Bright Saturday
Deacon: Bless, master!
Priest: Blessed is the kingdom…
Choir:
Amen.
And the clergy sing:
Christ
is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs
bestowing life. Thrice
And then choir also sings the
Troparion thrice.
The Priest
reads the stichoi, and the choir sings the troparion after each stichos:
Stichos
1: Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered, and let them that hate
Him flee from before His face.
Choir:
Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down
death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.
Stichos
2: As
smoke vanisheth, so let them vanish, as wax melteth before the fire.
Choir: Repeat Troparion
Stichos 3: So let the sinners perish at the presence of
God, and let the righteous be glad.
Choir: Repeat Troparion
Stichos 4: This is the day which the Lord hath made; let us rejoice
and be glad therein.
Priest: Glory to
the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Choir: Repeat Troparion
Priest: Both now
and ever, and unto the ages of ages.
Amen.
Choir: Repeat Troparion
Priest: Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death
by death.
Choir: And upon
those in the tombs bestowing life.
Then, in place of the usual
antiphons, we sing those of the feast:
The
First Antiphon
Stichos 1: Shout
with jubilation unto the Lord all the earth; chant ye unto His name, give glory
in praise of Him.
Refrain: Through
the prayers of the Theotokos, O Savior, save us.
Stichos 2: Say unto God: How awesome are Thy
works! In the multitude of Thy power
shall Thine enemies be proved false unto Thee.
Refrain: Through the
prayers of the Theotokos, O Savior, save us.
Stichos 3: Let all the earth worship Thee and chant
unto Thee; let them chant unto Thy name, O Most High.
Refrain: Through
the prayers of the Theotokos, O Savior, save us.
Glory to
the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto
the ages of ages. Amen.
Refrain: Through
the prayers of the Theotokos, O Savior, save us.
The
Second Antiphon
Stichos 1: God be gracious unto us and bless us, and
cause Thy face to shine upon us and have mercy on us.
Refrain: O Son of
God Who didst rise from the dead, save us who sing to Thee: Alleluia.
Stichos 2: That we
may know upon the earth Thy way, among all the nations Thy salvation.
Refrain. O Son of God Who didst rise
from the dead, save us who sing to Thee:
Alleluia.
Stichos 3: Let all
the peoples give Thee praise, O God, let all the peoples praise Thee.
Refrain: O Son of
God Who didst rise from the dead, save us who sing to Thee: Alleluia.
Glory to
the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto
the ages of ages. Amen.
O only-begotten Son and Word of God, Who art
immortal, yet didst deign for our salvation to be incarnate of the Holy
Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, and without change didst become man, and was
crucified, O Christ God, trampling down death by death. Thou Who art one of the Holy Trinity,
glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit, save us.
The
Third Antiphon
Reader:
Stichos 1: Let God arise and let His
enemies be scattered, and let them that hate Him flee from before His face.
Choir:
Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down
death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.
Stichos
2: As
smoke vanisheth, so let them vanish, as wax melteth before the fire.
Choir: Repeat Troparion
Stichos 3: So let the sinners perish at the presence of
God, and let the righteous be glad, let them rejoice in the presence of God
Choir: Repeat Troparion
The
entry verse:
In congregations bless ye God,
the Lord from the wellsprings of Israel.
Then
we sing the Troparion, Hypakoe, and Kontakion of the Feast:
Tone 1: Christ is
risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs
bestowing life.
Glory…
Tone 8: Forestalling the dawn, the women
came with Mary, /
and found the stone rolled away
from the sepulchre, and heard from the angel: /
Why seek ye among the dead, as
though He were mortal, Him Who liveth in everlasting light? /
Behold the grave-clothes. Go quickly and proclaim to the world that the
Lord is risen and hath slain death. //
For He is the Son of God Who
saveth mankind.
Both now… Tone 8: Thou didst descend into
the tomb, O Immortal, /
Thou didst destroy the
power of death. /
In victory didst Thou
arise, O Christ God, /
proclaiming “Rejoice!”
to the myrrh-bearing women; /
granting peace to Thine
apostles, //
and bestowing
resurrection on the fallen.
Instead
of the Trisagion: As many
as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Alleluia.
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. Have put on
Christ. Alleluia.
As
many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Alleluia.
The Epistle
Reader: The
Prokimenon in the 3rd Tone: The Lord is my light and my Savior; whom then
shall I fear
Choir: The Lord is my light and my Savior; whom then shall I fear.
Reader: The
Lord is the defender of my life; of whom then shall I be afraid?
Choir: The Lord is my light and my Savior; whom then shall
I fear.
Reader. The Lord is my light and my Savior.
Choir: whom then shall I fear.
Reader: The Reading is from the Acts of the Holy Apostles: [Acts
3:11-16 §8]
Reader: Alleluia
in the 5th Tone.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: The Lord is King, He is clothed with
majesty, the Lord is clothed with strength and He hath girt Himself.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: For He hath established the world which
shall not be shaken.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Gospel [John 3:22-33 §11]
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 Zion, and do thou
exult, O pure Theotokos, in the arising of Him Whom thou didst bear.
Communion Verse:
Receive ye the Body of Christ, taste ye of the Fountain of Immortality. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
When the priest says:
“With the fear of God and with faith draw near,” instead of “Blessed is He that
cometh in the name of the Lord,” we sing: “Christ is risen…” once. And we also sing this instead of “We have
seen the true light…” and instead of “Let our mouths be filled with thy
praise…”
When the priest
says: “The blessing of the Lord be upon you…” The Choir sings “Amen.”
And then the clergy sing: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down
death by death.” And the Choir sings: “And upon those in the tombs bestowing
life.”
After this the
priest says the dismissal, and “Christ is risen!” thrice, while bestowing
a blessing with the Cross.