GREAT VESPERS

Before the beginning of the service, the Precious Cross is brought from the table of the Prothesis or the sacristy and placed on the Holy Table. A candle is lit and left burning in front of it.

Kathisma Reading
“Blessed is the man…” is sung.

At Psalm 140

In Tone 3

10. Lead my soul forth from prison* that I may give thanks to Your name.

By Your Cross, O Christ our Saviour,
the power of Death has been vanquished
and the deceit of the devil has been destroyed.
Therefore, mankind, saved by faith,
offers You hymns of praise forever.

9. The just shall gather around me* when You have been good to me.

O Lord, all creation has been enlightened by Your resurrection,
and Paradise has been reopened;
therefore, all creation extols You
and offers You hymns of praise forever.

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

I glorify the powers of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
and I praise the dominion of the undivided Divinity,
the consubstantial Trinity,
Who reigns forever and ever.

In Tone 5

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

Shine, O Cross of the Lord,
shine with the light of your grace upon the hearts of those that honour you.
With love inspired by God, we embrace you, O desire of all the world.
Through you our tears of sorrow have been wiped away;
we have been delivered from the snares of death
and have passed over to unending joy.
Show us the glory of your beauty
and grant to us your servants
the reward of our abstinence,
for we entreat with faith your rich protection and great mercy.

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

Hail, life-giving Cross,
the fair Paradise of the Church,
Tree of incorruption that brings us the enjoyment of eternal glory:
through you the hosts of demons have been driven back;
and the hierarchies of angels rejoice with one accord,
as the congregations of the faithful keep the feast.
You are an invincible weapon, an unbroken stronghold;
you are the victory of kings and the glory of priests.
Grant us now to draw near to the Passion of Christ
and to His Resurrection.

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

Hail, life-giving Cross,
unconquerable trophy of the true faith,
door to Paradise, succour of the faithful,
rampart set about the Church.
Through you the curse is utterly destroyed,
the power of death is swallowed up,
and we are raised from earth to heaven:
invincible weapon, adversary of demons, glory of martyrs,
true ornament of holy monks, haven of salvation
bestowing on the world great mercy.

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

Come, Adam and Eve, our first father and mother,
who fell from the choir on high through the envy of the murderer of man,
when of old with bitter pleasure you tasted of the three in Paradise.
See, the Tree of the Cross, revered by all, draws near!
Run with haste and embrace it joyfully,
and cry out to it with faith:
O precious Cross, you are our succour;
partaking of your fruit we have gained incorruption;
we are restored once more to Eden,
and we have received great mercy.

In Tone 4

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

The mystery hidden from all eternity,
unknown even by the angels,
is now entrusted to the archangel Gabriel.
He will come to you, precious vessel;
he will salute you, crying in joy:
Rejoice, pure dove! Rejoice, all holy one!
Make ready by your word to conceive the Word of God!

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

The palace of light is ready for you, Master:
The womb of the undefiled child of God.
Come down to her; come to visit your fallen world,
held in bitter slavery to the jealous enemy.
Many ages have passed since its beauty was destroyed.
Make haste to descend to earth, O Lord!
Come to deliver us from the way of death!

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

Gabriel the archangel comes to you, all-blameless one;
he will greet you, crying with joy:
Rejoice, deliverance from condemnation!
Rejoice, chosen vessel made perfect for God!
Rejoice, life-bearing dawn of the endless day!
The Lord, Whom the heavens cannot contain, is pleased to dwell in you!

In Tone 3, Glory…

O Christ our God, of Your own will You have accepted Crucifixion,
that all mankind might be restored to life.
Taking the quill of the Cross, out of love for man
in the red ink of royalty with bloody fingers
You signed our absolution.
We are in danger once again of being parted from You;
O forsake us not!
Take pity on Your people in distress,
for You alone are longsuffering.
Rise up and fight against our enemies in Your almighty power.

In Tone 3, Now…

O Lady most honourable,
how can we but be rapt in wonder
at you giving birth to the Incarnate God
who, without a mother, was born of the Father before all ages?
You gave Him birth in the flesh without a father,
without a man instrumentality.
He is God and man whose two natures are intact,
neither one losing any of its properties.
Therefore, O Virgin Mother,
intercede with Him to save the souls
of those who believe and confess in true faith
that you are the Mother of God.

Aposticha

In Tone 3

O Christ, Who darkened the sun by Your passion
and enlightened all creation by Your resurrection,
accept our evening prayer; for You love mankind.

