St. John the Theologian / St. Arsenius
the Great
Saturday of the 3rd Week after Pascha
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 2, on 10: Myrrh-bearers: 3 (When,
very early); Apostle 4 (The beholder
of ineffable revelations); Saint 3 (O
divinely wise father Arsenius); G: Apostle (O ye of the race of man); N: Dogmatic Theotokion, Tone 2 (The shadow of the law – the tone of the
previous Sunday).
Entry, O Gladsome Light; Prokimenon of the day, Tone 7: O God, my helper art Thou.
3 Readings
for the Apostle.
Litia: Temple; Apostle (Rivers of theology); Saint (O venerable father); G: Apostle (Reclining against the breast of Christ);
N: Myrrh-bearers (The Magdalene and
another Mary – from the Doxasticon at the Praises at Matins).
Aposticha: Pentecostarion (Come ye, let us worship God the Word);
G: Apostle (O apostle of Christ); N:
Myrrh-bearers (With Nicodemus, Joseph
took Thee down from the Tree).
Troparia: Apostle (O beloved apostle of Christ God) x2; The noble Joseph. 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 2; Troparia: The noble Joseph
x1; Apostle (O beloved apostle of Christ
God); G: Saint (With the streams of
thy tears); N: Unto the myrrh-bearing
women.
After the first Kathisma:
Sessional hymns of the Apostle (As the
disciple of Christ, the Master of all); G/N: Pentecostarion (The choir of Thy disciples rejoiceth –
written as Sessional Hymn after second reading in Pentecostarion).
After the second Kathisma:
Sessional hymns of the Apostle (With
hymns and sacred praises); G/N: Pentecostarion (The choir of Thy disciples rejoiceth).
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. Psalm verse: The
heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaimeth the work of His
hands.
Sessional hymns of the
Apostle (Reclining against the breast of
Jesus); G/N: Pentecostarion (The
choir of Thy disciples rejoiceth).
Hymns of Ascents, First
Antiphon, Tone 4: From
my youth.
Prokimenon of the Apostle,
Tone 4: Their sound hath gone forth into
all the earth.
Matins Gospel: John 21:15-25
(§67).
Having beheld the resurrection x1; Psalm 50; G: Through
the prayers of the holy apostle and evangelist John the Theologian; N: Through the prayers of the Theotokos; Have mercy on me, O God; Sticheron of
the Apostle in the Menaion (O virgin
theologian). Save, O God, Thy
people.
Canon: Myrrh-bearers 4 Glory to Thee, our God, glory to
Thee.
Apostle 6 Holy apostle and evangelist John
the Theologian, pray to God for us.
Saint 4 Venerable father
Arsenius, pray to God for us.
Irmos of Myrrh-bearers
(twice): Taking up the hymn of Moses.
Katavasia: It is the day of resurrection.
After Ode 3, Kontakion (When
Thou didst cry, Rejoice, unto the myrrh-bearers) and Ikos from the
Pentecostarion; Sessional hymn of the Apostle (Having reclined against the breast of Wisdom); G: Saint (Fleeing the tumults of the world); N:
Pentecostarion (Fervently did the women
bear myrrh to the tomb – see the sessional hymn for Matins of the Sunday of
the Myrrh-bearers). The Kontakion of St. Arsenius is not sung.
After
Ode 6, Kontakion (Who can recount thy mighty works) and
Ikos of the Apostle.
At Ode 9, More Honorable.
Exapostilarion: Apostle (As a Son of thunder); G: Saint (Thou didst turn); N: Myrrh-bearers (Hearken, ye women).
Praises, Tone 2, on 6:
Pentecostarion 3 (When from the Tree –
from the Matins Aposticha); Apostle 3 (O
all-wise and blessed John); G: Apostle (O
evangelist John); N: Pentecostarion (Joseph
begged ).
After the Great Doxology: Apostle; G: Saint; N: Unto the myrrh-bearing women; the two remaining Litanies and
Resurrectional Dismissal; First Hour.
Hours:
Troparion: Resurrection, Tone 2 & The Noble Joseph,
alternating; G: Apostle; Kontakion: Myrrh-bearers & Apostle, alternating.
Liturgy: The
beginning, as on St. Thomas Sunday. Beatitudes on 8, from the Canon of
Myrrh-bearers: 4, from Ode 9; and Apostle: 4, from Ode 6.
After the entrance, the Troparia: When
Thou didst descend unto death; The noble Joseph; Unto
the myrrh-bearing women; Apostle; Saint; Kontakion of the Apostle; G:
Saint; N: Myrrh-bearers.
Prokimenon, Tone 6: Save, O Lord, Thy
people. & Tone 8: Their
sound hath gone forth.
Epistle: Acts 9:20-31 (§22);
1 John 1:1-7 (§68).
Alleluia,
Tone 8 & Tone 1.
Gospel: John 15:17-16:2
(§52); 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.