English Source: Royal Doors www.royaldoors.net

AT GREAT VESPERS ON MONDAY EVENING

Kathisma Reading

The appointed psalms are chanted.

At Psalm 140

Tone 1

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

Now all peoples have been renewed by God’s exalted deeds,* for by means of tongues in the likeness of fire,* all those who dwell on earth have been brought to the faith,* and that this sign to the nations,* has declared that salvation is truly in our midst.

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

Having fulfilled Your promise to send down power from on high* to Your disciples, O Christ,* You sent Your Holy Spirit,* thereby showing us that You are Truth,* and that those who hope in You, O Good One,* shall in no wise ever be ashamed.

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

At the time that was appointed, You sent into the world the Holy Spirit,* who came in the form of tongues of fire.* All our sins are cleansed by this heavenly fire.* Thereby, You have granted us a true communion with Him,* for in pious faith we proclaim Him* to be perfect God.

Tone 8

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 as a divine treasure* and draw rich grace from it,* sanctifying our souls, our bodies and thoughts.* As we celebrate, we call you blessed.

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 as a divine treasure* and draw rich grace from it,* sanctifying our souls, our bodies and thoughts.* As we celebrate, we call you blessed.

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.

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.

Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.6. If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.

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.

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 a 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 mercy on our souls.

Readings

(1) Isaiah 40:1-3.9; 41:17-18; 45:8; 48:20-21; 54:1; (2) Malachi 3:1; Gospel of Mark 1:2; Malachi 3:1-3.5-7.12.18.17; 4:4-6 [3:22-24]; (3) Wisdom 4:7.16-17.19-5:7

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.

Tone 1, Now…

You have renewed Your disciples with foreign tongues, O Christ,* that they might therewith proclaim You, the immortal Word and God,* who grants our souls great mercy.

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.

Tone 8, Glory… Now…

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.

AT DIVINE LITURGY ON TUESDAY MORNING

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

Heavenly King, Advocate, Spirit of Truth, Who are everywhere present and fill all things, Treasury of Blessings, Bestower of Life: come, and dwell within us; cleanse us of all that defiles us, O Good One, save our souls.

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.

Epistle

Romans 1:1-7, 13-17; 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.

Gospel

Matthew 4:25-5:13; Matthew 11:2-15

Hymn to the Theotokos

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.* The just man shall be in everlasting remembrance;* of evil hearsay he shall have no fear.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia.