The Encounter of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

When

February 2, 2026

All Day

Feast of our Lord. Holy Day of obligation.

GREAT VESPERS WITH LYTIA ON MONDAY EVENING

Kathisma Reading

Blessed is the man… is chanted only if the feast falls on a Sunday or Monday.

At Psalm 140

Tone 1

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

Tell us, O Symeon , whom you bear into the temple in your arms, rejoicing?* To whom do you cry aloud:* Now have I been freed, for I have beheld my Saviour!?* He is the One who is born of the Virgin!* He is God the Word, who from God became incarnate for our sake and saves man!* Let us worship Him!

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

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

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

Receive, O Symeon, Him whom Moses beheld in the gloom on Sinai giving the law,* and who has become a babe, submitting to the law.* He is the One who speaks through the law;* He is the One spoken of by the prophets,* who for our sake has become incarnate and saves man.* Let us worship Him!

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

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

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

Let us come and greet Christ with divine hymns,* and let us receive Him whom Symeon perceived as our salvation.* He is the One whom David proclaimed beforehand;* He is the One spoken of in the prophets,* who for our sake has become incarnate and speaks through the law. Let us worship Him!

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

Tone 6, Glory… Now…

Let the gates of heaven be opened today;* for the unoriginate Word of the Father,* receiving a beginning under time, without abandoning His divinity,* is of His own will borne by His Virgin Mother* into the temple of the law as a babe forty days old.* And Symeon takes Him in his arms, crying:* Let Your servant depart, O Master, for my eyes have seen Your salvation!* O Lord who has come into the world to save the human race,* glory be to You!

Prokeimenon, Tone 4

The Lord hears me* when I cry out to Him.

verse: Whenever I called, the God of my justice heard me.

Reading I

Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Sanctify to Me all the firstborn, the first-begotten, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both man and cattle; it is Mine.” Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, in which you went out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. Then it shall be, when the Lord your God brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to your fathers, and gives it to you, that you shall set apart to the Lord all that open the womb, that is, every male, everything that opens the womb from the herds or among your cattle; as many as you shall have, you shall sanctify the males to the Lord. So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall say to him, ‘With a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thus it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of cattle. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ It shall be as a sign on your hand and immoveable before your eyes, for with a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

Exodus 13:1-3, 11-12, 14-16

Reading II

In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up. The house was full of His glory. Around Him stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.” The lintel was lifted up by the voice of those who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said, “Woe is me, because I am pierced to the heart, for being a man and having unclean lips, I dwell in the midst of a people with unclean lips; for I saw the King, the Lord of hosts, with my eyes!” Then one of the seraphim was sent to me. He had a live coal in his hand, which he took with tongs from the altar. 7He touched my mouth, and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips. Your lawlessness is taken away, and your sin is cleansed.” I also heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people?” Then I said, “Behold, here am I, send me.” So He said, “Go, and tell this people, ‘You shall hear indeed, but not understand; and you shall see indeed, but not perceive.’ For the heart of this people has become insensitive, and their ears hear with difficulty. They have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return, and I should heal them.” Then I said, “Lord, how long?” So He answered, “Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, the houses are without people, and the land shall be left desolate. After this God will remove the people far away, and those left in the land shall multiply. Yet a tenth shall be left in it, and again it shall be for plundering, like a terebinth tree or like an acorn when it falls from its case.”

Isaiah 6:1-12

Reading III

The vision of Egypt: Behold, the Lord sits on a swift cloud and shall come to Egypt, and the things made by hands in Egypt shall be shaken by His presence, and their heart shall be overcome within them. “Egyptians shall be stirred up against Egyptians, and a man shall fight against his brother, and a man against his neighbour, city against city and law against law. The spirit of the Egyptians will be troubled within them, and I will reject their counsel, and they shall consult their gods and their statues, and those who speak from the earth and are ventriloquists. And I will deliver Egypt into the hands of harsh lords and kings who will rule over them,” thus says the Lord of hosts. And the Egyptians will drink water from the sea, for the river will run dry and have no water.” Where are your wise men now? Let them now tell you, and let them say what the Lord of hosts planned against Egypt. In that day, there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the country of Egypt and a pillar to the Lord at its border. It will be a sign forever to the Lord in the country of Egypt, for they will cry to the Lord because of their oppressors, and the Lord will send them a Man who will save them. He will judge and save them. Then the Lord will be known to the Egyptians, and in that day the Egyptians will know the Lord and offer sacrifices. Yes, they will make vows to the Lord and pay them.

