Presanctified Liturgy: Wednesday in the 3rd Week
The Hieromartyrs of Cherson
Tone 4:
As the Prodigal I have wasted the riches /
which the Father gave me. /
Now I am destitute and dwell in the land of wicked citizens; /
in my thoughtlessness I have become /
like the beasts without understanding, /
and I am stripped of all God's grace. /
But turning back I cry to Thee, /
the compassionate and merciful Father: /
I have sinned, receive me in repentance, O God, //
and have mercy upon me. (Twice)
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 ye that we be led with you //
to feed beside the waters of repose.
Tone 6:
O apostles, eyewitnesses of God, /
rays of light from the spiritual Sun, /
pray that light may be granted to our souls, /
deliver us from the gloomy darkness of the passions, /
and ask that we may see the day of salvation. /
By your prayers and intercessions cleanse our hearts, /
which the evil one has wounded: /
then, saved by faith, we shall for ever honor you, //
who preserve the world by your preaching of the truth.
Like the Prodigal Son, /
I have journeyed into a far country of wickedness, /
and I have wasted in evil the wealth that thou gavest me, /
O compassionate Father. /
I am starved of good deeds /
and clothed in the shame of my transgression, /
for I have been stripped bare of God's grace. /
I cry to Thee: I have sinned, /
yet I know Thy lovingkindness; /
accept me as one of Thy hired servants, O merciful Christ, //
at the prayers of the apostles who loved Thee.
O apostles of the Lord, /
ye are lights of the inhabited earth, /
benefactors and saviors; /
as the heavens ye declare the glory of God; /
and ye are adorned with the stars of your miracles /
and with your wonders of healing. /
Intercede fervently before the Lord in our behalf, /
that our prayers may be accepted /
as a pure and sweet-smelling fragrance, /
and that we may all be counted worthy /
to venerate the life-giving Cross/
and to gaze on it with fear. /
As we worship this Thy Cross, /
in Thy love for man, O Savior, //
send down Thy mercy on us.
Tone 4 (Special Melody: “Thou hast given a sign…”):
O fathers of heavenly mind, ye were invincible martyrs, /
most laudable hierarchs /
and beacons of the universe, /
immovable pillars of the Church of God /
and foundation for the dogmas, /
instructors of the pious /
and destroyers of falsehood, /
luminous guides for our souls, /
fellow citizens with the angels //
and champions of the Trinity. (Twice)
With divine discourses /
let the glorious Ephraim be blessed, /
together with the divinely wise Basil, /
the great Capito, /
the godly Agathadorus, /
Elpidius and Aetherius, /
and the glorious Eugene; /
for, having lived venerably /
and suffered in sacred manner, /
they were shown to be residents of the kingdom of heaven.
Having slain carnal knowledge with feats of asceticism, /
the glorious Basil raised a dead man from the dead /
by invoking the name of God; /
and the most sacred shepherd Capito, /
rejoicing while standing in the midst of the flame, /
wast seen to be unconsumed. /
By their supplications, O Thou Who lovest mankind, /
grant us the means of atonement //
and Thy great mercy.
Glory... Now and ever...: Theotokion, in the same tone and melody:
Take away the defilement of my passionate heart, /
O most hymned Theotokos, /
cleanse thou all the wounds and befoulment thereof /
which cometh from sin, O pure one, /
and halt the wavering of my mind; /
that I, thy wretched and unprofitable servant, /
may magnify thy power //
and they great assistance.
Prokimena and Old Testament Readings
Tone 4:
I have hoped in the mercy of God for ever, and unto the ages of ages.
Stichos: Why dost thou boast in evil, O mighty man, and in iniquity all the day long?
Tone 4:
When God hath turned back the captivity of His people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
Stichos: The fool hath said in his own heart: there is no God.