VESPERS ON WEDNESDAY EVENING
After the priest has exclaimed, Blessed be our God… 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.
Kathisma Reading
The assigned psalms are chanted.
At Psalm 140
Tone 2
If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
Leaving not the Father’s bosom, You appeared on earth bearing flesh* in Your compassionate loving-kindness, O Christ.* And accepting both to suffer and to die,* You arose on the third day.* And You entered while the doors were shut, since You are almighty.* Whereupon, Thomas rejoiced upon touching Your divine side,* glorifying You as the Lord and Fashioner.
I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
You were affixed upon the Cross with nails.* Your side was pierced with a spear;* You, O Christ, tasted of gall.* Having suffered death, You were laid in a grave as one dead.* But as God, You utterly destroyed Hades’ fetters,* and raised up with Yourself the dead from all ages.* Wherefore, without breaking the tomb’s seals,* You were seen by Your disciples,* thus making sure their faith in Your arising.
From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
Pascha is this present Feast;* a mystic Pascha, a sacred Pascha;* a saving Pascha;* a Pascha which leads us to immortal life.* A Pascha which takes away all sorrow.* A Pascha, which has granted to the disciples joyous grace!* Wherefore, Thomas cried aloud:* You are my Lord and God,* Who has taken captive Hades’ realms.
Tone 1
For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Incorrupt virginity and most wondrous martyrdom* did you bring to Christ, O honoured virgins,* casting down the ungodly arrogance of falsehood* by the power of the Cross with manly mind.* Wherefore, the whole Church of Christ celebrates* your holy, radiant, and renowned memory.
Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
The blessed choirs of the angels were manifestly astonished* by the suffering of Chionia,* the opposition of Agape and the invincibility of Irene,* how, having bested the invisible foe with manly warfare,* they received in abundance crowns of victory from the hand* of the Bestower of life.
Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
Dying in the fire, you extinguished the flame of vainglory with a mind aflame;* and, keeping the lamp of your souls ever alight,* you entered with Christ into the bridal-chamber of heaven.* With sparks of miracles you have burned up the passions, O passion-bearers,* and with suffering you have vanquished* the hordes of the demons.
Tone 4, Glory… Now…
O strange wonder,* unbelief has given birth to steadfast faith!* For Thomas said: Unless I see, I shall not believe.* And when he touched the side of Christ, he spoke with divine authority* concerning the Incarnate One who is the very Son of God,* and recognized Him as the One who suffered in the flesh.* He proclaimed the Risen God,* and cried with a radiant voice:* O my Lord and my God, glory be to You.
Aposticha
Tone 1
By Your Passion, O Christ, we have been set free from passions,* and by Your Resurrection we have been delivered from corruption.* O Lord, glory be to You.
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.
The all-harmonious harp of the Apostles, moved by the Holy Spirit,* has abolished the rites of the abominable demons.* And having proclaimed the one Lord,* it has delivered the nations from the deception of idolatry,* and has taught us to worship the Trinity one in essence.
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.
O all-praised Martyrs of the Lord,* the earth could not conceal you;* but Heaven has received you,* opening the gates of Paradise to you.* And dwelling now therein, you joyfully partake of the Tree of Life.* Thus, we pray you to intercede with Christ,* that He bestow peace and great mercy upon our souls.
Tone 4, Glory… Now…
O strange wonder,* that grass should touch fire and be safe!* For Thomas thrust his hand into the fiery side of Jesus Christ our God,* and was not burned by touching.* For with fervour he changed the obstinacy of his soul into fervent faith,* and he cried out from the depths of his soul:* You are my Master and God,* who arose from the dead.* Glory be to You.
Troparion
Tone 1
As spiritual lambs, through martyrdom you came to Christ, the Lamb and Shepherd,* for you had finished the course and kept the faith.* And so, today, with spiritual joy, O wondrous women,* we celebrate your holy memory* while magnifying Christ.
Tone 7, Glory… Now…
While the tomb was sealed, O Christ God,* You dawned as life from the sepulcher,* 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.
DIVINE LITURGY ON THURSDAY 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.
Troparia and Kontakia
Troparion, Tone 7: While the tomb was sealed, O Christ God,* You dawned as life from the sepulcher,* 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.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, 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)
Epistle
Acts 4:23-31
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)
Gospel
John 5:24-30
Hymn to the Theotokos
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.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm147:1)
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.