Isaiah 19:1-5, 12, 19-21

At the Lytia

Tone 1

The Ancient of days, who of old gave the law to Moses on Sinai,* is seen today as a babe,* and as the Creator of the law,* under the law and fulfilling the law,* He is borne into the temple and given to the elder.* And the righteous Symeon, receiving Him,* and seeing the utter fulfilment of the promises, cried out with joy:* My eyes have seen the mystery hidden from before time,* which has been revealed in these latter days:* the Light illumining the darkness of the unbelieving nations,* giving glory to the newly-chosen Israel.* Therefore, release Your servant from the bonds of this flesh* to the wondrous life which ages not and is without end,* granting the world great mercy!

Today, He who gave the law to Moses on Sinai* submits to the commands of the law,* having become like us for our sake,* in that He is full of loving-kindness.* Now our pure God, as a holy Infant,* having opened the womb of the pure one,* is offered to Himself, as God,* freeing our souls from the curse of the law and enlightening them.

Tone 2

Symeon takes into his material arms* Him to whom the ministers on high pray with trembling, now, here below.* He announced that God has united Himself to men,* and, seeing God as a heavenly man,* cried out with joy at being separated from those on earth:* O Lord who reveal the never-waning light to those in darkness,* glory be to You!

Today, Symeon receives in his arms the Lord of glory,* whom Moses beheld before in the darkness,* and who gave him the tablets on Mount Sinai.* He is the Creator of the law, who speaks in the prophets.* He it is who fills all with awe, whom David proclaims,* and has great and rich mercy.

The sacred Virgin brought the Sacred One to the high priest in the temple,* and Symeon, stretching forth his hands, received Him, rejoicing, and cried out:* Now You may let Your servant depart in peace, O Lord,* according to Your word!

Today the Creator of heaven and earth* is borne by the holy elder Symeon in his arms;* and through the Holy Spirit he said:* “Now have I been set free,* for I have beheld my Saviour!

Today the elder Symeon enters the temple, rejoicing in spirit,* to receive in his arms the Fulfiller of the law, who gave the law to Moses.* For Moses was vouchsafed to behold God in darkness and an indistinct voice,* and with his face covered denounced the faithless hearts of the Jews;* but Symeon bore the pre-eternal Word of the Father incarnate,* and revealed to the nations the Light, the Cross and the Resurrection.* And Anna was shown to be a prophetess, proclaiming the Saviour and Deliverer of Israel.* To Christ our God let us cry out:* for the sake of the Theotokos, have mercy on us!

Tone 5, Glory…

Examine the Scriptures, as Christ our God said in the Gospels,* for therein do we find Him born,* wrapped in swaddling bands, laid in a manger,* fed with milk, undergoing circumcision, and carried by Symeon,* not in a semblance or guise, but appearing in truth to the world.* To Him do we cry out:* O pre-eternal God, glory be to You!

Now…

The Ancient of days, having become a babe,* is borne into the temple by the Virgin Mother,* fulfilling the promise of His own law;* and Symeon, receiving Him, said:* Now You may let Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word;* for my eyes have seen Your salvation, O Holy One!

Aposticha

Tone 7

Adorn your bridal-chamber, O Sion, and receive Christ the King.* And greet Mary, the portal of heaven;* for she has been shown to be the throne of the cherubim,* she bears the King of glory.* The Virgin is the cloud of the Light,* bearing in her arms the Son who existed before the day-star.* And Symeon, taking Him in his arms, announces to the people* that He is the Master of life and death, the Saviour of the world.

Now You may let Your servant go in peace, O Lord, according to Your word.

Bearing into the temple Him who shone forth from the Father before time began,* and who in latter times came forth from her virginal womb,* the Mother who knew not wedlock brought to the elderly priest and righteous one* Him who, though He gave the law on Mount Sinai, submits to the prescription of the law;* for it had been promised that he would see Christ the Lord.* And when Symeon received Him in his arms, he rejoiced, crying out:* This Child is God, the Deliverer of our souls,* who with the Father is equally eternal!

A light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people, Israel.

Mary, the Theotokos who knew not wedlock,* bearing in her arms Him who is carried on the chariot of the cherubim* and is hymned in songs by the seraphim,* who became incarnate of her,* the Bestower of the law who was fulfilling the rite of the law,* gave Him into the hands of the elderly priest;* and he, bearing our Life, asked to be released from life, saying:* O Master, now let me announce to Adam that I have seen the immutable Child,* the pre-eternal God and Saviour of the world!

Tone 8, Glory… Now…

He who is borne upon the cherubim and is hymned by the seraphim,* borne into the temple of God today in accordance with the law,* sits in the arms of the elder as on a throne,* and as God receives gifts from Joseph:* a pair of turtledoves – the undefiled Church and the people newly-chosen from among the gentiles;* and two young pigeons – he beginning of the Old and the New.* And Symeon, finally receiving the fulfilment of the promise made to him* and blessing the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos, foretold in imagery* the sufferings she would endure and asked from God deliverance, crying out:** Now let me depart, O Master, as You told me before;* for I have seen You, the pre eternal Light,* the Saviour and Lord of the Christian people!

Troparion

Tone 1

Rejoice, full of grace, Virgin Mother of God!* From you there dawned the Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God,* who enlightens those who dwell in darkness.* And you, O righteous Elder, be glad!* You received in your embrace* the Liberator of our souls,* who grants us resurrection. (3)

FESTAL MATINS ON MONDAY MORNING

The Lord is God, Tone 1

Troparion, Tone 1

Glory… Now…

Kathisma Reading I

The appointed psalms are chanted.

Gradual Hymns, Tone 4

Antiphon 1

From my youth do many passions war against me;* but do You Yourself defend* and save me, O my Saviour.

You haters of Sion shall be shamed by the Lord;* for like grass, by the fire* shall you be withered.

Glory… Now…

In the Holy Spirit, every soul is quickened,* and, through cleansing, is exalted* and made radiant* by the Triple Unity in a hidden sacred manner.

Sessional Hymn I, Tone 1

Let the choir of the angels marvel at the wonder!* And let us mortals lift up our voices in hymnody,* beholding the ineffable condescension of God;* for He who alone loves mankind, before whom the hosts of heaven tremble,* the arms of the elder now embrace.

Glory… Now…

Kathisma Reading II

The appointed psalms are chanted.

Small Litany

Sessional Hymn II, Tone 1

He who is with the Father on the holy throne,* coming to earth was born of the Virgin;* He who is unlimited by time became a babe;* and Symeon, receiving Him in his arms, said, rejoicing:* Now You may let Your servant depart, O Compassionate One,* gladdening me!

Glory… Now…

Polyeleos

Exaltation

We extol You,* O Christ the Giver of Life,* and we venerate your most pure Mother,* who according to the Law brought You this day into the Temple of the Lord.

verse: The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord whose throne is in heaven.

verse: My heart overflows with noble words. To the King I must speak the song I have made.

verse: May this song make your name forever remembered. May the peoples praise you from age to age.

verse: Holiness is fitting to Your house, O Lord, until the end of time.

Glory… Now…

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Glory be to You, O God! (3)

Small Litany

Sessional Hymn, Tone 4

You became a babe for my sake, O Ancient of days,* and partook of purification, O most pure God,* that You might assure me of the flesh You received from the Virgin.* And Symeon, taught thereby, recognized You as God appearing in the flesh,* and the elder kissed You, our Life, and, rejoicing, cried out:* Release me, for I have seen You, the Life of all!

