Our Holy Mother Matrona of Thessalonica. – Royal Doors Liturgical Services

When

March 27, 2026

All Day

Day 40 of the Great Fast. Abstention from meat and foods that contain these ingredients. According to liturgical prescriptions, the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated today.

VESPERS ON THURSDAY EVENING

At Psalm 140

Tone 4

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

Two of the most sacred apostles, knowing that You, O Christ, are one of the Trinity,* have now been sent by You to bring the colt the foal of an ass* that the prophecy may be fulfilled,* and humbling Yourself, O lovingly compassionate One,* You shall be seated upon it.* You who prepare a seat in the highest for all those that love You.* And those who have mindlessly succumbed to the Passions* You have, O Word, made to cry aloud to You:* Hosanna in the highest!

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

Receive Your King, O Sion.* For behold, He comes to you in meekness,* to raise up Lazarus and to destroy the bitter kingdom of death.* Summoned by God, let all the multitude of venerable monks and laypeople assemble,* to welcome Christ with palms and to cry aloud:* Blessed is He that comes to save the human race by the Passion of the Cross,* granting freedom from the passions to all* for the sake of His goodness.”

Tone 8

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

O Christ, who are born aloft by the awesome seraphim, as God and the Creator of all,* You Yourself have deigned to ride upon a colt on earth, as a man like us.* Bethany rejoices greatly to receive You, O Saviour,* and Jerusalem is glad waiting in expectation to welcome You.* Death has been slain, and having foretasted the coming Resurrection* it has seen Lazarus return from the dead.* In joy, we hasten to meet You with palms,* praising the power of Your goodness, O Lord.

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.

With reason you opposed ferocity and naked savagery of the Judeans,* O divinely wise and manly wise one,* foreseeing the delight of things to come, which remains ever immutable for ages.* This you received, departing from earth to the mansions of heaven* and the indissoluble choir, O glorious one.

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

Adorned with the wounds of your steadfast suffering,* you were vouchsafed to behold the splendour of the kingdom* and the beauteous comeliness of your Bridegroom;* and you drew nigh to the Source of good things as is meet.* Whence you richly received the fruit of divine gladness* and undying glory.

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

Neither the yoke of slavery, nor woman’s weakness, nor hunger, nor stripes* prevented you from emulating the steadfastness of the martyrs, O most glorious one;* for you endured torments with fervour of soul.* Hence you have received a heavenly mansion,* and hast been adorned with a crown of graces,* standing before your Creator.

Tone 4, Glory… Now…

Deliver my lowly soul* from condemnation and grievous transgressions,* O all-holy Bride of God;* and by thy supplications set me free from death.* And grant that on the day of testing* I receive that justification* which the assemblies of the saints have received.* Before the end show me forth as cleansed* by repentance and outpourings of tears.

Prokeimenon I, Tone 6

I have cried to the Lord in my affliction:* and He heard me.

verse: O Lord, deliver my soul from unrighteous lips and from a crafty tongue.

Reading I

Genesis 46:1-7

Now Israel took his journey with all he had, and came to the Well of Oath, and offered a sacrifice to the God of his father Isaac. Then God spoke to Israel in a vision of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” So he said, “Here I am.” So God said to him, “I am the God of your fathers; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again, and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes.” Then Jacob arose from the Well of Oath, and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their baggage, and their wives in the carts Pharaoh had sent to carry him. So they took their livestock and their goods which they had acquired in the land of Canaan and went to Egypt, Jacob and all his seed with him. His sons and his sons’ sons, his daughters and his sons’ daughters, and all his seed he brought with him to Egypt.

Prokeimenon II, Tone 8

The Lord shall keep you from all evil:* the Lord shall guard your soul.

verse: I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains: from whence shall come my help.

Reading II

Proverbs 23:15-24:5

My son, if your heart becomes wise,
You will also gladden my heart;
And your lips shall spend time with the words on my lips,
If they be upright.
Do not let your heart envy sinners,
But be in fear of the Lord the whole day long.
For if you keep these words, you shall have offspring,
And your hope will not depart from you.

