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
3:
Great
is the power of Thy martyrs, O Christ! /
Though
they lie in their tombs, /
they drive out evil spirits /
and
fight in defense of true devotion, /
subduing the dominion of the enemy //
through faith in the Trinity.
The
prophets, the apostles of Christ and the martyrs /
have taught mankind to sing the praises of the consubstantial Trinity; /
they have given light to the nations that were gone astray, //
and
have made the sons of men companions of the angels.
Supported
by faith and made strong by hope, /
Thy
martyrs, O Lord, destroyed the tyranny of the enemy; /
and
receiving crowns of glory, together with the angels //
they make intercession for our souls.
It
was set up in the place of the skull, and it acts in all the world; /
it
made the fishermen into apostles, /
and
the Gentiles into martyrs, //
that they might intercede for our souls.
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 3:
How
can we not marvel /
at
thy giving birth to the God-man, O all-honored one. /
For
without having accepted the temptation of a man, /
O
all-immaculate one, /
without a father thou gavest birth in the flesh to a Son /
Who
was begotten without a mother before the ages, /
without His undergoing change, confusion or division, /
yet
preserving intact the character of both essences. /
Wherefore,
O Virgin Mother and Mistress, /
entreat Him, that the souls of those who in Orthodox manner //
confess thee to be the Theotokos be saved.
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.