The Sunday of the Blind
Man / Ss. Cyril & Methodius
Instead of “O come let us worship…” sing “Christ is risen…” three times.
Beatitude Verses: 4 from
the Resurrection, and 4 from Ode 3 from the Pentecostarion; 4; Saints, Ode 6:
4:
1. Believing Thee to be God, O Christ, the thief on the cross confessed Thee in a pure manner, crying out from the depths of his heart: Remember me in Thy kingdom, O Lord!
2. Together let us hymn as Savior and Creator, Him Who on the Cross budded forth life for our race and caused the curse which originated from the tree to wither up.
3. When Thou wast crucified between two condemned thieves, O Christ, one of them
blasphemed Thee and was justly damned, while the other confessed Thee and dwelleth
now in paradise.
4. When they had come to the choir of the
apostles, the honorable women cried out:
Christ is risen! Let us worship
Him as Master and Creator.
5. Thou didst make steadfast the hearts of them that were shaken when Thou didst make the earth to shake at Thine august crucifixion, to which Thou didst submit in the flesh, O
Long-suffering One.
6. The noble Joseph laid Thee in a new tomb, O Compassionate One. But Thou didst arise from the dead on the third day, thereby renewing us.
7. Why seek ye the Lord as though He were dead? He is risen as He said, proclaimed the Angel unto the women, as he radiantly flashed forth with divine aspect.
8. Thou didst heal the man who was blind from birth, who of old came unto Thee and glorified Thy dispensation and Thy wonders, O All-compassionate One.
9.
“Our God is like the deep of the sea, unfathomable by the mind and
indescribable in
words,” thou didst say to the Moslems who disputed
with thee, O all-wise Cyril; “and
some who attempt to sail across this deep in the
leaky boats of their own intellect are
drowned, falling into errors and heresies, while
others are buffeted by incomprehension
and doubt, knowing not how to sing: O Helmsman,
save us, as Thou didst Peter!”.
10.
Sunk deep in the abyss of their false understandings, the Moslems
secretly offered
thee deadly poison. But He Who said: “If ye drink anything
deadly, it will not harm
you”, preserved thee whole and returned thee
with honor to the
fittingly blessed by the emperor and patriarch, thou
wast supremely exalted, crying: “O
Helmsman, Thou hast saved me as Thou didst
Peter!”
11.
The Holy Spirit once said to the disciples: “Separate for Me Barnabas
and Saul for
the task to which I have called them,” the
enlightenment of the nations who are perishing
in the abyss of ignorance of God; and He
likewise commanded that ye be sent to the
lands of the Slavs, O venerable fathers. And, illumined by the light of your teaching,
people who sat in darkness and the shadow of death
have cried out: “O Helmsman, Thou
hast saved us as Thou didst Peter!”
12.
The uttermost abyss of sins hath encompassed me, and, beset with
trembling and
terrified of utter drowning, I offer thee entreaty, O
all-immaculate one: Have mercy upon
my passion-plagued soul! Stretch forth thy hands, in that thou art
good, and as Thy Son
saved Peter, so do thou save me, O thou who
dost steer my soul.
Troparia: Tone 5: Let us, O faithful, praise and worship the
Word /
Who is co-unoriginate
with the Father and the Spirit, /
and Who was born of the Virgin for our
salvation; /
for He was pleased to ascend the Cross in the
flesh /
and to endure death, //
and to raise the dead by His glorious
Resurrection.
Glory… Tone 4: As ones equal in character to the Apostles /
and as Teachers of the Slavic lands, /
O divinely-wise Cyril and Methodius, /
pray to the Lord of all, to strengthen all nations /
in Orthodoxy and unity of thought, /
to convert and reconcile the world to God, //
and to save our souls.
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 8th Tone: Make your vows and pay them to the Lord
our God.
Choir: Make
your vows and pay them to the Lord our God.
Reader: In
Judea is God known, His name is great in
Choir: Make your vows and pay them to the Lord our
God.
Reader: In the 7th Tone:
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.
Choir: Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.
Reader:
The
[Acts 16:16-34; Hebrews 7:26-8:2]
Reader: Alleluia in the 8th Tone: Look upon me and have mercy on me.
Choir:
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: My steps do Thou direct according to Thy
saying.
Choir:
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: In the 2nd tone:
Thy priests shall be clothed with righteousness and Thy
righteous shall rejoice.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Gospel [John 9:1-38;
Matthew 5:14-19]
Kontakia:
Glory… Tone 3: Let us honor our sacred pair of enlighteners, /
who, by translating the divine writings, /
have poured forth for us a well-spring of divine knowledge /
from which we draw abundantly even unto this day: /
We call you blessed, O Cyril and Methodius, /
ye who stand before the throne of the Most High //
and intercede fervently for our souls.
Both now… Tone 4: Blinded in the eyes
of my soul, /
I draw nigh unto Thee, O Christ,
like the man blind from his birth, /
and in repentance I cry to Thee: /
Thou art the exceeding radiant
Light //
of those in darkness.
Instead of “It is truly meet…” we chant the Irmos of the 9th
Ode of the
Canon of the feast, first Tone:
Refrain: The
angel cried unto her that is full of grace: Rejoice, O pure Virgin!
And again I say, rejoice!
For thy Son is risen from the grave on the third day, and hath
raised the dead, O ye people, be joyful!
Irmos:
Shine, shine, O new Jerusalem, for the glory of the Lord is risen upon
thee; dance now and be glad, O
of
Him Whom thou didst bear.