Third Sunday of Great Lent / Holy Cross / Forty Martyrs/ Tone 7
Beatitudes: 4 from the Octoechos; 4 from Ode 3 of the Triodion; 4 from Ode 6 of the Martyrs:
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. O come, let us sing
a new song, celebrating the overthrow of hell, for Christ hath risen
from
the tomb; death He hath taken captive, and saved all the world.
6. O come, ye faithful, and let us drink, not
from a well of earthly water that perishes, but
from
the fountain of light, as we venerate the Cross of Christ: for His Cross is our
glory.
7. When now we venerate Thy Cross, which Moses
once prefigured with his outstretched
arms,
we put to flight the invisible Amalek, O Christ our
Master, and so we gain
salvation.
8. O ye faithful, with pure eyes and lips let us
venerate in joy the Cross of the Lord,
singing
a song of exultation.
9. With joy the author of enmity snatched him
that fell away from the forty as he had the
wretched
Judas from the twelve apostles and man from
10. Being shameless, the devil rageth in vain,
for as of old by the thief and Matthias, so
now
by one in the office of guardsman is the tyrant also rent asunder.
11. O mighty ones, ye have been shown to be
watchful and vigilant preservers of the
human
race and ones who offer up supplications; and ye have been set forth as helpers
of the
grieving.
12. On thee have I placed my hope of salvation, O
Ever-virgin Mother; and Thee have I
appointed
as the steadfast and unshaken intercessor of my life.
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.
Glory… Tone 1: By
the pangs of Thy saints, /
be Thou entreated, O Lord, /
and heal all our diseases, we beseech Thee, //
O Thou Who lovest mankind.
Both
now… Tone 1: O Lord, save Thy people/
and
bless Thine inheritance. /
Grant
Thou victory unto Orthodox Christians /
over their enemies, /
and
by the power of Thy Cross //
do
Thou preserve Thy commonwealth.
Instead of the Trisagion:
Before Thy Cross we bow down, O Master, and Thy holy Resurrection we
glorify. 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. And Thy holy Resurrection we glorify.
Before Thy Cross we bow down, O Master, and Thy holy Resurrection we
glorify.
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 5th Tone: Thou, O Lord, shalt keep us and shalt
preserve us from this
generation and for
evermore.
Choir: Thou, O Lord, shalt keep us and shalt preserve
us from this generation and for
evermore.
Reader: The
[Hebrews
4:14-5:6 & Hebrews 12:1-10]
Reader: Alleluia
in the 1st Tone: Remember
Thy congregation which Thou hast
purchased
from the beginning.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: But
God is our king before the ages, He hath wrought salvation in the midst of
the
earth.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: In the 4th Tone: Shout with
jubilation unto the Lord all the earth; chant ye unto
His
name, give glory in praise of Him.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Gospel [Mark 8:34-9:1 & Matthew 20:1-16]
Kontakion
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.
Glory… Tone 6:
Having left every military array of the world, /
ye cleaved unto the Master in the heavens, /
O forty passion-bearers of
the Lord; /
for, having passed through fire and water, O blessed
ones, /
as is meet ye received glory from the heavens //
and a multitude of crowns.
Both now… Tone 7: No longer doth the flaming sword
guard the gate of
for a strange extinction hath come upon it, even the
Tree of the Cross. /
The
sting hath been taken from death, /
and the victory from hades. /
And
Thou, my Savior, didst appear unto those in hades, saying: //
Enter
ye again into
Instead of “It is truly
meet…”[Tone 8 in the Octoechos, but usually sung to
one
of many special
melodies]:
All creation
– the assembly of angels and the race of man – rejoiceth in thee, O thou who
art full of grace, O sacred temple and noetical
paradise, boast of virgins, from whom
God, Who existeth from before time, was incarnate and became a
child; for He made thy
body a throne, and thy womb He made more spacious
than the heavens. All creation
rejoiceth in thee, O thou who art full of grace. Glory to thee!