Apostle’s Fast. Abstention from meat and foods that contain these ingredients

AT VESPERS ON TUESDAY EVENING

Kathisma Reading

The appointed 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.

When You set upon the Cross, О Word,* the luminaries, not bearing to shine, dimmed their rays;* the earth quaked, and the rocks split asunder;* the majesty of the temple was rent in twain;* the graves opened, and the dead arose;* Hades released all who were below, and the demons were vanquished;* and death was reckoned by all to be but sleep.

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

When the good-hearted thief beheld You, the fruitful Vine, О Christ,* he became a better thief and more skilled,* for with a few words he quite naturally stole the forgiveness of the ancient offenses.* Let us all, then, make haste to emulate him, crying aloud:* Remember us also, О Lover of mankind!

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

Truly Your divine Cross shines like a star in the sky, О Christ,* burning up the demons, shedding light upon the faithful,* and casting shame upon the faces of those who crucified You.* By it You lead our first parents forth from the slavery caused by the tree* which was the image of the Cross,* and in the desert caused Your people to suck forth honey from the rock.

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.

Like stars of surpassing splendour, O all-praised passion-bearers,* you illumine the ends of the world with divine radiance,* dispelling the darkness of the demons, the corrupting passions and misfortunes.* Therefore, assembling today, O glorious ones,* we praise your luminous, light-bearing and holy festival.

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

With sacred hymns let the wondrous Manuel,* the blessed Sabel and the all-wise Ismael, be honoured;* for, confessing the uncreated Trinity in sacred manner in the face of the enemy,* they extinguished the falsehood of polytheism with the outpouring of their blood,* and have received glory which does not fade away.

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

O blessed Manuel, Ismael and Sabel of great renown,* you wisely put to shame the lawless king who iniquitously commanded you* to worship and render honour to his mindless, inanimate gods;* and, having suffered patiently and lawfully,* you have woven for yourselves wreaths of victory, praying for the world.

Tone 8, Glory…

The glorious martyrs, loving You in purity, O Word of God,* having forsaken the worship of fire* and spurned the land of Chaldea,* were illumined by Your light;* and having armed themselves with the weaponry of faith,* they put the tyrant Julian to shame.* The glorious Manuel, the wondrous Sabel, and Ismael thrice rich,* hymning You with the Father and the Spirit,* pray that our souls be saved.

Tone 2, Now…

The light of the sun and moon dimmed,* obscured by the noetic Light who hung naked upon the Cross;* for that which is lesser is ever vanquished by the greater,* and the lower gives place to the higher.* “How then can it not be fitting for perceptible radiance to hide itself before the radiant Christ?”* the most pure one asked the worthy bodies of light, when she gazed upon You.

Prokeimenon, Tone 1

Your mercy, O Lord, shall follow me* all the days of my life.

verse: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. In green pastures He gives me repose.

Aposticha

Tone 2

О Christ God my Saviour, who saved Peter in the sea,* save me by the power of the Cross,* and have mercy on me.

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.

Those who ever enjoyed Your gifts cried out, “Crucify Him!”;* those who slew the righteous ones asked that a malefactor be given to them in place of the Benefactor.* But You kept silence, О Christ,* enduring their savagery, desiring to suffer and thus save us,* in that You love mankind.

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.

The choirs of the martyrs opposed the tyrants, saying:* “We fight for the King of hosts!* And even if you have subjected us to fire and tortures,* we will not reject the power of the Trinity!”

Tone 2, Glory… Now…

Having endured many pangs during the crucifixion of thy Son and God, O most pure one, * you groaned, weeping and crying aloud:* “Woe is me, O my sweet Child!* How is it that you suffer unjustly,* desiring to deliver the mortal descendants of Adam?”* Therefore, O most pure Virgin, we entreat you with faith:* Render Him merciful to us!

Troparion, Tone 4

O Lord our God, your holy martyrs* have deserved the crown of immortality* on account of their good fight.* Armed with your strength, they have vanquished their persecutors* and crushed Satan’s dreadful might.* Through their supplications, O Christ our God, save our souls.

Glory… Now…

O Virgin, all immaculate Mother of Christ God,* a sword pierced your all-holy soul* when you saw your Son and God willingly crucified.* Therefore, O blessed One,* never cease to pray to Him* that He may grant us forgiveness of our sins.

AT DIVINE LITURGY ON WEDNESDAY MORNING

Troparia and Kontakia

Troparion Tone 4: O Lord our God, your holy martyrs* have deserved the crown of immortality* on account of their good fight.* Armed with your strength, they have vanquished their persecutors* and crushed Satan’s dreadful might.* Through their supplications, O Christ our God, save our souls.

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

Kontakion, Tone 2: O blessed martyrs, because of your perfect faith in Christ,* you drank of the cup of sufferings with generous hearts.* You renounced the idols of Persia* and proclaimed your belief in the Holy Trinity.* O trinity of martyrs, intercede for us at all times.

Prokeimenon, Tone 4

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

verse: In the churches bless God, the Lord from the fountains of Israel. (Psalm 67:36,27)

Epistle

Romans 11:2-12

Alleluia, Tone 4

verse: The just cried out and the Lord heard them, and delivered them out of their afflictions.

verse: The afflictions of the just are many, and out of them all will the Lord deliver them. (Psalm 33:18,20)

Gospel

Matthew 11:20-26

Communion Hymn

Rejoice in the Lord, O you just;* praise befits the righteous.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 32:1)