends of the world.
Delivered from the bondage of
the enemy, we all cry out:
Almighty Savior, Creator of life, save us
by your resurrection,
O only loving God.
You have shattered
the gates of brass.
You have broken asunder the chains and raised up
fallen humankind,
O Christ our God. Therefore, we cry with one voice:
O Lord, who rose from the dead, glory to you.
Your birth from the
Father is timeless and eternal,
O Lord; your incarnation from the
Virgin is ineffable
and beyond all understanding; and your descent
into Hades put fear into the devil and his angels.
On the third day
you rose, having trampled upon
death, and granted us incorruption and
your great mercy.
Glory to the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever and to the ages of
ages. Amen.
Theotokion
David the prophet,
forefather of God through you,
cried out in song concerning you to
the One who has
done magnificent things for you.
The Queen stands at
your right hand.
For God, who gladly became man through you without a
father,
has proclaimed you mother and host of life, so that he might
restore
in us his image which was corrupted by passion.
Having found
the stray sheep caught in the mountains,
he laid it on his shoulders
and brought it to the Father.
By his own free will he placed it among
the heavenly hosts.
Christ, who has great and abundant mercy, O
Theotokos,
will save the world.
Plagal of the First Tone
By your precious
cross you have put the devil to shame,
O Christ. By your
resurrection, you have annihilated the sting of sin.
You have saved
us from the gates of death.
O only‑begotten Son, we glorify
you.
He who granted the
human race resurrection was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
The
princes of hell trembled before him and
the gates of agony were
opened.
For Christ the King of glory entered in, declaring to those
in bonds:
Go forth, and to those in darkness: Show yourselves. Let
light surround you.
What a mighty
wonder! In his love for humankind,
the Creator of invisible things
suffered in the flesh,
and he who is immortal, rose. Come, all you
nations,
and let us worship him. We have learned to praise one
God in
three persons who in his compassion delivered us from error.
O Light who never
fades, we offer you this evening worship,
for in the fullness of time
you filled the world with light,
your flesh being a mirror of your
splendor.
You descended to Hades, dispelled the darkness, and made
manifest
to all nations the light of the resurrection.
O Lord, Giver
of light, glory to you.
Let us glorify
Christ, the author of our salvation,
for by his rising from the dead
the world has been saved from error;
the choir of angels rejoices;
the error of demons takes flight;
fallen Adam is raised; and the
devil is destroyed.
The guards were thus
instructed by the evildoers:
keep hidden the resurrection of Christ;
take the pieces of silver and say that, as we were sleeping,
the body
was stolen from the tomb. But who has ever seen
or heard that a body,
especially a body anointed and naked,
was stolen from a tomb and the
grave clothes left lying there?
Be not deceived, O Jews, study the
words of the prophets,
and learn that he is in truth the Redeemer
of
the world and God almighty.
Lord, our Savior,
you have despoiled Hades,
trampled down death, and enlightened the
world
through your holy cross. Have mercy on us.
Glory to the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever and to the ages of
ages. Amen.
Theotokion
In times past, the
image of the unwedded Bride was
inscribed in the Red Sea. There,
Moses parted the waters;
here, Gabriel took part in the miracle.
Then, Israel rode dry‑shod through the deep; now
the Virgin has
without seed given birth to Christ.
After the passing of Israel, the
sea remained impassible,
after the birth of Emmanuel, the blameless
Virgin remained incorrupt. You, O God, who are,
have forever been and
have appeared as man,
have mercy on us.
Plagal of the Second Tone
Triumphant over
Hades, O Christ, you ascended upon
the cross to raise up with
yourself those dwelling in the
darkness of death. Free from among the
dead, you pour forth life
from your own light. Almighty Savior,
have
mercy on us.
Today, Christ,
having trampled upon death,
according to his word, rose up bestowing
joy upon the world,
so that all of us shouting this hymn might say: O
Fount of life,
light that no person may approach, O almighty Savior,
have mercy on us.
Where shall we
sinners fly from you, O Lord, who are everywhere in creation?
Into
heaven? Your abode is there. Into hell?
