Presanctified Liturgy:
Wednesday in the 3rd Week
Holy Apostle Archippus
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 starts 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
8 (Special Melody: “Thy martyrs, O Lord…”):
With
the light of his discourse, /
Archippus illumined the people /
and
delivered them from the darkness of unbelief; /
and
having suffered and trampled down the enemy, /
he
made haste to the never-waning Radiance /
and
rejoiceth now with the angels. /
Through
his prayers, O Master, //
bestow great mercy upon all. (Twice)
Dragged
along, pierced through, /
and
beset by all manner of other cruel tortures, O blessed one, /
thou didst not deny Christ, /
nor
didst thou render worship to graven images.
/
Wherefore,
thou didst receive a crown, //
and
prayest that great mercy be granted to all.
With
the divine streams of thy blood /
thou didst sanctify the earth, O divinely wise martyr; /
by
thy wounds thou didst wound a multitude of evil demons, /
and,
ever pouring forth healings, /
thou healest the most grievous of sufferings. /
Wherefore,
in thy supplications, O blessed one, //
ask
that all may receive great mercy.
Glory...
Both now…
O
Mistress, rescue me from the hands of the serpent /
who
slayeth mankind, /
and
who in his wickedness desireth to devour me utterly. /
Crush
his jaws, I pray thee, and destroy his snares; /
that, delivered from his talons, //
I
may magnify thine aid.
Prokimena
and Old Testament
Tone
4:
My trust
is in the tender mercy of God forever and ever.
Stichos: Why boastest thou thyself
in mischief, O mighty man, and in iniquity all the day long?
Tone
4:
When
God shall bring back His people from captivity, Jacob shall rejoice and
Stichos: The fool has said in his
heart: there is no God.