Liturgy: The Tikhvin Icon

5th Sunday after Pentecost / The Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God

Beatitudes on 10 Octoechos 6; Icon 4, from Ode 3.

1. By the tree was Adam forced to depart from paradise; but by the Tree of the Cross was the thief made to dwell in paradise. For the one by tasting, broke the commandment of the creator; while the other, crucified with Him, confessed the hidden God, crying out: Remember me in Thy kingdom!

2. O Lord Who wast lifted up upon the Cross, Who hast destroyed the power of death and as God hast destroyed the record of our sins, grant also the repentance of the thief unto us who faithfully serve Thee and cry out to thee, O Christ God Who alone lovest mankind: Remember us also in Thy kingdom!

3. On the Cross Thou didst tear asunder with the spear the record of our sins; and, numbered among the dead, Thou didst bind the tyrant of hades, O Lord Who lovest mankind, Who by Thy resurrection hast delivered all from the bonds of hades. Thereby have we been illumined, and we cry to Thee: Remember us also in Thy kingdom!

4. O Thou Who alone art immortal, Who wast crucified and as almighty didst arise from the tomb on the third day, and hast raised up Adam, the first created: Vouchsafe that I also may turn to repentance with my whole heart, and may ever cry out to Thee with fervent faith: Remember me, O Savior, in Thy kingdom!

5. For our sake He Who is without passion became a man subject to the passions; and, nailed of His own will to the Cross, He hath raised us up with Himself. Wherefore, we glorify His Cross, passion, and resurrection, whereby we have been refashioned and whereby we also are saved, who cry out: Remember us also in Thy kingdom!

6. O ye faithful, let us entreat Him who hath risen from the dead, hath made captive the dominion of hades, and wast seen by the myrrh-bearing women and said to them: “Rejoice!”, that He deliver from corruption the souls of us who ever cry out to Him with the voice of the noble thief: Remember us also in Thy kingdom!

7. Come, behold an all-glorious sight, ye faithful, and look upon the all-pure Virgin, who with reverence shineth forth on high in her all-pure image, illumining with grace us who reverently chant: There is none more pure than thee, O Mistress!

8. The mind of each of the faithful is hallowed by thy grace, O Theotokos, and exalted by the wondrous coming of thine icon. Vouchsafe that we, thy servants, who honor it with piety and glorify thee with faith, O Mistress, may partake thereof.

9. O Bride of God, grant that we may tread the heavenly path unassailed, and strengthen us to do godly works, that leaving the path of the evil one’s wiles by thy help, O Virgin,

we may have a share in eternal glory.

10. With the beams of Christ the true Light, the Creator of the angels, Who shone forth ineffably from thee, O Mother of God, and with thine own grace, illumine the souls and

hearts of us who are in darkness. O thou who art full of grace, sanctify us, guiding us to the love of heavenly light.

Troparia & Kontakia

Tone 4:  Having learned the joyful proclamation of the Resurrection from the angel, /

and having cast off the ancestral condemnation, /

the women disciples of the Lord spake to the apostles exultantly: /

Death is despoiled and Christ God is risen, //

granting to the world great mercy.

Tone 4:  Today thy most precious icon hath in the air /

shone forth upon us like the all-radiant sun, O Mistress, /

illumining the world with rays of mercy; /

and great Russia, reverently receiving it from on high as a gift of God, /

glorifieth thee as the Mistress of all, O Mother of God, /

and joyously magnifieth Christ our God Who was born of thee.  /

Him do thou entreat, O Lady, Queen and Theotokos, /

that He preserve all the cities and lands where Christians live, /

unharmed by all the assaults of the enemy, /

and save those who with faith worship before the all-honored image of Him and thee, //

O Virgin who knewest not wedlock.

[Troparion of the Temple]

Tone 4:  My Savior and Redeemer hath, as God, /

raised up the earthborn from the grave and from their fetters, /

and He hath broken the gates of hades, /

and, as Master, //

hath risen on the third day.

Glory… [Kontakion of the Temple]

Both now... Tone 8:

O ye people, let us make haste to the Virgin Theotokos and Queen, /

giving thanks to Christ our God; and gazing with compunction at her miraculous icon, /

let us fall down and cry out to her: O Mary our Mistress, /

visiting this land in the miraculous appearance of thy precious icon, /

save our Orthodox hierarchs and all Christians in peace and prosperity, /

showing us to be inheritors of the life of heaven. //

For to thee do we cry with faith: Rejoice, O Virgin, salvation of the world!

The Epistle

Reader: The Prokimenon in the 4th Tone: How magnified are Thy works O Lord! In wisdom hast Thou made them all.

Choir: How magnified are Thy works O Lord! In wisdom hast Thou made them all.

Reader: Bless the Lord, O my soul; O Lord my God, Thou hast been magnified exceedingly.

Choir: How magnified are Thy works O Lord! In wisdom hast Thou made them all.

Reader:  In the 3^rd Tone: My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.

Choir:  My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.

Reader: The Reading is from the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Romans:

[Rom. 10:1-10 (§103); Phil. 2:5-11 (§240)]

Reader: Alleluia in the 4th Tone: Bend Thy bow, and proceed prosperously, and be king, because of truth and meekness and righteousness.

Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Reader: Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity.

Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Reader: In the 2^nd Tone: Arise, O Lord, into Thy rest, Thou and the ark of Thy holiness.

Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Gospel [Matt. 8:28-9:1 (§28); Luke 10:38-42, 11:27-28 (§54)]

Communion Verse: Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the highest! I will take the cup of salvation, and I will call upon the name of the Lord. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!