30th
Sunday after Pentecost / The Sunday after Nativity / The Kinsmen of the
Lord
Beatitudes
on 12, Octoechos: 4; Feast: 4, Ode 3; Saints: 4, Ode 6.
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. By Thy death hast Thou destroyed the power of death, O Christ, and Thou didst raise up with Thyself the dead of ages past, who now hymn Thee as our true God and Savior. 4. Arriving at Thy tomb, O Christ, the honorable women sought to anoint Thee with myrrh, O Bestower of life; but an angel appeared to them, crying out: The Lord is risen! 5. Adam who, though fashioned of dust, partook of higher inspiration, yet was led to stumble into corruption through a woman’s deceit, seeing Christ born of a woman, crieth out: O Lord Who for my sake hast become like me, holy art Thou! 6. O Lord Christ, Who, mingling with clay, madest Thyself conformable thereto, imparting Thy divine essence by participating in vile flesh, becoming earthly, yet remaining God, and Who hast lifted up our horn: holy art Thou! 7. Having been vouchsafed to behold the all-rich Offspring of the all-pure Bride, which passeth understanding, the chorus of pipers bowed down in awe-filled homage; and the ranks of incorporeal beings hymn Christ the King, Who became incarnate without seed. 8. In His loving-kindness, He Who reigneth over the heights of heaven becometh like us through the unwedded Maiden; the Word Who before was immaterial later took upon Himself the matter of the flesh, that He might draw to Himself the first-created man, who had fallen. 9. Awe-struck, the heavenly hosts stood before
the cave, and unable to keep silent, hymned Thy most pure nativity, chanting:
Glory in the highest to the newborn God!
10. Upon Thy throne hast Thou sat, as Thou didst
swear unto the prophet David, O Master, Who camest
forth from the fruit of his loins; and unto James didst Thou commit the throne
of the Church, O Christ.
11. David the king is shown to be a wondrous
prophet and forefather of the incarnation of God; and James, the disciple of
Jesus, is shown forth as the first bishop.
12. We beseech thee, O Virgin Theotokos: in behalf of thy servants entreat thou Him Who was incarnate of thee, for we know thee to be our sole intercessor.
Troparia & Kontakia 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.
Tone 4: Thy Nativity, O Christ our God, /
hath shined upon the world
the light of knowledge; /
for thereby, they that
worshipped the stars /
were taught by a star /
to worship Thee, the Sun of
Righteousness, /
and to know Thee, the
Dayspring from on high. //
O Lord, glory be to Thee.
Tone 2:
O Joseph, proclaim the
wonders to David the father of our Divine Lord. /
Thou hast seen a Virgin
conceive; /
thou hast given glory with
the shepherds; /
thou hast worshipped with
the Magi; /
and thou hast been warned by
an angel. //
Implore Christ our God to
save our souls.
Glory… Tone 3: Today divine David is filled
with gladness, /
and together with James,
Joseph doth offer praise; /
for they rejoice at
receiving a crown as kinsmen of Christ, /
and they praise Him who is ineffably
born on earth and they cry: //
O Compassionate One, save
them that honor Thee.
Both now… Tone 3:
Today the Virgin giveth
birth to Him Who is transcendent in essence; /
and the earth offereth a
cave to Him Who is unapproachable. /
Angels with shepherds give
glory; /
with a star the Magi do
journey; //
for our sake a young Child
is born, Who is pre-eternal God.
The Epistle
Reader: The
Prokimenon 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: Save
me, O Lord for a righteous man there is no more.
Choir: Thou, O Lord, shalt keep us and shalt
preserve us from this generation and for evermore.
Reader: 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
Galatians:
[Gal. 1:11-19 (§200)]
Reader: Alleluia
in the 5th Tone: Of Thy mercies, O Lord, will I sing for
ever. Unto generation and
generation will I declare Thy truth with my mouth.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: For Thou hast said: Mercy shall be built up
for ever, in the heavens shall Thy truth be established.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: In the 4th Tone: Remember, O Lord, David and all his meekness.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Gospel [Matt. 2:13-23 (§4)]
Instead of “It is truly meet…” we chant the Irmos of
the 9th Ode of the Second Canon of the feast, First Tone:
Refrain: Magnify, O my soul, her who is more honorable and
more glorious than the hosts on high, the most pure
Virgin Theotokos.
Irmos: Better would it be for us to keep silence in
fear, for it is without peril; and it is difficult, O Virgin, to weave complex
hymns harmoniously with love. But grant
us, O Mother, the strength to fulfill our intent.
Or according to the current
practice of some, the following Irmos is used (with the same refrain, and in
the same tone):
A strange and most wonderful mystery do I see: the cave is heaven; the Virgin the throne of the cherubim; the manger a room, in which Christ, the God whom nothing can contain, is laid. Him do we praise and magnify.
Communion Verse: Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the
highest! Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous; praise is meet for the upright. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!