8th Sunday After Pentecost / The Holy Hieromartyr Pancratius, Bishop of Taormina
Beatitudes
on 8, from the Octoechos.
1.
The fruit which slew me was beautiful and good to eat; but Christ is the
Tree of life,
and eating of Him I do not die, but
cry out with the thief: Remember me, O Lord, in Thy
kingdom!
2.
O Compassionate One, Who wast lifted up upon
the Cross, Thou hast erased the
record of Adam’s ancient sin, and
hast saved the whole human race from deception.
Wherefore, we hymn Thee, O Lord and
Benefactor.
3.
Thou didst nail our sins to the Cross, O compassionate Christ, and by
Thy death Thou
didst slay death, O Thou who didst
raise up the dead from among the dead.
Wherefore,
we worship Thy holy resurrection.
4. The serpent once poured its
venom into the ears of Eve; but on the tree of the Cross,
Christ poured forth the sweetness
of life upon the world. Wherefore, we
cry out:
Remember us, O Lord, in Thy
kingdom!
5.
Thou wast laid in the tomb as one dead, O Christ, Thou Life of all; and
Thou didst
break down the gates of hades; and
having risen again in glory on the third day as One
mighty, Thou
hast illumined all. Glory to Thine
arising!
6.
Having risen from the dead on the third day, the Lord bestowed His peace
upon His
disciples; and having blessed them,
He sent them forth saying: Lead all into My
kingdom!
7.
The Father is light; the Son and Word is light; and the Holy Spirit is
light. Yet the
Three are one Light, for they are
one God in three Persons, One in nature and origin,
indivisible, unconfused and
preeternal.
8.
For our sake thou gavest birth in the flesh to the Son and Word of the
Father, as thou
thyself hast declared, O
Theotokos. Wherefore, O Virgin Mother,
we who are deified
through thee cry out to thee: Rejoice, O hope of Christians!
Troparia
Tone 7:
Thou didst destroy death by Thy Cross, /
Thou
didst open paradise to the thief. /
Thou
didst change the lamentation of the Myrrh-bearers, /
and Thou
didst command Thine Apostles to proclaim /
that Thou
didst arise, O Christ God, //
and
grantest to the world great mercy.
[Troparion of the
Glory… Tone 4: As thou didst share in the ways of the apostles /
and didst occupy
their throne, /
thou didst find
thine activity to be a passage to divine vision, /
O divinely inspired
one. /
Wherefore, ordering
the word of truth, /
thou didst suffer
for the Faith even to the shedding of thy blood, /
O hieromartyr
Pancratius, /
Entreat Christ God,
//
that our souls be
saved.
Both now… Tone 4: The mystery hidden from before the ages /
and unknown even to
the angels, /
through thee, O
Theotokos, hath been revealed to those on earth: /
God incarnate in
unconfused union, /
Who willingly
accepted the Cross for our sake /
and thereby raising
up the first-formed man, //
hath saved our souls from death.
The Epistle
Reader: The Prokimenon in the 7th Tone: The Lord will give strength unto His people;
the Lord will bless His people with peace.
Choir:
The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His people
with
peace.
Reader: Bring
unto the Lord, ye sons of God, bring unto the Lord the sons of rams.
Choir:
The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His people
with
peace.
Reader: The
Lord will give strength unto His people.
Choir:
The Lord will bless His people with
peace.
Reader:
The Reading is from the First Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Corinthians:
[I Cor. 1:10-18 (§124)]
Reader: Alleluia in the 7th Tone.
Choir:
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: It is good to give praise unto the Lord, and
to chant unto Thy name, O Most
High.
Choir:
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: To proclaim in the morning Thy mercy, and
Thy truth by night.
Choir:
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Gospel [Matt. 14:14-22
(§58)]
Kontakia
Tone 7: No longer will the dominion of death be able
to keep men captive; /
for
Christ hath descended, demolishing and destroying the powers thereof. /
Hades is bound; /
the
prophets rejoice with one voice, saying: /
A Savior hath
come for them that have faith. //
Come
forth, ye faithful, for the Resurrection.
[Kontakion of the Temple]
Glory... Tone
4: Thou wast shown to be a
brilliant star /
for the people of
Taormina, O Pancratius, /
and wast also
shown to be a sufferer for Christ. /
Standing now
before Him, //
pray for those who honor thee, O blessed one.
Both now... Tone
6: O protection of Christians that cannot be put to shame, /
O mediation unto the Creator unfailing, /
disdain not the suppliant voices of sinners, /
but be thou quick, O good one, to help us who in faith
cry unto thee; /
hasten to intercession and speed thou to make
supplication, //
thou who dost ever protect, O Theotokos, them that honor
thee.