The
Apodosis of Pentecost
Beatitudes
on 8; Feast 8, from Ode 9, both canons.
1 & 2. O Thou who without
experience of corruption wast found to be with child, and
didst lend flesh to the Word Who devised
all things, O thou Mother who hast not known
wedlock, O Virgin Theotokos,
vessel of the Uncontainable One, dwelling place of the
boundless Fashioner, thee do we
magnify.
3. Borne in gladness upon a
chariot of flaming fire, the fire-breathing zealot of old hath
typified that radiant breath
which now shone forth from above upon the apostles, and
these, illumined, made known the
Trinity to all.
4. Strange things were heard from
the disciples, not in accordance with the law of their
nature, for while only one voice
spake, by the grace of the Spirit various peoples, tribes,
and nations heard the great
things of God, learning the knowledge of the Trinity.
5 & 6. Rejoice, O Queen boast
of virgins and mothers; for every eloquent and capable
mouth is unable to extol thee
worthily, and every mind is confounded in seeking to
comprehend thy childbirth.
Wherefore, with one accord do we glorify thee.
7. It is proper to hymn the
Maiden who giveth life; for she alone carried in her womb the
Word that came to heal the
diseased nature of man; and Who seated now on the right
hand of the father, hath sent
down the grace of the Spirit.
8. Let all of us, on whom the
divinely-poured grace hath breathed, shining, flashing,
changed with a strange and most
magnificent transformation, having come to know the
Essence equal in might,
indivisible, and wise, and thrice radiant, render glory.
The
entry verse: O come let us worship and fall down before Christ, O
Good Comforter, save us who sing to Thee: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
And
immediately after that, the choir sings the Troparion and Kontakion of the
feast:
Tone 8: Blessed art
Thou, O Christ our God, /
Who hast shown forth the
fishermen as supremely wise, /
by sending down upon them the
Holy Spirit, /
and through them didst draw
the world into Thy net. //
O Lover of mankind, glory be
to Thee.
Glory… Both
now… Tone 8:
Once, when He
descended and confounded the tongues, /
the Most High
divided the nations; /
and when He
divided the tongues of fire, /
He called all men
into unity; //
and with one
accord we glorify the All-Holy Spirit.
The Epistle
Reader: The
Prokimenon in the 8th Tone: Their sound hath gone forth into
all the earth,
and
their words unto the ends of the world.
Choir: Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto
the ends of
the world.
Reader: The
heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaimeth the work
of His hands.
Choir: Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth, and
their words unto the ends of
the world.
Reader: Their
sound hath gone forth into all the earth.
Choir: And their words unto the ends of the world.
Reader: The Reading is from epistle of the Holy
Apostle Paul to the Romans:
[Romans
1:7b-12 (§79 mid)]
Reader: Alleluia
in the 1st Tone.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: By
the Word of the Lord were the heavens established, and all the might of
them by the Spirit of
His mouth.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: The
Lord looked down from heaven, He beheld all the sons of men.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Gospel [Matthew 5:42-48 (§15)]
Instead of “It is truly
meet…” we chant the Irmos of the 9th Ode of the Second Canon
of the feast, Fourth
Tone:
Irmos: Rejoice, Thou, O Queen, the glory of both
mothers and virgins! For no
mouth, however fluent and well-spoken, can be so eloquent as to
hymn thee worthily;
and every mind faileth to understand thy childbirth. Wherefore, with one accord thee do
we magnify.
Communion Verse: Thy good Spirit shall lead me in the land of
uprightness. Alleluia,
Alleluia, Alleluia!