16th Sunday after Pentecost / Martyr Sozon / Forefeast of the Nativity of the Theotokos
Beatitudes on 12: Octoechos: 4; Forefeast: 4, from Ode 3; Martyr: 4, from Ode 6.
1. The fruit which slew me was beautiful and good to eat; but Christ is the Tree of life, and eating of Him I do not die, but cry out with the thief: Remember me, O Lord, in Thy kingdom!
2. O Compassionate One, Who wast lifted up upon the Cross, Thou hast erased the record of Adam’s ancient sin, and hast saved the whole human race from deception. Wherefore, we hymn Thee, O Lord and Benefactor.
3. Thou didst nail our sins to the Cross, O compassionate Christ, and by Thy death Thou didst slay death, O Thou who didst raise up the dead from among the dead. Wherefore, we worship Thy holy resurrection.
4. The serpent once poured its venom into the ears of Eve; but on the tree of the Cross, Christ poured forth the sweetness of life upon the world. Wherefore, we cry out: Remember us, O Lord, in Thy kingdom!
5. A fertile land is born of a barren land, bearing as fruit the Husbandman of all good things, the life-bearing Grain Who nourisheth all by His divine gesture.
6. Today hath the rod of virginity sprouted forth, from whence our God, the Gardener, doth blossom forth as a flower, cutting down the branches of wickedness by His extreme beauty.
7 & 8. Lo! the mountain unquarried, which arose from a barren rock, produceth the noetically quarried Stone, Who crusheth the falsehood of all graven idols.
9. Desiring to be slain as an unblemished sacrifice, for the sake of God’s love, thou didst offer thyself up on His altar. Wherefore, we piously honor thee, O all-lauded one.
10. Having sailed over the deep of deception without foundering, thou didst attain unto the haven of the kingdom on high, O blessed martyr, enjoying everlasting calm.
11. The tormentor pitilessly raked thy sides with claws of iron; but thou didst gloriously commit thy spirit into the hands of God, O ever-memorable and most blessed one.
12. O wonder more recent than all wonders! The Virgin, having conceived in her womb, without knowing man, Him Who sustaineth all things, did not confine Him.
Troparia & Kontakia
Tone 7: Thou didst destroy death by Thy Cross, /
Thou didst open paradise to the thief. /
Thou didst change the lamentation of the Myrrh-bearers, /
and Thou didst command Thine Apostles to proclaim /
that Thou didst arise, O Christ God, //
and grantest to the world great mercy.
Tone 4: Mary, the divine Maiden, is born unto us today /
from the root of Jesse and the loins of David; /
and all things rejoice and are made new through joy. /
Rejoice together, O heaven and earth! /
Praise her, ye lands of the gentiles! /
Joachim maketh glad, and Anna holdeth festival, crying aloud: //
A barren woman giveth birth to the Theotokos, the Nourisher of our Life!
[Troparion of the Temple]
Tone 4: In his sufferings O Lord, /
Thy martyr Sozon hath received an imperishable crown from Thee, our God; /
for, possessed of Thy might, /
he set at nought his tormentors and crushed the feeble audacity of the demons. //
By his supplications save Thou our souls.
Tone 7: No longer will the dominion of death be able to keep men captive; /
for Christ hath descended, demolishing and destroying the powers thereof. /
Hades is bound; /
the prophets rejoice with one voice, saying: /
A Savior hath come for them that have faith. //
Come forth, ye faithful, for the Resurrection.
[Kontakion of the Temple]
Glory... Tone 2: Assembling today, with a loud voice let us praise Sozon, /
the true and divinely wise martyr, the skilled athlete of piety, /
the initiate of the mysteries of grace, /
the most generous bestower of healings: //
for he entreateth Christ God in behalf of us all.
Both now... Tone 3: Today Mary, the Virgin and Theotokos, /
the boundless chamber of the heavenly Bridegroom, is born! /
From a barren woman, by the counsel of God, /
the chariot of the Word is rightly adorned; //
for she was foretold as the divine portal and Mother of life.
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: 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 Galatians:
[Gal. 6:11-18 (§215); II Cor. 6:1-10 (§181); Eph. 6:10-17 (§233)]
Reader: Alleluia in the 1st Tone: I have raised up one chosen out of my people; with my holy oil have I anointed him.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: For My hand shall be unto Him an ally, and Mine arm shall strengthen him.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: In the 4th Tone: The righteous cried, and the Lord heard them, and He delivered them out of all their tribulations.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Gospel [John 3:13-17 (§9); Matt. 25:14-30 (§105); John 15:17-16:2 (§52)]
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!