Available in Word document: 2026-03-02

Day 15 of the Great Fast. Abstention from meat and foods that contain these ingredients. According to liturgical prescriptions, the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated today.

SUNDAY EVENING VESPERS

Kathisma Reading

There is no appointed of psalms for this evening.

At Psalm 140

Tone 5

Lead my soul forth from prison* that I may give thanks to Your name.

I cease not from sin, O Lord,* nor do I perceive the love You show me.* Vanquish my blindness, for You alone are good,* and have mercy on me.

The just shall gather around me* when You have been good to me.

O Lord, from fear of You I tremble,* yet I cease not from doing evil.* When called to trial, who does not fear the judge?* What man, desiring to be healed, angers the physician as I do?* Take pity on my weakness, O forbearing Lord,* and have mercy on me.

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

Woe is me, for I am like the barren fig tree,* and I fear that I also shall be cursed and cut down.* But, heavenly Husbandman, Christ my God,* make my dry and barren soul bear fruit.* Receive me as the Prodigal Son,* and have mercy on me.

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

O Lord born of the Virgin,* pass over my manifold transgressions and wipe out all my sins.* Grant me the firm intent to turn back to You, for You alone love mankind,* and have mercy on me.

Tone 8

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

Countless times have I sinned against You, and countless torments await me:* the gnashing of teeth and weeping that finds no comfort,* the fire of Gehenna, the darkness of Tartar.* O most righteous judge, grant me tears,* that I may receive forgiveness for the many wicked things I have done,* as I fast and cry to You:* O Master Christ have compassion upon me,* in Your great and abundant mercy.

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

I have gone astray upon the mountains of grievous sin:* seek me, O Word, and call me back to You,* and drive out from my mind all the ways of wickedness.* Restore me from death to life and cleanse me by fasting,* as I weep unceasingly and cry to You:* O Master Christ have compassion upon me, in Your great and abundant mercy.

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

As we start upon the third week of the Fast, O faithful, let us glorify the Holy Trinity,* and joyfully pass through the time that remains.* Withering the passions of the flesh from our souls,* let us gather divine flowers, weaving garlands for the queen of days,* that with crowns upon our heads* we may sing in praise of Christ the Conqueror.

Tone 4

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

A most sacred priest, the foundation of the Church,* you were shown to be an unshakable pillar, O most glorious one,* and a wonderworker most true, bestowed of God, O glorious one;* and you were a most radiant and sacred luminary and a garden of paradise,* having acquired Jesus the Bestower of life as the Tree of life in your midst,* O hieromartyr Theodotus.

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

Beaten with leathern thongs, and stretched out on a tree,* and bitterly lacerated, O right wondrous one,* imprisoned in a dungeon, your feet cruelly pierced with nails,* and laid upon a heated bed of iron,* you were shown to be steadfast,* glorifying Him who strengthened you amid all your torments,* O hieromartyr Theodotus.

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

Strangling the enemy with the cords of your struggles, you vanquished his power;* and having been most splendidly courageous,* you dwelled as a crowned victor in the kingdom of heaven,* having been accounted worthy of enlightenment* and the comeliness of them that hold festival;* and you pray that they that honour you be saved,* O Theodotus, glory of the martyrs.

Glory… Now…

Deliver my soul from condemnation and grievous transgressions, O all-holy Bride of God,* and rescue it from death by your supplications.* Grant that on the day of trial I may receive the justification* which the assemblies of the saints have received;* and before the end show me forth as cleansed through repentance* and by the shedding of tears.

Great Prokeimenon, Tone 8

Do not turn Your face away from Your son, for I am afflicted, hear me quickly. Be attentive to my soul and deliver it.

verse: Let Your salvation, Lord, help me.

verse: Let the poor see it and be glad.

verse: Seek God, and your souls shall live.

Aposticha

Tone 8

Having cast from my disordered mind the Father’s bridle,* I have lived with bestial thoughts of sin,* and wretched as I am, I have wasted all of my life in prodigality.* Forsaking the food that gives strength to man’s heart,* I have fed upon the fleeting pleasures of life.* But, O good Father, shut me not out from Your compassionate love for mankind,* but open it to me as You once did to the Prodigal Son, and save me.

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 cast from my disordered mind the Father’s bridle,* I have lived with bestial thoughts of sin,* and wretched as I am, I have wasted all of my life in prodigality.* Forsaking the food that gives strength to man’s heart,* I have fed upon the fleeting pleasures of life.* But, O good Father, shut me not out from Your compassionate love for mankind,* but open it to me as You once did to the Prodigal Son, and save me.

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, make holy every place* and heal all manner of infirmities;* and now we entreat you to pray on our behalf* that our souls may be delivered from the snares of the enemy.

