Third Sunday of Great Lent / Holy Cross / Tone 7
Beatitudes on 10: Octoechos 6; Triodion 4, from Ode 6.

 

1.  The fruit which slew me was beautiful and good to eat; but Christ is the Tree of life, and eating of Him I do not die, but cry out with the thief: Remember me, O Lord, in Thy kingdom!

 

2.  O Compassionate One, Who wast lifted up upon the Cross, Thou hast erased the record of Adam’s ancient sin, and hast saved the whole human race from deception.  Wherefore, we hymn Thee, O Lord and Benefactor.

 

3.  Thou didst nail our sins to the Cross, O compassionate Christ, and by Thy death Thou didst slay death, O Thou who didst raise up the dead from among the dead.  Wherefore, we worship Thy holy resurrection.

 

4. The serpent once poured its venom into the ears of Eve; but on the tree of the Cross, Christ poured forth the sweetness of life upon the world.  Wherefore, we cry out: Remember us, O Lord, in Thy kingdom!

 

5.  Thou wast laid in the tomb as one dead, O Christ, Thou Life of all; and Thou didst break down the gates of hades; and having risen again in glory on the third day as One mighty, Thou hast illumined all.  Glory to Thine arising!

 

6.  Having risen from the dead on the third day, the Lord bestowed His peace upon His disciples; and having blessed them, He sent them forth saying: Lead all into My kingdom!

 

7. Thou hast crushed death, O Christ, and risen as a mighty King; Thou hast recalled us from the depths of hell and brought us to the land of immortality, granting us the joy of the Kingdom of Heaven.

 

8.  O ye faithful, let us cry aloud with joy and sing triumphantly to God, as we greet the Cross of the Lord; for it is a fountain of holiness to all those in the world.

 

9.  The words of the Psalmist are fulfilled: for see, we bow before the footstool of Thy most pure feet, O Lord all-powerful, at Thy Precious Cross, the thrice-blessed Wood.

 

10.  O Ewe free from blemish, the greatest wonder of all wonders was revealed in thee: for thou hast borne the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world.  Entreat Him fervently for those who sing thy praises.

 

Troparia & Kontakion

 

Tone 7: Thou didst destroy death by Thy Cross, /

Thou didst open paradise to the thief. /

Thou didst change the lamentation of the Myrrh-bearers, /

and Thou didst command Thine Apostles to proclaim  /

that Thou didst arise, O Christ God, //

and grantest to the world great mercy.

 

Tone 1: O Lord, save Thy people/

and bless Thine inheritance. /

Grant Thou victory unto Orthodox Christians /

over their enemies, /

and by the power of Thy Cross //

do Thou preserve Thy commonwealth.

 

Glory… Both now… Tone 7: 

No longer doth the flaming sword guard the gate of Eden, /

for a strange extinction hath come upon it, even the Tree of the Cross.  /

The sting hath been taken from death, /

and the victory from hades.  /

And Thou, my Savior, didst appear unto those in hades, saying: //

Enter ye again into Paradise.

 
Instead of the Trisagion:  
               Before Thy Cross we bow down, O Master, and Thy holy Resurrection we glorify. Thrice
               Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.  Amen.  And Thy holy Resurrection we glorify.
               Before Thy Cross we bow down, O Master, and Thy holy Resurrection we glorify.
 

The Epistle

 

Reader: The Prokimenon in the 6th Tone:  Save, O Lord, Thy people and bless Thine inheritance.

Choir: Save, O Lord, Thy people and bless Thine inheritance.

Reader: Unto Thee, O Lord, Will I cry; O my God, be not silent unto me.

Choir: Save, O Lord, Thy people and bless Thine inheritance.

Reader:  Save, O Lord, Thy people.

Choir:  And bless Thine inheritance.

 

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

[Hebrews 4:14-5:6 (§311)]

 

Reader: Alleluia in the 8th Tone.

Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Reader:  Remember Thy congregation which Thou hast purchased from the beginning..

Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Reader:  But God is our king before the ages, He hath wrought salvation in the midst of the earth.

Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

 

Gospel [Mark 8:34-9:1 (§37)]

 

Instead of “It is truly meet…”[Tone 8 in the Octoechos, but usually sung to one of many special melodies]:

All creation – the assembly of angels and the race of man – rejoiceth in thee, O thou who art full of grace, O sacred temple and noetical paradise, boast of virgins, from whom God, Who existeth from before time, was incarnate and became a child; for He made thy body a throne, and thy womb He made more spacious than the heavens.  All creation rejoiceth in thee, O thou who art full of grace.  Glory to thee!

 

Communion Verse:  The light of Thy countenance, O Lord, hath been signed upon us. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

 

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