29th Sunday After Pentecost /
The Kinsmen of the Lord / Sunday After Nativity
Beatitudes on 12, Octoechos: 4; Feast: 4,
Ode 7; Saints: 4, Ode 6.
1. Remember me when Thou comest in Thy kingdom, O God my Savior, and save me,
for Thou alone lovest mankind.
2. By a tree was Adam deceived; yet again by the Tree of the Cross was the thief saved,
who cried out: Remember me in Thy kingdom, O Lord!
3. O Bestower of life, Who hadst broken down the gates and portals of hades, Thou hast
saved all who cry out to Thee, O Savior: Glory to Thine arising!
4. O Thou Who by Thy burial hast made death captive, and by Thy resurrection hast
filled all with joy: remember me, in that Thou art compassionate.
5. The piping shepherds received an awesome vision of light; for the glory of the Lord
shone round about them, and an angel cried out: Sing ye, for Christ, the blessed God of
your fathers, is born!
6. Suddenly, at the voice of the angel, the armies of heaven cried out: “Glory to God in
the highest, and on earth peace, good-will among men! Christ hath shone forth: the
blessed God of your fathers!”
7. The furnace which had been raised to a sevenfold heat savagely burneth the minions,
but spareth the youths who were wholly consumed with the fear of God; and the flame
crowned them when the Lord freely granted them dew for their piety’s sake.
8. Omnipotently Thou hast cast down sin, which is exalted in evil without restraint and is
incited to a vile frenzy by the perversion of the world; and those whom it formerly
attracted Thou savest from its snares today, having become incarnate of Thine own will,
O Benefactor.
9. Awe-struck, the heavenly hosts stood before the cave, and unable to keep silent,
hymned Thy most pure nativity, chanting: Glory in the highest to the newborn God!
10. Upon Thy throne hast Thou sat, as Thou didst swear unto the prophet David, O
Master, Who camest forth from the fruit of his loins; and unto James didst Thou commit
the throne of the Church, O Christ.
11. David the king is shown to be a wondrous prophet and forefather of the incarnation
of God; and James, the disciple of Jesus, is shown forth as the first bishop.
12. We beseech thee, O Virgin Theotokos: in behalf of thy servants entreat thou Him
Who was incarnate of thee, for we know thee to be our sole intercessor.
Troparia
Tone 6. Angelic hosts were above Thy tomb, /
and they that guarded Thee became as dead. /
And Mary stood by the grave seeking Thine immaculate body. /
Thou didst despoil hades and
wast not tempted by it. /
Thou didst meet the Virgin and
didst grant us life. //
O Thou Who didst rise from the
dead, O Lord, glory be to Thee.
Glory… Tone 2:
O Joseph, proclaim the wonders to David the father of our Divine Lord. /
Thou hast seen a Virgin conceive; /
thou hast given glory with the shepherds; /
thou hast worshipped with the Magi; /
and thou hast been warned by an angel. //
Implore Christ our God to save our souls.
Both now… Tone 4: Thy Nativity, O Christ our God, /
hath shined upon the world the light of knowledge; /
for thereby, they that worshipped the stars /
were taught by a star /
to worship Thee, the Sun of Righteousness, /
and to know Thee, the Dayspring from on high. //
O Lord, glory be to Thee.
The Epistle
Reader: The Prokimenon in the 6th Tone: Save, O Lord, Thy people and bless Thine
inheritance.
Choir: Save, O Lord, Thy people and bless Thine inheritance.
Reader: Unto Thee, O Lord, Will I cry; O my God, be not silent unto me.
Choir: Save, O Lord, Thy people and bless Thine inheritance.
Reader: In
the 4th Tone: Wondrous is God in His
saints, the God of Israel.
Choir: Wondrous is God in His saints, the God of Israel.
Reader: The
[Galatians 1:11-19 (§200)]
Reader: Alleluia in the 6th Tone: He that
dwelleth in the help of the Most High shall
abide in the shelter of the God of heaven.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: He shall say unto the Lord: Thou art my
helper and my refuge. He is my God,
and I will hope in Him.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: In the 4th
Tone: Remember, O Lord, David and all his meekness.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Gospel [Matthew 2:13-23 (§4)]
Kontakia
Glory… Tone 3: Today divine David is filled with gladness, /
and together with James, Joseph doth offer praise; /
for they rejoice at receiving a crown as kinsmen of Christ, /
and they praise Him who is ineffably born on earth and they cry: //
O Compassionate One, save them that honor Thee.
Both now… Tone 3:
Today the Virgin giveth birth to Him Who is transcendent in essence; /
and the earth offereth a cave to Him Who is unapproachable. /
Angels with shepherds give glory; /
with a star the Magi do journey; //
for our sake a young Child is born, Who is pre-eternal God.
Instead of “It is truly meet…” we chant
the Irmos of the 9th Ode of the
Second Canon of the feast, First Tone:
Refrain: Magnify, O my soul, her who is more honorable and more glorious
than the hosts on high, the most pure Virgin Theotokos.
Irmos: Better would it be for us to keep silence in fear, for it is without peril;
and it is difficult, O Virgin, to weave complex hymns harmoniously with love. But grant
us, O Mother, the strength to fulfill our intent.
Or
according to the current practice of some, the following Irmos is used (with
the same
refrain, and in the same tone):
A strange and most wonderful mystery do I see: the cave is heaven; the Virgin the throne
of the cherubim; the manger a room, in which Christ, the God whom nothing can contain,
is laid. Him do we
praise and magnify.