The Lord reigns, He is clothed in majesty. Robed is the Lord, and girt about with strength.

O Lord, Your life-giving Resurrection has enlightened the entire universe
and has revived Your creation which lay in corruption.
Therefore, we, who have been released from the curse of Adam, cry out to You:
Almighty Lord, glory to You!

For He has made the world firm, which shall not be moved.

O God, although in Your divine nature You are unchangeable,
yet in Your human nature You underwent change by suffering in the flesh.
All creation was prostrate with fear
when it saw You hanging on the Cross,
and it groaned in sorrow as it sang the praises of Your long-suffering.
But You descended into Hades and arose on the third day,
granting life and great mercy to the world.

Holiness befits Your house, O Lord, for length of days.

You suffered death, O Christ, to deliver mankind from death.
And when You arose from the dead on the third day,
You enlightened the world
and resurrected all who acknowledge You as God.

In Tone 4, Glory…

O Lord who helped gentle David in the combat
and enabled him to overcome the Philistine,
come to the aid of Your orthodox people,
and by the weapon of the Cross cast down our enemies.
In Your compassion show us Your mercy as of old,
and make them know in truth that You are God,
and that we who put our trust in You shall conquer.
At the constant intercessions of Your most pure Mother,
grant us Your great mercy.

In Tone 2, Now…

Today Gabriel announces the good tidings to her who is full of grace:
Rejoice, unwedded Maiden!
Be not struck with dismay by my strange form, nor be afraid:
I am an archangel!
Once the serpent beguiled Eve,
but now I announce to you the good tidings of joy, most pure one:
You shall remain inviolate and yet shall bear the Lord!

Troparia

In Tone 3
Let the heavens be glad, let the earth rejoice,* for the Lord has done a mighty deed with His arm.* He trampled death by death. He became the first-born of the dead;* He saved us from the abyss of Hades* and granted great mercy to the world.

In Tone 1, Glory…
Save Your people, O Lord, and bless Your inheritance.* Grant victory to Your faithful people against enemies,* and protect Your community by Your Cross.

In Tone 4, Now…
Today is the herald of joy for the universe!* Let us anticipate the feast and celebrate with exultation:* Gabriel is on his way to announce the glad tidings to the Virgin;* he is ready to cry out in fear and wonder:** Rejoice, Lady full of grace, the Lord is with you!

SERVICE OF THE EXALTATION OF THE CROSS

At the Matins Service or just before Divine Liturgy, the priest, vested fully in red, stands before the Holy Table on which lies the Precious Cross with branches of basil or flowers. As the faithful sing “Holy God” he goes around the Holy Table, incensing the Cross from four sides. As the conclusion of “Holy God” is sung, he takes the Cross, and placing it on his head, proceeds around the Holy Table and out of the sanctuary through the north deacon doors. The Cross is preceded with processional candles, the seraphic fans and by the deacon with the censer. The priest stops in front of the Holy Doors, facing the east, when the final “Holy God” is sung, and says:

Deacon: Wisdom! Let us be attentive!

The priest then takes the Cross to the tetrapod and places it there. As the deacon incenses It from four sides, the faithful sing the Troparion of the Cross, three times:

Troparion, Tone 1
Save Your people, O Lord, and bless Your inheritance, * grant victory to Your faithful people against enemies, * and protect Your community by Your Cross.

Afterwards, the following is sung three times in the usual manner.

To Your cross, O Master,
we bow in veneration,
and we glorify Your holy Resurrection.

At the Veneration of the Cross

The faithful now come to venerate the Precious Cross as the following verses are sung:

In Tone 2

Come, O faithful, let us bow before the life-giving Cross
on which Christ, the King of glory, freely stretched out His hands.
By this He raised us up to our former happiness,
which we had lost because of the ancient Enemy
and the bitter pleasure that exiled us from God.
Come, O faithful, let us bow before the Wood
which lets us crush the head of the invisible enemy.

Come, all you families of the nations,
let us venerate the Cross of the Lord with our hymns:
Rejoice, O perfect redemption of the fall of Adam;
Rejoice, O venerable Cross.
Filled with fear and awe, we embrace you; we glorify God, and we say:
O Lord, You were nailed on the Cross;
in Your goodness and love, have mercy on us.

