The
Midnight Office
(For
Sundays)
As a
Reader Service
See also the Midnight Office for Weekdays and
for Saturday
Note: The translation used is primarily that of
Fr. Lawrence of Jordanville. The order
of service is based primarily on the Reader Service Typikon by Bishop Daniel
(the Old Rite Bishop of the
Senior
Reader: Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, O
Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us.
Reader: Amen. Glory to Thee, our God,
glory to Thee.
O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit
of Truth, Who art everywhere present and fillest all things, Treasury of good
things and Giver of life: Come and dwell in us, and cleanse us of all impurity,
and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on
us. (Thrice)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy
Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the unto the ages
of ages. Amen.
O Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O Lord, blot
out our sins. O Master, pardon our iniquities. O Holy One, visit and heal our
infirmities for Thy name's sake.
Lord have mercy. (Thrice)
Glory to the Father and to
the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Our Father, Who art in the Heavens, hallowed be Thy
Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us
this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Senior
Reader: O Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy
on us.
Reader:
Amen. Lord, Have mercy. (Twelve
times)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy
Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the unto the ages
of ages. Amen.
O come, let us worship God our King.
O come, let us worship and fall down before Christ
our King and God.
O come, let us worship and fall down before Christ
Himself, our King and God.
Psalm 50
Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great
mercy; and according to the multitude of Thy compassions blot out my
transgression. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my
sin. For I know mine iniquity, and my sin is ever before me.
Against Thee only have I sinned and done this evil before Thee, that Thou
mightest be justified in Thy words, and prevail when Thou art judged. For
behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins did my mother bear me. For
behold, Thou hast loved truth; the hidden and secret things of Thy wisdom hast
Thou made manifest unto me. Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be
made clean; Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. Thou
shalt make me to hear joy and gladness; the bones that be humbled, they shall
rejoice. Turn Thy face away from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me
not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto
me the joy of Thy salvation, and with Thy governing Spirit establish me. I
shall teach transgressors Thy ways, and the ungodly shall turn back unto Thee.
Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, Thou God of my salvation; my tongue
shall rejoice in Thy righteousness. O Lord, Thou shalt open my lips, and my
mouth shall declare Thy praise. For if Thou hadst desired sacrifice, I had
given it; with whole-burnt offerings Thou shalt not be pleased. A sacrifice
unto God is a broken spirit; a heart that is broken and humbled God will not
despise. Do good, O Lord, in Thy good pleasure unto
Zion, and let the walls of Jerusalem be builded. Then shalt Thou be pleased
with a sacrifice of righteousness, with oblation and whole-burnt offerings.
Then shall they offer bullocks upon Thine altar.
And immediately we say the Canon
to the Most Holy Trinity, of the occurring Tone (i.e., from the Octoechos).
And after the Canon, we sing these
Hymns to the Trinity. the
Megalynaria found in the Slavonic Horologion differ somewhat from those in the
Greek Horologion. Both are presented
here. The Slavonic translation is that
of the Jordanville Horologion, the Greek (in
Tahoma Type) is that of the Boston Horologion]:
Slavonic Order:
It is truly meet * to glorify Thee,
God the Word, * before Whom the Cherubim quake and
tremble, * and Whom the heavenly hosts doxologize; * the One Who arose on the
third day from the tomb, * Christ the Life-giver, in fear let us glorify.
Let us all in divine songs befitting
God, * hymn the Father, and the Son, and the Divine Spirit, * the tri-personed
Dominion, * One kingdom and Sovereignty.
Thou Whom all
the earth-born hymn, * and the heavenly hosts doxologize, * art faithfully worshipped
by all, * O Unity in essence, in Three persons.
O Thou Who art Lord of the Cherubim, *
and from whom the incomparable Seraphim received their beginning, * indivisible
Trinity in Unity, * the very Godhead, Thee do we magnify.
The unoriginate Father and God, * the
co-unoriginate Word together with the Spirit, I worship; * the inseparable
only-united Essence, * the Three-fold Unity let us honor in hymns.