You have trampled upon death.
Into the uttermost parts of the sea?
Your hand reaches there, O
Master. We run to you and falling before you we pray:
You, who rose
from the dead, have mercy on us.
We exult in your
cross, O Christ, and we praise and glorify your resurrection.
You are
indeed our God; we know no other Lord but you.
Ever blessing the
Lord, we praise his resurrection.
For by enduring the cross, he
destroyed death by death.
Glory be to your
might, O Lord, for you have destroyed the power of death,
and you
have renewed us through your cross, bestowing on us life and
incorruption.
Your burial, O
Christ, burst asunder the bonds of Hades; your resurrection
from the
dead gave light to the world. To you, O Lord, be glory.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Theotokion
Who will not call
you blessed, most holy Virgin?
Who will not sing praises of your
wondrous birth‑giving?
For the only‑begotten Son,
timelessly having shone forth
from the Father, came forth from you
who are pure.
And having been ineffably made flesh, he, who by nature
is God,
for our sake became also by nature man: not in two divided
persons,
but in two natures without confusion.
O honored and all
blessed one, beseech him to have mercy on our souls.
Grave Tone
Come, let us rejoice
in the Lord who destroyed the power of death
and enlightened mankind;
and let us cry along with the angels:
Glory to you, our Creator and
our Savior.
On our account, O
Savior, you endured the cross and the tomb.
As God you put death to
death by death. Therefore,
we worship your resurrection on the third
day. Glory to you, O Lord.
On beholding the
resurrection of the Creator, the apostles,
marveling, sang an angelic
song of praise: This is the glory of the Church.
These are the riches
of the kingdom. Glory be to you, O Lord,
who suffered death for us.
Though you, O
Christ, have been taken captive by evil men,
you are my God and I am
not ashamed. I do not deny that
your back was scourged, nor will I
hide that you were
nailed to the cross. I boast of your resurrection,
for your death is my life. Almighty and loving God, glory to you.
Fulfilling the
prophecy of David, Christ revealed to his
disciples the majesty of
his habitation in Zion.
He showed himself praised and glorified
forever with the
Father and the Holy Spirit. Formerly, as the Word
without flesh, and then incarnate for our sake and
slain as man he
rose in power as a loving God.
As God and Master, O
Christ, by your will you descended
into Hades despoiling death; and
on the third day you rose,
raising with you Adam, held captive by the
chains of hell
and of corruption, who cried and said: Glory be
to your resurrection,
O only loving God.
You were laid in the
tomb as if asleep,
O Lord, and after three days you rose in mighty
strength,
raising up with you, as almighty, Adam from the corruption
of death.
Glory to the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever and to the ages of
ages. Amen.
Theotokion
You, O Theotokos,
have been acknowledged as a mother
above and beyond nature, and you
remain a virgin beyond
words and understanding. No tongue can explain
the miracle
of your giving birth. For your conceiving was wondrous,
pure
One, and the manner of your child‑bearing impossible of
understanding. For when God so wills, the order of nature is
overthrown.
Therefore, we all acknowledge you as the mother of God,
and fervently beseech you: make supplication that our souls may be
saved.
Plagal of the Fourth Tone
We offer up to you,
O Christ, our evening hymn and spiritual worship,
for it has pleased
you to have mercy on us by your resurrection.
Lord, Lord, cast us
not away from your presence, but be pleased
to have mercy on us by
the resurrection.
Rejoice, O holy
Zion, mother of churches and dwelling place of God,
for you were the
first to receive remission of sins by the resurrection.
Begotten before all
ages of God the Father, the Word,
who in latter times took flesh of a
virgin,
willingly endured death by the cross and by his resurrection
saved us who had been subject to death.
We glorify your
resurrection from the dead,
O Christ, by which you have set free the
race of Adam from
the torment of Hades and, as God, have granted to
the world
eternal life and your great mercy.
Glory to you, O
Christ, Savior,
only begotten Son of God who were nailed to the cross
and on the third day rose from the tomb.
We offer you glory,
O Lord, who of your own will have endured the cross for our sake;
and
we worship you, almighty Savior, who love mankind.
