Presanctified Liturgy:
Friday in the 1st Week
The Great Martyr Theodore /
Hieromartyr Hermogenes of Moscow
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:
The
voice of the Holy Orthodox Church/
crieth
out with loving compunction: /
Come
ye, my children, for whom I care! /
Come
ye to the great holy hierarch! /
Come
ye to the all-wondrous hieromartyr! /
Come
ye to the tireless advocate for Russia! /
Fall
down and pray from the depths of your souls: /
O
hieromartyr Hermogenes, by thy supplications //
even
now save Orthodox Russian, which thou dost love!
Who
is this who in compunction /
hath
bent the knees of his body and soul? /
Who
is this who hath fallen prostrate? /
Who
is this who with hope hath uplifted his eyes to heaven /
and
raised up his hand in steadfast trust? /
Who
is this who groaneth and maketh
lamentation? /
As
thou dost grieve for the Russian land, O hieromartyr Hermogenes, //
transform
our tears into joy.
O
Lord and Savior, /
if
we had not had Thy holy hieromartyr Hermogenes as our advocate, /
and
Thy goodness to have mercy on us, /
how
would we dare to stand before Thy face in our sins, even unto this day? /
How
would we have dared to stand against our enemies, /
preserve
the Faith of our fathers, and make steadfast our Orthodox land? /
But
thou didst hearken unto the supplication of the great hierarch, /
the
all-wondrous hieromartyr Hermogenes, /
and
didst gather Orthodox Russia beneath his wings: /
and
its enemies fled from before its face. /
And
now, through the prayers of the holy hierarch, //
have
pity and save us, O Lord!
Tone
1: Come, all ye faithful, let us praise the holy
hierarch Hermogenes: /
the
star who shone forth form the east of the sun’s dawning /
and
illumined the west of the sun’s setting with Orthodoxy of faith, /
the
new star, now revealed in the glorious heavens /
among
the company of hieromartyrs, /
to
aid his Church and homeland against their enemies, /
and
to confirm the Faith of our fathers. /
Through
the supplications of the holy hierarch, //
O
Lord, grant us peace and 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, /
bring
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 designed 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.
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.