The Circumcision of
the Lord / St Basil the Great
Great
Vespers: The priest vested in
epitrachelion, cuffs, and phelonion, opens the royal doors, censes (with the
deacon) the Holy Table and Altar. The deacon, standing before the royal doors,
exclaims: Arise! O Lord, bless! And
the priest, making the sign of the Cross with the censer before the Holy Table exclaims:
Glory to the holy, and consubstantial,
and life-creating, and indivisible Trinity… And then sings O come let us worship, and then
completes the censing of the whole temple, while the choir sings the 103rd
Psalm: Bless the Lord, O my soul.
After the censing, the royal doors are shut, and exiting the altar, the priest
reads the lamplighting prayers before the royal doors. The litany of peace. Blessed is
the man.
Lord I
have Cried, Tone 8: on 8: Feast 4 (Descending unto the human race); St. Basil 4 (O father who art the namesake of kingship); G: Hierarch (As a lover of wisdom); N: Feast (Descending unto the human race).
Entry; O Gladsome light; Prokimenon of the day, Tone
6: My help cometh from the Lord. 3 Old Testament
Readings. Litany: Let
us all say; Vouchsafe, O Lord;
Litany: Let us complete our evening
prayer. The servers process out to the Narthex. The icons and the people
are censed.
Litia: Stichera of the
Aposticha: Hierarch (O
most blessed Basil); G: Hierarch (Receiving the grace of
miracles from heaven); N: Feast (The
all good God was not ashamed).
Now lettest Thou Thy
servant depart; Trisagion to Our Father; Troparia: Hierarch (Thy
fame hath gone forth into all the earth) x2; Feast (Thou Who sittest with the Eternal Father) x1. While
the troparia are sung, the deacon (or the priest, if there is no deacon) censes
three times around the table on which are placed 5 loaves, wheat, wine, and
oil. Prayer for the blessing of the loaves; Blessed
be the name of the Lord, x3; Psalm 33: I
will bless the Lord at all times; to …but
they that seek the Lord shall not be deprived of any good thing; Priest: The blessing of the Lord; Choir: Amen; And the reader begins the Six
Psalms.
Matins:
After the Six Psalms, the litany of peace. God is the Lord, Tone 1; Troparia: Feast x2; G: Hierarch; N: Feast
Kathismas 19 and 20. After each Kathisma: Small Litany; Sessional hymns from the Hierarch and of the Feast.
Polyeleos and Magnification
of the Hierarch: We magnify thee, O holy hierarch father Basil, and we honor thy holy
memory, for thou dost pray for us to Christ our God. Psalm verse: Hear this, all ye nations; give ear, all ye
that inhabit the world.
Small litany; The Sessional
hymn after the Polyeleos: Hierarch (By
the power of thy divine words); G: Hierarch (The grace of thy divine discourses); N: Feast (The Master and Creator of all). Hymns of Ascents, First Antiphon,
Tone 4: From my youth. Prokimenon, Tone 4: My mouth shall speak wisdom and the meditation of my heart shall be of
understanding. Matins Gospel: John 10:9-16 (§36)
Psalm 50; G: Through the prayers of the Holy Hierarch
Basil; N: Through the prayers of the
Theotokos; Have mercy on me, O God;
Grace was poured forth. Save, O God, Thy people.
Canon: Feast 6 Glory to Thee, our God, glory to
Thee.
Hierarch 8 Holy Hierarch, Father Basil, pray
to God for us.
Irmos: Come, O ye people.
Katavasiae
of Theophany: The Lord mighty in battle. &
After Ode 3,
Kontakion of the Feast (The Lord of all
undergoeth circumcision), Sessional hymn of the Hierarch (Having learned the wisdom of the Word);
G/N: Feast (As Thou art an abyss of love
for mankind).
After Ode 6,
Kontakion (Thou didst prove to be an
unshakable foundation) and Ikos of the Hierarch.
At Ode 9, We do not sing More Honorable, but instead sing the
festal verses for the feast and the Hierarch: Magnify, O my soul, the Lord Who hath
been circumcised in the flesh in accordance with the law, and the others as set forth
in the Menaion.
Exapostilaria:
Hierarch (With the desire of love of
wisdom) x2; G/N: Feast (The Creator
of the ages).
Praises, Tone 5, on 6: Feast 2 (He Who as the Word); Hierarch 4 (Having become a child of God through grace); G: Hierarch (Grace was poured forth in thy lips); N:
Feast (Descending unto the human race).
After
the Great Doxology: Troparion of the Hierarch; G/N Feast; the two
remaining Litanies and the Dismissal: May Christ our true God, Who on the eighth
day deigned to be circumcised for our salvation; First Hour.
Hours: Troparia: Feast; G: Hierarch;
Kontakion: Feast & Hierarch, alternating.**
Liturgy of St. Basil the Great: Beatitudes on 8: Feast 4, Ode
3; Hierarch 4, Ode 6.
After
the entrance, the choir sings: O come let us
worship and fall down before Christ, Who art wondrous in the saints, O Son of
God, save us who sing to Thee: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Then the
Troparion of the Feast; Troparion of the Hierarch; G: Kontakion of the
Hierarch; N: Kontakion of the Feast.
Prokimenon, Tone 6: Save, O Lord, and of the Hierarch, Tone 1: My mouth shall speak wisdom. Epistle: Col. 2:8-12 (§254); Heb. 7:26-8:2 (§318). Alleluia, Tone 8. Gospel: Luke 2:20-21,40-52 (§6); Luke 6:17-23 (§24).
Instead of It is truly meet: All creation rejoiceth in thee.
Communion Hymn: Praise the Lord in the heavens and In everlasting remembrance. Dismissal: May Christ our true God, Who on
the eighth day deigned to be circumcised for our salvation.
After the Liturgy: The Moleben for the New Year. However, some do this service after the vigil at midnight.
*Also sung on the apodosis of
Theophany, January 14.
** When it occurs that there
are two kontakia appointed to be read at the hours, the Kontakion that was
chanted after the 3rd Ode is read at the 1st Hour, and at the 6th Hour. The
Kontakion which was chanted after the 6th Ode is read at the 3rd Hour and at
the 9th Hour (before the Vespers of the following day).