Cast us not away
from your presence,
but hear us and save us by your resurrection.
Glory to the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever and to the ages of
ages. Amen.
Theotokion
In his love for
mankind, the King of heaven appeared upon earth and dwelled among us.
For he took flesh from the pure Virgin, and thus incarnate he
came forth from her.
The only Son is he: two‑fold in nature,
but not in person.
For this reason proclaiming him to be truly
perfect man and perfect God,
we confess Christ to be our God.
Therefore, beseech him,
O virgin Mother, to have mercy on our souls.
O Joyful Light
(While the
doxastikon is being sung,
the priest exits from the sanctuary:)
Priest: Wisdom. Let us stand.
(And he sings the O Joyful Light:)
Priest: O joyful
light of the holy glory of the immortal Father,
the heavenly,
holy, blessed Jesus Christ.
Now that we have reached the setting of
the sun and behold
the evening light, we sing to God: Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit.
It is fitting at all times to praise you with
cheerful voices,
O Son of God, the Giver of life. Behold, the world
sings your glory.
Priest: The evening prokeimenon.
People: The Lord reigns; he has clothed himself with honor (3).
Prokeimena
(The following are the Prokeimena of the rest of the days of the week:)
On Sunday Evening
Behold now, bless the Lord all you servants of the Lord.
On Monday
The Lord will hear me when I cry out to him.
On Tuesday
Your mercy, O Lord, shall follow me all the days of my life.
On Wednesday
O God, by your name save me, and judge me by your might.
On Thursday
My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
On Friday
O God, you are my helper, and your mercy shall go before me.
(On major feast days there are also readings.)
Priest: Let us all say with our whole soul, and with our whole mind, let us say.
People: Lord, have mercy (3).
Priest: Lord
Almighty, God of our fathers, we pray you,
hear us and have mercy.
People: Lord, have mercy (3).
Priest: Have mercy
on us, O God, according to your great mercy;
we pray you, hear us and
have mercy.
People: Lord, have mercy (3).
Priest: Let us pray for pious and Orthodox Christians.
People: Lord, have mercy (3).
Priest: Let us pray for our Archbishop (Name) and our Bishop (Name).
People: Lord, have mercy (3).
Priest: Let us pray
for our brethren, priests, hieromonks,
deacons, and monastics, and
all our brotherhood in Christ.
People: Lord, have mercy (3).
Priest: Let us again
pray for the blessed and ever-memorable
founders of this holy church,
and for all our fathers, mothers,
brothers, and sisters who are
asleep here in the Lord
and for the Orthodox everywhere.
People: Lord, have mercy (3).
Priest: Let us again
pray for mercy, life, peace, health, salvation,
protection, and
forgiveness of the sins of all pious and Orthodox Christians
living
and visiting in this community and city, and everywhere on earth.
People: Lord, have mercy (3).
Priest: Let us again
pray for those who do charitable work,
for those who serve in this
holy house, for those who labor,
teach, and sing, and for all the
people here present who await
your great and rich mercy.
People: Lord, have mercy (3).
Priest: For you are
a merciful and loving God, and to you we give glory,
to the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of
ages.
People: Amen.
Priest: O Lord, keep
us this evening without sin.
Blessed are you, O Lord, God of our
fathers,
and praised and glorified is your name to the ages.
Amen. O
Lord, let your mercy be upon us for we have
set our hope in you.
Blessed are you, O Lord, teach me your commandments.
Blessed are you,
Master, grant me understanding of your commandments.
Blessed are you,
Holy One, enlighten me with your commandments.
Lord, your mercy is
forever. Do not despise the works of your hands.
To you is due
praise, to you is due song, to you is due glory,
to the Father and
the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages.
People: Amen.
Priest: Let us complete our prayer to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Priest: Help us, save us, have mercy upon us, and protect us, O God by your grace.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Priest: For a perfect, holy, peaceful, and sinless day, let us ask the Lord.
People: Grant this, O Lord.
Priest: For an angel of peace, a faithful guide, a guardian of our souls and bodies, let us ask the Lord.