Glory…

from the Menaion, if there is one, then:

Glory… Now…

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

MONDAY MORNING MATINS

Sessional Hymn I, Tone 5

When the Judge takes His seat and the angels stand beside Him,* when the trumpet sounds and the flames are burning,* what will you do, my soul, as you are led to judgment?* For then all your evil actions will be brought before you, your secret faults will be reproved.* Therefore, before the end comes, cry out to Christ our God:* O Knower of men’s hearts, I have sinned, have mercy on me.

O Lord, rebuke me not in Your anger, neither chasten me in Your wrath.

All things here will pass away, my soul, but all things there are eternal.* I see the judgment-seat and the Judge upon His throne,* and I tremble at the condemnation He will pass.* Therefore, turn back, my soul, for the sentence cannot be remitted.

God is wonderful in His saints, the God of Israel.

Your martyrs, O Lord, longed to drink from the cup of Your sufferings;* they forsook the pleasures of this world and shared in the life of the angels.* Through their intercessions, grant our souls forgiveness and great mercy.

Glory… Now…

With the angels in heaven and with men on earth,* we cry to you with joyful voices, O Theotokos:* Rejoice, gateway wider than the heavens; rejoice, the only salvation of those born on earth;* rejoice pure and full of grace; rejoice, for you have given birth to God incarnate.

Sessional Hymn II, Tone 8

With the fire of abstinence let us burn up the thorns of the passions,* and with the streams of our tears let us extinguish the unquenchable flame;* and let us cry aloud to Him who shall come to judge all the world:* O Saviour and tenderly-compassionate Lord, preserve us uncondemned* and grant us the forgiveness of sins.

Glory… Now…

O pure and blessed one, who are full of the grace of God,* with the powers on High, the archangels and all the incorporeal ones,* beseech Him who was born from you* out of the loving-kindness of His compassion;* that before the end He grant us forgiveness,* the cleansing of our sins and amendment of life,* that we may find mercy.

Sessional Hymn III, Tone 8

O holy and venerable Trinity, as we enter now upon the third week of the Fast,* preserve us safe from harm and condemnation.* Count us worthy to pass through the time that yet remains,* fulfilling all Your commandments;* that offering up our hymns of praise with a pure conscience,* we may behold the glorious Resurrection.

Glory… Now…

You are the protection of the faithful, O Birthgiver of God,* the joy of the suffering, and comforter of those who mourn;* O all-pure Virgin, pray on our behalf to Him who was supra-naturally born from your womb,* together with the angels and the principalities,* that in the hour of judgment* we may be delivered from condemnation.

Canon

Ode 1

Irmos: Let us, O you people, send up a hymn to our wondrous God* who has freed Israel from bondage,* chanting a hymn of victory and crying aloud:* We sing to You, O only Master.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

In Your divine compassion, accept me in repentance. I have wasted my life like the Prodigal, but cry aloud to You: “I have sinned and have no need of accusers; for I myself bring before You all my shameful deeds.”

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have forsaken the food of angels, and like a beast, fed upon evil wickedness. But now that I have turned back, receive me as one of Your hired servants, O heavenly Father.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

O faithful, let us forsake the night of pleasures, and hasten to the light of truth, that we be deemed worthy to share in the radiant feast of joy.

Most holy Theotokos, save us.

Rejoice, most holy Temple, the Fleece upon which the dew of God has fallen, the sealed Fount of the waters of immortality. Preserve your flock, O Lady, from the attacks of every enemy.

Irmos: Let us sing to God,* who delivered Israel from the bitter bondage of Pharaoh,* guiding them with a pillar of fire and a cloud of light,* for He has been glorified.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

As of old Israel fasted for three days, so let us sanctify ourselves, O brethren, during the first three weeks of the Fast; let us draw near to the mount of prayer and, harkening to the divine voice, let us sing in praise of Christ.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Come, O people, and strengthened by fasting like Samson, let us destroy the demon of gluttony, as he once destroyed the lion; but let us take heed lest the Delilah of our passions deceive us.

Glory…

Like the cherubim I sing Your praises, O Holy Divinity: three Lights and one Light, one Life and three; God who begets, God the begotten, and the Spirit of Life proceeding from the Father.

Now…

Rejoice, joy of Eve: for through your childbearing, O pure One, her sorrow has ended. Rejoice, radiant cloud of the never-waning Light, from which Christ our God has dawned forth.

Glory be to You, our God, glory be to You.

As David once armed himself with faith, so let us arm ourselves with humility; and as he overthrew Goliath, so let us overthrow our proud mind, and slay the hosts of sensual passions.

Katavasia: Let us sing to God,* who delivered Israel from the bitter bondage of Pharaoh,* guiding them with a pillar of fire and a cloud of light,* for He has been glorified.

Ode 8

Irmos: Treading down the fiery flame in the furnace, the divinely eloquent children sang:* “Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord.”

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have wasted the riches the Father has given me with harlots and have been cast out from the forecourt of grace; but receive me back, O Father, according to Your immeasurable mercy.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Let us shine with the effulgent radiance of prayer and fasting, and so escape from the darkness of sin.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

The choir of the noetic powers entreats You, the cherubim pray to You together with the company of the saints: O most merciful Christ, save our souls.

