Disciples of the Savior,
Fixed and unmoving stars that shine upon the world,
Give light to my soul, blinded by sin;
Grant that I may share in the day of the Lord
Keeping the commandments of salvation!
Deliver me from hell's darkness where no light shines,//
That I may give you glory!
Glory...
Disciples of the Savior...
Now
and ever...
Theotokion
Holy lady, mother of Christ our God,
You have ineffably borne the maker of all!
Together with the holy apostles,
Pray to him at all times, that in his love//
He may release us from the passions and grant us
remission of our sins!
(after the 3rd reading of the Psalter)
Sessional hymn (by Theodore) - Tone 6
Divine apostles,
Stars that shine on all the world,
Give light to us who sing your praises as we keep the
fast!
We pray that we all may be counted worthy
To look upon the wood of the life-giving cross with pure
eyes,
Embracing it with pure lips and crying aloud with joy://
O Lord, Glory to you!
Glory...
Divine apostles...
Now
and ever...
Theotokion
Virgin Theotokos, good hope of the world:
I ask only for your strong protection!
Have compassion on your defenceless people:
Only blessed one, pray to the merciful God//
That our souls may be delivered from every threat.
Apostikha - Tone 6
I, the prodigal, have fallen from sonship.
I have lived with swine as a slave,
Eating food below their fare!
Turning from evil to good, I cry in repentance:
Father, I have sinned before heaven and before you!//
Grant me great mercy as I return.
I, the prodigal, have fallen...
Our God has shown marvellous things
In his chosen and saints.
Rejoice and be glad, you his servants!
He has prepared crowns and his kingdom for you!//
But do not forget us, we entreat you!
gne...
Theotokion
Theotokos,
You are the true vine who blossomed for us the fruit of
life:
Implore him, we pray you, lady,
Together with the apostles and all the saints,//
That he will have mercy on our souls.
Sixth Hour
Troparion of the prophecyTone 3
Lover of mankind, if you remember our sins,
What is our hope of salvation?
But grant us your help from on high, Lord,//
For you are bountiful!
Prokeimenon of the prophecy Tone 4
Save me, O God, by your name * and
judge me by your strength. Verse: hear my prayer, O God, and
hearken to the words of my mouth.
Prophecy of Isaiah 11:10 - 12:2
And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.
And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.
And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.
Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.
ProkeimenonTone 7
Hear my prayer, O God,
* and do not hide from my supplication!
Verse: attend to me, and answer
me!
Thursday Vespers
"Lord I call..."
Tone 5 (by Joseph)
Savior, our true sweetness!
Of old, you sweetened the bitter waters of mara
With the wood that prefigured your divine cross.
On it you freely willed to be crucified.
You tasted gall, and your side was pierced by a lance
Releasing the water of redemption
For the renewal of the man of earth!
Therefore, we glorify your ineffable power.
We beseech you, Lord: grant us the fear of you in the
fast,//
Forgiveness of sins, and great mercy!
Word, crucified upon the cross,
Gathering together those who had departed from you:
You have lifted up my reason from the poisoning of
passion.
Enrich me now with every good work,
Instilling in my heart the purest fear of you;
In my soul, perfect love for you.
By abstinence, prayer and petition may I please you
Ahd receive great mercy,//
Beholding the day of your resurrection in joy!
Tone 1 (by
Theodore)
We have completed the third week of the precious fast.
Enable us, Christ the word,
To behold the wood of your life-bearing cross,
To bow before it worthily,
To praise and glorify your majesty,
To exalt and magnify your passion,
To attain in purity the holy, glorious resurrection
Through which Adam re-enters paradise://
The mystical Pascha!
ProkeimenonTone 6
Have mercy on me, O God
* for men trample upon me!
Verse: all day long my foes oppress me!
Reading from Genesis 7:11 - 8:3
In the six hundredth year of Noahs life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noahs wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;
They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.
And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in.
And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.
And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.
Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:
All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.
And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.
And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.
And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged;
The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;
And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.
ProkeimenonTone 7
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, * for
in you my soul takes refuge.
Verse: in the shadow of your
wings I will seek refuge!
Reading from Proverbs 10: 1-22
The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.
Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.
The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.
He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.
He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.
Blessings are upon the head of the just: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.
The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall.
He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.
He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: but a prating fool shall fall.
The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.
In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.
Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.
The rich mans wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty.
The labour of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin.
He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth.
He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.
In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.
The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.
The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.
The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.
ApostikhaTone 6
The life of all was hung on the wood of the cross.
Give life to my soul, mortified by passions, O Christ.
Do not forsake your lost sheep forever, gracious
shepherd,
Though I have forsaken your commandments and the riches
of sinlessness.
I have corrupted myself through foolish endeavors.//
But draw me in repentance and renew me, only merciful
one.
The life of all...
Your martyrs, Lord, did not deny you.
Nor did they turn from your commandments.//
By their intercessions have mercy on us.
gne...
Theotokion
When your mother beheld you crucified, O Christ,
She cried: what strange mystery do I see, my son?
How are you dying upon the cross?//
Crucified in the flesh?
The giver of life!