People: Grant this, O Lord.
Priest: For forgiveness and remission of our sins and transgressions, let us ask the Lord.
People: Grant this, O Lord.
Priest: For all that is good and beneficial to our souls, and for peace in the world, let us ask the Lord.
People: Grant this, O Lord.
Priest: For the completion of our lives in peace and repentance, let us ask the Lord.
People: Grant this, O Lord.
Priest: For a
Christian end to our lives, peaceful, without shame and suffering,
and for a good account of ourselves before the awesome judgment seat
of Christ,
let us ask the Lord.
People: Grant this, O Lord.
Priest: Remembering
our most holy, pure, blessed, and glorious Lady,
the Theotokos and
ever‑ virgin Mary, with all the saints, let us commit ourselves
and one another and our whole life to Christ our God.
People: To you, O Lord.
Priest: For you are
a good and loving God, and to you we give glory,
to the Father and
the Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever and to the ages of ages.
People: Amen.
Priest: Peace be with all.
People: And with your spirit.
Priest: Let us bow our heads to the Lord.
People: To you, O Lord.
Priest: May the
might of your kingdom be blessed and glorified,
of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages.
People: Amen.
(The people then
sing the resurrection aposticha of the Octoechos.
“Glory” of the
Saint (if celebrated), then the “Now and forever” and
the
Theotokion of the tone; otherwise “Glory… Now and forever”
with
the Theotokion of the tone.)
Resurrection Aposticha Of The Eight Tones
First Tone
By your passion we
were set free from our passions,
O Christ, and by your resurrection
we were redeemed from corruption.
O Lord, glory to you.
The Lord reigns: he
has clothed himself with honor;
the Lord has clothed and girded
himself with strength.
Let creation
rejoice, the heavens be glad, the nations clap their hands with joy.
For Christ our Savior, in his love for mankind, has nailed our sins
to the cross,
put death to death, and given us life by raising the
fallen Adam, father of all mankind.
For he has established the world and it shall not be moved.
You are beyond all
understanding, King of heaven and earth,
and because of your love for
us all, you were crucified of your own will.
Hades was filled with
bitterness when it met you below, and the souls
of the just rejoiced
at receiving you. What a miracle this is! That the life
of all should
taste death in his desire to give light to the world that cries
and
says: Glory to you, O Lord, risen from the dead.
Holiness becomes your house, O Lord, for length of days.
The myrrh‑bearing
women brought spices, and hastened
in mourning to your tomb. And when
they found your immaculate
body gone and learned from the angels of
the new and strange miracle,
they said to the apostles: The Lord is
risen, granting great mercy to the world.
Glory to the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever and to the ages of
ages. Amen.
Theotokion
Behold, the prophecy
of Isaiah is fulfilled.
As a virgin you gave birth, and after giving
birth you remained as before.
For it was God who was born, and the
nature of mankind was thereby restored.
O Mother of God have
compassion for us your servants,
you who bear in your arms the
compassionate One.
Entreat him, that our souls may be saved.
Second Tone
Your resurrection, O
Christ our Savior, has illumined the entire earth
and has recalled
your creation. O almighty Lord, glory to you.
The Lord reigns; he
has clothed himself with splendor;
the Lord has clothed and girded
himself with strength.
By the wood of the
cross, O Savior, you abolished the curse of the tree,
and by your
burial you have destroyed the dominion of death, and have
enlightened
mankind by your resurrection. Therefore, we cry to you:
Glory to you,
O Christ our God, the Giver of life.
For he has established the world, and it shall not be moved.
When you appeared, O
Christ, nailed upon the cross,
you altered the beauty of created
things.
Cruelly the soldiers pierced your side with a lance; and the
Jews asked that your tomb might be sealed. But you,
O Lord, because
of your mercy submitted to the tomb
and rose on the third day.
Therefore, glory to you.
Holiness becomes your house, O Lord, forever.
O Christ, Giver of
life, for the sake of us mortals you willingly
endured the passion
and descended into Hades with power,
snatching from the hands of the
tyrant those who awaited you there,
granting them an abode in
paradise. Therefore, to us who give glory to your rising
on the third
day, grant pardon of our sins and your great mercy.
