Saturday
of the Myrrh-bearers
At the beginning
of the Liturgy, the Priest sings “Christ is risen” 2 ˝ times, and the Choir
finishes
the last half.
Beatitude Verses,
on 6: Pentecostarion 6 from Ode 9
1. O ye faithful, in unceasing hymnody let us magnify her who supernaturally conceived in the flesh of her womb the Word Who shone forth from the Father before time began. 2. The thief who on the Cross acknowledged Thee as God didst Thou make an heir to the noetic garden of paradise, for he cried out: “Remember me, O Almighty Savior!” 3. Let the noble counsellor Joseph be hymned with the myrrh-bearing women and the divine disciples, for he was a proclaimer of the resurrection of Christ. 4. O ye faithful, let us praise the wondrous Joseph with Nicodemus and the faithful myrrh-bearing women, who cried: “The Lord is truly risen!” 5. Thou art unoriginate, O Father! Thou art uncreated, O Son! Thou art equally enthroned with Them, O Holy Spirit! O only true God, Thou art Three in One in Essence, yet Three Persons. 6. Let Jesse be glad, and let David dance! For, lo! the Virgin hath put forth Christ, the Staff divinely sprung forth, the Flower of eternal life! Troparia & Kontakia: Tone 2:
The noble Joseph, taking
Thine immaculate Body down from the Tree, /
and having wrapped It in pure
linen and spices, laid It in a new tomb. /
But on the third day Thou
didst arise, O Lord, //
granting to the world great
mercy.
Tone 2: When Thou didst descend unto death, O Life Immortal, /
then didst Thou slay Hades
with the lightning of Thy Divinity. /
And when Thou didst also
raise the dead out of the nethermost depths,
all the Hosts of the heavens
cried out: //
O Life-giver, Christ our God,
glory be to Thee.
Tone 2: Unto the
myrrh-bearing women /
did the angel cry
out as he stood by the tomb: /
Myrrh is meet for
the dead, /
but Christ hath
proved to be a stranger to corruption. /
But cry out: The
Lord is risen, //
granting to the
world great mercy.
[Troparion of the Temple]
Tone 4: Afire with divine desire from the years of thy youth, /
O all-wise
Stephen, /
thou didst take
up the burden of Christ, /
and, sowing the
divine seed in the hearts of the people, /
which had from of
old been hardened by unbelief, /
thou didst
spiritually beget them evangelically; /
wherefore,
honoring thine all-glorious memory, /
we beseech thee:
Entreat Him Whom thou didst preach, //
that He save our
souls.
[Kontakion of the Temple]
Tone 8: Thou wast found to be called for those who sought thee not,
O holy hierarch,/
but, freeing men
from the falsehood of idolatry, /
thou didst lead
them to the Christian Faith and didst put to shame the sorcerer Pamoi; /
wherefore, thou becamest the first bishop and teacher of Perm. /
For this cause,
we, thy spiritual children, as ones delivered by thee from idols, //
cry out to thee
in hymns of thanksgiving: Rejoice, O Stephen, all-wise teacher!
Both now… Tone
2:
When Thou didst
cry, Rejoice, unto the myrrh-bearers, /
Thou didst make
the lamentation of Eve the first mother to cease /
by Thy
Resurrection, O Christ God. /
And Thou didst
bid Thine apostles to preach: //
The Savior is
risen from the grave.
The Epistle:
Reader: The Prokimenon in the 6th Tone: Save, O Lord, Thy
people and bless Thine
inheritance.
Choir: Save, O Lord, Thy people and bless Thine inheritance.
Reader: Unto Thee, O Lord, Will I cry; O my God, be not silent
unto me.
Choir: Save, O Lord, Thy people and bless Thine inheritance.
Reader: Save, O Lord, Thy people.
Choir: And bless Thine inheritance.
Reader: The Reading is from the Acts of the Holy Apostles:
[Acts 9:19b-31 (§22)]
Reader: Alleluia in the 8th
Tone:
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: Thou hast been gracious, O Lord, unto Thy land; Thou hast turned back
the
captivity of Jacob..
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: Mercy and truth
are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each
other.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Gospel [John 15:17-16:2 (§52)]
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.
We sing “Christ is risen…” instead of “We
have seen the true light…“
At the dismissal, when the priest says: “Glory to Thee, O Christ God…” The
Choir sings
“Christ is risen…” x3 instead of “Glory…
Both now… Father bless!” Then the priest
gives the dismissal.