Friday of the Third Week of the Great Fast – Presanctified

English Source: Royal Doors www.royaldoors.net

LITURGY OF THE PRESANCTIFIED GIFTS

At Psalm 140

In Tone 7

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

Like the prodigal, I have turned away from Your grace;* I have wasted the riches of Your goodness, O Lord.* I now run to You and cry out:* I have sinned , O Lord, have mercy on me.

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

Like the prodigal, I have turned away from Your grace;* I have wasted the riches of Your goodness, O Lord.* I now run to You and cry out:* I have sinned , O Lord, have mercy on me.

In Tone 6

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

Your martyrs did not reject You,* nor did they renounce Your commandments.* Through their prayers, have mercy on us!

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

Your martyrs, O Christ,* have endured many sufferings for Your sake,* and have received their heavenly crowns.* Now they intercede for our souls.

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

The suffering martyrs, citizens of heaven,* when taking part in the contest upon earth,* endured manifold torments.* By their intercessions and prayers, preserve us, O Lord.

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

Your Cross, O Christ, has been an invincible weapon for the martyrs;* for beholding the approach of death* and foreseeing the future life,* they were made strong by the hope that lies in You.* By their intercession, have mercy on us!

In Tone 4

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

You were called Sophronius by divine foreknowledge: a name meaning chastity.* You were righteous and chaste in your deeds, courageous and wise.* As a most eminent administrator,* you were crowned nobly with natural virtues of both soul and body* and you grew in them with steadfastness.

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

You were called Sophronius by divine foreknowledge: a name meaning chastity.* You were righteous and chaste in your deeds, courageous and wise.* As a most eminent administrator,* you were crowned nobly with natural virtues of both soul and body* and you grew in them with steadfastness.

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

Your mouth thundered forth the teachings of theology, all-blessed Sophronius!* You clearly expounded the theology of the Unoriginate Father, the Co-Unoriginate Son* and the equally everlasting Holy Spirit:* the Trinity in unity and unity in Trinity;* one God in essence!

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

You wisely taught that the Word is equally unoriginate with the Father, most wise one;* that though incorporeal, He united flesh to His Person, without change or confusion;* that His actions are two-fold,* for both natures from which he acts and is beheld are revealed as contained, one in the other,* for He is one, undivided in essence.

In Tone 6, Glory…

Your creating command was my origin and formation,* for You willed to fashion me, a living creature,* out of visible and invisible nature.* From the earth You formed my body* and gave me a soul by Your divine and life-creating breath.* Therefore, O Christ, give rest to Your servant in the place of the living,* in the abodes of the just.

Now…

Who would not call you blessed, O Virgin most holy?* Who would not sing a hymn of praise to the glory of your giving birth without pain or travail?* The only-begotten Son Himself,* begotten of the Father before all ages,* was made flesh out of you in a manner that cannot be explained, O Woman most pure!* And for our sake He who is God by nature assumed the nature of man.* He is not divided into two persons;* He is understood to have two natures without commixion or confusion.* O noble and blessed Woman,* intercede with Him that He may have mercy on our souls.

Prokeimenon I, Tone 4
Give us Your help against the foe,* for human help is vain.
verse: O God, You have rejected us and broken us. You have been angry; come back to us.

Reading I: Genesis 8:4-21

Prokeimenon II, Tone 6
O God, hear my cry!* Listen to my prayer!
verse: So I will always praise Your name; day after day I will fulfil my vows.

Reading II: Proverbs 10:31-11:12