Presanctified Liturgy: Friday in the 1st Week

The Great Martyr Theodore

 

Tone 5:

Come, ye faithful, and in the light let us perform the works of God; /

let us walk honestly as in the day.  /

Let us cast away every unjust accusation against our neighbor, /

not placing any cause of stumbling in his path. /

Let us lay aside the pleasures of the flesh, /

and increase the spiritual gifts of our soul. /

Let us give bread to those in need, /

and let us draw near unto Christ, crying in penitence: //

O our God, have mercy on us.                Twice

 

Tone 4:

O martyrs of the Lord, living oblations, /

spiritual burnt-offerings, /

perfect victims sacrificed to God, /

sheep that know God and are known by Him, /

whose fold no wolf can enter: /

pray that we be led with you //

to feed beside the water of repose.

 

Precious is the death of Thy saints, O Lord.  /

Slain by the sword, by fire or frost, /

they poured out their blood, putting all their trust in Thee /

and awaiting from Thy hand the reward of their labors.  /

They endured to the end and from Thee, O Savior, //

they received great mercy.

 

Since, O saints, ye have boldness in the presence of the Savior, /

pray without ceasing for us sinners, /

asking that remission of offences and great mercy //

may be granted to our souls.

 

Thou art glorified in the memorials of Thy saints, O Christ our God: /

at their intercessions //

send down upon us Thy great mercy.

 

Tone 2:

Come, all ye who love the martyrs, /

let us rejoice in spirit and keep festival.  /

For today Theodore the martyr has set before us a table /

laden with mystic food, /

bringing joy to all of us who gladly celebrate his memory. /

Unto him we cry: /

Rejoice, victorious champion, /

who has trampled underfoot the tyrants’ threats.  /

Rejoice, thou who gavest thy body of clay to torture /

for the sake of Christ our God.  /

Rejoice, thou who hast shown thyself, in manifold tribulations, /

a tested warrior of the heavenly host. /

O glory of the martyrs, //

we entreat thee to pray for our souls.

 

The God-given grace of thy miracles, O martyr Theodore, /

thou dost grant to all who turn to thee in faith.  /

We therefore praise thee, saying: /

Thou dost deliver prisoners and heal the sick; /

thou givest riches to the poor and guardest those who sail the seas. /

Thou restrainest slaves from useless flight, /

and showest robbers what their punishment will be; /

thou teachest soldiers to abstain from plunder. /

In thy loving compassion thou dost grant the prayers of children, /

and thou art the fervent protector of all who keep thy holy memory. /

With them we also sing the praises of thy martyrdom, O saint of God: //

pray to Christ that He may show us His great mercy.

 

O martyr Theodore, thou art a matchless gift from God: /

for after thy death as during thy lifetime, /

thou dost grant the petitions of those who turn to thee. /

Thus once it happened that the son of a poor widow /

was carried off by soldiers of another faith; /

and she came weeping to thy shrine.  /

Mounted upon a white horse, in loving compassion /

thou hast defended her child with thine invisible protection.  /

And now as then, never dost thou cease from working wonders: //

pray to Christ our God, for the salvation of our souls.

 

O thrice-blessed Theodore, I honor thee: /

rightly art thou named “Gift from God”.  /

For thou hast shown thyself a never-setting star of the divine Light, /

and through thy sufferings thou dost shine on all the world. /

Proving thyself stronger than fire, thou has quenched the flames; /

and thou hast crushed the head of the deceitful serpent. /

Therefore, in the midst of thy sufferings, /

Christ came and set a crown upon thy holy head. /

O Great Martyr, who hast boldness before God, //

do thou offer fervent intercession for our souls.

 

Glory… Tone 6: Using as his tool the Apostate Emperor, /

the enemy devised a cruel plot: /

with food polluted by unclean sacrifices /

he sought to defile the people of God /

as they purified themselves through fasting. /

But thou hast defeated his design by a more skillful plan: /

appearing in a dream to the Archbishop, /

thou hast revealed to him the evil plot. /

Therefore we offer thee a sacrifice of thanksgiving, /

honoring thee as our protector /

and keeping the yearly memorial of what was done.  /

May we be kept safe, we pray, from the designs of the enemy //

at thine intercessions, O Martyr Theodore.

 

Both now… Tone 4:

The Prophet David, the forefather of God, /

for thy sake gave voice beforehand in psalmody concerning  thee, /

unto Him Who in thee accomplished mighty works: /

the Queen stood at Thy right hand. /

For God Whose good pleasure it was to become incarnate of thee without father /

showed thee, His Mother, to be the mediatress of life, /

that He might renew His image which had become corrupt through the passions; /

and having found the sheep which had strayed among the mountains and become lost, /

He taketh it upon His shoulders and bringeth it to His Father; /

and Christ, Who is possessed of great and rich  mercy, /

in accordance with His will, uniteth it with the hosts of heaven, //

and saveth the world, O Theotokos.

 

Prokimena and Old Testament Readings

 

Tone 5: The Lord hear thee in the day of affliction.

 

Stichos: The name of the God of Jacob defend thee.

 

Lesson: Genesis 2:20-3:20

 

Tone 6: Be Thou exalted, O Lord, in Thy strength; we will sing and chant of Thy mighty acts.

 

Stichos:  O Lord, in Thy strength the king shall be glad.

 

Lesson: Proverbs 3:19-34

 

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