Glory to the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever and to the ages of
ages. Amen.
Theotokion
Here is a new
miracle greater than all the miracles of old!
For who has ever known
a mother to bear a child without the help of man,
and hold in her
arms him who encompasses the whole of creation?
It was the will of
God to be born, and you most pure Virgin, have carried him,
an infant
in your arms. The boldness of a mother is yours.
Pray, therefore, to
him unceasingly for us who honor you,
and entreat him to have mercy
on us and save our souls.
Third Tone
By your passion, O
Christ, you have darkened the sun.
By your resurrection, you have
given all things light.
Accept our evening hymn, O lover of mankind.
The Lord reigns; he
has clothed himself with honor;
the Lord has clothed and girded
himself with strength.
Your life‑giving
resurrections O Lord, has brought light to the entire earth
aid
revived your creation that lay in corruption.
Therefore, we, released
from the curse of Adam, cry aloud:
Glory to you, almighty Lord.
For he has established the world and it shall not be moved.
Suffering in the
flesh, you, O God, who by nature cannot be changed,
have changed
yourself. Creation, unable to bear the sight to you hanging,
was
prostrate with fear, and it groaned as it sang the praises of your
long‑suffering.
You descended into Hades, and rose on the third
day,
granting life and great mercy to the world.
Holiness becomes your house, O Lord, for length of days.
You, O Christ have
suffered death to deliver us from death,
and you arose on the third
day from the dead resurrecting with yourself
those who acknowledge
you as God. And you have enlightened the world.
Lord, glory to you.
Glory to the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever and to the ages of
ages. Amen.
Theotokion
By the will of the
Father, you have, without seed, conceived
by the Holy Spirit the Son
of God, who was begotten of the
Father without a mother before the
world began.
He was born for our sake in the flesh of you without a
father.
Therefore, never cease to intercede to deliver our souls from
danger.
Fourth Tone
Ascending upon the
cross, O Lord, you abolished our ancestral curse;
and descending into
Hades, you set free those in eternal bonds.
And you bestowed on
humankind in corruption and life.
We therefore praise and glorify your
resurrection on the third day.
The Lord reigns; he
has clothed himself with honor; the Lord
has clothed and girded
himself with strength.
Hanging upon the
tree, O only mighty One, you shook all creation,
and when you were
laid in the tomb, you raised up those dwelling
there and bestowed
life and incorruption on our kind.
Therefore, we praise and glorify
your resurrection on the third day.
For he has established the world, and it shall not be moved.
The lawless people
who gave you, O Christ, to Pilate condemned you
to be crucified, and
showed themselves thankless towards their benefactor.
But you
willingly suffered burial, and of your own will you arose
as God on
the third day, and bestowed on us everlasting life and great mercy.
Holiness becomes your house, O Lord, for length of days.
The women who sought
you came in tears to your tomb,
and when they found you not, they
lamented and exclaimed:
Our Savior and King of all, how is it that
you have been stolen away?
Where is your life‑giving body? But
an angel then stood before them
and replied: Do not weep, but go and
proclaim the good tidings that
the Lord is risen and grants us joy
for he alone is compassionate.
Glory to the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and
forever and to the ages of
ages. Amen.
Theotokion
Look down, most pure
Virgin, upon the supplications of your servants,
and crush the
assaults of our enemies, delivering us from all affliction.
You are
the only sure and secure anchor that we have, and you are our
protection. Never permit us who call upon you, our Lady, to be put to
shame.
Hasten to fulfill the entreaties of those who in faith cry to
you:
Rejoice, O Lady, helper of all, the joy and protection, and the
salvation of our souls.
Plagal of the First Tone
We lift up our
voices in song to magnify you, Christ Savior, who became incarnate
yet were never separated from heaven. For you, O Lord who love all,
suffered
the cross and death for our sake; and destroying the gates
of Hades, you rose
on the third day and saved our souls.
The Lord reigns; he
has clothed himself with honor; the Lord has clothed and
girded
himself with strength.
