Forgiveness Vespers
Tone 3 / February
2nd
At Lord I have cried: Penitential
Stichera in the tone of the week: 4; Triodion: 3; Menaion 3.
Penitential Stichera:
Tone 3: With Incense and with spiritual songs, /
we offer unto Thee, O Christ, our evening hymn. //
Have mercy upon our souls, O Savior.
Save me, O Lord my God, /
for Thou art the salvation of all. /
The billows of my passions
sorely trouble me, /
and the burden of my transgressions drags me down. /
Stretch out thine hand in
help /
and lead me up to the light of compunction, //
for Thou only art compassionate
and lovest mankind.
Gather together my scattered
mind, O Lord, /
and purify my dry and barren heart, /
giving me like Peter repentance, /
like the Publican sighs of sorrow, /
and like the Harlot tears, /
that I may cry with a loud voice unto Thee: /
Save me, O God, //
for Thou only art compassionate
and lovest mankind.
Often when I offer praise to
God, /
I am found to be committing
sin; /
for while I sing the hymns with my tongue, /
in my soul I ponder evil thoughts. /
But through repentance,
Christ my God, //
set right my tongue and soul, and have mercy on
me.
Triodion:
Tone
2: Let us all make haste to humble the flesh by abstinence, /
as we set out upon the God-given course of the holy
Fast; /
and with prayers and tears let us seek our Lord and
Savior. /
Laying aside all memories of
evil, let us cry aloud: /
We have sinned against Thee,
Christ our King; /
save us as the men of
and in Thy compassion //
make us sharers in Thy heavenly Kingdom.
When I think of my works,
deserving every punishment, /
I despair of myself, O
Lord. /
For see, I have despised Thy
precious commandments, /
and wasted my life as the Prodigal. /
Therefore I entreat Thee: /
cleanse me in the waters of repentance, /
and through prayer and fasting make me shine with light,
/
for Thou alone art merciful; /
abhor me not, O Benefactor of all, //
supreme in love.
Let us set out with joy upon
the season of the Fast, /
and prepare ourselves for spiritual combat. /
Let us purify our soul and
cleanse our flesh; /
and as we fast from food, /
let us abstain also from every passion. /
Rejoicing in the virtues of
the Spirit may we persevere with love, /
and so be counted worthy to see the solemn passion of
Christ our God, /
and with great spiritual gladness //
to behold His holy Pascha.
Stichera for St. Tryphon:
Tone
1 [special melody: “O most lauded martyrs…”]:
O most lauded Tryphon, /
in the heavens thou didst partake most splendidly of
incorruptible delight, /
and didst contend, O glorious one, in valorous
struggles. /
As thou was a witness to the
truth, entreat Christ, //
that He grant peace and great mercy to our souls.
O all-glorious Tryphon, /
thou wast wholly illumined by rays of everlasting light, /
casting down all the gloom of falsehood /
and bringing low the prince of darkness by grace
divine. /
Wherefore, make entreaty,
that peace and great mercy //
be granted to our souls.
O most blessed Tryphon, /
thou wast counted worthy of angelic joy and gladness, /
having spurned the beautiful things of life; /
and, considering them all as nought, with strength of
soul /
thou didst complete thy martyrdom most steadfastly, //
and prayest for our souls.
Glory… Tone 2:
Thou
didst disdain that which is on the earth, /
O
most blessed honored martyr Tryphon, /
and didst manfully hasten to the tribunal; /
and, having cast down the prideful one with skill /
and the blood of thy contest, /
thou hast received a crown of victory.
/
Cease
thou never to entreat Christ our God, O athlete, //
that our souls be saved.
Both
now… Same Tone:
Rejoice,
O Theotokos Mary, /
thou temple indestructible and surpassing holy; /
as
the prophet crieth out: //
Holy
is thy temple, wondrous in righteousness!
Entrance with the censer:
O gladsome Light…
Great Prokimenon, Tone 8:
Deacon/Priest: Turn not
away Thy face from Thy servant, for I am afflicted; hear me speedily: hearken
unto my soul, and deliver it.
Choir: Turn
not away Thy face from Thy servant, for I am afflicted; hear me speedily:
hearken unto my soul, and deliver it.
Deacon/Priest: Let Thy
salvation, O God, help me.
Choir: Turn
not away Thy face…
Deacon/Priest: Let the poor
see it and be glad.
Choir: Turn
not away Thy face…
Deacon/Priest: Seek God,
and your soul shall live.
Choir: Turn
not away Thy face…
Deacon/Priest: Turn not
away Thy face from Thy servant, for I am afflicted.
Choir: Hear
me speedily: hearken unto my soul, and deliver it.
Reader: Vouchsafe, O
Lord…
Then
the Litany, Let us complete our evening prayer unto the Lord, with
the choir singing the responses according to the penitential Lenten melody.
Tone 4:
Thy
grace has shone forth, O Lord, /
it
has shone forth and given light to our souls. /
Behold,
now is the accepted time: /
behold, now is the season of repentance. /
Let
us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light, /
that having sailed across the great sea of the Fast, /
we
may reach the third-day Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, //
the Savior of our souls.
Stichos 1: Unto Thee have I lifted up mine
eyes, unto Thee that dwellest in heaven.
Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hands of their masters, as
the eyes of the handmaid look unto the hands of her mistress, so do our eyes
look unto the Lord our God, * until He take pity on us.
Thy
grace has shone forth, O Lord, /
it
has shone forth and given light to our souls. /
Behold,
now is the accepted time: /
behold, now is the season of repentance. /
Let
us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light, /
that having sailed across the great sea of the Fast, /
we
may reach the third-day Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, //
the Savior of our souls.
Stichos 2: Have mercy on us, O Lord, have
mercy on us, for greatly are we filled with abasement. Greatly hath our soul been
filled therewith; let reproach come upon them that prosper, * and abasement on
the proud.
To the Martyrs, Same Tone:
Thou
art glorified in the memorials of Thy saints, O Christ our God: /
at
their intercessions //
send down upon us Thy great mercy.
Glory…Both
now…in the Same Tone:
The
ranks of the angels glorify thee, O Mother of God, /
for
thou hast given birth to Him that is God, /
who
dwells ever with the Father and the Spirit, /
who
created the angelic hosts out of nothing by an act of His will. /
of
those who with true worship sing thy praises.
Everything else is found in the Horologion, an outline
is provided to keep the choir on track:
Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart
in peace, O Master…
Holy God…
O Theotokos and Virgin…
Glory… O Baptizer of
Christ…
Both now… Plead in
our behalf…
Beneath thy compassion…
Lord, have mercy. 40
times
Glory… Both now… More Honorable…
In the name of the Lord, father bless.
Priest: He that is is blessed…
O Heavenly King, strengthen Orthodox Christians.
Then the priest says the prayer of St. Ephrem with 3
prostrations, then the dismissal and the mutual forgiveness.