Hear, my son, and become wise,
And direct aright the thoughts of your heart.
Do not be a wine-bibber,
Neither provide contributions of meats or goods at drinking parties.
For every drunkard and fornicator shall become impoverished,
And every sluggard shall clothe himself with tattered and ragged garments.
Hear, my son, your father who begot you,
And do not despise your mother because she has grown old.
A righteous father rears his child well,
And his soul rejoices in a wise son.
Let your father and mother be glad in you,
And let her who bore you rejoice.
My son, give me your heart,
And let your eyes observe my ways;
For a house of prostitution is a pierced vessel
And a strange and empty well;
For he shall perish suddenly,
And every lawless man shall be destroyed.
Who has woe? Who has tumult? Who has condemnation?
Who has unpleasantness and gossip?
Who has afflictions with no purpose?
Whose eyes are pale?
Is it not those who linger long with wines?
Is it not those who hunt for the whereabouts of drinking parties?
Do not be drunk with wine, but keep company with righteous men,
And keep company in public walks;
For if you set your eyes to the bowls and cups,
Afterward you will walk about more naked than ground meat.
And at last, he stretches himself out as one bitten by a serpent,
And the venom spreads through him as one bitten by a horned serpent.
When your eyes behold a strange woman,
Then your mouth will speak twisted things;
And you will lie down as in the heart of the sea
And as a pilot in a great storm;
And you will say, “They beat me, but I did not suffer,
And they mocked me, but I knew it not;
When will it be morning,
That I may go seek those with whom I may company?”

My son, do not envy evil men,
Neither desire to be with them;
For their heart ponders a lie,
And their lips speak of sufferings.
A house is built with wisdom,
And it is built up with understanding.
Storehouses are filled with perception
From all honorable and good riches.
It is better to be a wise man of strength
And a man having discernment, than to be a man who has a large estate.

Aposticha

Tone 8

Deliver me, O Christ God,* from the rich man’s lack of compassion and selfishness.* O You who through Your Cross have cleansed us from our sins,* show me to be an emulator of Lazarus the beggar in his thankful patience,* and deprive me not of a dwelling place in the bosom of Abraham,* for the sake of Your great mercy

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.

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 hallow every place and heal every manner of infirmity:* and now we entreat you to intercede on our behalf* that our souls may be delivered from the snares of the enemy.

Glory… Now…

“O marvellous wonder! O Strange mystery and fearful deed!”* cried the Virgin as she beheld in fear and trembling,* You, the child whom she had borne without travail,* hanging between two malefactors on the cross.* She cried aloud weeping:* “Woe is me, O my beloved child! How has this wicked and ungrateful people* nailed You to the Cross!”

MATINS FOR FRIDAY MORNING

Sessional Hymn I, Tone 8

In the midst of Eden, a tree put forth the flower of death;* in the midst of all the earth, a tree has flowered with life.* Eating from the first tree, we who were immortal fell into corruption;* but through the second tree incorruption is bestowed upon us again.* For by the Cross, O God, You save mankind.

Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His footstool for He is holy.

In Paradise of old the tree stripped me bare;* for by giving me its fruit to eat, the enemy brought in death.* But now the Tree of the Cross that clothes men with the garment of life* has been set up on the earth, and the whole world is filled with boundless joy.* Beholding it exalted, O you people, let us with one accord raise in faith our cry to God:* His house is full of glory.

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

Through their self-restraint the martyrs of Christ* put to death the fiery impulses of passion.* They received the grace to drive out diseases from the sick,* and to work miracles both alive and after they were dead.* O marvellous wonder! For their bare bones are a source of healing.* Glory be to God, the only wise Creator.

Glory… Now…

O holy Virgin, Christ took flesh from your pure womb* and was born from you in ways beyond our understanding.* Seeing Him hang between two evildoers on the Cross, your heart was filled with anguish,* and with a mother’s grief you have cried out:* ‘Woe is me, my Child! What is this divine and ineffable act of Your divine providence,* whereby You have restored Your creature to Life?* I sing the praises of Your deep compassion.’

Sessional Hymn II, Tone 4

Two of the disciples have been sent to fetch the foal of an ass, as it is written;* and, seated upon it, Christ shall come in His comeliness,* accepting the sacred praise of the children,* let us eagerly hasten to meet Him,* bearing as palms our virtuous deeds.

Glory… Now…

O all-immaculate Virgin, Mother of Christ God,* a sword pierced your most holy soul* when you beheld your Son and God crucified of His own will.* Never cease to entreat Him, O blessed one,* that He grant us the forgiveness of our transgressions.