Your pierced side, O
Giver of life, poured streams of remission, life, and salvation
upon
us all. By accepting death in the flesh, you have granted us
immortality;
by taking up your abode in the tomb, you have set us all
free, and as God you
have raised us up with you in glory. Therefore,
we cry aloud; Glory to you,
Lord and loving God.
For he has established the world, and it shall not be moved.
Your crucifixion and
descent into Hades are strange, O loving God.
For after despoiling
Hades, you as God raised up in glory with yourself
those held captive
in times of old, and you opened paradise
and permitted them to enjoy
it.
Cleanse us, therefore, from sin, who glorify your resurrection
on
the third day and make us worthy to dwell in paradise,
for you alone
are merciful.
Holiness becomes your house, O Lord, for length of days.
For our sake you
accepted suffering in the, flesh and rose on the third day
from the
dead.. Heal the passions of our flesh and raise us
from our grievous
iniquities and save us, O loving God.
Glory to the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever and to the ages of
ages. Amen.
Theotokion
Most reverent
Virgin, you are the temple and the gate,
the palace and the throne of
kings.
Christ the Lord, my deliverer, appeared through you to those
asleep in darkness,
for he, the Sun of Righteousness, wished to
enlighten those he created in his own
image with his own hands.
Therefore, having the boldness of a mother towards a son,
we entreat
you to ever intercede with him to save our souls.
Plagal of the Second Tone
Angels in heaven
sing the praises of your resurrection,
Christ our Savior. Grant that
we too on earth may with
pure hearts glorify you.
The Lord reigns; he
has clothed himself with honor;
the Lord has clothed and girded
himself with strength.
After smashing the
gates of brass and breaking the bolts and bars of Hades,
you,
almighty God, raised up fallen mankind.
Therefore, with one accord,
we cry: O Lord, risen from the dead, Glory to you.
For he has established the world, and it shall not be moved.
Wishing to lift us
out of the ancient corruption,
Christ was nailed upon the cross and
laid in the tomb.
In tears the women bearing myrrh searched for him
and said lamenting:
Woe to us! O Savior of all, how did you consent
to stay in a tomb?
And as you stayed there willingly, how were you
stolen?
How were you moved? What place now hides your life‑giving
body?
O Master, appear to us as you have promised, and dry up the
fountain
of our tears. Thereupon as they wept, an angel came to them
and cried:
Cease your weeping and tell the apostles that the Lord is
risen,
granting the world forgiveness and great mercy.
Holiness becomes your house, O Lord, for length of days.
Crucified according
to your will and despoiling death by your entombment,
O Christ, you
rose in glory on the third day as God,
granting the world life
everlasting and great mercy.
Glory to the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever and to the ages of
ages. Amen.
Theotokion
Most holy Virgin,
Christ the Lord, Creator and Redeemer,
proceeded from your womb, and
clothing himself in me and
set me free from the ancient curse of
Adam.
Therefore, most‑pure Virgin, we praise you without
ceasing as
Mother of God and true Virgin with the greeting of the
angel:
Rejoice! Lady, advocate, defender, and salvation of our souls.
Grave Tone
Rising from the
tomb, Savior of the world, you have,
together with your flesh, raised
up mankind. Glory to you, O Lord.
The Lord reigns; he
has clothed himself with honor;
the Lord has clothed and girded
himself with strength.
Come, let us worship
him, who rose from the dead and enlightened all.
For by his
resurrection on the third day he set us free from the tyranny of
Hades,
granting us life and great mercy.
For he has established the world, and it shall not be moved.
You have descended
into Hades, O Christ, despoiling death.
Rising on the third day, you
have also raised us up, and we
glorify your almighty resurrection, O
Lord and loving God.
Holiness becomes your house, O Lord, forever.
O Lord, what an
awful sight it was to see you lying as if asleep in the tomb.
Yet you
rose on the third day in power also raising Adam who cried:
Glory to
your resurrection, O only loving God.
Glory to the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever and to the ages of
ages. Amen.
Theotokion
All of us who dwell
on earth, taking refuge under your protection,
O Lady, cry aloud to
you: O Theotokos, you are our hope.
