GREAT VESPERS

At Psalm 140

In Tone 4

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

The Holy Spirit, the Giver of grace
has come down upon the earth,
not as in the days of old,
through the shadow of the law or the dawn of the prophets,
but now He has been given to us in Person,
through the mediation of Christ.
Let us cleanse our hearts by the practice of virtue,
that we may receive His illumination,
for He enlightens us in a holy mystery!

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

Do not take the Holy Spirit from us, Lover of mankind,
but make us worthy to receive Your grace.
May we be citizens of Your Kingdom in mind and heart!
Bestow Your eternal communion upon Your inheritance!
Make us temples and abodes of the heavenly Comforter!
Jesus our God, the Savior of our souls!

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

Let us sing fervently to the Holy Spirit!
He is the sanctification of all!
Let us cry to Him in faith:
You came into the world by the Father’s good will:
Do not depart from us!
We worship Your Divinity!
Show us to be temples of Your wondrous goodness!
Sanctify all who sing to You in faith!

In Tone 8

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

Blessed Forerunner John, your head shone from the ground
with rays brighter than the sun.
It enlightens the faithful.
We have it has a divine treasure
and draw rich grace from it,
sanctifying our souls, our bodies and thoughts.
As we celebrate, we call you blessed.

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

Blessed Forerunner John, your head shone from the ground
with rays brighter than the sun.
It enlightens the faithful.
We have it has a divine treasure
and draw rich grace from it,
sanctifying our souls, our bodies and thoughts.
As we celebrate, we call you blessed.

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

Your holy head, blessed Forerunner, poured out abundant grace.
It was shown without his foreknowledge
to the priest who was wise in God.
He quickly went with faith and grace
and openly brought about its sanctified coming
with the emperor and the divinely wise people
who fervently maintain the orthodox faith.

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

Your holy head, blessed Forerunner, poured out abundant grace.
It was shown without his foreknowledge
to the priest who was wise in God.
He quickly went with faith and grace
and openly brought about its sanctified coming
with the emperor and the divinely wise people
who fervently maintain the orthodox faith.

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

We celebrate the third revelation of your precious head.
When it was severed, glorious one,
the Trinity crowned it for your godly zeal.
The ranks of angels, the company of martyrs,
the apostles of God and all the prophets rejoice in its discovery.
Together with them, ever remember us, Forerunner of the Lord!

In Tone 6, Glory… 

O Forerunner, your head, divinely preserved,
has risen from the bosom of the earth
as a treasury of graces of God.
Having received it, we bow down in reverence, O glorious prophet of Christ.
Through you, we have been given wondrous miracles
and have obtained the remission of our sins.

In Tone 7, Glory… Now…

Having received the Paraclete from the Father,
the Comforter, the Spirit of truth,
Who has come to dwell on earth today,
let us in faith worship Christ our God!

Readings
(1) Isaiah 40:1-11; (2) Malachi 3:1-18; (3) Wisdom 4:7-15.

Aposticha

In Tone 2

Come, O faithful: let us venerate the head which was cut off by a sword:
the precious head of the Forerunner,
commemorating its finding on this day.
Let us go out to meet it with hymns, wholeheartedly honouring it
as a fountain which pours forth the grace of healing upon us.
This is the head which was once cut off by the foolish Herod,
goaded by the grudging of Herodias.

O precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His faithful.

As gold is taken from the mines,
so has the head of the Forerunner come forth from the earth,
radiant in its reliquary.
He still speaks, clearly accusing Herod, the adulterous murderer;
and he illumines our souls with his light.
In our hymns today, we the faithful venerate the Forerunner
who intercedes for us before God.

The just will flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a Lebanon cedar.

The head of the Baptist lay long hidden underground
like a treasure in a chest.
Today it is revealed to the whole world, pouring forth abundant streams of healing,
stopping illnesses, and shedding light on our souls.
We rejoice in its divine consolations as we sing the praises of the Forerunner.

Glory…

O illustrious John, the venerable reliquary of divine thoughts,
your head which had clearly foreseen the mystery of the Ineffable One
came out from the caves of the earth as from a mother’s womb.
It perfumes the whole world with the myrrh of holiness,
to us you preach the way of repentance, interceding for our souls before the Saviour of all.

In Tone 8, Now…

When You sent Your Spirit to Your apostles
as they sat in the upper room, O Lord,
the children of Israel were amazed.
They heard illiterate people speaking in many strange languages,
as the Spirit inspired them.
They preached divine mysteries with great wisdom,
drawing to the faith people from every nation.
Therefore we cry to You:
Glory to You, O Lord,
Who came on earth to save us from error!

Troparion

In Tone 4
O prophet and forerunner,* Christ has revealed to us your head as divine treasure concealed in the earth.* Assembled for this discovery* we praise Christ with hymns inspired of God.* Through your intercessions He saves us from corruption.

In Tone 8, Glory… Now…
Blessed are You, O Christ our God, for You have given us wise fishermen. After sending them Your Holy Spirit, You caught all the world through them – O loving Master, glory to You!

DIVINE LITURGY

At the beginning of the Liturgy, immediately after Blessed be the Kingdom… and Amen, we all kneel and sing the following in Tone 6:

Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Who are everywhere present and filing all things, Treasury of all blessings and Giver of Life: come, dwell within us, and cleanse us from every stain, and save our soul, O Gracious Lord.

Antiphon 1
The heavens tell the glory of God, and the firmament declares the work of his hand.
Through the prayers of the Mother of God,* O Saviour, save us.
Day to day pours forth the message and night proclaims this knowledge to night.
Through the prayers of the Mother of God,* O Saviour, save us.
Their utterance has gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
Through the prayers of the Mother of God,* O Saviour, save us.
Glory… Now… Only-begotten Son…

Third Antiphon
Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord,* let us acclaim God, our Saviour.
O good Advocate,* save us who sing to You: Alleluia.
Let us come before His face with praise,* and acclaim Him in psalms.
O good Advocate,* save us who sing to You: Alleluia.
For God is the great Lord,* the great king over all the earth.
O good Advocate,* save us who sing to You: Alleluia.

Entrance
Come, let us worship* and fall down before Christ.
O good Advocate,* save us who sing to You: Alleluia.

Troparia and Kontakia
Troparion, Tone 8: Blessed are You, O Christ our God who revealed the fishermen as most wise* by sending them the Holy Spirit;* through them You caught the entire world.* Loving Master, glory to You.

Troparion, Tone 4: O prophet and forerunner,* Christ has revealed to us your head as divine treasure concealed in the earth.* Assembled for this discovery* we praise Christ with hymns inspired of God.* Through your intercessions He saves us from corruption.

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

Kontakion, Tone 6: The Forerunner, a luminous and divine support in the world,* the lampstand of the sun,* has revealed his resplendent and divine head to the ends of the earth.* He hallows those who bow and cry out in faith:* “Save us all, O most wise Baptist of Christ.”

Now and for ever and ever. Amen.

Kontakion, Tone 8: When the Most high descended and confused the tongues,* He parted the nations.* He called all to unity;* and with one voice* we glorify the all-Holy Spirit.

Prokeimenon, Tone 8
Their utterance has gone forth into all the earth,* and their words unto the ends of the world.
verse: The heavens tell the glory of God, and the firmament declares the work of His hand. (Psalm 19:5,2)

Prokeimenon, Tone 7
The just man shall be glad in the Lord and shall hope in Him. (Psalm 63:11)

Epistle
Romans 2:14-29; 2 Corinthians 4:6-15

Alleluia, Tone 1
verse: By the Lord’s words the heavens were established, and by the Breath of His mouth all their host.
verse: The Lord has looked down from heaven and beheld the whole human race.
verse: Light is risen for the just and joy for the righteous of heart. (Psalm 96:11)
verse: Truth sprang up from the ground, and righteousness bent down from heaven. (Psalm 84:12)

Gospel
Matthew 5:33-41; Matthew 11:2-15

Hymn to the Mother of God
O my soul, magnify the one Divinity in three Persons.
And the Irmos: Rejoice, O Queen, boast of the virgins and mothers, for every tongue, though capable and eloquent, cannot hymn you as is your due, and every mind is confounded in seeking to comprehend the way in which you gave birth. Wherefore with one accord we glorify you.

Communion Hymn
Your good Spirit will lead me* to the land of righteousness. (Psalm 142:10)* The just man shall be in everlasting remembrance;* of evil hearsay he shall have no fear.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 111:6)