Presanctified Liturgy: Friday in the 1st Week
The Great Martyr Theodore
Tone 5:
Come, ye faithful, and in the light let us perform the works of God; /
let us walk honestly as in the day. /
Let us cast away every unjust accusation against our neighbor, /
not placing any cause of stumbling in his path. /
Let us lay aside the pleasures of the flesh, /
and increase the spiritual gifts of our soul. /
Let us give bread to those in need, /
and let us draw near unto Christ, crying in penitence: //
O our God, have mercy on us. Twice
Tone 3:
Great is the power of Thy martyrs, O Christ! /
Though they lie in their tombs, /
they drive out evil spirits /
and fight in defense of true devotion, /
subduing the dominion of the enemy //
through faith in the Trinity.
The prophets, the apostles of Christ and the martyrs /
have taught mankind to sing the praises of the consubstantial Trinity; /
they have given light to the nations that were gone astray, //
and have made the sons of men companions of the angels.
Supported by faith and made strong by hope, /
Thy martyrs, O Lord, destroyed the tyranny of the enemy; /
and receiving crowns of glory, together with the angels //
they make intercession for our souls.
It was set up in the place of the skull, and it acts in all the world; /
it made the fishermen into apostles, /
and the Gentiles into martyrs, //
that they might intercede for our souls.
Tone 2:
Come, all ye who love the martyrs, /
let us rejoice in spirit and keep festival. /
For today Theodore the martyr has set before us a table /
laden with mystic food, /
bringing joy to all of us who gladly celebrate his memory. /
Unto him we cry: /
Rejoice, victorious champion, /
who has trampled underfoot the tyrants’ threats. /
Rejoice, thou who gavest thy body of clay to torture /
for the sake of Christ our God. /
Rejoice, thou who hast shown thyself, in manifold tribulations, /
a tested warrior of the heavenly host. /
O glory of the martyrs, //
we entreat thee to pray for our souls.
The God-given grace of thy miracles, O martyr Theodore, /
thou dost grant to all who turn to thee in faith. /
We therefore praise thee, saying: /
Thou dost deliver prisoners and heal the sick; /
thou givest riches to the poor and guardest those who sail the seas. /
Thou restrainest slaves from useless flight, /
and showest robbers what their punishment will be; /
thou teachest soldiers to abstain from plunder. /
In thy loving compassion thou dost grant the prayers of children, /
and thou art the fervent protector of all who keep thy holy memory. /
With them we also sing the praises of thy martyrdom, O saint of God: //
pray to Christ that He may show us His great mercy.
O martyr Theodore, thou art a matchless gift from God: /
for after thy death as during thy lifetime, /
thou dost grant the petitions of those who turn to thee. /
Thus once it happened that the son of a poor widow /
was carried off by soldiers of another faith; /
and she came weeping to thy shrine. /
Mounted upon a white horse, in loving compassion /
thou hast defended her child with thine invisible protection. /
And now as then, never dost thou cease from working wonders: //
pray to Christ our God, for the salvation of our souls.
O thrice-blessed Theodore, I honor thee: /
rightly art thou named “Gift from God”. /
For thou hast shown thyself a never-setting star of the divine Light, /
and through thy sufferings thou dost shine on all the world. /
Proving thyself stronger than fire, thou has quenched the flames; /
and thou hast crushed the head of the deceitful serpent. /
Therefore, in the midst of thy sufferings, /
Christ came and set a crown upon thy holy head. /
O Great Martyr, who hast boldness before God, //
do thou offer fervent intercession for our souls.
Glory… Tone 6: Using as his tool the Apostate Emperor, /
the enemy devised a cruel plot: /
with food polluted by unclean sacrifices /
he sought to defile the people of God /
as they purified themselves through fasting. /
But thou hast defeated his design by a more skillful plan: /
appearing in a dream to the Archbishop, /
thou hast revealed to him the evil plot. /
Therefore we offer thee a sacrifice of thanksgiving, /
honoring thee as our protector /
and keeping the yearly memorial of what was done. /
May we be kept safe, we pray, from the designs of the enemy //
at thine intercessions, O Martyr Theodore.
Both now… Tone 3:
How can we not marvel /
at thy giving birth to the God-man, O all-honored one. /
For without having accepted the temptation of a man, /
O all-immaculate one, /
without a father thou gavest birth in the flesh to a Son /
Who was begotten without a mother before the ages, /
without His undergoing change, confusion or division, /
yet preserving intact the character of both essences. /
Wherefore, O Virgin Mother and Mistress, /
entreat Him, that the souls of those who in Orthodox manner //
confess thee to be the Theotokos be saved.
Tone 5: The Lord hear thee in the day of affliction.
Stichos: The name of the God of Jacob defend thee.
Lesson: Genesis 2:20-3:20
Tone 6: Be Thou exalted, O Lord, in Thy strength; we will sing and chant of Thy mighty acts.