Deliver us from our countless
sins and save us.
Plagal of the Fourth Tone
You ascended the
cross, Jesus, and came down from heaven and
went to your death, O
life eternal. You are the true light to those
in darkness and the
resurrection of all those who have fallen.
Our enlightener and
Savior, glory to you.
The Lord reigns; he
has clothed himself with honor;
the Lord has clothed and girded
himself with strength.
Let us praise Christ
who has risen from the dead.
For he took upon himself soul and body,
and by his passion separated
them one from the other. He despoiled
Hades when his pure soul descended there.
But the holy body of our
Redeemer lay uncorrupted.
For he has established the world, and it shall not be moved.
We glorify your
resurrection from the dead, O Christ, in psalms and hymns,
for by it
you have freed us from the torments of Hades, and have,
since you are
God, granted us eternal life and great mercy.
Holiness becomes your house, O Lord, for length of days.
O Lord of all,
incomprehensible creator of heaven and earth,
through your passion on
the cross you have freed me from passion.
After enduring burial,
you rose in glory, raising up Adam with your almighty arm.
Glory to
your resurrection on the third day, by which you have endowed us with
eternal life and granted us pardon of our sins, for you alone are
compassionate.
Glory to the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever and to the ages of
ages. Amen.
Theotokion
O Virgin unwedded, O
Mother of God on high, you ineffably conceived God in the flesh.
Receive the petitions of your suppliants, all-blameless Lady,
and grant us all
purification of our transgressions.
Accept now our
supplication and pray that we may all be saved.
Ode of Symeon
(After the
completion of the aposticha,
the priest intones the Ode of
Symeon, Luke: 29‑32.)
Priest: Lord, now
let your servant depart in peace,
according to your word; for my eyes
have seen your salvation
which you have prepared in the presence of
all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for the
glory of your people Israel.
People: Amen.
People: Holy God,
Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal,
have mercy on us (3).
Glory to Father and
the Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever and to the ages of ages.
Amen.
All‑holy
Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, forgive our sins.
Master, pardon our
transgressions. Holy One,
visit and heal our infirmities for your
name’s sake.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Glory to the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever and to the ages of
ages. Amen.
People: Our Father,
who are in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your
will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily
bread; and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who
trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us
from evil.
Priest: For yours is
the kingdom and the power and the glory,
of the Father and the Son
and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages.
People: Amen.
(Immediately the
people sing the resurrection apolytikion of the tone,
“Glory”
the
troparion of the saint;
“Now and always”
the Theotokion of the
tone or otherwise
“Glory… Now and always” the Theotokion.)
Resurrection Apolytikia and Theotokia Of the Eight Tones
First Tone
Though the tomb was
sealed by a stone and soldiers guarded your pure body,
yet you arose
on the third day, giving life to the world.
Therefore, O Giver of
life, the heavenly powers praise you:
Glory to your resurrection, O
Christ! Glory to your kingdom!
Glory to your plan of redemption, O
only loving God.
At the sound of
Gabriel’s voice calling out to you: Hail, Virgin,
the Master of all
became incarnate in you, the holy Tabernacle
as David the righteous
said. By bearing your Creator, you have
shown yourself to be more
spacious than the heavens.
Glory to him who dwelled in you!
Glory to
him who came forth from you! Glory to him who by your childbirth has
set us free!
Second Tone
O life immortal,
when you descended unto death,
you destroyed Hades with the splendour
of your divinity,
and when you raised the dead from the depths of
darkness,
all the heavenly powers shouted: O Giver of life, Christ
our God, glory to you.
Your mystery O
Theotokos, is most glorious and surpasses all
understanding. For
sealed with purity and inviolate in virginity,
you are acknowledged
without doubt to be the mother
who gave birth to the true God.
Beseech him to save our souls.
Third Tone
Let the heavens
rejoice and the earth be glad,
for the Lord has shown the power of
his reign: he has conquered
death by death, and become the first born
of the dead.
He has delivered us from the depths of Hades, and has
granted the world great mercy.
We sing your praise,
O Virgin Theotokos.
