Available in Word document: 2026-03-06

Day 19 of the Great Fast. Abstention from meat and foods that contain these ingredients. According to liturgical prescriptions, the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated today.

THURSDAY EVENING VESPERS

Kathisma Reading

The appointed psalms are chanted.

At Psalm 140

Tone 5

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

O Saviour, who are the true sweetness,* of old You made sweet the bitter waters of Marah,* by the tree that prefigured the divine Cross* upon which You were pleased to be crucified,* tasting the bitterness of gall.* Your side was pierced,* from whence flowed the waters of forgiveness,* refashioning our mortal nature.* Wherefore we glorify Your ineffable might* and we pray that in this season of the Fast* our hearts may be filled with reverence for You, O Lord;* and that we may find forgiveness of sins and great mercy.

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

O Word, who was stretched out upon the Cross,* gathering together those that had wandered far from You,* raise up my thoughts from the putrid passions,* and enrich me with a multitude of virtues;* grant to my heart reverent fear of You, and to my soul perfect love,* severing me from carnal love.* That through abstinence, prayer, and supplication,* I may find favour with You in this present season,* and with joy behold the day of Your arising,* and gain Your great mercy.

Tone 1

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

Having passed through the third week of the Fast,* count us worthy, O Christ the Word,* to look upon the Wood of Your lifegiving Cross* and to reverently venerate it.* Grant us to sing worthily and glorify Your power,* praising Your Passion,* and to approach Your glorious, pure and holy Resurrection,* the mystical Passover* whereby Adam has been restored again to Paradise.

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.

Noble and victorious martyrs,* you were revealed in the final times* as unwaning stars in the Church’s honoured firmament.* You illumined all beneath the sun, all-praised ones,* with the splendour of your sufferings,* destroying the darkness of deception!* Therefore we celebrate your radiant and sacred suffering in faith,* enriched by your intercession.

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

Martyrs of Christ,* you were bound after a summary arrest* and shut up in prison for a lengthy time.* You were divine preservers of the faith,* who refused to submit to his evil commands.* Therefore the infamous beast was enraged and slew you with the sword.* Now you have joyfully inherited higher things,* joining yourselves to the Kingdom,* all-glorious two and forty!

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

Tone 2, Glory…

Today the Church mystically celebrates,* arrayed as in purple and fine linen,* with the garment of the blood of the new athletes!* For she has offered them up as an unblemished sacrifice,* nurtured in piety,* acceptable and well-pleasing to You, O Christ.* Therefore You show them to be victors over the evil enemy,* granting them crowns and glory;* by their supplications sending down on us great mercy!

Prokeimenon I, Tone 8

Have mercy on me, O God;* for man has trodden me down.

verse: My enemies have trodden me down all the day long.

Reading I

Genesis 7:11-8:3

In the six-hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day, all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the floodgates of heaven were opened. Then it rained on the earth forty days and forty nights. On the very same day Noah and his wife, his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives entered the ark. Also, all the wild animals after their kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing moving upon the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, entered the ark with Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God commanded him. Then the Lord God shut him in the ark.†

Now the flood was on the earth forty days and forty nights. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. So the waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. The waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and covered all the high mountains. And all flesh died that moves on the earth: birds and cattle, wild animals, and every creeping thing that moves on the earth, and every man. Thus all things in whose nostrils was the breath of life, and everything on dry land, died. So He blotted out all living things on the face of the earth: both man and cattle, creeping things and the birds of heaven. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah and those with him in the ark remained alive. Now the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.

Then God remembered Noah, and whatever was with him in the ark: all the wild animals, all the cattle, all the birds, and all the creeping things. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. The fountains of the deep and the floodgates of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. 3And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased.

Prokeimenon II, Tone 7

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me:* for my soul trusted in You.

verse: In the shadow of Your wings shall I hope, until iniquity shall pass away.

