Bright Thursday
Deacon: Bless, master!
Priest: Blessed is the kingdom…
Choir:
Amen.
And the clergy sing:
Christ
is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the
tombs bestowing life. Thrice
And then choir also sings the
Troparion thrice.
The Priest
reads the stichoi, and the choir sings the troparion after each stichos:
Stichos
1: Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered, and let them that hate
Him flee from before His face.
Choir:
Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down
death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.
Stichos
2: As
smoke vanisheth, so let them vanish, as wax melteth before the fire.
Choir: Repeat Troparion
Stichos 3: So let the sinners perish at the presence of
God, and let the righteous be glad.
Choir: Repeat Troparion
Stichos 4: This is the day which the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and
be glad therein.
Priest: Glory to
the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Choir: Repeat Troparion
Priest: Both now
and ever, and unto the ages of ages.
Amen.
Choir: Repeat Troparion
Priest: Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death
by death.
Choir: And upon
those in the tombs bestowing life.
Then, in place of the usual
antiphons, we sing those of the feast:
The
First Antiphon
Stichos 1: Shout with
jubilation unto the Lord all the earth; chant ye unto His name, give glory in
praise of Him.
Refrain: Through
the prayers of the Theotokos, O Savior, save us.
Stichos 2: Say unto God: How awesome are Thy
works! In the multitude of Thy power
shall Thine enemies be proved false unto Thee.
Refrain: Through
the prayers of the Theotokos, O Savior, save us.
Stichos 3: Let all the earth worship Thee and chant
unto Thee; let them chant unto Thy name, O Most High.
Refrain: Through
the prayers of the Theotokos, O Savior, save us.
Glory to
the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto
the ages of ages. Amen.
Refrain: Through
the prayers of the Theotokos, O Savior, save us.
The
Second Antiphon
Stichos 1: God be gracious unto us and bless us, and
cause Thy face to shine upon us and have mercy on us.
Refrain: O Son of
God Who didst rise from the dead, save us who sing to Thee: Alleluia.
Stichos 2: That we
may know upon the earth Thy way, among all the nations Thy salvation.
Refrain. O Son of God Who didst rise
from the dead, save us who sing to Thee: Alleluia.
Stichos 3: Let all
the peoples give Thee praise, O God, let all the peoples praise Thee.
Refrain: O Son of
God Who didst rise from the dead, save us who sing to Thee: Alleluia.
Glory to
the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto
the ages of ages. Amen.
O only-begotten Son and Word of God, Who art
immortal, yet didst deign for our salvation to be incarnate of the Holy
Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, and without change didst become man, and was
crucified, O Christ God, trampling down death by death. Thou Who art one of the Holy Trinity,
glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit, save us.
The
Third Antiphon
Reader:
Stichos 1: Let God arise and let His
enemies be scattered, and let them that hate Him flee from before His face.
Choir:
Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down
death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.
Stichos
2: As
smoke vanisheth, so let them vanish, as wax melteth before the fire.
Choir: Repeat Troparion
Stichos 3: So let the sinners perish at the presence of
God, and let the righteous be glad, let them rejoice in the presence of God
Choir: Repeat Troparion
The
entry verse:
In congregations bless ye God,
the Lord from the wellsprings of Israel.
Troparia
& Kontakia:
Tone 1: Christ is
risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs
bestowing life. Thrice.
Tone 4: As a liberator
of captives, /
a helper of the poor, and
a physician of the infirm, /
O champion of kings, /
victorious great martyr
George, entreat Christ God, //
that our souls be saved.
Glory… Tone 4: Having been
cultivated by God, /
thou didst show thyself to
be a most honorable husbandman of piety, /
gathering to thyself the
sheaves of the virtues; /
for, having sown in tears,
thou reapest in gladness, /
and having suffered in the
shedding of thy blood, /
thou hast received Christ.
And by thy supplications, O holy one, //
thou grantest forgiveness
of transgressions unto all.
Both now…
Tone 8: Thou didst descend into the tomb, O Immortal,
/
Thou didst
destroy the power of death. /
In victory
didst Thou arise, O Christ God, /
proclaiming
“Rejoice!” to the myrrh-bearing women; /
granting peace
to Thine apostles, //
and bestowing
resurrection on the fallen.
Instead
of the Trisagion: As many
as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Alleluia.
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. Have put on
Christ. Alleluia.
As
many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Alleluia.
The Epistle
Reader: The
Prokimenon in the 3rd Tone: O chant
unto our God, chant ye; chant unto our King, chant ye.
Choir: O
chant unto our God, chant ye; chant unto our King, chant ye.
Reader: Clap
your hands, all ye nations; shout unto God with a voice of rejoicing.
Choir: O
chant unto our God, chant ye; chant unto our King, chant ye.
Reader: In the 7th tone: The righteous man shall be glad in the Lord, and shall hope in Him.
Choir: The righteous
man shall be glad in the Lord, and shall hope in Him.
Reader: The Reading is from the Acts of the Holy
Apostles: [Acts 2:38-43 (§6); Acts 12:1-11 (§29)]
Reader: Alleluia
in the 4th Tone: Bend Thy bow, and proceed prosperously, and
be king, because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and Thy right hand
shall guide Thee wondrously.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: Thou hast loved righteousness and hated
iniquity. Wherefore God, Thy God, hath
anointed Thee with the oil of gladness more than Thy fellows.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: In the 4th tone: The
righteous man shall flourish like a palm-tree, and like a cedar in Lebanon
shall he be multiplied.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Gospel [John 3:1-15 (§8); John 15:17-16:2 (§52)]
Instead of “It is truly
meet…” we chant the Irmos of the 9th Ode of the Canon of the feast,
first Tone:
Refrain: The angel cried unto her that is full of
grace: Rejoice, O pure Virgin! And again I say, rejoice! For thy Son is risen from the grave on the
third day, and hath raised the dead, O ye people, be joyful!
Irmos: Shine, shine, O new Jerusalem, for the glory
of the Lord is risen upon thee; dance now and be glad, O Zion, and do thou
exult, O pure Theotokos, in the arising of Him Whom thou didst bear.
Communion Verse:
Receive ye the Body of Christ, taste ye of the Fountain of Immortality. In
everlasting remembrance shall the righteous be; he shall not be afraid of evil
tidings. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
When the priest
says: “With the fear of God and with faith draw near,” instead of “Blessed is
He that cometh in the name of the Lord,” we sing: “Christ is risen…” once. And we also sing this instead of “We have
seen the true light…” and instead of “Let our mouths be filled with thy
praise…”
When the priest
says: “The blessing of the Lord be upon you…” The Choir sings “Amen.”
And then the clergy sing: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down
death by death.” And the Choir sings: “And upon those in the tombs
bestowing life.”
After this the
priest says the dismissal, and “Christ is risen!” thrice, while
bestowing a blessing with the Cross.