Great and Holy Saturday: Great Vespers and Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great
AT PSALM 140
In Tone 1
8.
Accept our evening prayers, O holy Lord,
and grant us the remission of our sins,
for You alone have revealed to the world the Resurrection.
7.
Walk about Zion, you people, and encompass her;
and within her walls give glory to Him Who is risen from the dead.
For He is our God Who has delivered us
from our iniquities.
6.
Come, you people, let us praise and worship Christ,
glorifying His Resurrection from the dead.
For He is our God Who has delivered the world
from the delusion of the enemy.
5.
By Your Passion, O Christ,
we have been set free from our passions,
and by Your Resurrection
we have been delivered from corruption.
O Lord, glory be to You!
4.
Today hell groans and cries aloud:
“It had been better for me had I not accepted Mary’s Son,
for He has come to me and destroyed my power;
He has shattered the gates of brass,
and as God He raised up the souls that I once held.”
Glory to Your Cross, O Lord, and to Your Resurrection!
3.
Today hell groans and cries aloud:
“It had been better for me had I not accepted Mary’s Son,
for He has come to me and destroyed my power;
He has shattered the gates of brass,
and as God He raised up the souls that I once held.”
Glory to Your Cross, O Lord, and to Your Resurrection!
2.
Today hell groans and cries aloud:
“It had been better for me had I not accepted Mary’s Son,
for He has come to me and destroyed my power;
He has shattered the gates of brass,
and as God He raised up the souls that I once held.”
Glory to Your Cross, O Lord, and to Your Resurrection!
1.
Today hell groans and cries aloud:
“My power has been destroyed.
I accepted a mortal man as one of the dead;
yet I cannot keep Him prisoner,
and with Him I shall lose all those whom I ruled.
I held in my power the dead from all ages;
but see, He is raising them all.”
Glory to Your Cross, O Lord, and to Your Resurrection.
(t. 8) Today hell groans and cries aloud:
“My dominion has been swallowed up;
the Shepherd has been crucified and He has raised Adam.
I am deprived of those whom I once ruled;
in my strength I have devoured them, but now I have cast them forth.
He who was crucified has emptied the tombs;
the power of death has no more strength.”
Glory to Your Cross, O Lord, and to Your Resurrection.
In Tone 6, Glory…
Moses the Great mystically prefigured this present day, saying:
“And God blessed the seventh day.”
For this is the blessed Sabbath, this is the day of rest,
on which the only-begotten Son of God rested from all His works.
Suffering death in accordance with the plans of salvation,
He kept the Sabbath in the flesh;
and returning once again to what He was,
through His Resurrection He has granted us eternal life,
for He alone is good and loves mankind.
Now…
Let us praise the Virgin Mary,
glory of all the world and gate of heaven,
Daughter of men and Mother of the Lord,
song of the angelic hosts and adornment of the faithful.
For she is revealed as heaven and the temple of the Godhead.
It is she who, breaking down the middle wall of enmity,
established peace and opened the palace of the King.
With her, therefore, as anchor of our faith,
we have as our defender the Lord whom she has borne.
Be of good courage, then, people of God, be of good courage:
for in His almighty power
He will make war upon our foes.
READINGS
Genesis 1:1-13
Isaiah 60:1-16
Exodus 12:1-11
Jonah 1:1-4:11
Joshua 5:10-15
Exodus 13:20-15:19
When the Reader comes to the beginning of the Canticle of Moses (Exodus 15:1): “Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:”
Reader: Let us sing to the Lord
All: For He has been clothed with glory.
Reader: I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
All: Let us sing to the Lord, for He has been clothed with glory.
Reader: The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my fathers God, and I will exalt him.
All: Let us sing to the Lord, for He has been clothed with glory.
Reader: The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name. Pharaohs chariots and his host he cast into the sea; and his picked officers are sunk in the Red Sea. The floods cover them; they went down into the depths like a stone.
All: Let us sing to the Lord, for He has been clothed with glory.
Reader: Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, Your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.
All: Let us sing to the Lord, for He has been clothed with glory.
Reader: In the greatness of Your majesty You overthrow Your adversaries; Your send forth Your fury, it consumes them like stubble. At the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up, the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
All: Let us sing to the Lord, for He has been clothed with glory.
Reader: The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them; they sank as lead in the mighty waters.
All: Let us sing to the Lord, for He has been clothed with glory.
Reader: Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, terrible in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
All: Let us sing to the Lord, for He has been clothed with glory.
Reader: You stretched out Your right hand, the earth swallowed them. You have led in Your steadfast love the people whom You have redeemed, You have guided them by Your strength to Your holy abode.