Reading II

Proverbs 10:1-22

A wise son makes his father glad,
But a son without discernment is a grief to his mother.
Treasures do not benefit lawless men,
But righteousness delivers from death.
The Lord will not let the soul of the righteous man starve,
But He overthrows the life of the ungodly.
Poverty humbles a man,
But the hands of courageous men enrich others.
A son who is instructed will be wise,
And he will use a man without discernment as a servant.
A son with understanding is kept safe from the heat,
But a lawless son is blasted by the wind at harvest time.
The blessing of the Lord is upon the head of a righteous man,
But untimely grief will cover the mouth of the ungodly.
The remembrance of the righteous is with eulogies,
But the name of an ungodly man is extinguished.
The wise man in heart will receive the commandments,
But the man unguarded in speech will be overthrown in his perverseness.
He who walks in sincerity walks confidently,
But he who perverts his ways will be known.
He who winks his eyes deceitfully gathers grief for men,
But he who reproves boldly is a peacemaker.
A fountain of life is in the hand of a righteous man,
But the mouth of an ungodly man will hide destruction.
Hatred stirs up strife,
But love covers all who are not lovers of strife.
He who brings forth wisdom from his lips
Beats a heartless man with a rod.
The wise will hide perception,
But the mouth of a rash man approaches destruction.
The acquisition of riches is a fortified city,
But poverty is the destruction of the ungodly.
The works of the righteous produce life,
But the fruits of the ungodly produce sins.
Instruction guards righteous ways of life,
But instruction incapable of criticism goes astray.
Righteous lips cover hatred,
But those who bring forth abuse are very lacking in discernment.
You will not escape sin by a multitude of words,
But you of discreet lips will be forbearing.
The tongue of a righteous man is silver tried in the fire,
But the heart of an ungodly man shall fail.
The lips of righteous men understand lofty things,
But men without discernment die in want.

Aposticha

Tone 6

You, the life of all, were hung upon the wood of the Cross, O Christ God;* Restore life to my soul, which has been slain by my many sins;* and suffer not Your ewe to utterly perish, O Good Shepherd.* I have turned away from Your commandments,* and living prodigally I have wasted the wealth of sinlessness which You have given me,* becoming a lover of sin,* but bring me to repentance and renew me,* for You alone are abundantly merciful.

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.

You, the life of all, were hung upon the wood of the Cross, O Christ God;* Restore life to my soul, which has been slain by my many sins;* and suffer not Your ewe to utterly perish, O Good Shepherd.* I have turned away from Your commandments,* and living prodigally I have wasted the wealth of sinlessness which You have given me,* becoming a lover of sin,* but bring me to repentance and renew me,* for You alone are abundantly merciful.

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.

Your martyrs, O Lord, denied You not,* nor forsook Your commandments:* by their intercessions, have mercy on us.

Glory… Now…

Upon seeing You crucified, O Christ,* she who gave birth to You cried aloud:* “What is this strange mystery that I see,* O my Son, how is it that You die?* suspended upon the Tree, O Bestower of life?”

FRIDAY MORNING MATINS

Sessional Hymn I, Tone 5

The place of the skull has become Paradise;* for as soon as the wood of the Cross was planted there at once it bore the fruit of life,* even You, O Saviour who have brought us joy.* Glory be to You.

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

The wood of Your Cross, O our Saviour, has brought salvation to the world;* for You, the joy of all, were nailed upon it willingly,* and have delivered from the curse those that dwell on earth.* O Lord, glory be to You.

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

Today the memorial of the victorious martyrs shines with light from heaven.* The choir of angels keeps the festival,* and mankind celebrates the feast with them.* For they intercede before the Lord,* that He may have mercy on our souls.

Glory… Now…

When Your Mother beheld You, O Christ,* hanging by Your own free choice upon the Cross between two thieves,* then with a mother’s grief her heart was pierced and she cried out:* ‘O sinless Son, how are You nailed unjustly to the Cross as an evildoer?* It is because in Your surpassing love* You will to restore mankind to life.’

Sessional Hymn II, Tone 5

Mankind, who of old died through eating from the tree,* has been restored to life by You Cross, O merciful One.* By its power, O good One, strengthen us,* that with compunction we may pass through the season of abstinence,* obediently executing Your will,* and behold the day of Your light-bearing Resurrection.