Thy resplendent lightnings do Thou
shine upon me, * O my God in Three Persons, the Creator of all; * and show me
forth as the abode of Thine unapproachable glory, * shining and light-bearing
and unchanging.
Him before Whom the Cherubim quake and
tremble, * and whom angelic hosts doxologize, * Who of
the Virgin was ineffably incarnate, * Christ the Life-giver, with fear let us
glorify.
Greek Order*
It is truly meet to praise the
Trinity, God transcendent: the beginningless Father Who created all things that
came to be; the co-eternal Word born of the Father without change and before
the ages; and God the Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Father past speech and
timelessly.
It is truly meet to glorify Thee, O
God the Word, the God of all things.
Hence, to Him before Whom the Cherubim stand with fear and trembling; Whom the Heavens’ hosts glorify; and Who on the third day
rose from the tomb and Hades: let us with fear give glory to the Life-giver,
Christ.
With inspired songs befitting God, let
us offer praises to the Father and to the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the
Singular Dominion, the Kingship in Three Persons, and Single Sovereignty.
When creation saw thy Son risen up
from the dead in Hades with divine dignity and strength, then its joy was
endless; and as it glorified Him, it honored thee, His mother, O spotless
Virgin Maid.
* (The Great Horologion, Holy Transfiguration
Monastery, Boston, Mass: 1997, p. 54)
Reader: Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on
us. (Thrice)
Glory to the Father, and to
the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O Lord, blot
out our sins. O Master, pardon our iniquities. O Holy One, visit and heal our
infirmities for Thy name's sake.
Lord have mercy. (Thrice)
Glory to the Father and to
the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Our Father, Who art in the Heavens, hallowed be Thy
Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us
this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Senior
Reader: O Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy
on us.
Reader: Amen. And the Hypakoe of the Tone (from the Octoechos).
Lord, have mercy. Forty
times.
Glory to the Father, and to
the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
More honorable than the Cherubim, and beyond compare
more glorious than the Seraphim; who without corruption gavest birth to God the
Word, the very Theotokos, thee do we magnify.
Senior
Reader:
Through the prayers of our holy fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us.
Reader: Amen.
Choir: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to
the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Lord,
have mercy. (Thrice)
O
Lord, bless.
Senior Reader (Facing the
East, rather than facing the people): O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of
God, for the sake of the prayers of Thy most pure Mother, our holy and
God-bearing fathers, and all the saints, have mercy on us and save us, for Thou
art good and the Lover of mankind.
Choir: Amen.
Senior
Reader: Remit, pardon, forgive, O God, our offenses,
both voluntary and involuntary, in deed and word, in knowledge and ignorance,
by day and by night, in mind and thought; forgive us all things, for Thou art
good and the Lover of mankind.
Choir: Amen.
Senior
Reader: O Lord, Lover of mankind, forgive them that
hate and wrong us. Do good to them that
do good. Grant
our brethren and kindred their saving petitions and life eternal; visit the
infirm and grant them healing. Guide
those at sea. Journey
with them that travel. Help
Orthodox Christians to struggle. To them
that serve and are kind to us grant remissions of sins. On them that have charged us, the unworthy,
to pray for them, have mercy according to Thy great mercy. Remember, O Lord, our fathers and brethren
departed before us, and grant them rest where the light of Thy countenance
shall visit them. Remember, O Lord, our
brethren in captivity, and deliver them from every misfortune. Remember, O Lord, those that bear fruit and
do good works in Thy holy churches, and grant them their saving petitions and
life eternal. Remember also, O Lord, us
Thy lowly and sinful and unworthy servants, and enlighten our minds with the
light of Thy knowledge, and guide us in the way of Thy commandments; through
the intercessions of our most pure Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary,
and of all Thy saints, for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages.
Choir: Amen. Lord, have mercy. (Thrice)
Senior
Reader:
Through the prayers of our holy fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us.
Choir: Amen.
THE END
OF THE MIDNIGHT OFFICE