Presanctified Liturgy:
Tuesday in the 4th Week
The 40 Martyrs of Sebaste
At the Hours:
Troparion of the Martyrs:
Tone 1:
By the pangs of
Thy saints, /
be Thou entreated, O Lord, /
and heal all our diseases, //
we beseech Thee, O Thou Who lovest mankind.
Kontakion of the Martyrs:
Tone 6: Having
left all the army of the world, /
ye cleaved unto the Master
in the heavens, /
O forty passion-bearers of the Lord; /
for, having passed through
fire and water, O blessed ones, /
as is meet ye received
glory from the heavens //
and a multitude of crowns.
Troparia of the
Prophecy at the 6th Hour:
Reader: The Troparion of the Prophecy, in the 6th Tone:
Tone 6 [sticheron melody]: Before Thy
Cross we bow down, O Master, //
and Thy Holy resurrection we
glorify.
Glory…. Both Now…
Before Thy Cross we bow down,
O Master, //
and Thy Holy resurrection we
glorify.
Reader: The Prokimenon in the 6th Tone:
Blessed is God Who hath not
turned away my prayer, * nor His mercy away from me.
Stichos: O bless our God, ye nations, and make the voice of His praise
to be heard.
Deacon: Wisdom!
Reader: The reading is from the Prophecy of Isaiah (25:1-9).
Deacon: Let us attend!
Reader: O Lord God, I will glorify thee, I will sing to thy
name; for Thou hast done wonderful things, even an ancient and faithful
counsel. So be it. For Thou hast made
cities a heap, even cities made strong that their foundations should not fall:
the city of ungodly men shall not be built for ever. Therefore shall the poor people bless thee,
and cities of injured men shall bless Thee.
For Thou hast been a helper to every lowly city, and a shelter to them
that were disheartened by reason of poverty: Thou shalt deliver them from
wicked men: Thou hast been a shelter of them that thirst, and a refreshing air
to injured men. We were as faint-hearted
men thirsting in
Reader: The Prokimenon in the 6th Tone: Let God, our God,
bless us; * let God bless us.
Stichos: God
be gracious unto us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us and have
mercy on us.
At Lord,
I have cried, on 10:
Tone
3:
I
have surpassed the Publican in my transgressions, /
yet
I do not vie with him in his repentance; /
I
have not gained the virtue of the Pharisee, /
yet
I imitate him in his self-conceit. /
O
Christ my God, in Thy supreme humility /
Thou
hast upon the Cross destroyed the devil’s arrogance: /
make
me a stranger to the past sins of the Publican /
and
to the great foolishness of the Pharisee; /
establish
in my soul the good that each of them possessed, //
and
save me. Twice
Tone
6:
O
merciful Lord, /
Thou
hast endured the Cross and Passion in the midst of the earth, /
granting
unto all men redemption and freedom from the passions. /
Therefore,
on this middle day of the fast, /
we
set thus Thy Cross before us and we venerate it with great joy. /
Glorious
with the light of the divine virtues, /
may
we all be counted worthy to see Thy Passion /
and
life-giving Resurrection, O Word of God, //
who
alone art rich in mercy.
Nailed
upon the Cross, Thy side pierced by the spear, /
Thou
wast counted as a lifeless corpse; /
and
Thou wast given gall to drink, O longsuffering Master, /
who
by the hand of Moses hast made sweet the waters of Marah. /
Therefore
I entreat Thee and I pray: /
Uproot
the bitter passions from my understanding, /
sweeten
my mind with the honey of repentance, //
and
grant that I may worship at Thy holy Passion.
Tone
1:
We
see placed before our eyes today the mighty Cross /
that
Moses once prefigured with his outstretched hands, /
when
he put Amalek to flight. /
Trembling,
O ye peoples, let us touch it with pure minds and lips, /
for
upon it Christ was raised when He slew death.
/
May
we all be counted worthy of His grace, /
and,
praising the Savior of all with hymns inspired by God, //
let
us pray that we may come to His saving Resurrection.
Tone 4: Come, let us worship the
Cross of Christ our God that brings life: /
for
it is set this day before us. /
Through
the Cross death is wounded /
and
the power of Thy Resurrection is newly revealed to us the fallen. /
Let
us cry to our Deliverer: /
Of
Thine own will Thou hast suffered for our sake, /
to
save the whole creation; //
our
God, glory to Thee.
Tone
1:
The
choir of forty-fold splendor, /
the
whole army assembled by God, /
hath shone forth upon the Fast /
in
their honorable sufferings, //
illumining and enlightening our souls. (Twice)
Tone
2:
The
martyrs considered the lake to be a paradise, /
and
winter to be as the heat of day, O Christ God; /
and
thoughts of the tyrants’ threats did not frighten them. /
Valiant,
they feared not the increase of tortures, /
having acquired the weapon of the Cross; /
and
therewith, as mighty, they vanquished the foe, //
for
which thy have received crowns of grace.
Who
will not hymn the choir of the martyrs forty in number? /
For
they entered the waters of the lake boldly, /
and,
huddling together in the cold, /
they chanted a hymn unto the Lord: /
Nay,
in the rivers art Thou wroth against us, O Lover of mankind? /
Lighten
Thou the oppression and bitterness of the wind, /
for
our feet are empurpled with our own blood, /
and
Thou has led us into thine everlasting habitations, O God! //
May
the bosom of Abraham warm us!