Glory… Now…

Beholding You willingly suspended on the Cross between two thieves, O Christ,* Your Mother, her womb rent asunder maternally, said:* “O my sinless Son, how is it that You are unjustly nailed to the Cross like a malefactor,* desiring to give life to the human race,* in that You are compassionate?”

Sessional Hymn III, Tone 1

Having cleansed our flesh by abstinence* and with prayer filled our souls with light,* grant us, O Lord, to look upon Your precious Cross* and to adore it with fear, chanting hymns and saying:* Glory to Your lifegiving Cross;* glory to the divine spear, by which we are restored to life,* O You who alone love mankind.

Glory… Now…

When the Ewe-lamb saw You her Lamb,* crucified upon the Tree between two thieves, O longsuffering Word,* Your side pierced by a lance,* with a mother’s grief she lamented:* “What is this strange and fearful mystery, O my Jesus?* How can the uncircumscribable God, be confined within a tomb?* Such things are inexpressible! * Forsake me not who has given birth to You, O my sweetest Jesus.”

Canon

Ode 5

Irmos: O You who have clothed Yourself in light as with a garment,* I rise early to You and cry out to You:* Enlighten my darkened soul, O Christ,* in that You alone are compassionate!

Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.

Heal me O Lord, and I shall be healed by Your wounds, cleanse the wounds of my soul, O Christ, who accepted suffering in the flesh.

Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.

Upon beholding You, O Christ, hanging upon the Wood in the flesh, the sun’s light became darkened, the earth quaked. and the rocks were rent asunder.

Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.

O You who were crowned with thorns, cleanse my soul which is full of the thorns of the passions, O Lord; for the sake of Your extreme goodness.

Most holy Theotokos, save us.

O all-pure one, you have brought forth my Creator as a new-born babe, entreat Him, O Lady, to fashion me anew, for I am enslaved to a multitude of evils.

Irmos: Seeking You early in the morning,* we sing Your praises, O Christ God,* who for our sake became poor* and in Your flesh endured the Cross and death.

Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.

At the place of the Skull the Jews who crucified You, O Christ, wagged their heads in laughter and mockery; but You endured this for our salvation.

Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.

Pilate wrote the inscription on Your Cross in three languages, revealing You, O Christ, as one of the Trinity, who willingly suffered for the salvation of all.

Glory…

O you faithful, let us praise the supremely radiant threefold Sun of the Trinity, honouring the Father as Light, glorifying the Son as Light, and proclaiming the Spirit as Light.

Now…

O pure one, He who was born from you has made you higher than the angels. For they gaze on Him in fear as God, but you have carried Him in your arms as your Son.

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

O precious Cross, salvific guardian of the world, watch over me as I fast and show me to be worthy to take part in your holy veneration.

Katavasia: Seeking You early in the morning,* we sing Your praises, O Christ God,* who for our sake became poor* and in Your flesh endured the Cross and death.

Ode 8

Irmos: To You the Fashioner of all,* the children in the furnace chanted a hymn:* All you works of the Lord,* supremely exalt Him throughout all ages.

Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.

You stretched out Your arms upon the Cross, O Christ, destroying the sin of our forefather, who stretched out his hands in greed. By the Tree You have healed the curse of the tree: wherefore we sing Your praises throughout all ages.

Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.

I fall down before You, O Word, who desires my salvation. Quickly take away the desire for evil from my heart, O You who willingly endured the Cross and Passion.

Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.

Having desired the defiled life of the Prodigal, my prodigal soul has been darkened. Illumine me with the thought of returning to You, O Word, who at Your Passion darkened the light of the sun.

Most holy Theotokos, save us.

Cause every ill to vanish from my greatly suffering heart, O Mother of Christ God. Shatter the arrows and bows of the demons who war against my humbled soul.

Irmos: To Christ who saved the children that sang His praises and who bedewed the raging furnace,* let us hymn and supremely exalt throughout all ages.

Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.

What shall we wretched ones offer You, O Master of all, who has suffered for us? You endured the Cross for our sake, O Christ, and we sing the praises of Your boundless mercy and grace.

Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.

The lawless Jews hung You upon the Tree, killing You out of envy, but weakened not the power of Your glory. For as the Master of all, You willingly suffered.

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

I honour the three Hypostases of the transcendent Godhead; the beginningless Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, undivided in essence and nature, whom I glorify throughout the ages.

