26th Sunday After Pentecost / Afterfeast of the Entry / GM Catherine

Beatitude Verses: Octoechos: 4; Afterfeast: 4 from Ode 7; Martyr: 4, from Ode 6.

 

1.  Through food did the enemy lead Adam forth from paradise; but by the Cross hath

Christ led back to it the thief who cried:  Remember me when Thou comest in Thy

kingdom!

 

2.  With Adam and the thief I worship Thy sufferings and glorify Thy resurrection; and I

cry out with a splendid voice:  Remember me, O Lord, when Thou comest in Thy

kingdom!

 

3.  O Sinless One, of Thine own will Thou wast crucified and placed in the Tomb, yet

Thou didst arise as God, raising up with Thyself Adam who crieth out: Remember me

when Thou comest in Thy kingdom!

 

4.  Raising up the temple of Thy body by Thy resurrection on the third day, O Christ God,

Thou didst raise up Adam and his descendants who cry: Remember me when Thou

comest in Thy kingdom!

 

5.  Lo, today a joyous spring hath dawned upon the ends of the earth, enlightening our

souls, thoughts and minds with grace: the festival of the Theotokos. Let us mystically

feast this day!

 

6.  Let all things — heaven and earth, the ranks of angels and the multitude of men —

bear gifts today unto the Queen and Mother of God; and let them cry out: Our joy and

deliverance is brought to the Temple!

 

7.  O ye who love the feasts of the Church, let us join chorus and hymn the pure Mistress,

honoring Joachim and Anna as is meet.

 

8.  Prophesy, O David, giving utterance in the Spirit: The virgins that follow after thee

shall be brought to thee into the temple of the Queen and Mother.

 

9.  Beholding thee all resplendent in the radiance and beauty of virginity and empurpled

in the blood of thy martyrdom, O maiden, the good and all-pure Word caused thee to

dwell in the mansions of heaven.

 

 

10.  By the Cross wast thou able to overthrow the dominion of the tyrants, denouncing the

vanity of earthly wisdom and pouring forth dogmas of divinely inspired teaching, O most

wise and ever-memorable Catherine.

 

11.  Mightily enduring the pain of thy wounds, O most glorious martyr, thou didst cast

down to the ground him who of old drove Adam from the sweetness of paradise through

deceit, and thou hast been crowned with the crowns of the kingship.

 

12.  By thine entreaties, O Mother, Virgin Theotokos, make thy Son and our Judge, Who

delivereth us from evil circumstances, to be merciful unto me on the day of judgment, for

in thee alone do I place my trust.

 

Troparia

 

Tone 1: When the stone had been sealed by the Jews, /

And the soldiers were guarding Thine immaculate Body, /

Thou didst arise on the third day, O Savior, /

granting life unto the world. /

Wherefore, the Hosts of the Heavens cried out to Thee, O Life-giver: /

Glory to Thy Resurrection, O Christ. /

Glory to Thy kingdom. //

Glory to Thy dispensation, O only Lover of mankind.

 

[Troparion of the Temple]

 

Tone 4: With thy virtues, as with the rays of the sun, /

thou didst enlighten the unbelieving philosophers; /

and, like the most radiant moon shining on those who walk at night, /

thou didst drive away the darkness of unbelief. /

Thou didst bring the empress to faith /

and didst denounce the tyrant, O divinely elect bride. /

O blessed Catherine, with desire didst thou make haste to the heavenly bridal chamber, /

to Christ the most comely Bridegroom, /

and by Him hast thou been crowned with a royal crown. /

Standing with the angels before Him, //

do thou pray for us who keep thy most honored memory.

 

Both now… Tone 4: Today is the prelude of God’s good will /

and the heralding of the salvation of mankind. /

In the temple of God, the Virgin is presented openly, /

and she proclaimeth Christ unto all. /

To her, then, with a great voice let us cry aloud: /

Rejoice, O thou fulfillment //

of the Creator’s dispensation.

 

The Epistle

 

Reader: The Prokimenon in the 1st Tone:  Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we have hoped in Thee.

Choir:  Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we have hoped in Thee.

Reader:  Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous; praise is meet for the upright.

Choir:  Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we have hoped in Thee.

Reader:  The Prokimenon 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 Reading is from the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Ephesians:

[Eph. 5:9-19 (§229); Eph. 6:10-17 (§ 233)]

 

Reader: Alleluia in the 1st Tone: O God who givest avengement unto me and hast subdued people under me.

Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Reader:  It is He that magnifieth the salvation of His king and worketh mercy for His anointed, for David and for His seed unto eternity.

Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Reader: In the 1st Tone: The righteous cried, and the Lord heard them, and He delivered

them out of all their tribulations.

Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

 

Gospel [Luke 13:10-17 (§71); Luke 21:12-19 (§106)]

 

Kontakia

 

Tone 1: As God, Thou didst arise from the tomb in glory, /

and Thou didst raise the world together with Thyself. /

And mortal nature praiseth Thee as God, /

and death hath vanished. /

And Adam danceth, O Master, /

and Eve, now freed from fetters, rejoiceth as she crieth out: /

Thou art He, O Christ, //

that grantest unto all resurrection.

 

[Kontakion of the Temple]

 

Tone 2: O ye who love the martyrs, /

raise up an honored chorus in godly manner, /

honoring the most wise Catherine; /

for in the arena she preached Christ /

and trod upon the serpent, //

putting down the knowledge of the rhetors.

 

Both now...  Tone 4:  The most pure temple of the Savior, /

the most precious bridal-chamber and Virgin, /

the sacred treasury of the glory of God, /

is on this day brought into the house of the Lord, /

bringing with her the grace that is in the Divine Spirit. /

And the angels of God chant praise unto her: //

she is the heavenly tabernacle.

 

 

Instead of “It is truly meet…” we chant the Irmos of the 9th Ode of the First Canon of

the feast, Fourth Tone:

 

            Refrain:  The angels beholding the entry of the most pure one /

were struck with wonder, //

seeing how the Virgin entered into the Holy of Holies.

            Irmos:   Let no profane hand touch the living Ark of God, /

but let the lips of the faithful, chanting unceasingly /

the words of the angel to the Theotokos, /

cry out with joy: //

Truly art thou high above all, O pure Virgin.

 

 

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