Third Saturday of Lent / Forefeast of Annunciation
Beatitudes, on 8: from the
Canon of the Forefeast: 4, from Ode 3; and 4, from Ode 6.
1. O earth so sadly choked with the thorns of the
passions, dance thou, leaping up; for, lo! the immortal Husbandman now cometh,
removing the curse from thee.
2. Prepare thyself, O undefiled Virgin, thou divine
fleece; for upon thee will God descend like rain, to dry up the torrents of
transgression.
3. Be thou well adorned, O divine scroll; for by the
finger of the Father will the divine Word incarnate be written upon thee,
annulling the transgression of my irrationality.
4. O golden lamp, bear aloft the fire of the Godhead which shineth forth through thee, bestowing light upon the world; for thereby is the darkness of our evils broken.
5. The Archangel Gabriel proclaimeth to thee, “Rejoice!”, for thou dost ineffably receive in thy womb the joy which Eve lost through her transgression, O Virgin.
6. The fire of the Godhead neither consumed nor in anywise outraged thy womb, O Maiden; for the bush of old, which burned yet was in nowise consumed, prefigured thee, O most pure one.
7. Rejoice, O Virgin, thou mountain which Daniel foresaw in the Spirit! For from thee was the noetic Stone cut which shall demolish the inanimate temples of the demons.
8. The King of peace cometh unto thee, and through thee He shall reconcile those who have been assailed and deceived by the wicked counsel of the serpent, O Mother of God.
At the entrance,
the choir sings:
O come let us worship and fall down before Christ, through the prayers of the Theotokos, O Son of God, save us who sing to Thee: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Troparia & Kontakia
Tone 4: Today the first-fruits of universal joy /
command us to chant hymnody of the forefeast; /
for, lo! Gabriel cometh, /
bearing a salutation to the Virgin, /
and he crieth out to her: /
“Rejoice, O thou who art full of grace! //
The Lord is with thee!”
Glory… Both now… Tone 8:
Thou art the
beginning of the salvation of all of us mortals, O Virgin Theotokos; /
for Gabriel,
the great supreme commander, the servant of God, /
sent from
heaven to stand before thee, offered thee gladsome joy. //
Wherefore, we
all cry out to thee: Rejoice, O Bride unwedded!
The Epistle
Reader: The Prokimenon in the 8th Tone: Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, ye
righteous.
Choir: Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, ye
righteous.
Reader: Blessed are they whose iniquities are
forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
Choir: Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, ye
righteous.
Reader: Be glad
in the Lord..
Choir: And rejoice, ye righteous.
Reader:
The Reading is from the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Hebrews: [Heb.
10:32-38 (§325)]
Reader: Alleluia in the 4th Tone.
Choir:
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: The
righteous cried, and the Lord heard them, and He delivered them out of all
their tribulations.
Choir:
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: Many are the tribulations of the
righteous, and the Lord shall deliver them out of them all.
Choir:
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Gospel [Mark 2:14-17 (§8)]
Communion Verse: Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous; praise is meet for the upright. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!