Presanctified Liturgy: Great and Holy Monday / Eve of Annunciation
Tone 1: As the Lord went to His voluntary Passion, /
He said to His apostles on the way: /
“Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, /
and the Son of man shall be betrayed, as it is written of Him.” /
Come, then, and let us also journey with Him, /
purified in mind; let us be crucified with Him /
and die for His sake to the pleasures of this life, /
that we may also live with Him and hear Him say: /
“No longer do I ascend to the earthly Jerusalem to suffer, /
but I ascend to My Father and your Father, /
and to My God and your God; /
and I shall raise you up to the Jerusalem on High //
in the Kingdom of heaven.”
Tone 5: We have come, O faithful, /
to the saving Passion of Christ our God: /
let us glorify His ineffable forbearance, /
that in His tender mercy He may also raise us up /
who have been slain by sin, //
for He is good and loves mankind.
O Lord, as Thou camest to Thy Passion, /
Thou hast strengthened the faith of Thy disciples, /
taking them aside and saying to them: /
“How have ye forgotten what I told you before? /
According to the Scriptures, /
it cannot be that a prophet should be killed save in Jerusalem. /
Now is the time at hand, of which I spake to you: /
for see, I am betrayed into the hands of sinners; /
they shall mock Me and nail Me to the Cross /
and deliver Me up for burial, /
with loathing looking on Me as a corpse. /
Yet be of good courage: /
for on the third day I shall rise, //
bringing joy and life eternal to the faithful.”
O Lord, the mother of the sons of Zebedee, /
not understanding the hidden mystery of Thy dispensation, /
asked Thee to give the honors of a temporal kingdom to her sons. /
But instead of this Thou hast promised to Thy friends /
that they should drink the cup of death; /
and Thou hast said that Thou wouldest drink this cup before them, /
to cleanse men from their sins. /
Therefore we cry aloud to Thee: //
O salvation of our souls, glory to Thee.
O Lord, teaching Thy disciples to think perfect thoughts, /
Thou hast said to them: /
“Be not like the Gentiles, /
who exercise dominion over those who are less strong. /
But it shall not be so among you, My disciples, /
for I of mine own will am poor. /
Let him, then, who is first among you be the minister of all. /
Let the ruler be as the ruled, /
and let the first be as the last. /
For I Myself have come to minister to Adam in his poverty, /
and to give my life as a ransom //
for the many who cry aloud to Me: Glory to Thee.”
Tone 6, (Special melody “Having set all aside...”):
Gabriel stood before thee, O Maiden, /
revealing the pre-eternal counsel, /
saluting thee and exclaiming: /
"Rejoice, O earth unsown! /
Rejoice, O bush unburnt! /
Rejoice, O depth hard to fathom! /
Rejoice, O bridge leading to the heavens /
and lofty ladder, which Jacob beheld! /
Rejoice, O divine jar of Manna! /
Rejoice, annulment of the curse! /
Rejoice, restoration of Adam: //
the Lord is with thee! Twice
“Thou appearest to me as a man," /
the incorrupt Maiden saith to the supreme commander; /
"yet how is it that thou announcest words /
which are beyond man? /
For thou hast said that God is with me, /
and that He will dwell in my womb. /
Tell me, how shall I become so spacious a dwelling /
and a place of sanctity which surpasseth the cherubim? /
Deceive me no more with falsehood, /
for I have not known pleasure, /
I have not partaken of marriage. //
How then shall I give birth to a Child?" Twice
"When God desireth, the order of nature is overcome /
said the incorporeal one; /
"and things beyond man are wrought. /
Believe thou my true words, /
O most holy and all immaculate one!" /
And she cried aloud: /
"Be it now with me according to thy words: /
I shall give birth to the Incorporeal One, /
Who will borrow flesh from me, /
that through this mingling /
He might lead man up to his primal dignity, //
in that He alone is mighty!"
Glory… Tone 8:
The serpent found a second Eve in the Egyptian woman, /
and with words of flattery he sought to make Joseph fall. /
But, leaving his garments behind him, /
Joseph fled from sin; /
and like the first man before his disobedience, /
though naked he was not ashamed. //
At his prayers, O Christ, have mercy upon us.
Both now... Tone 6:
The Archangel Gabriel was sent from heaven /
to announce the conception to the Virgin. /
And, arriving in Nazareth, /
he pondered within himself, marveling at the wonder: /
How is it that He Who in the highest is unapproachable /
is born of the Virgin; / that He Who hath heaven for His throne and the earth for His footstool /
is contained within the Virgin’s womb; /
that He upon Whom the six-winged and many eyed beings cannot gaze /
hath been well pleased to become incarnate of her by His word alone? /
This is God’s word. /
Why, therefore, do I stand and not say to the Virgin: /
'Rejoice, O thou who art full of grace! /
The Lord is with thee! /
Rejoice, O pure Virgin! /
Rejoice, O unwedded Bride! /
Rejoice, O Mother of Life! //
Blessed is the Fruit of thy womb!'?"
Prokimena and Old Testament Readings
Tone 6: The Lord bless thee out of Zion, * and mayest Thou see the good things of Jerusalem.
Stichos: Blessed are all they that fear the Lord, that walk in His ways.
Tone 6:
We have blessed you * in the name of the Lord.
Stichos: Many a time have they warred against me from my youth, let Israel now say.
The Reading from Genesis (28:10-17)
Jacob went forth from the well of the oath, and departed into Haran. And he came to a certain place, and slept there, for the sun had gone down; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it at his head, and lay down to sleep in that place, and dreamed: and behold a ladder fixed on the earth, whose top reached to heaven, and the angels of God ascended and descended on it. And the Lord stood upon it, and said: “I am the God of thy father Abraham, and the God of Isaac. Fear not; the land on which thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. And thy seed shall be like the sand of the earth; and it shall spread abroad to the sea, and the south, and the north, and the east; and in thee and in thy seed shall all tribes of the earth be blessed. And behold I am with thee to preserve thee continually in all the way wherein thou shalt go; and I will bring thee back to this land; for I will not desert thee, until I have done all that I have said to thee.” And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and said: “The Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.” And he was afraid, and said: “How fearful is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”
The Reading from Ezekiel (43:27-44:4a)
Thus saith the Lord: “It shall come to pass from the eighth day and onward, that the priests shall offer your wholeburnt-offerings on the altar, and your peace-offerings; and I will accept you,” saith the Lord. Then He brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary that faceth eastward; and it was shut. And the Lord said to me: “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall pass through it; for the Lord God of Israel shall enter by it, and it shall be shut. For the Prince, He shall sit in it, to eat bread before the Lord; He shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go forth by the way of the same.” And He brought me in by the way of the gate that faceth northward, in front of the house: and I looked, and, behold! the house was full of the glory of the Lord.
The Reading from Proverbs (9:1-11)
Wisdom hath built a house for herself and set up seven pillars. She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine in a bowl and prepared her table. She hath sent forth her servants, calling with a loud proclamation to the feast, saying: “Whoso is foolish, let him turn aside to me.” And to those who want understanding, she saith: “Come, eat of my bread, and drink wine which I have mingled for you. Leave folly, that ye may reign forever; and seek wisdom, and improve understanding by knowledge.” He that reproveth evil men shall get dishonor to himself; and he that rebuketh an ungodly man shall disgrace himself. Rebuke not evil men, lest they should hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. Give an opportunity to a wise man, and he will be wiser: instruct a just man, and he will receive more instruction. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the counsel of the law is the character of a sound mind. For in this way thou shalt live long, and years of thy life shall be added to thee.
Gospel: Matthew 24:3-35.