Ascension of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ;
Text from “The Divine Liturgy: An Anthology for Worship”; Pg. 545
First Antiphon
Verse 1: Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with the voice of joy (Ps 46:2).
Refrain: Through the prayers of the Mother of God, O Saviour, save us.
Verse 2: For the Lord most high is awesome, a great king over all the earth (Ps 46:3).
Refrain: Through the prayers of the Mother of God O Saviour, save us.
Verse 3: He has subdued peoples to us, and nations under our feet (Ps 46:4).
Refrain: Through the prayers of the Mother of God O Saviour, save us.
Verse 4: God ascended amid shouts of joy; the Lord, at the sound of the trumpet (Ps 46:6).
Refrain: Through the prayers of the Mother of God O Saviour, save us.
+Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Now and for ever and ever. Amen.
If the second antiphon is sung: (Refrain: Through the prayers of the Mother of God O Saviour, save us.) Otherwise we sing: Only-begotten Son…
Second Antiphon
Verse 1: Great is the Lord and greatly praised in the city of our God, His holy mount (Ps 47:2).
Refrain: Son of God, who ascended in glory,* save us who sing to You: Alleluia.
Verse 2: Mount Zion, the northern slopes, is the city of the great king (Ps 47:5).
Refrain: Son of God, who ascended in glory,* save us who sing to You: Alleluia.
Verse 3: God is known in its strongholds, whenever He comes to its aid (Ps 47:4).
Refrain: Son of God, who ascended in glory,* save us who sing to You: Alleluia.
Verse 4: For, behold, the kings of the earth have assembled, they have come together (Ps 47:5).
Refrain: Son of God, who ascended in glory,* save us who sing to You: Alleluia.
Glory… now… Only-begotten Son…
Third Antiphon
Verse 1 (Soloist): Hear these things all you nations, give ear, all inhabitants of the world (Ps 48:2).
Troparion (Tone 4): You ascended in glory, O Christ our God,* giving joy to Your disciples by the promise of the Holy Spirit,* and assuring them through your blessing* that You are the Son of God,* the Redeemer of the world.
Verse 2 (Soloist): Both lowly born and offspring of the privileged, rich and poor alike (Ps 48:3).
Troparion (Tone 4): You ascended in glory, O Christ our God…
Verse 3 (Soloist): Verse 3: My mouth shall speak wisdom and the meditation of my heart understanding (Ps 48:4).
Troparion (Tone 4): You ascended in glory, O Christ our God…
Entrance Verse (Soloist): God ascended amid shouts of joy; the Lord, at the sound of the trumpet (Ps 46:6).
Troparion (Tone 4): You ascended in glory, O Christ our God,* giving joy to Your disciples by the promise of the Holy Spirit,* and assuring them through your blessing* that You are the Son of God,* the Redeemer of the world.
+Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Kontakion (Tone 6): When You had fulfilled Your plan for us* and united things on earth with those in heaven,* You ascended in glory, O Christ our God,* in no way distant, but remaining insep’rable,* You cried to those who love You:* I am with You and there is none against you.
Prokimenon (Tone 7): Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;* above all the earth be Your glory (Ps 56:6).
verse: My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready. I will sing and make music in my glory (Ps 56:8).
Epistle: (Acts 1:1-12): In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over the course of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. ‘This’, he said, ‘is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’ So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’ Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away.
Alleluia (Tone 2):
verse: God ascended amid shouts of joy, the Lord at the sound of the trumpet (Ps 46:6).
verse: Clap your hands, all you nations, shout to God with the voice of joy (Ps 46:2).
Gospel: (Luke 24:36-53): At that time, Jesus having been raised from the dead, stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, ‘Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.’ Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God.
Instead of “It is truly…”: O my soul, magnify the Lord who in glory ascended bodily into the heavens.
Irmos (Tone 5): O Mother of God, you transcended both mind and word, and in time, ineffably bore the Timeless One: it is you who, with one accord, we, the faithful, magnify.
Communion Verse: God ascended amid shouts of joy, the Lord at the sound of the trumpet (Ps 46:6). Alleluia! (3x)
According to Galician usage, we sing:
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; above all the earth be Your glory (Ps 56:6).
Instead of “We have seen the true light…” (1x) “May our mouths be filled…” (3x) and “Blessed be the Name of the Lord…” (3x).
Great Vespers (Royaldoors.net):
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Divine Liturgy:
PDF – Ascension of our Lord – ENGLISH
PDF – Ascension of our Lord – UKRAINIAN
PDF – Ascension of our Lord God – ENG-UKR