GREAT VESPERS
Kathisma
“Blessed is the man…” is sung.
At Psalm 140
In Tone 1
- Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord;* O Lord, hear my voice!
When the doors were closed and the disciples were gathered together* You suddenly appeared in their midst, O Jesus our Almighty God.* You granted them peace and filled them with the Holy Spirit;* You commanded them to wait and not depart from Jerusalem* until they were clothed with power from on high.* Therefore, we cry to You, 0 Lord:* Glory to You, our Light, our Resurrection, and our Peace.
- Let Your ears be attentive* to the voice of my prayer.
When the doors were closed and the disciples were gathered together* You suddenly appeared in their midst, O Jesus our Almighty God.* You granted them peace and filled them with the Holy Spirit;* You commanded them to wait and not depart from Jerusalem* until they were clothed with power from on high.* Therefore, we cry to You, 0 Lord:* Glory to You, our Light, our Resurrection, and our Peace.
- If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
Eight days after your Resurrection, O Lord,* You appeared to Your disciples in the room where they were gathered;* You greeted them, saying: Peace be with you!* Then You showed your hands and side to the doubting disciple.* He, therefore, cried out in an act of faith:* My Lord and my God, glory to You!
- I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
Even though the doors were closed, You came to Your disciples, O Christ,* and Thomas, called the Twin, was not with them.* Therefore, he did not believe what they told him.* You did not deem him unworthy for his lack of faith,* but in Your goodness, You confirmed his faith* by showing him Your pure side* and the wounds in Your hands and feet.* He touched them, and when he saw You,* he confessed You to be neither an abstract God nor merely human;* and he cried out: My Lord and my God, glory to You!
In Tone 4
- From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
You drew men up from the depths of vanity with a fisher’s rod of grace.* You obeyed the commands of the Teacher, worthy James,* who enlightened all your thoughts* and revealed you as an apostle and holy preacher,* expounding His incomprehensible Divinity, most blessed one.
- For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
You drew men up from the depths of vanity with a fisher’s rod of grace.* You obeyed the commands of the Teacher, worthy James,* who enlightened all your thoughts* and revealed you as an apostle and holy preacher,* expounding His incomprehensible Divinity, most blessed one.
- Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
The illumination of the Spirit descended on you in the form of fire* and made you a divine vessel, blessed one,* dispelling with power the darkness of godlessness;* enlightening the world with the brightness of your all wise words.* Preacher of mysteries, leader of the apostles,* James, the eye-witness of Christ.
- Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
You illumined those lying in the darkness of ignorance* with the lightning flash of your preaching, glorious James!* You revealed them to be sons through faith of the Master and God* whose passion and death you imitated with zeal.* You became an heir of the glory, O wise one,* as one speaking from God and a most faithful disciple.
In Tone 8
Glory…
Come, let us praise James with hymns of psalms:* the preacher of heavenly mysteries and expounder of the Gospel;* for he was revealed as a river of the mystical Paradise,* watering spiritual furrows with heavenly streams,* revealing them to bear fruit to Christ God,* who, by his prayers, grants cleansing, enlightenment and great mercy!
In Tone 6
Now…
Although the doors were locked, You appeared to your disciples, O Christ;* but through providence, Thomas was not with them.* For he said: I will not believe until I see the Lord,* until I see the side from which the blood and water of our baptism came forth,* until I see the wound by which He healed all people from the great wound,* and I see that He is not a pure spirit, but a person made of flesh and bones.* Therefore, O Lord, who trampled Death and made Thomas firm in his belief,* O Lord, glory to You!
Readings
(1) James 1:1-12; (2) James 1:13-27; (3) James 2:1-13
Aposticha
In Tone 8
Blessed, God-seer James, after you listened to the voice of the Word,* you paid no heed to the service and customs of your father,* for you left behind the life of earthly cares and passed over the spiritual sea!* You stirred its depths with the precepts of godliness and with your heavenly thunder,* apostle most blessed of God!
Their proclamation has gone out into all the earth and their words to the ends of the universe!
All-blessed James, by your deeds you served the Word,* the cause of life and of the future age.* Truly you deprived Israel of its first born privilege* when it forsook the worship of the true God,* while recalling it to sonship as the new Israel!
The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament proclaims His handiwork!
