The Meeting of the Lord
Great Vespers: Blessed is the man.
Lord I have Cried, Tone 1: Feast 8 (Tell us, O
Symeon); G/N: Feast (Let the gates of
heaven).
Entry;
O Gladsome Light; Prokimenon of the day, Tone 1: Thy mercy, O Lord, shall pursue me.
3 Readings for the Feast.
Litia: Feast (The Ancient of Days, Who of old); G:
Feast (Examine ye the scriptures); N:
Feast (The Ancient of Days).
Aposticha: Feast (Adorn thy bridal-chamber, O
Troparia: Feast (Rejoice, thou who art full of grace) x3.
Matins: God is the Lord,
Tone 1; Troparia: Feast x3.
After each Kathisma:
Sessional hymns of the Feast.
Polyeleos and Magnification
of the Feast: We magnify Thee, O Christ the Giver of life, and we honor Thy most-pure
Mother, by whom Thou now art brought in accordance with the Law into the
Sessional Hymn of the Feast (Thou didst become a babe for my sake, O
Ancient of Days).
Hymns of Ascents, First
Antiphon, Tone 4: From my youth.
Prokimenon of the Feast, Tone
4: I shall commemorate thy name.
Matins Gospel: Luke 2:25-32 (§8).
Psalm 50; G: Through the prayers of the Theotokos; N:
Repeat; Have mercy on me, O God; and
the sticheron of the feast(Let the gates
of heaven be opened today). Save,
O God, Thy people.
Canon: Feast 12 Glory to Thee, our God, glory to
Thee.
Irmos (sung twice) and Katavasia of the Feast: The Sun once shone
with its rays.
After Ode 3, Sessional hymn of the Feast (Of old, on Mount Sinai).
After Ode 6, Kontakion (Thou
Who didst sanctify the Virgin’s womb by Thy birth) and Ikos of the Feast.
At Ode 9, we do not sing More Honorable,
we instead sing the refrains of the Feast, with the canon of the feast: O
Virgin Theotokos, thou hope of Christians: Do thou protect, preserve, and save
those that hope in thee; and the others.
Exapostilaria: Feast (Set by the Spirit) x3.
Praises, Tone 4, Feast 4 (He Who loveth mankind); G/N: Feast (O Christ our God, Whose good pleasure it was).
After the Great Doxology, the Troparion of the Feast; the two remaining Litanies
and Festal Dismissal: May Christ our true God, Who for our
salvation deigned to be carried in the arms of the Righteous Symeon; First Hour.
Hours:
Troparion: Feast; Kontakion: Feast.
Liturgy: The
Typical Psalms. Beatitudes on 8: Feast:
4, from Ode 3; Feast 4, from Ode 6.
At the entrance, the deacon (or priest if there is no deacon) says the Festal Introit
in place of the usual O come let us
worship: The Lord hath made known His salvation, in the sight of the nations
hath He revealed His righteousness.
And immediately the Troparion
of the Feast; G/N: Kontakion of the Feast.
Prokimenon, Tone 3: My soul doth magnify the Lord.
Epistle: Heb. 7:7-17 (§316).
Alleluia,
Tone 8.
Gospel: Luke 2:22-40 (§7).
Instead of It is truly meet, we sing the refrain O Virgin Theotokos, thou hope of Christians,
with the Irmos of the Ninth Ode (In the
shadow and the letter of the Law).
Communion Hymn: I will take the cup of salvation.
Festal Dismissal.