Glory… Now…

Gradual Hymns, Tone 4

Antiphon 1

From my youth do many passions war against me;* but do You Yourself defend* and save me, O my Saviour.

You haters of Sion shall be shamed by the Lord;* for like grass, by the fire* shall you be withered.

Glory… Now…

In the Holy Spirit, every soul is quickened,* and, through cleansing, is exalted* and made radiant* by the Triple Unity in a hidden sacred manner.

Prokeimenon, Tone 4

May this song make your name forever remembered. May the people praise You from age to age.

verse: My heart overflows with noble words. To the King I must speak the song I have made.

Let everything that lives, Tone 4

Gospel

Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the LORD”), and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.”

Luke 2:25-32

After Psalm 50

Tone 6, Glory…

Through the prayers of the Theotokos,* O merciful Lord,* cleanse me from the multitude of my transgressions.

Now…

Through the prayers of the Theotokos,* O merciful Lord,* cleanse me from the multitude of my transgressions.

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your loving kindness, according to the multitude of Your tender mercies blot out my transgressions

Let the gates of heaven be opened today;* for the unoriginate Word of the Father,* receiving a beginning under time, without abandoning His divinity,* is of His own will borne by His Virgin Mother into the temple of the law as a babe forty days old.* And Symeon taksh Him in his arms, crying:* Let Your servant depart, O Master, for my eyes have seen Your salvation!* O Lord who has come into the world to save the human race,* glory be to You!

Canon

Ode 1

Canon of the Meeting, Tone 3

Irmos: The Sun once shone with its rays upon dry land* in the midst of the deep.* For the water on both sides became firm as a wall* while the people crossed the sea on foot,* offering this song acceptable to God:* Let us sing to the Lord; for gloriously is He glorified.

Most holy Theotokos, save us!

Let the clouds pour forth rain, for Christ the Sun who is borne aloft upon a light cloud is brought to the temple as a babe on the arm of the unblemished one. Therefore, O faithful, let us cry aloud: Let us sing to the Lord, for gloriously has He been glorified!

Most holy Theotokos, save us!

Be strong, hands of Symeon feeble with age; and weary legs of the elder, move quickly and straight to meet Christ, joining chorus with the incorporeal ones, chanting: Let us sing to the Lord, for gloriously has He been glorified!

Glory… Now…

O heavens stretched out in wisdom, be glad; and rejoice, O earth! For Christ the Artificer, having come forth from the most blessed womb of His Mother, is borne by the Virgin Mother to God the Father as a babe, He who was before all the ages, for gloriously has He been glorified!

Katavasia: The Sun once shone with its rays upon dry land* in the midst of the deep.* For the water on both sides became firm as a wall* while the people crossed the sea on foot,* offering this song acceptable to God:* Let us sing to the Lord; for gloriously is He glorified.

Ode 3

Irmos: O Lord, the firm foundation of those that put their trust in You,* confirm the Church, which You have purchased with Your precious blood.

Most holy Theotokos, save us!

He that was first begotten of the Father before the ages has appeared as the firstborn Babe of the undefiled Virgin, stretching forth His hand to Adam.

Most holy Theotokos, save us!

God the Word has appeared as a babe, setting aright the first-created man, who through deception had become childish of mind.

Glory… Now…

The Creator, having become a Babe without undergoing change, has shown forth our nature, the product of the earth to which it returns again, to be like unto divinity.

Katavasia: O Lord, the firm foundation of those that put their trust in You,* confirm the Church, which You have purchased with Your precious blood.

Sessional Hymn, Tone 4

Of old, on Mount Sinai, Moses beheld the back-parts of God,* and in the midst of the darkness and whirlwind* he was counted worthy to hear the still small voice of God;* and now Symeon has received in his arms* God who has become immutably incarnate for our sake.* And he hastened to leave things here below for life everlasting;* therefore, he cried out:* Now You may let Your servant depart, O Master!

Glory… Now…

Ode 4

Irmos: Your virtue, O Christ, has covered the heavens,* for proceeding forth from the Ark of Your sanctification, from Your undefiled Mother,* You have appeared in the temple of Your glory as an infant in arms,* and the whole world has been filled with Your praise.

