16th Sunday After Pentecost / The Conception of St. John the Baptist
Beatitudes
on 10 Octoechos: 6; Forerunner: 4, from Ode 3.
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. Today the barren one conceiveth the sacred fruit, who in later times will cut down all
the barrenness of souls with grace, the noetic axe.
8. Having been struck dumb within the temple, the great Zechariah receiveth the yoke of
the Word by an awesome announcement, and radiantly doth magnify the compassionate
Lord.
9. The glorious Forerunner, who hath shown the faithful the firm path of repentance, by
divine counsel surpassing hope hath at the angel's command sprung forth in his mother's
womb.
10. As he who was born of the barren woman perceived Christ borne in the Virgin's
womb, he leapt up, heralding the Joy which had come into the world to deliver all from
grief.
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 Temple]
Glory.. Tone 4: Make merry, O barren woman, who before wast unable to bear a child! /
For, lo! thou hast manifestly conceived the lamp of the Sun, /
who will enlighten all the world, /
which suffereth from blindness. /
Dance thou, O Zechariah, crying out with boldness: /
He who will be born //
is the prophet of the Most High!
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: In the Same Tone: The righteous man shall be glad in the Lord and shall hope
in Him.
Choir: The righteous man shall be glad in the Lord and shall hope in Him.
Reader:
The Reading is from the Second Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the
Corinthians:
[II Cor. 6:1-10 (§181); Gal. 4:22-31
(§210 mid)]
Reader: Alleluia in the 7th Tone: 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!
Reader: In the 4th
Tone: The righteous man shall flourish like a palm tree, and like a cedar
of Lebanon shall he be multiplied.
Choir:
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Gospel [Luke 5:1-11
(§17); Luke 1:5-25 (§2)]
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 1: Rejoice with splendor, O great Zechariah /
and most
glorious Elizabeth, his spouse, /
in
conceiving John the Forerunner as is meet, /
whom the
archangel announced, rejoicing. /
O ye men,
let us right worthily honor him //
as the
initiate of the mystery of grace.
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.