You intercede for the salvation of our race; for
by taking
flesh of you and by the cross, your Son and our God has
delivered us from corruption as a loving God.
Fourth Tone
The joyful news of
your resurrection was told to the women
disciples of the Lord by the
angel. And throwing off the ancestral curse,
they boastingly told the
Apostles: death has been vanquished,
Christ our God is risen,
bestowing great mercy on the world.
The mystery hidden
from all ages and unknown
to the angels was made manifest to those on
earth through you,
O Theotokos. God took flesh in a union without
confusion, and
for our sake he willingly accepted the cross.
Thereby
he raised the first‑created man and saved our souls from death.
Plagal of the First Tone
O faithful, let us
give praise and worship to the Word,
co‑eternal with the Father
and the Spirit, born of the Virgin for our salvation.
Of his own will
he mounted the cross in the flesh, suffered death, and raised
the
dead through his glorious resurrection.
Rejoice! Impassable
gateway of the Lord.
Rejoice! wall and protection of those who take
refuge in you.
Rejoice! you who have not known wedlock and have
given
birth to your Son and Maker and God in the flesh.
Cease not in your
intercession on behalf of those who praise and worship your Son.
Plagal of the Second Tone
The angelic powers
appeared at your tomb, and those guarding it
became as dead. Mary
stood at your grave seeking your pure body.
You stripped the power
‑of Hades, yet remained untouched by its corruption.
You met
the Virgin and bestowed life. O Lord, who rose from the dead,
glory
to you.
You called your
mother blessed when you went of your own
will to your passion shining
upon the cross. Seeking Adam, you
said to the angels: Rejoice with
me, for the lost piece of silver
has been found. O God, you have
ordered all things wisely,
glory to you.
Grave Tone
Through your cross
you destroyed death and opened paradise to the thief.
You transformed
the sorrow of the Myrrh‑bearers, Christ our God.
You commanded
the apostles to proclaim that you have risen from the dead,
and
granted great mercy to the world.
You are praised by
all the world, O Virgin, and are
the treasure house of the
resurrection. Lead those who
have put their faith in you out of the
pit and abyss of their offenses.
Before bearing a child you were a
virgin, and in childbirth and after
childbirth you remained a virgin.
By giving birth to salvation,
you have saved us who were guilty of
sin.
Plagal of the Fourth Tone
O merciful Lord, you
descended from on high and endured
the three‑day burial to free
us from our passions. O Lord,
our life and resurrection, glory to
you.
O good Lord, for our
sake, you were born of a virgin and
endured crucifixion, despoiling
death by death, and, as God,
you have shown forth the resurrection.
Do not despise the work of your hands. Show your love for all,
O
merciful Lord. Accept the intercession made on our behalf by the
Theotokos who gave birth to you, and, our Savior, save your
despairing people.
Priest: Wisdom.
Reader: Father, bless.
Priest: Blessed are
you, Christ our God, always
now and forever and to the ages of ages.
People: Amen.
Reader: Make firm,
Lord our God, the holy and pure faith
of the pious Orthodox
Christians, together with the Holy Church and this city forever.
Priest: All Holy Theotokos, save us.
Reader: More
honorable than the Cherubim, and beyond
compare more glorious than
the Seraphim, without corruption
you gave birth to God the Word. We
magnify you, the true Theotokos.
Priest: Glory to
You, Christ our God and our hope, glory to you.
May Christ our true
God, who rose from the dead as a good,
loving and merciful God, have
mercy upon us and save us, through
the intercessions of his most pure
and holy Mother; the power of
the precious and life-giving Cross; the
protection of the honorable,
bodiless powers of heaven; the
supplications of the honorable,
glorious prophet and forerunner John
the Baptist; the holy, glorious,
and praiseworthy Apostles; the
holy, glorious, and triumphant Martyrs;
our holy God‑bearing
Fathers; the holy, and righteous ancestors of God
Joachim and Anna;
of Saint (of the day) whose memory we
commemorate today, and all
the saints.
Priest: Through the
prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ,
our God, have mercy
on us and save us.
People: Amen
