Friday of the First Week of the Great Fast: Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts

TheoTyrnFRIDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF THE GREAT FAST: 

LITURGY OF THE PRESANCTIFIED GIFTS

 


AT PSALM 140: 
In Tone 5

10. Come, O faithful, let us fulfill the works of God in the light;

and let us walk with dignity as in the light of day;

let us tear up every unjust contract,

and let us cast aside every object of scandal for our neighbour.

Let us turn away from the pleasures of the flesh,

so that we may grow in our spiritual gifts.

Let us give food to the poor;

let us draw near to Christ, and in repentance, let us say:

O our God, have mercy on us.

 

9. Come, O faithful, let us fulfill the works of God in the light;

and let us walk with dignity as in the light of day;

let us tear up every unjust contract,

and let us cast aside every object of scandal for our neighbour.

Let us turn away from the pleasures of the flesh,

so that we may grow in our spiritual gifts.

Let us give food to the poor;

let us draw near to Christ, and in repentance, let us say:

O our God, have mercy on us.

 

In Tone 4

8. О Father, you shone with the beauty of virtue,

and you went about the whole world,

like а bее putting the purest honey of divine wisdom

in the good hearts of those believing in the one Christ,

who саmе on earth and visited our lowliness

with his endless mеrсу and humility.

 

7. О Father, you shone with the beauty of virtue,

and you went about the whole world,

like а bее putting the purest honey of divine wisdom

in the good hearts of those believing in the one Christ,

who саmе on earth and visited our lowliness

with his endless mеrсу and humility.

 

6. With the wisdom of meekness

and filled with love of God and knowledge of the true faith,

you netted the cities and countryside for God, О blessed Cyril.

Ву grace you саmе to those who had not received saving wisdom,

and therefore, we praise you with holy hymns.

 

5. You lived а life without fault and worthy of praise,

and your death was precious to God in the eyes of all.

Glorious with righteousness, О Father,

you gave your soul into God’s hands.

Therefore, we ask you to pray to hіm for mеrсу

for those who faithfully praise you.

 

In Tone 2

4. Come, all you friends of the martyrs,

let us celebrate this feast in the joy of the Spirit;

for, on this day, the holy martyr Theodore prepares a spiritual banquet for us,

the lovers of the feast;

he brings joy to our hearts,

and we cry out to him:

Rejoice, invincible warrior, who has vanquished powerful tyrants;

and for the love of Christ our God,

you gave given over your body of flesh to torments.

Rejoice, for in the midst of dangers,

you showed yourself to be a valiant soldier of the heavenly army.

Therefore, we pray to you, O glory of martyrs,

intercede for the salvation of our souls.

 

3. O holy martyr Theodore,

you generously grant the God-given grace of your miracles

to all the faithful who hasten to you.

We rejoice in this, and we sing:

You are the liberator of captives and healer of the sick,

the wealth of the poor and salvation of those who sail the seas,

the defender of those who cherish your holy memory;

now, for all of us who praise you,

beseech Christ for His great mercy.

 

2. O holy martyr Theodore,

you are truly the “gift of God,”

for, being alive even after your death,

you are attentive to the requests of those who come to you.

A son was once seized from his mother

and made a prisoner in the pagan army;

the widow bathed your sanctuary with her tears;

and you were moved with compassion.

You mounted a white horse and mysteriously returned her child;

and even now, you do not cease to work miracles.

Beseech Christ our God to save our souls.

1. O Theodore, thrice-blessed,

with your name, I praise the gift of God;

you are a shining torch of the divine brightness.

By your deeds you have illuminated the universe.

You have shown yourself to be stronger than fire,

and you crushed the head of the treacherous dragon.

Therefore, Christ has placed on your head the crown of victory.

And now that you enjoy the divine favour,

O holy and great martyr,

beseech God for the salvation of our souls.

 

In Tone 6, Glory…

The enemy used the apostate emperor as his servant

against the Christian people who were purified by the Fast;

he tried to defile them with food polluted by the blood of sacrifices.

But, you more wisely foiled his plan,

by appearing in a dream to the bishop of that time

and warning him of the danger.

We also offer you our sacrifices of thanksgiving,

and we honour you with the title of protector

as we celebrate the annual memory of this event.

We beseech you to preserve us from the evil designs of the enemy

by interceding with God for us,

O holy martyr Theodore.

 

In Tone 4, Now…

O Mother of God,

because of you David the prophet became an ancestor of God;

he foretold and sang a joyous hymn of praise

and cried out to Him who worked wonders in you:

“The Queen stood at Your right hand.”

God revealed you as a life-giving mother, when He chose to be incarnate of you without a father.

