Forgiveness Vespers
Tone 4 / February
17th
At Lord I have cried: Penitential Stichera in the tone of the week: 4; Triodion: 3; Menaion 3.
Penitential
Stichera:
Tone
4:
I want to wash away with tears the record of my sins, O Lord, /
and through the rest of my life to please Thee by repentance; /
but the enemy deceives me and fights against my soul. //
Before I perish utterly, save me, O Lord.
If
a man takes refuge from the tempest in this harbor, /
will he not be saved? /
If
in his agony he kneels before this house of healing, /
will he not be cured? /
O
Maker of all and Physician of the sick, //
before I perish utterly, save me, O Lord.
Wash
me with my tears, O Savior, /
for
I am defiled by many sins, /
Therefore
I fall down before Thee: //
I
have sinned, have mercy upon me, O God.
I am a sheep of Thy spiritual flock, /
and to Thee I flee for refuge, O Good Shepherd. /
I have gone astray, O God: //
seek me and have mercy upon 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 the Great Martyr Theodore the Recruit,
Tone 2 (special melody:
“When from the tree…”:
As God our Benefactor, /
Christ hath given thee to the world as a rich gift, O Theodore, /
having received the gift of thy precious blood /
which was offered to Him, /
shed for His sake with the zeal of piety. /
Standing now before Him with pious boldness, O martyr, //
save thou all who have recourse to thee.
Thou art a steadfast tower /
which withstandeth the assaults of the adversaries, /
an invincible champion for those who praise thee, /
a most speedy aid, a fervent advocate, /
quick deliverance, general assistance, /
most powerful intercessor, /
a ready deliverer of all who entreat thee with faith, //
O blessed Theodore.
Possessed of a torrent of sweetness /
and the water of remission, /
and being a most true witness to Christ the most merciful, /
deliver me from the torrent of my sins, /
calm thou the troubled waters for me, /
still the tempest of temptations /
and guide me to the calm haven on high, //
O right blessed Theodore.
Glory… Tone 8:
Having piously armed thyself with martyric courage,
O athlete of Christ, /
and mystically allied
thyself with His power, /
struggling
to offer rational sacrifice unto God, /
thou didst show the
godlessness of idolatry /
and the threats of the
tormentors to be empty, /
despising
tortures and transitory fire. /
But, O, the gifts divine! /
Both in reality and in name, /
from every evil
circumstance/
by thy prayers do thou save
those //
who celebrate thy
memory.
Both
now… Same Tone:
Taking
up the cry of the Archangel Gabriel, /
let
us say: Rejoice, O Mother of God, /
who
gavest birth unto Christ //
who
bestoweth life upon the world!
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.
Aposticha,
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.
Repeat the sticheron “Thy
grace has shone forth, O Lord…”
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… Tone 8:
Having piously armed thyself with martyric courage,
O athlete of Christ, /
and mystically allied
thyself with His power, /
struggling
to offer rational sacrifice unto God, /
thou didst show the
godlessness of idolatry /
and the threats of
the tormentors to be empty, /
despising
tortures and transitory fire. /
But, O, the gifts divine! /
Both in reality and in name, /
from every evil
circumstance/
by thy prayers do thou save
those //
who celebrate thy
memory.
Both
now… Same Tone:
Taking
up the cry of the Archangel Gabriel, /
let
us say: Rejoice, O Mother of God, /
who
gavest birth unto Christ //
who
bestoweth life upon the world!
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.