Most holy Theotokos, save us!

Rejoicing, the Theotokos cried out: O Symeon, initiate of ineffable mysteries, take in your arms Christ, the Word become a babe, of whom you were informed of old by the Holy Spirit, and cry out to Him: All things are filled with Your praise!

Most holy Theotokos, save us!

O Symeon, rejoicing take up Christ, the little Child, on whom you have set your hope, the Consolation of the Israel of God, the Creator and Master of the law, who fulfils the order of the law; and cry aloud to Him: All things are filled with Your praise!

Glory… Now…

Beholding the unoriginate Word borne as a babe in the flesh by the Virgin as on the throne of the cherubim, the Author of all, Symeon marvelled and cried out to Him: All things are filled with Your praise!

Katavasia: Your virtue, O Christ, has covered the heavens,* for proceeding forth from the Ark of Your sanctification, from Your undefiled Mother,* You have appeared in the temple of Your glory as an infant in arms,* and the whole world has been filled with Your praise.

Ode 5

Irmos: In a figure Isaiah saw God upon a throne,* lifted up on high and borne in triumph by angels of glory;* and he cried: “Woe is me! For I have seen beforehand God made flesh,* Lord of the light that knows no evening and King of peace.”

Most holy Theotokos, save us!

The divine elder, comprehending the glory that was manifested of old to the prophet, beholding the Word held in His Mother’s arms, cried out: Rejoice, O pure one, for as a throne you hold God, the Light unwaning, who reigns with peace!

Most holy Theotokos, save us!

The elder, bowing low and divinely touching the feet of the Mother of God who knew not wedlock, said: O pure one, you bear Fire! I fear to hold the infant God, the Light unwaning, who reigns with peace!

Glory… Now…

Isaiah was purified by the burning ember brought by the seraph, the elder cried to the Mother of God, and you illumine me, giving me Him whom you bear in thine arms as with tongs, the Light unwaning, who reigns with peace.

Katavasia: In a figure Isaiah saw God upon a throne,* lifted up on high and borne in triumph by angels of glory;* and he cried: “Woe is me! For I have seen beforehand God made flesh,* Lord of the light that knows no evening and King of peace.”

Ode 6

Irmos: The Elder, having seen with his eyes the salvation that was to come to the peoples,* cried aloud to You: ‘O Christ that comes from God, You are my God.’

Most holy Theotokos, save us!

In Sion You were set as a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense for the disobedient, and the inviolate salvation of the faithful.

Most holy Theotokos, save us!

Manifestly bearing the lineaments of Him who begot You before the ages, You have now been clothed in the weakness of mortals in Your lovingkindness.

Glory… Now…

Now You let depart in peace him that worshipped You as the Son of the Most High, the Son of the Virgin, God become a Child.

Katavasia: The Elder, having seen with his eyes the salvation that was to come to the peoples,* cried aloud to You: ‘O Christ that comes from God, You are my God.’

Kontakion, Tone 1

By Your birth, You sanctified a virgin womb* and fittingly blessed the hands of Simeon.* You have come also now and saved us, O Christ our God;* give peace to Your community in time of war,* and strengthen its rulers, whom You love,* for You alone,* are the Lover of mankind.

Ikos

Let us make haste to the Theotokos, desiring to behold her Son borne to Symeon. Looking upon Him from heaven, the bodiless hosts are amazed, saying: “Things wondrous, most glorious, unapproachable and ineffable do we behold: for He Who created Adam is borne as an infant; He Whom nought can contain is held in the elder’s arms; He Who is in the infinite bosom of His Father is of His own will limited by the flesh, but not in His divinity, He Who alone loveth mankind.”

Ode 7

Irmos: O Word of God who in the midst of the fire* has dropped dew upon the children as they discoursed on things divine,* and who has taken up Your dwelling in the pure Virgin:* we praise You with piety we sing: O God of our fathers, blessed are You.

Most holy Theotokos, save us!