All: Let us sing to the Lord, for He has been clothed with glory.
Reader: The peoples have heard, they tremble; pangs have seized on the inhabitants of Philistia. Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed; the leaders of Moab, trembling seizes them; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.
All: Let us sing to the Lord, for He has been clothed with glory.
Reader: Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of Your arm, they are as still as a stone, till Your people, O LORD, pass by, till the people pass by whom You have purchased.
All: Let us sing to the Lord, for He has been clothed with glory.
Reader: You bring them in, and plant them on Your own mountain, the place, O LORD, which You have made for Your abode, the sanctuary, LORD, which Your hands have established.
All: Let us sing to the Lord, for He has been clothed with glory.
Reader: The LORD will reign for ever and ever.
All: Let us sing to the Lord, for He has been clothed with glory.
Reader: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
All: Let us sing to the Lord, for He has been clothed with glory.
Reader: Both now and forever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
All: Let us sing to the Lord
Reader: For He has been clothed with glory.
Zephaniah 3:8-15
Kings 17:8-24
Isaiah 61:10-62:5
Genesis 22:1-18
Isaiah 61:1-9
Kings 4:8-37
Isaiah 63:11-64:5
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Daniel 3:1-88
After verse 56: “Blessed are You in the firmament of heaven, praiseworthy and glorious forever,” all stand and sing:
Refrain: Sing praise to the Lord, and exalt Him above all forever.
This refrain is sung after each verse of the Canticle.
Canticle of the Three Youths
Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord. R.
Angels of the Lord, and you heavens, bless the Lord. R.
All you waters above the heavens, and all you hosts of the Lord, bless the Lord. R.
Sun and moon, and stars of heaven, bless the Lord. R.
Every shower and dew, and all you winds, bless the Lord. R.
Fire and heat, frost and chill, bless the Lord. R.
Ice and snow, and nights and days, bless the Lord. R.
Light and darkness, lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord. R.
Let the earth bless the Lord. R.
Mountains and hills, and everything growing from the earth, bless the Lord. R.
You springs, and seas and rivers, bless the Lord. R.
You dolphins and all water creatures, and all you birds of the air, bless the Lord. R.
All you beasts, wild and tame, bless the Lord. R.
You children of the earth, bless the Lord: O Israel, bless the Lord. R.
Priests of the Lord, and servants of the Lord, bless the Lord. R.
Spirits and souls of the just, holy people of humble heart, bless the Lord. R.
Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael, bless the Lord. R.
Apostles, prophets and martyrs of the Lord, bless the Lord. R.
Let us bless the Lord: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. R.
Both now and forever and unto ages of ages. Amen. R.
Let us praise, bless and worship the Lord. R.
LITTLE EKTENIA
If there are to be baptisms, they are to be performed at this point
In place of the Trisagion Hymn, we sing:
All who have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. Alleluia. (3)
Glory… Both now…
Have put on Christ, Alleluia.
All who have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. Alleluia.
Prokimenon, Tone 8
Let all the earth worship and sing to You, * chanting praise to Your Name, O Most High.
verse: Sing joyfully to God, all you the earth; chant the glory of His Name, give to Him noble praise.
Epistle – Romans 6:3-11
We do not sing Alleluia; in its place we sing the following verses from Psalm 81 in Tone 7:
Refrain: O God, arise and judge the earth, * for all the nations are Yours.
verse: God arises in the divine assembly; He judges in the midst of the heavens.
verse: How long will you judge unjustly and favour the cause of the wicked?
verse: Defend the lowly and the fatherless, give justice to the afflicted and the destitute.
verse: Rescue the lowly and poor; deliver them from the hands of the wicked.
verse: They do not know or understand; they go about in darkness.
verse: I have said: You are divine; you are the sons of the Most High. Yet like men, you will die; you shall fall like any other prince.
Gospel – Matthew 28:1-20
Instead of the Cherubic Hymn, we sing:
Let all mortal flesh be silent and stand with fear and trembling. Let thoughts remove earthly concerns, for the King of kings, the Lord of lords comes to be sanctified. He is given as food to the faithful. All ranks of angelic choirs of glory go before Him. Many-eyed Cherubim, six-winged Seraphim hide their faces and cry out the hymn: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Hymn to the Mother of God
Do not weep over Me, O Mother, as you see in the grave the Son Whom you have conceived in your womb without seed. I will resurrect and be glorified and I, as God, will forever gloriously raise those who with faith and love magnify you.
Communion Verse
The Lord has waked as if from sleep: * He is risen and saves us. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Vespers with the Liturgy of St. Basil (Royaldoors.net):
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