The Repose of our Venerable Father Theodosius, Hegumen of the Monastery of the Caves at Kyiv and Organizer of the Cenoebitic Life in Rus’; The Holy Martyrs Timothy and Maura.

When

May 3, 2025

All Day

Polyeleos Feast.

VESPERS ON FRIDAY EVENING

Paschal Beginning

Kathisma Reading

The assigned psalms are chanted.

At Psalm 140

Tone 1

Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord;* O Lord, hear my voice!

While the disciples were gathered, and the doors were shut,* You entered of a sudden, O Almighty Jesus, our God.* And standing in their midst, You granted them peace,* and filled them with the Holy Spirit.* You commanded them to tarry, and in no wise depart from Jerusalem* until they be vested with power from on high.* Wherefore, we cry to You:* O our Enlightenment and Resurrection and Peace,* glory be to You.

Let Your ears be attentive* to the voice of my prayer.

Eight days after Your arising, O Lord,* You appeared to Your disciples in the place where they were gathered,* and You pronounced to them: Peace be to you.* And You showed Your hands and immaculate side to the doubting disciple.* Wherefore, believing, he cried to You:* O my Lord and my God, glory be to You.

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

When You entered, O Christ, while the doors were shut,* Thomas, who was called the Twin, was not with them.* Wherefore he doubted that which was told him,* by unbelief thus confirming his belief.* And You, O Good One, did not disdain to show him Your immaculate side* and the wounds of Your hands and feet.* Wherefore, having touched and beheld, he confessed* that You are neither naked God nor mere man,* and he cried: O my Lord and my God, glory be to You.

Tone 5

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

O venerable father, God-bearing Theodosius!* You laboured greatly during this earthly life:* with hymns, fasting, and persistent prayer* you became a model for your disciples.* Today you celebrate with the bodiless ones the angels,* unceasingly glorifying Christ, the Word of God, the Redeemer,* Who died on the cross and delivered the human race from deceit.* Pray to Him, venerable father,* that He grant peace and great mercy to the world.

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

For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.

O venerable father, God-bearing Theodosius!* You truly merited the divine life,* having obtained it through purity and fasting;* for while still alive you renounced everything,* and passed over to the true life.* You now are glorifying with the heavenly hosts Him,* Who mystically took flesh from the Virgin and overthrew Hades* and raised those who had fallen asleep from time beyond memory.* Intercede with Him, O venerable father,* that He may grant peace and great mercy to the world.

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

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

O venerable father, God-bearing Theodosius!* You found life because you loved purity,* and the grace of the Holy Spirit dwelled in within you,* like a most pure light shining upon you.* You now are unceasingly glorifying Christ, Who is one God in two natures,* Who suffered on the cross in the flesh,* but as God was incapable of suffering.* Pray to Him, venerable father,* that He may grant peace and great mercy to the world.

Tone 8, Glory…

Come, let us all gather together and extol our father, Theodosius!* For already in his youth he received a calling from above,* and was given the name Theodosius which means, “God’s gift.”* To Christ-loving princes He was a teacher of the true faith,* to the nobles an unwavering intercessor,* to orphans a merciful father,* to widows an unwearied defender,* to the afflicted a consolation,* to the poor a treasure,* to the monastics a ladder leading to the heavenly heights;* and to those who directly go to him a sprig of ever-flowing water.* He prays unceasingly for the salvation of our souls.

Tone 1, Now…

Let us sing a hymn of praise to the Virgin Mary,* glory of the whole world!* She was herself formed by human seed,* yet she became the Mother of the Master, the Gate of heaven,* the theme of the angels’ hymn and beauty of the faithful.* She was seen as being heavenly* and the Tabernacle of the Godhead.* She indeed tore down the wall of enmity between God and man,* and brought peace in its place.* She opened up the kingdom of heaven.* Let us therefore cling fast to her for she is the anchor of faith,* and let us receive as our stronghold the Lord Who was born of her.* Be of good cheer, then, and have confidence, O people of God,* for He will fight our enemies for us,* He is all-powerful!

Prokeimenon, Tone 7

O God, You are my defender* and Your mercy goes before me.

verse: Deliver me from my enemies, O God; save me from those who rise up against me.

Readings

(1) Wisdom 4:7-15; (2) Wisdom 3:1-9; (3) Wisdom 5:15-6:3

Aposticha

Tone 8

O God-wise Theodosius!* From childhood you have been drawn to God* and have completely dedicated yourself to the almighty King.* You brought to Him the fruits of your ascetical labours* crowned with the garlands of virtue.* For this, O glorious one, you have gained a reward* for your good deeds.

Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His faithful.

You are a teacher of ascetics a most radiant star of the land of Rus’* which illuminates the whole nation with miracles.* from your youth God chose you as a pastor of spiritual sheep.* For this reason, the assembly of venerable ascetics accepted you.* We beseech you: pray with them,* that the sins of your flock may be forgiven.

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who takes delight in all His commandments.