He renewed in man His image which the passions had corrupted.

He found the lost sheep in the mountains,

carried it on His shoulders, offered it to the Father,

generously numbered it among the powers of heaven,

and saved the whole world, since He is Christ of great and rich mercy.

 

PROKEIMENON I, TONE 5

May the Lord answer in time of trial;* may the name of Jacob’s God protect you!

verse: May He send you help from His shrine and give you support from Sion!

 

READING I (Genesis 2:20-3:20)

Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

 

PROKEIMENON II, TONE 6

O Lord, arise in Your strength;* we shall sing and praise Your power.

verse: O Lord, Your strength gives joy to the king; how Your saving help makes him glad!

 

READING II (Proverbs 3:19-34)

The LORD by wisdom founded the earth;

By understanding He established the heavens;

By His knowledge the depths were broken up,

And clouds drop down the dew.

My son, let them not depart from your eyes—

Keep sound wisdom and discretion;

So they will be life to your soul

And grace to your neck.

Then you will walk safely in your way,

And your foot will not stumble.

When you lie down, you will not be afraid;

Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.

Do not be afraid of sudden terror,

Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes;

For the LORD will be your confidence,

And will keep your foot from being caught.

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,

When it is in the power of your hand to do so.

Do not say to your neighbour,

“ Go, and come back,

And tomorrow I will give it,”

When you have it with you.

Do not devise evil against your neighbour,

For he dwells by you for safety’s sake.

Do not strive with a man without cause,

If he has done you no harm.

Do not envy the oppressor,

And choose none of his ways;

For the perverse person is an abomination to the LORD,

But His secret counsel is with the upright.

The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked,

But He blesses the home of the just.

Surely He scorns the scornful,

But gives grace to the humble.

 

 

READING III (Wisdom 5:15-6:3)

The righteous live for ever,

and their reward is with the Lord;

the Most High takes care of them.

Therefore they will receive a glorious crown

and a beautiful diadem from the hand of the Lord,

because with his right hand he will cover them,

and with his arm he will shield them.

The Lord will take his zeal as his whole armor,

and will arm all creation to repel his enemies;

he will put on righteousness as a breastplate,

and wear impartial justice as a helmet;

he will take holiness as an invincible shield,

and sharpen stern wrath for a sword,

and creation will join with him to fight against the madmen.

Shafts of lightning will fly with true aim,

and will leap to the target as from a well-drawn bow of clouds,

and hailstones full of wrath will be hurled as from a catapult;

the water of the sea will rage against them,

and rivers will relentlessly overwhelm them;

a mighty wind will rise against them ,

and like a tempest it will winnow them away.

Lawlessness will lay waste the whole earth,

and evil-doing will overturn the thrones of rulers.

Listen therefore, O kings, and understand;

learn, O judges of the ends of the earth.

Give ear, you that rule over multitudes,

and boast of many nations.

For your dominion was given you from the Lord,

and your sovereignty from the Most High,

who will search out your works and inquire into your plans.

READING IV (Wisdom 3:1-9)

The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace. For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. In the time of their visitation they shall shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble; They shall judge nations and rule over peoples, and the LORD shall be their King forever. Those who trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love: Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones, and his care is with the elect.

 

READING V (Wisdom 4:7, 16-17, 19-5:7)

The righteous man, though he die early, will be at rest.

The righteous man who had died will condemn

the ungodly who are living,

and youth that is quickly perfected will condemn

the prolonged old age of the unrighteous man.

For they will see the end of the wise man,

and will not understand what the Lord purposed for him,

and for what he kept him safe.

He will dash them speechless to the ground,

and shake them from the foundations;

they will be left utterly dry and barren,

and they will suffer anguish,

and the memory of them will perish.

They will come with dread when their sins are reckoned up,

and their lawless deeds will convict them to their face.

Then the righteous man will stand with great confidence

in the presence of those who have afflicted him,

and those who make light of his labours.

When they see him, they will be shaken with dreadful fear,

and they will be amazed at his unexpected salvation.

They will speak to one another in repentance,

and in anguish of spirit they will groan, and say,

“This is the man whom we once held in derision

and made a byword of reproach — we fools!

We thought that his life was madness

and that his end was without honour.

Why has he been numbered among the sons of God?

And why is his lot among the saints?

So it was we who strayed from the way of truth,

and the light of righteousness did not shine on us,

and the sun did not rise upon us.

We took our fill of the paths of lawlessness and destruction,

and we journeyed through trackless deserts,

but the way of the Lord we have not known.

 

Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts (Royaldoors.net):

Google Doc | Word | PDF