The Feast of the First and Second Finding of the Head of St. John the Baptist / The Sunday of Orthodoxy, Tone 4
Beatitudes on 12: Octoechos 4; Triodion 4, from Ode 3; Forerunner 4, from Ode 6.
 

1. By the tree was Adam forced to depart from paradise; but by the Tree of the Cross was the thief made to dwell in paradise. For the one by tasting, broke the commandment of the creator; while the other, crucified with Him, confessed the hidden God, crying out: Remember me in Thy kingdom!

 

2. O Lord Who wast lifted up upon the Cross, Who hast destroyed the power of death and as God hast destroyed the record of our sins, grant also the repentance of the thief unto us who faithfully serve Thee and cry out to thee, O Christ God Who alone lovest mankind: Remember us also in Thy kingdom!

 

3. On the Cross Thou didst tear asunder with the spear the record of our sins; and, numbered among the dead, Thou didst bind the tyrant of hades, O Lord Who lovest mankind, Who by Thy resurrection hast delivered all from the bonds of hades. Thereby have we been illumined, and we cry to Thee: Remember us also in Thy kingdom!

 

4. O Thou Who alone art immortal, Who wast crucified and as almighty didst arise from the tomb on the third day, and hast raised up Adam, the first created: Vouchsafe that I also may turn to repentance with my whole heart, and may ever cry out to Thee with fervent faith: Remember me, O Savior, in Thy kingdom!

 

5. No longer now are the impious heretics exalted in their pride: for the power of God has firmly established Orthodoxy.

 

6. Today, at the restoration of the faith, let the prophet sprinkle upon us life-giving dew from heaven.

 

7. Let the mystical trumpets of Christ’s apostles sound in God-given harmony, proclaiming the re-establishment of the precious icons.

 

8. Let us sing in praise of Christ, who has appointed a devout and pious Empress to rule over us, together with her son crowned by God.

 

9. Christ called thee a true prophet, and the most exalted of the prophets, the Baptist and Forerunner of Life, for thou didst behold Him Whom the Law and prophets foretold.

 

10. The fountain of miracles, the treasury of grace, thy sacred head, O Baptist, Prophet and Forerunner, could not bear to be concealed, and, having revealed itself, it poured forth springs of healing.

 

11. The Christ-loving and right glorious city doth set before itself thy precious and divine head. O Forerunner, as most rich praise, a radiant adornment and a splendid shield.

 

12. Moses, great among the prophets, prefigured thee in the ark, the table, the candlestick and the jar, signifying the incarnation of the Most High which took place through thee, O Virgin Mother.

 

Troparia & Kontakia

 

Tone 4: Having learned the joyful proclamation of the Resurrection from the angel, /
and having cast off the ancestral condemnation, /
the women disciples of the Lord spake to the apostles exultantly: /
Death is despoiled and Christ God is risen, //
granting to the world great mercy.

 

Tone 2: We venerate Thine immaculate Icon, O Good One, /

asking the forgiveness of our failings, O Christ God; /

for of Thine Own will Thou was well-pleased to ascend the Cross in the flesh /

that Thou mightest deliver from slavery to the enemy those whom thou hadst fashioned. /

Wherefore, we cry to Thee thankfully: //

Thou didst fill all things with joy, O our Savior, when Thou camest to save the world.

 

Tone 4: The head of the Forerunner, which hath shone forth from the earth, /

doth shed rays of incorruption and healing upon the faithful. /

On high it assembleth a multitude of angels, /

and below it calleth upon the human race with one voice //

to send up glory to Christ God.

 

Tone 4: My Savior and Redeemer hath, as God, /
raised up the earthborn from the grave and from their fetters, /
and He hath broken the gates of hades, /
and, as Master, //
hath risen on the third day.

 

Glory… Tone 2: O prophet of God and Forerunner of grace, /

having obtained thy head from the earth like a most sacred rose, /

we ever receive healings, for again, as of old, //

thou dost preach repentance in all the world.

 

Both… Tone 8: The uncircumscribable Word of the Father was circumscribed /

when He took flesh of thee, O Theotokos; /

and when He had restored the defiled image to its ancient state, /

He suffused it with divine beauty. //

As for us, confessing our salvation, we record it in deed and word.

 

The Epistle

 

Reader: The Prokimenon in the 4th Tone: Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers, and praised and glorified is Thy name unto the ages.

Choir: Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers, and praised and glorified is Thy name unto the ages.

Reader: For righteous art Thou in all which Thou hast done for us.

Choir: Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers, and praised and glorified is Thy name unto the ages.

Reader: In the 7th 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 Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Hebrews:

[Heb. 11:24-26;32-12:2 (§329 (mid.)); II Cor. 4:6-15 (§176)]

 

Reader: Alleluia in the 4th Tone: Moses and Aaron among His priests, and Samuel among them that call upon His name.

Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Reader: They called upon the Lord, and He hearkened unto them.

Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Reader: In the 4th Tone: The righteous man shall flourish like a palm tree, and like a cedar in Lebanon shall he be multiplied.

Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

 

Gospel [John 1:43-51 (§5); Matt. 11:2-15 (§40)]

 

Instead of “It is truly meet…”[Tone 8 in the Octoechos, but usually sung to one of many special melodies]:

 

All creation – the assembly of angels and the race of man – rejoiceth in thee, O thou who art full of grace, O sacred temple and noetical paradise, boast of virgins, from whom God, Who existeth from before time, was incarnate and became a child; for He made thy body a throne, and thy womb He made more spacious than the heavens. All creation rejoiceth in thee, O thou who art full of grace. Glory to thee!

 

Communion Verse: Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the highest! In everlasting remembrance shall the righteous be; he shall not be afraid of evil tidings. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

 

 

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