Most holy Theotokos, save us.

O Virgin Theotokos, who has conceived the un-husbanded Vine, bring me who am darkened by the drunkenness of sin, back to sobriety, for you are the hope of our souls.

Irmos: O You who have covered Your high places with the waters,* who hast set the sands to bound the sea and upholds all things:* the sun sings Your praises, the moon gives You glory, every creature offers a hymn to You,* as the Fashioner of all, throughout the ages.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Come, O brethren, and let us delight in the Fast, for it is the Father’s treasury, a thing of wonder, and the mother of all who worship Christ the Master. It gives strength to the body and enlightens the mind and heart.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Emulate the wondrous example of Gideon, O my soul, and bearing as your weapons the three virtues of faith, hope, and love for Christ, go out and slay the alien passions, as he did, conquering the people of Midian with three hundred men.

We bless the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Lord.

I glorify You as the Trinity, and I sing Your praises as a single Unity: one Godhead, the almighty Father, the Sovereign Son, and the Holy Spirit; One Power ruling over all, one Nature, and one Kingdom, worshipped in three Hypostases.

Now…

She who in a manner transcending nature escaped the pain of labour, Your Mother, suffered at Your Holy Passion, for she was overcome with agony upon seeing You willingly nailed upon the Cross by the Jews, O You who suspended the earth upon the waters.

Glory be to You, our God, glory be to You.

When You shall come again in glory with thousands and ten thousands of Your heavenly powers to judge all the earth, O Lord, spare me then, forgive me, and deliver me from condemnation. Put me not to shame; condemn me not to the never-ending fire.

We praise, we bless, and we worship the Lord, hymning and supremely exalting Him throughout all ages!

Katavasia: O You who have covered Your high places with the waters,* who hast set the sands to bound the sea and upholds all things:* the sun sings Your praises, the moon gives You glory, every creature offers a hymn to You,* as the Fashioner of all, throughout the ages.

Magnificat

Ode 9

Irmos: The prophetic vision of the lawgiver on the mountain, in the fire of the burning bush,* prefigured thy birth-giving, O Ever-Virgin,* the salvation of us the faithful,* wherefore with never silent hymns we magnify you.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

O Father, I have departed far from Your love, and have enslaved myself to sensual desires. But receive me now who have returned to You, as did the Prodigal, for You alone are plenteous in mercy.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

In my wretchedness I am like the withered fig tree, for the only fruit I have borne is wickedness; and I deserve to be cast into the fire. Show me to be fruitful O Lord, that I may offer You the fruit of my good actions.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

O my soul, abstain from wickedness and evil; refrain from anger, wrath, and every sin. For such is the fast desired by Jesus, the Lover of mankind.

Most holy Theotokos, save us.

O Theotokos, you are our defence and rampart; you are the help of those who flee to you, and we implore you now, that we be delivered from our enemies.

Irmos: We magnify you, O all-undefiled One, Mother of Christ our God,* for you were overshadowed by the Holy Spirit.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

As an acceptable gift, let us offer to Christ God a pure fast and abstinence from evil.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

O my soul, seeing how Elisha fed the prophets in the days of old, partake of whatever food there be, giving thanks to Christ.

Glory…

I sing Your praises, O Godhead, one Form in three Hypostases, the beginningless Father, the Son, and the Spirit of Life.

Now…

O Maiden, Mother of God, bridal chamber of Christ the heavenly King, save by your intercessions those who praise you with love.

Glory be to You, our God, glory be to You.

Daniel in the lion’s den tamed the wild beasts with the muzzle of abstinence: let us also subdue the passions by fasting.

Katavasia: We magnify you, O all-undefiled One, Mother of Christ our God,* for you were overshadowed by the Holy Spirit.

Aposticha

Tone 4

Clothed in the fetid garment of my sins,* I have been cast out from the bridal chamber of joy;* but in accordance with Your ineffable compassion, take pity on me,* as You took pity on the Prodigal Son,* and be merciful to me.

In the morning, fill us with Your love; we shall exult and rejoice all our days. Give us joy to balance our affliction for the years when we knew misfortune. Show forth Your work to Your servants; let Your glory shine on their children.

Clothed in the fetid garment of my sins,* I have been cast out from the bridal chamber of joy;* but in accordance with Your ineffable compassion, take pity on me,* as You took pity on the Prodigal Son,* and be merciful to me.

Let the favour of the Lord be upon us: give success to the work of our hands, give success to the work of our hands.

Who is not filled with wonder,* at beholding the good struggle of the holy martyrs?* How, armed with the Cross and confessing Christ,* while yet in the body, they defeated the bodiless foe;* whereby, they put to flight the demons and conquered the barbarian enemies.* Pray without ceasing that our souls be saved.

Glory… Now…

O inextinguishable lamp, and throne of righteousness* most pure Sovereign Lady:* pray that our souls be saved.