Great Martyr
George / Wednesday of the 3rd Week after Pascha
At the beginning
of the Liturgy, the Priest sings “Christ is risen” 2 ˝ times, and the Choir
finishes
the last half.
Beatitudes on 8, Myrrh-bearers: 4, from Ode 5; Great Martyr: 4, from Ode 3, first canon.
1. Clothing Thyself in me, O my Savior, Thou didst strip off the primal garment which –
alas! – the sower of sin wove for me.
2. Woe is me! My sin sewed together fig leaves for me who through the counsel of the
serpent did not keep Thine all-pure commandment, O my Savior.
3. Celebrating the memory of the pious myrrh-bearers and all Thy disciples, we hymn
Thee, O Christ, in the light of Thine arising.
4. Let us all honor the noble Joseph as is meet, who took the body of the Lord down from
the Tree and faithfully buried it.
5. Resplendent in the crown of suffering, O glorious and blessed one, entreat God our
Deliverer, that He deliver from all necessity those who piously call upon thee.
6. Illumined with rich effulgence, O all-wise one, from us who praise thee with faith
drive far away dark grief and the gloom of the passions.
7. Made steadfast by hope and love, and fortified by faith, O George, strengthened by the
power of Christ thou didst cast down the falsehood of the idols.
8. O all-pure one, thou gavest birth in the flesh to the Incorporeal One Who hath
enlightened the ends of the earth, and Who before all things is with the Father equally
without beginning. Wherefore, we, the faithful, honor thee, the Theotokos.
Troparia and Kontakia:
Tone 2:
The noble Joseph, taking Thine
immaculate Body down from the Tree, /
and having wrapped It in
pure linen and spices, laid It in a new tomb. /
But on the third day Thou
didst arise, O Lord, //
granting to the world
great mercy.
Tone 2: When Thou didst descend unto
death, O Life Immortal, /
then
didst Thou slay Hades with the lightning of Thy Divinity. /
And
when Thou didst also raise the dead out of the nethermost depths,
all
the Hosts of the heavens cried out: //
O
Life-giver, Christ our God, glory be to Thee.
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 2:
When Thou didst cry,
Rejoice, unto the myrrh-bearers, /
Thou didst make the
lamentation of Eve the first mother to cease /
by Thy Resurrection, O
Christ God. /
And Thou didst bid Thine
apostles to preach: //
The Savior is risen from
the grave.
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: 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
[Acts 8:18-25 (§19); Acts
12:1-11 (§29)]
Reader: Alleluia in the 8th Tone: Thou hast been gracious, O Lord, unto
Thy land; Thou
hast turned back the
captivity of Jacob.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia,
Alleluia!
Reader: Mercy
and truth are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each
other.
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
6:35-39 (§21); 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:
Praise the
Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion. In
everlasting
remembrance shall the righteous be; he shall not be afraid of evil
tidings. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
We sing “Christ is risen…” instead of “We have seen the true
light…“
At the dismissal, when the priest says: “Glory to Thee,
O Christ God…” The Choir sings
“Christ is risen…”
x3 instead of “Glory… Both now… Father bless!”
Then the priest
gives the dismissal.