I go to announce the glad tidings to Adam who dwells in Hades and to Eve, cried Symeon, joining chorus with the prophets, singing: Blessed is the God of our fathers!

Most holy Theotokos, save us!

God who delivers the mortal race shall go even to Hades; He shall grant remission to all, sight to the blind, and even the mute shall chant: Blessed is the God of our fathers!

Glory… Now…

And Symeon foretold to the Virgin: A sword shall pierce your heart, O incorrupt one, beholding your Son upon the Cross, to whom we cry out: Blessed is the God of our fathers!

Katavasia: O Word of God who in the midst of the fire* has dropped dew upon the children as they discoursed on things divine,* and who has taken up Your dwelling in the pure Virgin:* we praise You with piety we sing: O God of our fathers, blessed are You.

Ode 8

Katavasia: Standing together in the unbearable fire, yet not harmed by the flame,* the children, champions of godliness, sang a divine hymn:* O all you works of the Lord,* bless the Lord and exalt Him above all for ever.

Most holy Theotokos, save us!

O people of Israel, beholding your glory, Emmanuel, the Babe born of the Virgin, now join chorus in the presence of the Ark of God, chanting: Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, and exalt Him supremely for all ages!

Most holy Theotokos, save us!

Behold, cried Symeon, this One who is both God and Babe shall be a sign of contradiction. O faithful, let us cry out: Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, and exalt Him supremely for all ages!

Glory… Now…

God the Word, being Life itself and having become a Babe, shall be the downfall of the disobedient, but the restoration of them that chant with faith: Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, and exalt Him supremely for all ages!

We praise, we bless, we worship the Lord. We extol and exalt Him above all for ever.

Ode 9

O Virgin Theotokos, hope of Christians, protect and guard and save all those who put their trust in you.

Irmos: In the shadow and the letter of the Law, let us, the faithful, discern a figure:* every male child that opens the womb shall be sanctified to God.* Therefore do we magnify the firstborn Word and Son of the Father without beginning,* the firstborn Child of a Mother who has not known a man.

O Virgin Theotokos, good help of the world, protect and preserve it from all want and grief.

In the shadow and the letter of the Law, let us, the faithful, discern a figure:* every male child that opens the womb shall be sanctified to God.* Therefore do we magnify the firstborn Word and Son of the Father without beginning,* the firstborn Child of a Mother who has not known a man.

O God-bearing Symeon, come and take up Christ, to whom the pure Virgin Mary has given birth.

With his arms the elder Symeon embraces the Creator of the law and Master of all things.

“It is not the elder who holds Me, but rather I hold him; for he asks Me to dismiss him.”

How do you hold the Ember, O mystic tongs? How do you feed Him who sustains all?

The ancients were wont to offer a pair of new-born doves and two young birds, but the godly elder and the chaste prophetess Anna serve in their stead, magnifying the only-begotten Son of the Father, who was born of the Virgin and is borne into the temple.

O daughter of Phanuel, come and stand with us, and give thanks to Christ the Saviour, the Son of God!

The chaste Anna proclaims awesome things, confessing Christ, the Creator of heaven and earth.

Unapproachable to angels and men is what was wrought within you, O pure Virgin Mary.

The pure dove, the unblemished ewe-lamb, bears the Lamb and Shepherd into the temple.

You have imparted to me the joy of Your salvation, cried Symeon. Accept Your servant, for I am weary of the shadow, as a mystic and sacred preacher of the new grace, magnifying You in praise!

O Christ, King of all, grant victory over all heresies to Your faithful hierarchs!

You have imparted to me the joy of Your salvation, cried Symeon. Accept Your servant, for I am weary of the shadow, as a mystic and sacred preacher of the new grace, magnifying You in praise!

O Christ, King of all, grant me fervent tears, that I may weep over my soul, which I have wickedly ruined!

You have imparted to me the joy of Your salvation, cried Symeon. Accept Your servant, for I am weary of the shadow, as a mystic and sacred preacher of the new grace, magnifying You in praise!

Let us piously praise the thrice-radiant Godhead in three Hypostases.

