GREAT VESPERS
At Psalm 140
In Tone 6
- Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord;* O Lord, hear my voice!
O Lover of mankind,
when You were at supper with Your faithful disciples
You revealed the great mystery of Your incarnation, saying:
Eat the life-giving bread which is My Body,
and drink the Blood of eternal life.
- Let Yours ears be attentive* to the voice of my prayer.
O Lover of mankind,
when You were at supper with Your faithful disciples
You revealed the great mystery of Your incarnation, saying:
Eat the life-giving bread which is My Body,
and drink the Blood of eternal life.
- If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
The room, where Christ celebrated the Passover,
became a heavenly tabernacle,
an unbloody supper and a spiritual service,
and the table, on which these mysteries were celebrated,
a spiritual altar.
- I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
The room, where Christ celebrated the Passover,
became a heavenly tabernacle,
an unbloody supper and a spiritual service,
and the table, on which these mysteries were celebrated,
a spiritual altar.
- From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
O Bread of heaven, You blessed the bread
and offered thanks to the Father and Begetter.
You also took the chalice and gave it to Your disciples, saying:
Take, eat – this is My Body,
and drink the Blood of incorruptible life.
- For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
The Lord fed His disciples with heavenly food.
Before His passion He gave them the Bread of Angels,
more wonderful than the manna.
“Your fathers,” said the Lord, “ate manna in the desert and died.
This is the bread that comes down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread shall not die, but shall live forever.”
Grant today that we may also partake of this bread,
through the prayers of the Mother
- Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
After the disciples had eaten the Mystical Supper,
Christ took bread into His hands, raised His eyes to heaven,
blessed and broke it, gave it to His disciples, saying:
Take eat; this is My Body, which is broken for you
for the remission of sins and life everlasting.
- Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
You alone possess immortality and dwell in light inaccessible.
How then can You, have fellowship with the idol of sinful darkness?
Therefore, You, Who are that light which enlightens every man,
do not judge or cast our dark and sinful souls into the outer darkness,
but illumine us with Your grace, we beseech You,
O Ocean of mercy, O transubstantial Bread!
In Tone 4, Glory… Now…
Come, you lovers of feasts,
let us today joyfully celebrate the saving feast of the life-giving Bread
and the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world.
Let us celebrate today, not with the leaven of our sinful past,
but with sweetness of purity and truth.
And, having purified ourselves, let us become His worthy partakers,
in order to obtain the everlasting kingdom of Christ.
Readings
(1) Exodus 16:1-3,11-15; 1 Samuel 21:2-7; 1 Kings 17:2-16
Lytia
In Tone 6
David, the forefather of Christ,
played and danced before the overshadowed Ark.
Today, we also worship God in the tabernacle,
Whose human nature the Ark prefigured.
For, here, instead of the manna,
we mysteriously behold the incarnate Divinity,
and instead of the tablets of the Law,
the Lawgiver Christ our God,
Who saves our souls.
In the Old Testament the Ark was overlaid inside and outside with gold.
When the heathens seized it,
the Lord could not suffer to dwell with the idol in the temple,
but dashed it to the ground, smashing its head and both palms of its hands.
Yet, You, O Lover of mankind, Christ our God,
willed to enter the defiled temple of our wretched souls?
Therefore, purify and sanctify our souls, O Lord.
O pure Lamb, Who takes away the sins of the whole world!
for the salvation of mankind You changed bread into Your Body,
and under the form of bread You mysteriously hid Yourself,
body, soul, and divinity.
Today, we, the faithful,
solemnly and fervently worship this Bread with faith.
In Tone 2, Glory… Now…
We, the faithful, with trembling,
approach Your Mystical Supper and divine table,
desiring to drink of the fountain of immortality;
but fear and trembling seize us because of our numerous sins.
Through You we wish to be cleansed of them,
by the supplications of our Lady, the Mother of God.
Aposticha
In Tone 1
Let us praise the living and heavenly Bread* which, in an unspeakable manner, continually comes down from heaven,* and with one mind let us say:* Rejoice! 0 Body of Christ,* through which we all have been saved.* Rejoice! 0 divine and sacred Blood,* through which we have been redeemed.
By the Bread of the Angels man is fed; He sent them food in abundance.
O marvelous wonder!
You gave Your very self to Your disciples and friends as food, saying:
Eat this bread – it is My Body.
And taking the chalice, You said:
All of you, drink My Blood!
And, as though rain He sent them manna as food, and He gave them bread from heaven.
O divine, most holy, most precious Body of the God-Man and Word!
Save Your servants from all anxiety, temptation, and every kind of assault,
and grant the heavenly kingdom and life,
for the sake of Your mercy.
In Tone 8, Glory… Now…
O glorious wonder!
Christ, having taken bread and blessed it,
gave it to His disciples, saying: Take and eat – this is My Body;
take also the chalice.
Then the living and divine Bread came down from heaven at that mystical supper,
and of His own free will gave Himself as food.
Therefore, let everyone examine himself,
and then let him eat and drink for the salvation of soul and life everlasting.
Troparion
In Tone 4
Your memorial, O Christ our God,* has shone forth upon the world as a festal day,* for the fishermen learned from You to offer unbloody sacrifice with bread and wine.* And so, we celebrate Your divine memorial,* and doing so cry out, O Lord, glory be to You!
DIVINE LITURGY
Antiphon 1
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want; he makes me lie down in green pastures.
Through the prayers of the Mother of God, O Saviour, save us.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for You are with me.
Through the prayers of the Mother of God, O Saviour, save us.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
Through the prayers of the Mother of God, O Saviour, save us.
Glory… Now… Only-Begotten Son…
Antiphon 3
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
Troparion, Tone 4: Your memorial, O Christ our God,* has shone forth upon the world as a festal day,* for the fishermen learned from You to offer unbloody sacrifice with bread and wine.* And so, we celebrate Your divine memorial,* and doing so cry out, O Lord, glory be to You!
Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord.
Troparion, Tone 4: Your memorial, O Christ our God,* has shone forth upon the world as a festal day,* for the fishermen learned from You to offer unbloody sacrifice with bread and wine.* And so, we celebrate Your divine memorial,* and doing so cry out, O Lord, glory be to You!
You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.
Troparion, Tone 4: Your memorial, O Christ our God,* has shone forth upon the world as a festal day,* for the fishermen learned from You to offer unbloody sacrifice with bread and wine.* And so, we celebrate Your divine memorial,* and doing so cry out, O Lord, glory be to You!
Entrance
I will offer You a sacrifice of praise; I will call upon the name of the Lord.
Troparion and Kontakion
Troparion, Tone 4: Your memorial, O Christ our God,* has shone forth upon the world as a festal day,* for the fishermen learned from You to offer unbloody sacrifice with bread and wine.* And so, we celebrate Your divine memorial,* and doing so cry out, O Lord, glory be to You!
Glory… Now…
Kontakion, Tone 4: Behold Christ is present as food for all.* Come, let us fall down and worship Christ our God* hidden under these Mysteries and humbly cry out:* Consume us not by fire through communion, O Master, unworthy as we are,* but be the One who consumes our sins by fire* and purifies our souls.
Prokeimenon, Tone 4
He would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.
verse: Exalt in God, our helper! (Ps 81:16,2)
Epistle
1 Corinthians 11:23-32
Alleluia, Tone 4
verse: The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in due season.
verse: You open Your hand; You satisfy the desire of every living thing. (Ps 144: 15,16)
Gospel
John 6:48-54
Communion Hymn
Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood abides in me, and I in him (John 6:56).* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia.