13th Sunday after Pentecost / Afterfeast of the
Nativity of the Theotokos / Ss. Joachim and Anna
Beatitudes on 12: Octoechos: 4; Feast: 4, from Ode 1;
Saints: 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. Come, ye faithful, and,
rejoicing with divine spirit, let us honor with hymns the Ever-virgin Maiden
who today hath issued forth from a barren woman for the salvation of men.
6. Rejoice, O pure one,
Mother and handmaid of Christ God, mediatress of our primal blessedness! All of us, the human race, glorify thee with
hymns, as is meet.
7. Let all creation join
chorus, and let David be glad, for from his tribe and seed hath come forth as a
flower the rod which beareth the Lord, the Creator of all.
8. The Holy of holies is
placed in the holy sanctuary as a babe, to be fed by the hands of angels. Let us all, therefore, faithfully keep
festival together on her nativity.
9. Anna, the barren woman
of old, having received fertile seed, was vouchsafed to give birth to a Maiden
of divine radiance who hath dominion over all creatures.
10. The barren woman, hath
now given birth by God’s will to the Virgin Who would with submission give
birth untainted by carnal will, as God Himself manifestly desired.
11. Illumined by the Spirit,
Isaiah beheld the offspring of Joachim and Anna as a new scroll, whereon the
incarnate Word was written.
12. Mystery followeth
mystery! For she who before was barren hath given birth to grace: the
mediatress of salvation who hath been revealed to us by the birth of virginity.
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 4: Thy
nativity, O Theotokos Virgin, /
hath proclaimed joy to all
the world; /
for from thee hath dawned
the Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God, /
annulling the curse, and
bestowing the blessing, //
abolishing death and
granting us life eternal.
[Troparion of the Temple]
Tone 1:
Joachim and Anna, who were righteous in the law of grace, /
have for us given birth
unto a God-given babe. /
Wherefore, the divine
Church keepeth splendid festival today, /
celebrating their honored
memory with gladness, /
glorifying God Who hath
lifted up the horn of salvation for us //
in the house of David.
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.
[Kontakion of the Temple]
Glory… Tone 2: Anna now rejoiceth, /
having broken the bond of
barrenness; /
and she nurtureth the
all-pure one, /
calling upon all to hymn
the One /
Who through her womb hath
given unto men //
the only Mother who knew
not man.
Both now... Tone 4: Joachim and Anna were freed from the reproach of childlessness /
and Adam and Eve from the
corruption of death, by thy holy nativity, O immaculate one,/
which thy people, redeemed
from the guilt of offenses, /
celebrate, by crying to
thee: //
The barren woman giveth
birth to the Theotokos, the nourisher of our 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 4th
Tone: Wondrous is God in His saints, the God of Israel.
Choir: Wondrous is God in His saints, the God of
Israel.
Reader: The Reading is
from the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Galatians:
[Gal. 6:11-18 (§215); I Cor. 16:13-24 (§166); Gal.
4:22-31 (§210 mid)]
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: The
salvation of the righteous is from the Lord, and he is their defender in time of
affliction.
Choir:
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Gospel [John 3:13-17
(§9); Matt 21:33-42 (§87); Luke 8:16-21 (§36)]
Instead of “It is truly meet…” we chant the Irmos
of the 9th Ode of the Second Canon of the feast, Eighth Tone:
Refrain: Magnify, O my soul, / the most glorious
nativity of the Mother of God.
Irmos: Foreign to mothers is virginity, /
and strange is
childbirth for virgins, /
yet both were
accomplished in thee, O Theotokos. /
Wherefore, we and
all generations of the earth //
without ceasing
do magnify thee.
Communion Verse: Praise the Lord from the
heavens, praise Him in the highest! Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous; praise
is meet for the upright. Alleluia, Alleluia,
Alleluia!