Presanctified Liturgy:
Wednesday in the 6th Week
Forefeast of Annunciation
Tone
5:
I
am rich in passions and clothed in the deceitful robe of hypocrisy, /
and
I rejoice in the sins of self-indulgence.
/
There
is no limit to my lack of love. /
I
neglect my spiritual understanding, /
that
lies at the gate of repentance, /
starved
of all good things, sick through want of care.
/
O
Lord, make me like Lazarus poor in sin, /
that
I be not tormented in the flame /
that
never shall be quenched, /
and
pray in vain for a finger to be dipped in water /
and
laid upon my tongue. /
But
in Thy love for mankind //
make
me dwell with the Patriarch Abraham. Twice
Your
souls, O holy martyrs, /
were
filled with an insatiable love; /
not
denying Christ ye endured great sufferings and torment, /
and
ye cast down the tyrants’ pride. /
Ye
kept the faith unaltered and unharmed, /
and
now ye have gone to dwell in heaven. /
Since
ye have boldness before Christ, //
pray
that peace be given to the world, and to our souls great mercy.
When
Thou wast journeying in the flesh, O Jesus, /
on
the other side of the
Thou
hast said to Thy companions:
“My
friend Lazarus is already dead, /
and
now has been committed to the tomb. /
And
so for your sakes I rejoice, my friends, /
for
by this ye shall learn that I know all things, /
since
I am God, inseparable from the Father, /
though
in my visible appearance I am man. /
Let
us go then, to bring him back to life, /
that
death may feel the defeat /
and
utter destruction that I bring upon it, //
bestowing
my great mercy on the world.
O
ye faithful, let us follow the example of Martha and Mary, /
and
as intercessors let us send to the Lord our acts of righteousness, /
that
He may come to raise up from the dead our spiritual understanding, /
which
lies insensible within the tomb of negligence, /
lacking
all feeling of the fear of God /
and
having no vital energy. /
So
let us cry: As once by Thy dread authority, O merciful Lord, /
Thou
hast raised up Thy friend Lazarus, /
so
now give life to all of us, //
and
grant us Thy great mercy.
Tone:
6: Lazarus
has now been two days in the tomb, /
and
He sees the dead from all the ages. /
There
he beholds strange sights of terror, /
a
multitude that none can number, the prisoners of hell. /
His
sisters bitterly lament, looking upon his tomb.
/
But
Christ comes to bring His friend to life, /
that
a single hymn of praise may be offered up with one accord by all: //
Blessed
art Thou, O Savior, have mercy upon us.
Tone
4 (Special Melody: “As one valiant…”):
The
Archangel Gabriel /
confirmeth
the mystery hidden and unknown even to the angels; /
and
he is now come to thee /
who
alone art incorrupt, /
the
comely turtledove, /
the
restoration of our race, /
and
crieth out to thee, O all-holy one: /
“Rejoice!
Be thou made ready by my words //
to
receive in thy womb God the Word!” Twice
A
splendid palace /
hath
been prepared for thee, O Master: /
the
pure womb of the divine Maiden! /
Come
Thou and enter therein, /
have
pity on thy creation /
which
in envy undertook to oppose Thee, /
is
held in thrall to the deceiver, /
hath
lost its primal beauty //
and
awaiteth Thy saving descent.
The
Archangel Gabriel /
manifestly
cometh to thee, O all-immaculate one, /
and
crieth out to thee: /
“Rejoice,
thou annulment of the curse, /
restoration
of the fallen! /
Rejoice,
thou who alone hast been chosen by God! /
Rejoice,
chariot of the Sun of glory! /
Receive
thou the Incorporeal One //
Who
desireth to make His abode within thy womb!
Glory…
Both now Tone 2:
Today
Gabriel announceth the glad tidings /
to
her who is full of grace, saying: /
"Rejoice,
O Mother unwedded, who knoweth not wedlock! /
Marvel
not at my strange appearance, /
neither
be thou afraid, for I am an archangel. /
The
serpent once deceived Eve, /
but
now I announce joy to thee: /
thou
shalt remain incorrupt //
and
shalt give birth to the Lord, O all-pure one!"
Prokimena
and Old Testament
Tone
4:
I
will be well-pleasing before the Lord in the land of the living.
Stichos: I am filled with love, for
the Lord will hear the voice of my supplication.
Tone
4:
My
vows unto the Lord will I pay in the presence of all His people.
Stichos: I believed, wherefore I
spake; I was humbled exceedingly.