Monday, September 21, 2026; Leave-taking of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross

When

September 21, 2026

All Day

The Holy Apostle Codratus of Magnesia. (Transferred to September 22)

AT VESPERS ON SUNDAY EVENING

Kathisma Reading

There are no psalms appointed this evening.

At Psalm 140

Tone 6

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

By its elevation the Cross is like an appeal to the whole creation.* We adore the blessed passion of Christ our God* who was suspended on it.* By this Cross, Christ destroyed the one who had destroyed us.* In His great goodness, He brought us back to life after we had been dead.* In His mercy He clothed us with beauty* and made us worthy of heaven.* Therefore, we exalt His Name with great rejoicing* and glorify His infinite condescension.

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

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

O precious Cross of the Lord,* Moses prefigured you when he stretched out his arms to heaven* and thus defeated the haughty Amalek.* You are the pride of the faithful* and the strength of those who struggle,* the glory of the apostles, the courage of the just,* and the salvation of the saints.* Therefore, at the sight of your elevation,* the whole creation rejoices, exalts, and glorifies Christ* whose goodness joined together those who had strayed.

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.

O most venerable Cross of the Lord,* the angels surround you with joy at your elevation today.* You raise up those who had fallen and had been delivered to death* for having eaten of the forbidden tree.* Therefore, we praise you with our lips,* begging for sanctification, saying:* Exalt Christ our gracious God, O you nations,* and adore His divine footsteps forever.

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

Tone 2, Glory… Now…

Come, all you people,* let us venerate the blessed Cross of the Lord* through which eternal justice came to us.* He who deceived Adam, the first man,* was conquered by a tree,* and the same who fettered the royal creation by his cunning* has been cast down into nothingness.* The venom of the serpent has been washed away* by the divine blood of Christ.* The curse of the rightful sentence was lifted* when the just Christ was condemned unjustly.* By God’s plan, death that had come from a tree* would be conquered by a Tree,* and suffering would be healed by the suffering of the Lord.* Glory to the active presence of Your providence in our lives, O Christ, our King.* Through it You have brought salvation for all,* for You are gracious and the Lover of mankind.

Aposticha

Tone 5

Joy to you, life-bearing Cross of the Lord,* invincible triumph of the true faith* You are the gate to Paradise,* the strength of the faithful, and the stronghold of the Church.* Because of you, corruption no longer has meaning nor power.* By you we have been lifted up from earth to heaven.* You are an invincible weapon against evil,* a glory indeed for saints and martyrs,* and a haven for salvation.* You are the source of mercy to the world.

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

Joy to you, most honourable Cross of the Lord.* Through you the human race has been delivered from the curse.* In your exaltation you are a sign of true joy.* O Cross all-venerable, you scatter all our enemies.* You are the help of Christians, the glory of kings,* the strength of the just, and the splendour of priests.* All who sign themselves with you are freed from peril.* You are the strength under which we are tended like sheep.* The angels gather around you in awe as the source of peace.* You are the glory of Christ* who grants great mercy to the world.

God is our King from time past, the giver of help through all the land.

Joy to you, precious Cross of the Lord,* guide to the blind and physician to the sick,* and resurrection to the dead.* You raised us out of corruption and removed the curse.* Through you we have been made divine,* and the power of Hades has been destroyed in full.* Therefore, seeing you today lifted up by our priests,* we exalt Christ who was suspended on you;* and we bow deeply before you,* seeking forgiveness and great mercy.

Tone 8, Glory… Now…

Of old, Moses prefigured Your Cross* while vanquishing Amalek and obtaining victory over him.* David the psalmist called it Your footstool* and directed us to adore it.* We sinners indeed venerate Your Cross today, O Christ our God.* With our unworthy lips we extol You,* for You deigned to be crucified on it;* and we entreat You, O Lord:* Together with the thief, make us worthy of Your kingdom.

Troparion

Tone 1

Save Your people, O Lord, and bless Your inheritance,* grant victory to Your faithful people against enemies,* and protect Your community by Your Cross.

AT DIVINE LITURGY ON MONDAY MORNING

Antiphon 1

O God, my God, hear me; why have You forsaken me? The words of my transgressions put salvation far from me.

Through the prayers of the Mother of God, O Saviour, save us.

O God, I will call to You by day but You will not listen; and by night, yet it will not be foolish of me.

Through the prayers of the Mother of God, O Saviour, save us.

But You, the praise of Israel, dwell in the holy place.

Through the prayers of the Mother of God, O Saviour, save us.

Glory… Now… Only-begotten Son…

Antiphon 3

Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord, let us acclaim God, our Saviour.

Son of God, crucified in the flesh, save us who sing to You: Alleluia.

Let us come before His face with praise, and acclaim Him in psalms.

Son of God, crucified in the flesh, save us who sing to You: Alleluia.

For God is the great Lord, and the great king over all the earth.

Son of God, crucified in the flesh, save us who sing to You: Alleluia.

Entrance

Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ.

Son of God, crucified in the flesh, save us who sing to You: Alleluia.

Troparia and Kontakia

Troparion, Tone 1: Save Your people, O Lord, and bless Your inheritance.* Grant victory to Your faithful people against enemies,* and protect Your community by Your cross.

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

Kontakion, Tone 4: By Your own choice, O Christ our God,* You were lifted on the cross.* Grant Your mercies to Your new community* that bears Your Name.* By Your power gladden the faithful people,* and grant them victory against enemies.* May they have the help of Your instrument of peace,* the invincible sign of victory.

Prokeimenon, Tone 7

Exalt the Lord our God,* and bow in worship at the footstool of his feet, for it is holy.

verse: The Lord reigns, let the people tremble. (Psalm 98:5,1)

Epistle

Ephesians 4:25-32

Alleluia, Tone 1

verse: Remember Your congregation which You acquired from the beginning.

verse: But God is our king before the ages; He has wrought salvation in the midst of the earth. (Psalm 73:2,12)

Gospel

Luke 3:19-22

Hymn to the Theotokos

O my soul, magnify the most precious cross of the Lord.

And the Irmos, Tone 8: You are a mystical Paradise, O Mother of God, who though untilled, have brought forth Christ. He has planted upon earth the life-giving Tree of the Cross. Therefore today as we raise it on high we bow low and we magnify you.

Communion Hymn

Let the light of Your countenance, O Lord,* shine upon us.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 4:7)

At the end of Liturgy we sing:

To Your Cross, O Master, we bow in veneration, and we glorify Your holy Resurrection. (3)