Sessional Hymn III, Tone 8

Two of the disciples are sent today to bring the foal of an ass to the Master of all;* who comes seated thereon, He who is borne on high by the hosts of the seraphim.* The all-devouring death and ruler of this world,* has begun to quake in fear,* for by Lazarus, the first of the imprisoned race of mankind has been freed from him.

Glory… Now…

Standing before the Passion of her Son,* the pure one lamented bitterly, crying out in hymns:* “How have the Hebrew children brought You* who are glorified by the angels with never-silent hymns,* before the judgment seat of Pilate?* Woe is me, O my Child!* Wherefore O Word I sing the praises of Your boundless and ineffable loving-kindness.

Canon

Ode 5

Irmos: Shine upon me, O Lord, the light of Your commandments,* for my soul rises early to You and hymn You:* For You are our God,* and to You do I flee, O King of peace.

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

Falling asleep upon Your Cross, O Lord, You have put death to sleep O Master. For You cried out: “My friend Lazarus sleeps, but I shall go now to awake him.”

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

Fulfilling the preaching of the prophets, You have come to the city that killed the prophets, O compassionate Christ; and there You shall willingly be slain, saving me who am dead from corruption.

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

Having brought your rebellious body into submission to the Word through abstinence and prayer, both monks and laity, go out to meet Christ who comes to His Passion riding upon a foal.

Most holy Theotokos, save us.

O most-pure one, with the drops of your mercy water my mind dried out by the flame of sin, and kindle the extinguished lamp of my heart, O Gate of Light.

Irmos: Disperse, O Word, the darkness from my soul, O Christ God, the Light-Giver,* Having driven out the primordial darkness of the abyss,* grant to me the light of Your commandments,* that early in the morning I may glorify You.

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

Approaching Bethany, O Christ, You sent two of Your disciples to fetch You a foal upon which never a man sat. For none but You, O Saviour, have brought into subjection the spiritually unlearned gentiles.

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

Today a great multitude of the Jews have come from Jerusalem to Bethany to grieve with the sisters of Lazarus; but on the next morn, upon learning that Lazarus had come forth from the tomb, they sought after Christ to kill Him.

Glory…

O Most Holy Trinity, the Father, Son, and the all-creative Spirit, sacred Godhead, beginningless Essence, threefold Light, all-seeing Power, protect Your servants.

Now…

Upon beholding You affixed to the Cross with nails, O Christ, and the blood and water pouring forth from Your lifegiving side, Your mother, in her loving maternal compassion suffered with You, for she knew You as her Son.

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

Behold, Christ makes ready to enter into Jerusalem; let all the monastics dwelling in the mountains and the desert places, assemble together and come to joyously meet Him, along with all who are under the heavens.

Katavasia: Disperse, O Word, the darkness from my soul, O Christ God, the Light-Giver,* Having driven out the primordial darkness of the abyss,* grant to me the light of Your commandments,* that early in the morning I may glorify You.

Ode 8

Irmos: The earth and all that is therein, the seas and all wellsprings,* the heaven of heavens, light and darkness,* frost and heat, sons of men, and priests,* bless the Lord and supremely exalt Him throughout the ages.

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

Why, O beloved women, do you weep bitterly for your brother, when you have the Resurrection and the Life with you? He who is the Giver of all good things has come to restore life to His close friend, that through Lazarus’ resurrection He may foretell the resurrection of all.

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

O Monks, gather together from your dwellings, as the rational sheep, and with branches in your hands meet Christ the Chief Shepherd: For the Lord comes willingly as a lamb to the slaughter, that He may deliver us from the tyranny of the wolf.

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

As You were approaching Bethphage, the enemy, upon hearing Your footsteps in Hades, touched the feet of Lazarus, saying: “If Life calls you, delay not, but go out: for I know that destruction shall shortly befall me.”

Most holy Theotokos, save us.

The sacred voices of the prophets proclaimed you in symbols, O Virgin, calling you the Gate and Mountain, the sacred Ark and light Cloud, from whom the Sun, the only Giver of Light, has shone forth upon those in the darkness and shadow of death.

Irmos: Seated upon the throne of glory, and unceasingly glorified as God,* O angels and heavens bless, hymn and supremely exalt Him throughout all ages!.