You are now appointed a prince over all the earth,* as it is written of you, glorious one,* since you became a disciple of the Creator of all.* In fervent zeal, you suffered murder by the transgressor’s sword,* taking you from the revered company of the twelve apostles.
In Tone 5
Glory… Now…
How great is your infinite compassion, O Lover of Mankind;* for because of Your long-suffering You were struck by Your enemies;* You were touched by an Apostle* and deeply pierced by those who denied You.* How did You become incarnate?* How were You crucified, O Sinless One?* Teach us to cry out as Thomas:* My Lord and my God, glory to You!
Troparia
In Tone 3
O James, worthy of all praise,* chosen apostle of Christ and only brother of the beloved theologian;* ask God to bestow on those who hymn you forgiveness of sins* and to grant our souls great mercy.
In Tone 7
Glory… Now…
While the tomb was sealed, O Christ God, You dawned as life from the sepulcher, and while the doors were shut, You came to Your disciples, the Resurrection of all, renewing a right spirit in us through them, according to Your great mercy.
DIVINE LITURGY
After the priest has exclaimed, Blessed be the Kingdom… and the people have responded, Amen, the clergy sing the Paschal Troparion once and the people repeat it. Then, the clergy sing the first half, and the people conclude it.
Paschal Troparion
Christ is risen from the dead,* trampling death by death,* and to those in the tombs* giving life.
Troparia and Kontakia
Troparion, Tone 7: While the tomb was sealed, O Christ God, You dawned as life from the sepulcher, and while the doors were shut, You came to Your disciples, the Resurrection of all, renewing a right spirit in us through them, according to Your great mercy.
Troparion, Tone 3: O James, worthy of all praise,* chosen apostle of Christ and only brother of the beloved theologian.* Ask God to bestow on those who hymn you forgiveness of sins* and to grant our souls great mercy.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Kontakion, Tone 2: When you heard God’s voice calling out to you,* you spurned the love of your father* and fled to Christ with your kinsman, O glorious James.* With him you were favoured to see the Lord’s divine transfiguration.
Now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone 8: With his searching hand, Thomas explored Your life-giving side, O Christ God. For when You entered while the doors were shut, he called out to You with the rest of the Apostles: You are my Lord and my God!
Prokeimenon, Tone 3
Great is our Lord and great is His strength;* and of His knowledge there is no end.
verse: Praise the Lord, for a psalm is good; may praise be sweet to our God. (Psalm 146:5,1)
Prokeimenon, Tone 8
Their utterance has gone forth into all the earth, and their word unto the ends of the world. (Psalm 18:5)
Epistle
Acts 5:21-33; Acts 12:1-11
Alleluia, Tone 8
verse: Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord, let us acclaim God our Saviour.
verse: For God is the great Lord and the great king over all the earth. (Psalm 94:1,3)
verse: The heavens shall confess our wonders, O Lord, and Your truth in the church of the saints. (Psalm 88:6)
Gospel
John 6:14-27; Luke 5:1-11
Hymn to the Mother of God
The Angel cried out to the One full of Grace: O chaste Virgin, rejoice! And again I say, Rejoice! Your Son has risen from the tomb on the third day, and raised the dead. Let all people rejoice! Shine, shine, O new Jerusalem, for the glory of the Lord has risen upon you! Exult now and be glad, O Sion! And you, O chaste Mother of God, take delight in the resurrection of your Son.
Communion Hymn
Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem.* Praise your God, O Sion. (Psalm147:1)* Their utterance has gone forth into all the earth,* and their word unto the ends of the world.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 18:5)
Instead of Blessed is He Who comes… we sing:
Christ is risen from the dead,* trampling death by death,* and to those in the tombs* giving life.
Instead of We have seen the true light… we sing:
Christ is risen from the dead,* trampling death by death,* and to those in the tombs* giving life.
Instead of May our mouths be filled… we sing three times:
Christ is risen from the dead,* trampling death by death,* and to those in the tombs* giving life.
Instead of Blessed be the name of the Lord… we sing three times:
Christ is risen from the dead,* trampling death by death,* and to those in the tombs* giving life.
At the dismissal, instead of Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and ever. Amen. we chant:
Christ is risen from the dead,* trampling death by death,* and to those in the tombs* giving life.
After the final Amen, the Troparion Christ is risen is sung as at the beginning of the Liturgy, but with the addition:
And to us He has granted life eternal;* we bow down before His resurrection on the third day.