Now…

We praise her who is higher than the heavens and exalted above the cherubim, the first among the saints, the undefiled Maiden who bore the God of all, and we supremely exalt her throughout all ages.

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

O most blessed Cross of Christ, your victory written in the heavens yet appearing from the earth; grant that, cleansed by fasting, we may worthily venerate you.

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

Katavasia: To Christ who saved the children that sang His praises and who bedewed the raging furnace,* let us hymn and supremely exalt throughout all ages.

Magnificat

Ode 9

Irmos: O Isaiah, rejoice and be glad!* The Virgin has conceived in her womb, and has borne a Son, Emmanuel,* who is both God and man;* and Orient is His name;* we magnify Him and we call the Virgin blessed.

Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.

Wash away the stony hardness of my soul, O compassionately loving Saviour, and grant me the fount of divine compunction: for You have poured forth life upon me from Your side, cleansing the wellsprings of my transgressions.

Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.

Forsaking the heights of virtue, I have thrown myself into the depths of sin. But draw me up and save me, O Lord, who having ascended the Cross drew mankind to Yourself.

Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.

You, O Lord, who are sweetness and delight, being the Creator, O Christ, tasted gall, yet those of Adam’s offspring who fell from the delights of paradise You have raised up and saved by Your Passion, wherefore we sing Your praises.

Most holy Theotokos, save us.

All-holy Lady, my hope and refuge, heal the wounds of my soul and grant my mind peace, that I may praise your greatness, O Ever-Virgin Theotokos.

Irmos: Moses saw you as the bush unconsumed by fire,* and Jacob beheld you as the living ladder and the gate of heaven,* through which Christ our God has passed.* In our hymns, O pure Mother, we magnify you.

Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.

The transgressors who mockingly clothed You with purple, O Christ, and crowned You as King, struck Your head with a reed, and out of envy crucified You, giving You gall to drink: But we the faithful in our hymns magnify You.

Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.

Beholding Your sufferings upon the Cross, the sun hid its rays; and seeing the indignities which You endured, O Master, the whole of creation quaked and rocks rent themselves asunder. But we in our hymns, O Christ Saviour, magnify You.

Glory…

O Unity of the threefold Sun, Light and Life, and Creator of all, God and Lord, shining with a single light, three Hypostases in one Godhead: we the faithful magnify You.

Now…

In prophecy, David the Psalmist called you Sion: for He whom the heavens cannot contain made His abode within you fashioning from your womb the propitiation of the world. In our hymns, O pure Mother, we magnify you.

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

Your salvific Cross illumines the faithful O Lord, through abstinence count us worthy to hasten to behold it and venerate it for our sanctification; that through it we may magnify You.

Katavasia: Moses saw you as the bush unconsumed by fire,* and Jacob beheld you as the living ladder and the gate of heaven,* through which Christ our God has passed.* In our hymns, O pure Mother, we magnify you.

Aposticha

Tone 6

I have scattered the riches which the Father has given me,* and wasted my life in prodigal living,* my sin has beguiled me, for taking pleasure in the sweetness of passion,* I have become like the irrational beasts,* transgressing Your saving commandments.* O Christ God, whose good pleasure it was to hang upon the Cross for my sake,* deprive me not of the sonship of the Father,* but accept me who have returned to You like the Prodigal Son,* and save 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.

I have scattered the riches which the Father has given me,* and wasted my life in prodigal living,* my sin has beguiled me, for taking pleasure in the sweetness of passion,* I have become like the irrational beasts,* transgressing Your saving commandments.* O Christ God, whose good pleasure it was to hang upon the Cross for my sake,* deprive me not of the sonship of the Father,* but accept me who have returned to You like the Prodigal Son,* and save me.

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.

At the commemoration of Your martyrs, O Lord,* the whole of creation keeps festival;* heaven rejoices with the angels, and the earth makes glad with all mankind.* By their intercessions have mercy on us.

Glory… Now…

Upon seeing You hanging upon the Cross* the all-pure one weeping, cried aloud with a mother’s grief:* “O my Son and my God, O my sweetest Child,* how do You endure this shameful suffering?”