VESPERS ON FRIDAY EVENING
Kathisma Reading
The appointed psalms are chanted.
At Psalm 140
Tone 6
Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord;* O Lord, hear my voice!
Your martyrs, O Lord, denied You not,* nor did they forsake Your commandments; by their intercessions, have mercy upon us.
Let Your ears be attentive* to the voice of my prayer.
О martyred passion-bearers, citizens of heaven, who suffered on the earth,* you endured many torments.* By their prayers and intercessions, О Lord, preserve us all.
If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
Those who suffered martyrdom for You, O Christ, endured a multitude of torments,* and have received perfect crowns in the heavens,* may they ever intercede on behalf of our souls.
I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
Your Cross, O Lord, was the invincible weapon of the martyrs.* They beheld impending death before them;* but, foreseeing the life that is to come,* they became strengthened with hope in You.* By their intercessions have mercy on us.
Tone 8
From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
Calling to remembrance by name today all the dead from all the ages* who with faith have lived piously.* O faithful, let us sing praises to the Saviour and Lord,* asking Him fervently to grant them a good defence* in the hour of judgment before our God, who will judge all the earth.* May they receive a place at His right hand in joy;* may they dwell in glory with the righteous and the saints,* and be deemed worthy of His heavenly Kingdom.
For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Calling to remembrance by name today all the dead from all the ages* who with faith have lived piously.* O faithful, let us sing praises to the Saviour and Lord,* asking Him fervently to grant them a good defence* in the hour of judgment before our God, who will judge all the earth.* May they receive a place at His right hand in joy;* may they dwell in glory with the righteous and the saints,* and be deemed worthy of His heavenly Kingdom.
Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
By Your own Blood, O Saviour, You have ransomed mankind,* and by Your death You have delivered us from bitter death,* granting us life eternal by Your Resurrection.* Grant rest then, O Lord, to all those who have fallen asleep in godliness,* whether in the wilderness or in the city, on the sea or on land,* in every place, sovereigns, rulers and hierarchs,* priests, monastics and those married, of every age and every race,* and deem them worthy of Your heavenly Kingdom.
Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
By Your arising from the dead, O Christ,* death no longer rules over those that have died in piety.* We pray fervently: grant rest in Your courts and in the bosom of Abraham* to Your servants from Adam to this present day* who have worshiped You in purity,* our fathers and brethren, friends and kin,* all who in this life have offered faithful service to You,* and who have now departed to be with You,* O God, and deem them worthy of Your heavenly Kingdom.
Tone 8, Glory…
I lament, and weep when I see death* and look upon our beauty, formed according to God’s image,* lying in the grave disfigured, inglorious, and bereft of animate form.* O strange wonder! What mystery is this concerning us?* How have we been delivered to corruption?* How have we been yoked to death?* All this, as is written, is by the command of God,* who grants rest to the departed.
Now…
Who would not call you blessed, O Virgin most holy?* Who would not sing a hymn of praise* to the glory of your giving birth without pain or travail?* The Only-begotten Son Himself,* begotten of the Father before all ages,* was made flesh out of you in a manner* that cannot be explained, O Woman most pure!* And for our sake, He who is God by nature* assumed the nature of a man.* He is not divided into two persons;* He is understood to have two natures* without commixion or confusion.* O noble and blessed Woman,* intercede with Him that He may have mercy on our souls.
In place of the Prokeimenon of the day, we chant in Tone 8
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they whom You have chosen and taken to Yourself, O Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Their memorial is from generation and generation.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Their souls shall dwell among good things.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Aposticha
Tone 6
Those who suffered martyrdom for You, O Christ, endured a multitude of torments,* and have received perfect crowns in the heavens,* may they ever intercede on behalf of our souls.
Blessed are they whom You have chosen and taken to Yourself, O Lord.
Your Cross, O Lord, was the invincible weapon of the martyrs.* They beheld impending death before them;* but, foreseeing the life that is to come,* they became strengthened with hope in You.* By their intercessions have mercy on us.
Their souls shall dwell* among good things.
O Lord, my God,* You have endowed me with two elements:* one visible and the other invisible.* You have formed my body from clay,* and breathed into me a soul* from Your divine breath.* O Christ our God,* give rest to the soul of Your servant* in the kingdom of those who live forever* and in the company of the just.
Tone 6, Glory…
My beginning and foundation was accomplished by Your creative will,* for You willed to fashion me as a living creature from visible and invisible natures;* having brought forth my body from the earth,* and given me a soul by Your divine and quickening breath.* O Saviour, grant rest to Your servants in the land of the living,* in the tabernacles of the righteous.
Now…
By the prayers of her that gave birth to You, O Christ,* and of Your martyrs and apostles, the prophets and holy hierarchs,* the venerable, the righteous and of all the saints,* grant rest to Your departed servants.
Troparia
Tone 8
With profound wisdom and love for mankind, You arrange all things* and bestow beneficial things upon all, O only Creator and Lord.* Grant rest to the souls of your servants,* for they have placed their hope in You,* our God Who made and shaped us.
Glory… Now…
In you we have a rampart and a haven, and an intercessor* most acceptable to God,* whom you bore, O Virgin Mother of God,* salvation of the faithful.
DIVINE LITURGY ON SATURDAY MORNING
Troparia and Kontakia
Troparion, Tone 8: With profound wisdom and love for mankind, You arrange all things* and bestow beneficial things upon all, O only Creator and Lord.* Grant rest to the souls of your servants,* for they have placed their hope in You,* our God Who made and shaped us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Kontakion, Tone 8: To the souls of Your servants, O Christ* grant rest among the saints* where there is no pain,* no sorrow, no mourning,* but only life without end.
Now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Theotokion, Tone 8: In you we have a rampart and a haven, and an intercessor* most acceptable to God,* whom you bore, o Virgin Mother of God,* salvation of the faithful
Prokeimenon, Tone 6
Their souls shall dwell amidst good things.
verse: To You, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul. (Psalm 24:13,1)
Epistle
1 Corinthians 10:23-28; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17
Alleluia, Tone 6
verse: Blessed are they whom You have chosen and taken to Yourself, O Lord.
verse: And let their memory be from generation to generation. (Psalm 64:5)
Gospel
Luke 21:8-9, 25-27, 33-36; John 5:24-30
Communion Hymn
Blessed are they whom You have chosen and taken to Yourself, O Lord;* and let their memory be from generation to generation.* Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. (Psalm 64:5)