VESPERS ON SUNDAY EVENING

Kathisma Reading

There are no appointed psalms for this evening.

At Psalm 140

Tone 2

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

О supremely good Father, Son and Word of the Father, and Holy Spirit, uncreated Essence,* who are possessed of a wellspring of tender compassion and pour forth depths of mercy:* accept our supplication and prayer,* granting forgiveness to all amid their transgressions,* in that You are compassionate and the Lover of mankind.

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

As You are God, You are by nature wholly compassionate, merciful, and good;* therefore, we beseech You, О Christ our Saviour,* and falling down before You, we cry, ever calling out to You:* Grant to Your servants remission of their many transgressions* and forgiveness of every thing wherein they have committed offenses,* in that You are the compassionate God and the Lover of mankind.

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

Desiring to save all for whose sake You had become a man, О Saviour,* as God You manifested Yourself as a man.* Save us who bow down before Your commandments,* for You did not come to save the righteous,* but through the grace of divine baptism* to loose us who are bound by many sins in the chains of our transgressions, О Lover of mankind,* in that You are compassionate and the Lover of mankind.

Tone 2

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

Submitting to the laws of Him who, for our sake, assumed our flesh on earth* and endured His honoured Passion, O divinely blessed one,* you showed love for your neighbour,* which is the epitome of the law and the prophets.* Wherefore, you received a blessed end, O Nicephorus,* and stand now before the Wellspring of love.

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

You bend your neck to God, before whom all knees do bend, O wondrous martyr;* your head is severed and parted from your comely body,* and with your most honoured mind you are united to Christ, the Head of all.* And now drawing close to His light, O Nicephorus,* beseech enlightenment for us who praise you.

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

You have sanctified the earth with the streams of your blood shed for Christ, O martyr,* and by your spirit you have gladdened the spirits of the incorporeal hosts,* and have enlightened the whole flock of the martyrs, O blessed one,* united with them as a valiant warrior and an invincible martyr;* and you pray to God in our behalf.

Tone 6, Glory…

O athlete Nicephorus, you have clearly shown to all* that he who loves not his neighbour cannot love the Master;* wherefore, in purity you loved your own neighbour Sapricius.* Hence, you took wing to divine Desire,* and lay down your life in confession of Christ and the Faith.* But Sapricius of ill repute,* having conceived for you an implacable hatred,* showed himself also a betrayer of Christ the Master.* Standing now before Him, pray that our souls be saved.

Now…

О Theotokos, who at the sound of the archangel’s voice* conceived in your womb the Word,* who with the Father and the Spirit is equally beginningless,* you have been revealed to be more exalted than the cherubim, seraphim, and thrones.

Prokeimenon, Tone 8

Behold now, bless the Lord,* all you servants of the Lord.

verse: You that stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.

Aposticha

Tone 8

Having endured the first nakedness through greed,* we were overcome by the bitter taste thereof,* and became exiles from God.* But let us return to repentance* and by fasting, purify our senses, which war against us.* And having thereby strengthened our hearts with the hope of grace,* and not with foods which are of no benefit,* let us partake of the Lamb of God,* who, on the holy and radiant night of His Resurrection,* having offered Himself for our sake,* and communed with the disciples, at the mystical supper,* dispersed the darkness of ignorance* by the Light of His Resurrection.

I have lifted up my eyes to You enthroned in heaven. Behold, as the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters, as the eyes of a maid are on the hands of her mistress, so are our eyes on the Lord our God until He has mercy on us.

Having endured the first nakedness through greed,* we were overcome by the bitter taste thereof,* and became exiles from God.* But let us return to repentance* and by fasting, purify our senses, which war against us.* And having thereby strengthened our hearts with the hope of grace,* and not with foods which are of no benefit,* let us partake of the Lamb of God,* who, on the holy and radiant night of His Resurrection,* having offered Himself for our sake,* and communed with the disciples, at the mystical supper,* dispersed the darkness of ignorance* by the Light of His Resurrection.

Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us; for we have been filled with shame; our soul is all too full of the mockery of the rich, of the contempt of the proud.

O martyrs of the Lord,* you sanctify every place and heal every manner of infirmities:* and now we entreat you to intercede on our behalf* that our souls may be delivered from the snares of the enemy.

Tone 8, Glory… Now…

Those in heaven hymn you,* O joyously blessed Mother unwedded,* and we glorify your inscrutable birthgiving, O Theotokos;* pray that our souls be saved!

Troparia

Tone 4

In his suffering, O Lord, Your martyr Nicephorus* received an imperishable crown from You, our God;* for, possessed of Your might,* He set the tyrants at nought,* and crushed the feeble audacity of the demons.* By his supplications save our souls.

Glory… Now…

To the One who was reared in the Temple,* close to the Holy of Holies,* and who was full of faith, wisdom, and perfect virginity,* Gabriel, the captain and leader,* offered esteem and greetings from heaven when he said:* Rejoice, O blessed One! Rejoice, O glorified One!* The Lord is with you.

DIVINE LITURGY ON MONDAY MORNING

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 7

The just man shall be glad in the Lord and shall hope in Him.

verse: Hear, O God, my voice when I make my petition to You. (Psalm 63:11,2)

Epistle

3 John 1:1-15

Alleluia, Tone 8

verse: The just man shall flourish like the palm tree; and he shall grow like the cedar in Lebanon.

verse: They who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish the courts of our God. (Psalm 91:13,14)

Gospel

Luke 19:29-40; 22:7-39

Communion Hymn

The just man shall be in everlasting remembrance;* of evil hearsay he shall have no fear.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 111:6)