The Sunday of the Blind man / St. John the Theologian

Tone 5

Note: The service for St. Arsenius may be chanted Monday evening at Compline.

Great Vespers: Priest: Glory to the Holy. Choir: Amen.

Priest: Christ is risen 2 ½ times. The Choir sings: And upon those in the tombs bestowing life.

Blessed is the man.

Lord I have Cried, Tone 5, on 10: Resurrection 3; Blind Man 3 (He that was born blind); Apostle 4 (The beholder of ineffable revelations); G: Blind Man (Passing by on the way); N: Sunday Dogmatic (Once, the image of the Bride who knoweth not wedlock).

Entry; O Gladsome Light; Prokimenon of the day, Tone 6: The Lord is King. 3 Readings for the Apostle.

Litia stichera: Stichera of the Temple; Apostle (Rivers of theology); G: Apostle (Reclining against the breast of Christ); N: Pentecostarion (Considering his whole life to be night).

Aposticha: The sticheron of the Resurrection 1 (With sounds of hymnody do we magnify Thee); The Paschal Stichera, with its verses; G: Apostle (O apostle of Christ, evangelist and theologian); N: Pentecostarion (O Christ God, Thou spiritual Sun of Righteousness).

Troparia: O Theotokos and Virgin x2; Apostle (O beloved apostle of Christ God) x1.

Matins: Choir: Christ is risen x3.

Reader: Glory to God in the highest; and the 6 psalms as usual.

God is the Lord, Tone 5; Troparia: Resurrection x2; G: Apostle (O beloved apostle of Christ God); N: Resurrectional Theotokion, Tone 2 (All of thy most glorious mysteries).

After each Kathisma, Sessional hymns from the Pentecostarion.

Polyeleos and Magnification of the Apostle: We magnify thee, O holy apostle and evangelist John the Theologian, and we honor thy pains and labors whereby thou hast labored in the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ; The Evlogitaria (The assembly of angels was amazed).

Hypakoe of the Tone, all the Sessional hymns of the Apostle.

Hymns of Ascents, and Prokimenon Tone 5.

Matins Gospel 8, John 20:11-18 (§64).

Having beheld the resurrection x3; Psalm 50; G: Through the prayers of the apostles; N: Through the prayers of the Theotokos; Have mercy on me, O God; Jesus having risen. Save, O God, Thy people.

Canon: Pascha (with the 2 Theotokia) 6 Christ is risen from the dead.

Apostle 4 Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, pray to God for us.

Blind Man* 4 Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Irmos: It is the day of resurrection.

Katavasia: Let us sing unto the only Savior and God.

After Ode 3, Kontakion (Who can recount thy mighty works), Ikos, and Sessional hymn of the Apostle (Having reclined against the breast of Wisdom); G/N: Sessional hymn from the Pentecostarion (As the Master and Fashioner of all things passed by).

After Ode 6, Kontakion (Blinded in the eyes of my soul) and Ikos from the Pentecostarion

At Ode 9, we do not sing More Honorable; but instead we immediately begin the Irmos of the ninth Ode (Shine, shine), with the refrain Christ is risen, and rest as at the previous odes.

Holy is the Lord, our God.

Exapostilaria: Pascha (Having fallen asleep); G: Apostle (As a son of thunder); N: Pentecostarion (Along the way, our Savior found).

Praises, Tone 5, on 8: Resurrection: 4; Apostle 4 (O all-wise and blessed John – with the doxasticon (O evangelist John), and the final two psalm verses: Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. & The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaimeth the work of His hands); G: Blind Man (Who can tell of Thy mighty acts, O Christ); N: Most blessed art thou. After the Great Doxology, Troparion: Today is salvation; the two remaining Litanies and Sunday dismissal; after the dismissal: G/N: 8th Gospel Sticheron (The tears of Mary were not shed in vain); followed by First Hour.

*These troparia are read thus: one of the Resurrection; one of the Blind man; the Doxasticon; and the Theotokion.

Hours: Troparia: Resurrection; G: Apostle; Kontakion: Apostle & Blind Man, alternating.

Liturgy: The beginning, as on St. Thomas Sunday.

Beatitudes on 12, Tone 5, from the Pentecostarion: 4; Blind Man 4, from Ode 3; Apostle 4, from Ode 6.

After the entrance: Troparion of the Resurrection (Let us, O faithful, praise and worship the Word); Apostle G: Kontakion of the Apostle; N: Kontakion of the Blind Man (Blinded in the eyes of my soul).

Prokimenon, Tone 8: Make your vows. & Tone 8: Their sound hath gone forth.

Epistle: Acts 16:16-34 (§38); 1 John 1:1-7 (§68).

Alleluia, Tone 8 & Tone 1.

Gospel: John 9:1-38 (§34); John 19:25-27, 21:24-25 (§61).

Instead of It is truly meet, we sing the refrain The angel cried, with the Irmos of the ninth Ode of Pascha (Shine, shine).

Communion Hymn: Receive ye the body of Christ. & Their sound hath gone forth.

And the rest as on St. Thomas Sunday.