AT VESPERS ON FRIDAY EVENING

Kathisma Reading

The appointed psalms are chanted.

At Psalm 140

Tone 6

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

Your martyrs, O Lord, did not deny You,* nor did they fall away from Your commandments.* By their intercessions, have mercy on us.

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

They that bore witness to You through martyrdom, O Christ,* endured many torments.* By their intercessions and prayers, O Lord, preserve us all.

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

The passion-bearing martyrs and citizens of heaven* contested on earth and endured many torments,* and they received a perfect crown in the heavens,* that they might intercede for our souls.

Tone 8

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 found 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 grant them 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,* no longer does death rule over those who have died in piety.* Wherefore 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 grant them to receive 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.

Tone 6, 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, we chant:

Alleluia, Tone 8

verse: Blessed are they whom You have chosen and taken to Yourself, O Lord!

verse: Their memory is from generation and generation.

Vouchsafe, O Lord

Aposticha

Tone 6

Your Cross, O Lord, became an invincible weapon for the martyrs;* for seeing death laying before them, and foreseeing the life to come,* they were strengthened by their hope in You.* By their supplications, have mercy on us.

Their souls* shall dwell among good things.

You honoured with Your image that which You had fashioned with Your hands, O Saviour,* and in material form you depicted the likeness of the noetic nature,* whereof You made me a partaker, and established me here to rule* by my free will over the things on earth, O Word.* Wherefore, O Saviour grant rest to Your servants in the land of the living,* in the tabernacles of the righteous.

Blessed are they whom You have chosen* and have taken to Yourself, O Lord.

That the worth of my life might be distinguished from that of others,* You planted a garden in Eden, adorned with diverse plants,* where You established me free of sorrows and care as a partaker of Your divine life,* as a creature equal to the angels on earth,* distinctly mingled in nature.* Wherefore, O Saviour, grant rest to Your servants in the land of the living,* in the tabernacles of the righteous.

Tone 6, Glory…

My origin 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.* Wherefore, O Saviour, grant rest to Your servants in the land of the living,* in the tabernacles of the righteous.

Now…

By the intercessions of her who gave birth to You, O Christ,* and of the Your martyrs and apostles,* and of the prophets, and the holy-bishops,* and of the venerable monks, and of the righteous, and of all the saints,* grant rest to Your servants that have fallen asleep.

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… 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.

After the dismissal of Vespers, we serve a Panakhyda for the Departed in the narthex.

AT 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

Acts 28:1-31; 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

John 21:15-25; 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)