You have imparted to me the joy of Your salvation, cried Symeon. Accept Your servant, for I am weary of the shadow, as a mystic and sacred preacher of the new grace, magnifying You in praise!

O Virgin Mary, illumine my soul which has been grievously darkened by the pleasures of life!

The aged Anna, chaste and venerable, prophesying in sacred manner, openly confessed the Lord in the temple, and she magnified the Theotokos, proclaiming her to all present.

O Virgin Theotokos, hope of Christians, preserve and save those who trust in thee.

Katavasia: In the shadow and the letter of the Law, let us, the faithful, discern a figure:* every male child that opens the womb shall be sanctified to God.* Therefore do we magnify the firstborn Word and Son of the Father without beginning,* the firstborn Child of a Mother who has not known a man.

Hymn of Light

Set by the Spirit in the sanctuary, the elder takes the Master of the law in his arms, crying out: “Now loose the bonds of my flesh in peace, as You said; for with my eyes have I beheld the revelation of the gentiles and the salvation: of Israel!” (3)

At the Praises, Tone 4

He who loves mankind, fulfilling the law of the Scriptures,* is now borne into the temple;* and the elder Symeon receives Him in his arms, crying:* Now You may let me depart to Your blessedness,* for today I have seen clad in mortal flesh Him who has dominion over life* and mastery over death!

You showed Yourself to be the Light of revelation,* the Sun of righteousness seated upon a light cloud,* fulfilling the shadow of the law,* and revealing the beginning of the new grace.* Therefore, Symeon, seeing You, cried out:* Set me free of corruption, for I have seen You today!

Without being separated from the bosom of the Father in Your divinity,* incarnate, as You did so will,* You were held in the embrace of the Ever-virgin,* and were given into the arms of Symeon the God-receiver,* O You who hold all things in Your hands.* Therefore, he cried aloud with joy:* Now You let me, Your servant, depart in peace,* for I have seen You, O Master!

Tone 6, Glory… Now…

O Christ our God, whose good pleasure it was to sit today in the arms of the elder,* as in the chariot of the cherubim:* in that You love mankind,* deliver and save us who hymn You,* calling us forth from the tyranny of the passions.

Great Doxology

Trisagion Prayers

Troparion

Tone 1

Insistent Litany

Litany of Supplication

Great Dismissal

DIVINE LITURGY ON MONDAY MORNING

Entrance

The Lord has made known His salvation;* He has revealed His truth before the nations.

Son of God, wonderful in the saints, save us who sing to You: Alleluia!

Troparia and Kontakia

Troparion, Tone 1: Rejoice, full of grace, Virgin Mother of God!* From you there dawned the Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God,* who enlightens those who dwell in darkness.* And you, O righteous Elder, be glad!* You received in your embrace* the Liberator of our souls,* who grants us resurrection.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.

Kontakion, Tone 1: By Your birth, You sanctified a virgin womb* and fittingly blessed the hands of Simeon.* You have come also now and saved us, O Christ our God;* give peace to Your community in time of war,* and strengthen its rulers, whom You love,* for You alone,* are the Lover of mankind.

Prokeimenon, Tone 3

My soul magnifies the Lord,* and my spirit has rejoiced in God, My Saviour.

verse: Because he has regarded the humility of His handmaid; for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. (Luke 1:46,48)

Epistle

Hebrews 7:7-17

Alleluia, Tone 8

verse: Now, O Master, You dismiss Your servant in peace according to Your word.

verse: For my eyes have seen Your salvation, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people, Israel. (Luke 2:29,32)

Gospel

Luke 2:22-40

Hymn to the Theotokos

O God-bearing Virgin, hope of Christians, protect and guard and save all those who put their trust in you.

and the Irmos, Tone 3: In the law, the shadow, and the scriptures, we the faithful see a figure: every male child that opens the womb shall be sanctified to God. Therefore do we magnify the first-born Word and Son of the Father who is without beginning, the first-born Child of a Mother who had not known man.

Communion Hymn

I will take the chalice of salvation;* and I will call upon the name of the Lord.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 116:13)