In Tone 5

Come, O people, let us contemplate the marvellous wonder;
let us bow before the power of the Cross.
For the tree of Paradise gave rise to the reign of death,
and now a Tree has made our life blossom forth,
when the sinless Saviour was nailed upon it.
And now, all the nations that are nourished by this incorruptible food sing praises:
You destroyed death by Your Cross and set us free.
O Lord, glory to You!

The word of Your prophets Isaiah and David is now fulfilled,
for they spoke of You, O Lord, and said:
All the nations shall come to You and bow before You.
Behold the people who are now filled with Your grace
in Your sanctuary in the temple of Jerusalem.
O God of goodness who suffered on the Cross for us
and gives us life through Your holy resurrection,
protect us with Your care, O Lord, and save us.

In Tone 6

Rising from the depths of the earth on this day,
the Tree of Life strengthens our faith
in the resurrection of Christ who nailed on it.
His raised hands announce His ascension into heaven,
which permitted Him to dwell in our nature in this fallen world.
We also cry out in thanksgiving:
O Lord who was raised on the Cross and raises us with You,
grant heavenly joy to those who praise Your name.

The four corners of the earth are sanctified today, O Christ our God,
by the four ends of Your exalted Cross.
With it, exalt your faithful Christians
who destroy the power of the enemy through your Cross.
You are great, O Lord, and wondrous in Your works; glory to You!

The words of the prophets have told of the most holy wood
by which Adam was delivered from the ancient curse and from death.
On this day of its exaltation, creation raises its voice
to beg God for the abundance of his mercy.
O Lord, your compassion is beyond measure;
spare us, O God, and save our souls!

In Tone 8, Glory… Now…

Behold the words of the prophet Moses are fulfilled, O Lord;
for he said: You shall see your life suspended before your eyes.
Today the Cross is exalted, and the world is freed from error.
Today the Resurrection of Christ is renewed;
the ends of the earth exalt with joy.
At the sound of the cymbals of David,
they offer a hymn of praise and say:
In your goodness and love for all,
You have brought about our salvation in the middle of the earth, O our God.
Through your Cross and Resurrection You save us.
O Lord all-powerful, glory to You!

DIVINE LITURGY

The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is celebrated today.

Troparia and Kontakia
Troparion, Tone 3: Let the heavens be glad, let the earth rejoice,* for the Lord has done a mighty deed with His arm.* He trampled death by death. He became the first-born of the dead;* He saved us from the abyss of Hades* and granted great mercy to the world.

Troparion, Tone 1: Save Your people, O Lord, and bless Your inheritance.* Grant victory to Your faithful people against enemies,* and protect Your community by Your cross.

Troparion, Tone 4: Today is the herald of joy for the universe!* Let us anticipate the feast and celebrate with exultation:* Gabriel is on his way to announce the glad tidings to the Virgin;* he is ready to cry out in fear and wonder:* Rejoice, Lady full of grace, the Lord is with you!

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

Kontakion, Tone 7: No longer does the flaming sword guard the gate of Eden;* the tree of the Cross has quenched its flames gloriously.* The sting of death and the victory of Hades are banished,* and You O my Saviour came and called to those in Hades: “Return again to Paradise!”

Now and for ever and ever. Amen.

Kontakion, Tone 8: You are the beginning of salvation for all of us on earth, Virgin Mother of God.* For the great Archangel Gabriel, God’s minister, was sent from heaven * to stand before you to bring you joy: *Therefore, we all cry to you:* “Rejoice, O unwedded Bride!”

Instead of Holy God, we sing:
To Your Cross, O Master,* we bow in veneration,* and we glorify Your holy Resurrection!

Prokeimenon, Tone 6
Save Your people, O Lord, and bless Your inheritance.
verse: Unto You I will cry, O Lord my God, lest You turn from me in silence. (Psalm 27:9,1)

Epistle
Hebrews 4:14-5:6

Alleluia, Tone 1
verse: Remember Your congregation which You acquired from the beginning.
verse: But God is our king before the ages; He has wrought salvation in the midst of the earth. (Psalm 73:2,12)

Gospel
Mark 8:34-9:1

Hymn to the Mother of God
In you, O Full of Grace, all creation rejoices: the angelic ranks and all the human race. Sanctified temple and spiritual paradise, virgins’ pride and boast, from whom God is made flesh and became a little Child; and He who is our God before all ages, He made your womb a throne, and He made it wider that all the heavens. In you, O Full of Grace, all creation rejoices. Glory be to you.

Communion Hymn
Let the light of Your countenance, O Lord* shine upon us.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 4:7)