Glory...
in the same tone:
Prophetically
David cried aloud in the Psalms: /
We
went through fire and water, /
and
Thou didst bring us out into refreshment!
/
And
ye, O martyrs of Christ, /
Fulfilling
the word in very deed, /
passed through fire and water /
and
entered into the Kingdom of Heaven. /
Wherefore,
pray, O ye forty athletes, //
that we be given great mercy.
Both
now… Tone 8:
Today
the Master of the creation and the Lord of Glory /
is
nailed to the Cross and His side is pierced; /
and
He who is the sweetness of the Church tastes gall and vinegar. /
A
crown of thorns is put upon Him who covers the heavens with clouds. /
He
is clothed in a cloak of mockery, /
and
He who formed man with His hands is struck by a hand of clay. /
He
who wraps the heavens in clouds is smitten upon His back. /
He
accepts spitting and scourging, reproach and buffeting; /
and
all these things my Deliver and God /
endures
for me that am condemned, /
that
in His compassion //
He
may save the world from error.
1st
Prokimenon:
Tone 6:
Sing unto God, * chant unto His name.
Stichos:
Prepare
ye the way for Him that rideth upon the setting of the sun.
Deacon: Wisdom!
Reader: The reading is from Genesis
(9:8-17).
Deacon: Let us attend!
Reader: God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him,
saying, And
behold I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you, and with
every living creature with you of birds and of beasts, and with all the wild
beasts of the earth, as many as are with you, of all that come out of the
ark. And I will establish my covenant
with you and all flesh shall not any more die by the water of the flood, and
there shall no more be a flood of water to destroy all the earth. And the Lord
God said to Noah, This is the sign of the covenant which I set between me and
you, and between every living creature which is with you for perpetual
generations. I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of covenant
between me and the earth. And it shall be when I gather clouds upon the earth,
that my bow shall be seen in the cloud. And I will remember my covenant, which
is between me and you, and between every living soul in all flesh, and there
shall no longer be water for a deluge, so as to blot out all flesh. And my bow
shall be in the cloud, and I will look to remember the everlasting covenant
between me and the earth, and between every living soul in all flesh which is
upon the earth. And God said to Noah,
This is the sign of the covenant, which I have made between me and all flesh,
which is upon the earth.
2nd
Prokimenon:
Tone 6: May
Thy salvation, * O God, be quick to help me.
Deacon: Wisdom!
Reader: The reading is from
Proverbs (12:8-22).
Deacon: Let us attend!
Reader: The mouth of an understanding man is praised
by a man; but he that is dull of heart is had in derision. Better is a man in dishonor serving himself,
than one honoring himself and wanting bread. A righteous man has pity for the
lives of his cattle; but the bowels of the ungodly are unmerciful. He that tills
his own land shall be satisfied with bread; but they that pursue vanities are
void of understanding. He that enjoys himself in banquets of wine, shall leave
dishonor in his own strong holds. The
desires of the ungodly are evil; but the roots of the godly are firmly set. For
the sin of his lips a sinner falls into snares; but a righteous man escapes
from them. He whose looks are gentle shall be pitied, but he that contends in
the gates will afflict souls. The soul
of a man shall be filled with good from the fruits of his mouth; and the recompense
of his lips shall be given to him. The
ways of fools are right in their own eyes; but a wise man hearkens to
counsels. A fool declares his wrath the
same day; but a prudent man hides his own disgrace. A righteous man declares the open truth; but
an unjust witness is deceitful. Some
wound as they speak, like swords; but the tongues of the wise heal. True lips
establish testimony; but a hasty witness has an unjust tongue. There is deceit in the heart of him that
imagines evil; but they that love peace shall rejoice. No injustice will please
a just man; but the ungodly will be filled with mischief. Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord;
but he that deals faithfully is accepted with him.
Then, Let my prayer arise, followed
by the prayer of St. Ephrem with 3 prostrations.
The Epistle
Reader: The Prokimenon in the 5th Tone: Thou, O Lord, shalt keep us and
shalt preserve us from this generation, and forevermore.
Choir: Thou, O Lord,
shalt keep us and shalt preserve us from this
generation, and forevermore.
Reader: Save me, O Lord, for a righteous man there
is no more; for truths
have diminished from
the sons of men.
Choir: Thou,
O Lord, shalt keep us and shalt preserve us from this
generation, and forevermore.
Reader: Thou, O Lord, shalt keep us.
Choir: And shalt preserve us from this generation, and forevermore.
Reader: The Reading is
from the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the
Hebrews: [Hebrews 12:1-10]
Reader: Alleluia in the 4th Tone.
Choir: Alleluia,
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: Shout with jubilation unto the Lord all the earth; chant ye unto His
name, give glory in praise of Him.
Choir: Alleluia,
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: For Thou hast proved us, O God, and by
fire hast Thou tried us
even as silver is
tried by fire.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia,
Alleluia!
Gospel [Matthew
20:1-16]
Communion
Verse: O taste and see that the Lord is good. Rejoice in the
Lord, O ye righteous; praise is meet for the
upright. Alleluia, Alleluia,
Alleluia!