Fourth Sunday of Great Lent / Forefeast of Annunciation / Tone 4

Beatitudes: 6 from the Octoechos; 4 from Ode 3 of the Forefeast

 
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. O earth so sadly overgrown with the thorns of the passions, dance thou, leaping up;

for, lo! the immortal Husbandman now cometh, removing the curse from thee.

8. Prepare thyself, O undefiled Virgin, thou divine fleece; for upon thee will God

descend like rain, to dry up the torrents of transgression.

9. Be thou well adorned, O divine scroll; for by the finger of the Father will the divine

Word incarnate be written upon thee, annulling the transgression of my irrationality.

10. O golden lamp, bear aloft the fire of the Godhead which shineth forth through thee,

bestowing light upon the world; for thereby is the darkness of our evils broken.

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 the first-fruits of universal joy /

command us to chant hymnody of the forefeast; /

for, lo! Gabriel cometh, bearing an announcement to the Virgin, /

and he crieth out to her: “Rejoice, O thou who art full of grace! //

The Lord is with thee!”

 
[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: Thou art the beginning of the salvation of all of us mortals, O Virgin Theotokos; /

for Gabriel, the great supreme commander, the servant of God, /

sent from heaven to stand before thee, offered thee gladsome joy. //

Wherefore, we all cry out to thee: Rejoice, O Bride unwedded!

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: How magnified are Thy works O Lord!

Choir: In wisdom hast Thou made them all.

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

[Hebrews 6:13-20]

Reader: Alleluia in the 4th Tone:

Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Reader: 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!

Gospel [Mark 9:17-31]

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: Praise the Lord in the heavens, praise Him in the highest! Alleluia!

Alleluia! Alleluia!