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

Two of the disciples were sent to fetch an ass for Him who rides upon the clouds, and whom all things praise and supremely exalt throughout all ages.

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

Christ is at the door: be not sad in countenance, O Bethany; for He will change your sorrow into joy by raising your offspring Lazarus from the tomb, who hymns and supremely exalts Christ throughout the ages.

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

The Trinity is one God: the Father is not begotten like the Son, nor does the Son proceed like the Spirit, but each preserves its own distinctive characteristics; I glorify the Three as Light and God throughout the ages.

Now…

You alone have conceived without corruption; you alone have given suck to a child without enduring the pain of childbirth; you alone have given birth to Your Maker and Master, being both His handmaiden and His mother; we hymn you, O Virgin Mother, throughout the ages.

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

With the noetic branches of our virtues, and with the material branches of the palms, let us prepare to receive Christ Who is twofold in nature, for He that comes riding upon a colt, do we supremely exalt throughout all ages.

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

Katavasia: Seated upon the throne of glory, and unceasingly glorified as God,* O angels and heavens bless, hymn and supremely exalt Him throughout all ages!.

Magnificat

Ode 9

Irmos: For the Mighty One has done great things to me,* and holy is His name;* and His mercy is upon them that fear Him* unto generation and generation.

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

You foretold to Your disciples, O Jesus: “Behold, we go up to the Holy City, and by the hands of murderers I shall surely be delivered to Crucifixion, and slain in the flesh.”

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

Wishing to deliver Your friend from death, and for our sake, You hastened to suffer death in the flesh by crucifixion, granting immortality to the faithful, O Word who alone are immortal.

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

Let us bring to Christ the palm branches of our chastity, for humbly does He draw near in the flesh seated upon a foal, wherefore let us say to Him: “O Saviour who have come to Your Passion, blessed are You.”

Most holy Theotokos, save us.

Awesome is your childbearing, O Theotokos and Mother of Christ; wherefore in faith we and all generations call you blessed, and reverently glorify you throughout the ages, amen.

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

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

Sending out His disciples, Christ said: “Loose the colt and bring it to me, that I may be seated upon it, and free the nations from their spiritual ignorance, and as the Son, bring them into subjection to the Father.”

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

The Lord draws near: open your gates, Bethany, and receive the Master with faith, for He has come to raise Lazarus from the tomb, as alone all-powerful.

Glory…

O Lord, the threefold brightness of Your singular Power illumines our minds with the brightness of revelation; turning us from the delusion that divides, and bringing us to the divine life that unites.

Now…

Rejoice, Palace of the King of all. For by you, O Virgin Theotokos, the Kingdom of Heaven has been opened to us on earth, and we have become dwellers with the angels.

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

All you who dwell in the deserts, in the mountains and caves, draw near and assemble with us, to meet the King and Master bearing palms in your hands; for He comes to save our souls.

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

Aposticha

Tone 4

Despising the sacred injunctions, O my soul,* you have become easy prey for the wiles of the enemy;* and willingly giving yourself over to corruption.* you have fallen into the sleep of indifference on account of your many sins,* defiling the garment that God has woven for you,* rendering yourself unfit for the wedding of the King;* and on account of your sins you shall be turned away.* For should you sit at the wedding feast clothed in the passions,* He will ask of you how came hither,* and you shall be cast out from the bridal chamber;* but cry out to the Saviour:* “O frightful eye of God,* since You have become what I am,* without ceasing to be who You were before,* You who, ahead of Your Cross* was clothed in the robe of derision for my sake:* tear in pieces my pauper’s clothing* and adorn me with gladness;* delivering me from the outer darkness and eternal weeping,* and have mercy on 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.

Tone 8

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.

Come, all you peoples,* and with by hymns and spiritual songs* let us honour the passion-bearers of Christ.* They are lights in the world and preachers of the faith,* everlasting fountains from whence flows healing for the faithful.* By their prayers grant peace to Your world, O Christ God,* and to our souls great mercy.

Glory…

Having profitably completed the forty day fast,* we beseech You, O Lover of mankind;* Grant that we may also behold the Holy Week of Your Passion,* and in it glorify Your mighty acts* and Your ineffable dispensation for our sakes,* chanting with one accord: O Lord, glory be to You.

Now…