Rejoice, O ever-praised Virgin,* who by means of a pillar of fire pointed out the pasture,* where the spiritual flock was to graze.* There, Theodosius erected in your honour a beautifully adorned church* where the faithful, standing before the relics of your ambassador,* honour your falling-asleep, O most pure Mother of God.

Tone 5, Glory… Now…

O Lover of mankind, great and unsearchable is the multitude of Your compassions!* for in Your longsuffering, You were struck by the Jews, and examined by an Apostle,* and were disputed over by them that rejected You.* How did You become incarnate?* How were You, the Sinless One, crucified?* But grant us understanding, that, like Thomas, we may cry out to You:* O my Lord and my God, glory be to You.

Troparion

Tone 8

Raised in virtue, O father Theodosius,* from childhood you loved the monastic life* and attained your desire courageously.* You lived in a cave adorning your life with fasting and radiance* and abided in prayer like the bodiless powers.* You shone like a beacon in the land of Rus’.* Entreat Christ God to save our souls.

Tone 7, Glory… Now…

DIVINE LITURGY ON SATURDAY MORNING

After the priest has exclaimed, Blessed be the Kingdom… and the people have responded, Amen, the clergy sing the Paschal Troparion once and the people repeat it. Then, the clergy sing the first half, and the people conclude it.

Paschal Troparion

Christ is risen from the dead,* trampling death by death,* and to those in the tombs* giving life.

First Antiphon

Shout to the Lord, all the earth,* sing now to His name, give glory to His praise.

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

Say unto God, “How awesome are Your works!* Because of the greatness of Your strength Your enemies will flatter You.”

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

Let all the earth worship You and sing to You,* let it sing to Your name, O Most High!

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

Glory… Now… Only-begotten Son…

Third Antiphon

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

Son of God, risen from the dead, save us who sing to You: Alleluia.

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

Son of God, risen from the dead, save us who sing to You: Alleluia.

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

Son of God, risen from the dead, save us who sing to You: Alleluia.

Troparia and Kontakia

Troparion, Tone 7: While the tomb was sealed, O Christ God, You dawned as life from the sepulchre, and while the doors were shut, You came to Your disciples, the Resurrection of all, renewing a right spirit in us through them, according to Your great mercy.

Troparion, Tone 8: Raised in virtue, O father Theodosius,* from childhood you loved the monastic life* and attained your desire courageously.* You lived in a cave adorning your life with fasting and radiance* and abided in prayer like the bodiless powers.* You shone like a beacon in the land of Rus’.* Entreat Christ God to save our souls.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

Kontakion, Tone 3: Today we revere the star of Rus’, blessed Theodosius,* who shone from the east and came to the west;* for he enriched this whole land and all of us* with gentleness and miraculous wonders* by the practice and the grace of the monastic rule.

Now and for ever and ever. Amen.

Kontakion, Tone 8: With his searching hand, Thomas explored Your life-giving side, O Christ God. For when You entered while the doors were shut, he called out to You with the rest of the Apostles: You are my Lord and my God!

Prokeimenon, Tone 3

Great is our Lord and great is His strength;* and of His knowledge there is no end.

verse: Praise the Lord, for a psalm is good; may praise be sweet to our God. (Psalm 146:5,1)

Prokeimenon, Tone 7

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His venerable ones.

Epistle

Acts 5:21-33; Hebrews 13:7-16

Alleluia, Tone 8

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

verse: For God is the great Lord and the great king over all the earth. (Psalm 94:1,3)

verse: Your priests shall clothe themselves with justice, and Your venerable ones shall rejoice.

Gospel

John 6:14-27; Matthew 11:27-30

Hymn to the Mother of God

The Angel cried out to the One full of Grace: O chaste Virgin, rejoice! And again I say, Rejoice! Your Son has risen from the tomb on the third day, and raised the dead. Let all people rejoice! Shine, shine, O new Jerusalem, for the glory of the Lord has risen upon you! Exult now and be glad, O Sion! And you, O chaste Mother of God, take delight in the resurrection of your Son.

Communion Hymn

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem.* Praise your God, O Sion.* The just man shall be in everlasting remembrance;* of evil hearsay he shall have no fear.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia.

Instead of Blessed is He Who comes… we sing:

Christ is risen from the dead,* trampling death by death,* and to those in the tombs* giving life.

Instead of We have seen the true light… we sing:

Christ is risen from the dead,* trampling death by death,* and to those in the tombs* giving life.

Instead of May our mouths be filled… we sing three times:

Christ is risen from the dead,* trampling death by death,* and to those in the tombs* giving life.

Instead of Blessed be the name of the Lord… we sing three times:

Christ is risen from the dead,* trampling death by death,* and to those in the tombs* giving life.

At the dismissal, instead of Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and ever. Amen. we chant:

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling death by death,* and to those in the tombs giving life.

After the final Amen, the Troparion Christ is risen is sung as at the beginning of the Liturgy, but with the addition:

And to us He has granted life eternal;* we bow down before His resurrection on the third day.