Presanctified Liturgy: Great
and Holy Wednesday
Tone
1: O Son of the
Virgin, /
the harlot knew Thee to be God /
and she prayed to Thee lamenting, /
for she had committed sins worthy of tears.
/
“Loose me from my debt”, she cried, “as I unloose my
hair. /
Show love to her who loves Thee, /
though rightly she deserves Thy hatred, /
and with the publicans I shall proclaim Thee, //
O Benefactor who lovest mankind.”
The harlot mingled precious oil of myrrh with her
tears /
and poured it on Thy most pure feet, as she kissed
them; /
and straightway Thou hast proclaimed her
justified. /
To us also grant forgiveness, //
O Lord who hast suffered for our sake, and save us.
While the sinful woman brought oil of myrrh, /
the disciple came to an agreement with the
transgressors. /
She rejoiced to pour out what was very precious, /
he made haste to sell the One who is above all
price. /
She acknowledged Christ as Lord, /
he severed himself from the Master. /
She was set free, but Judas became the slave of the
enemy. /
Grievous was his lack of love! /
Great was her repentance! /
Grant such repentance also unto me, //
O Savior who hast suffered for our sake, and save
us.
O misery of Judas!
/
He saw the harlot kiss Thy feet, /
and deceitfully he plotted to betray Thee with a
kiss. /
She loosed her hair and he
was bound a prisoner by fury, /
bearing in place of myrrh the stink of evil: /
for envy knows not how to choose its own
advantage. /
O misery of Judas!
//
From this deliver our souls, O God.
Tone
2: The sinful woman hastened to buy precious oil of
myrrh, /
with which to anoint the Benefactor, /
and she cried aloud to the merchant: /
“Give me oil of myrrh that I may anoint Him //
who has cleansed me from all my sins.”
Tone
6: Drowning in sin, she found in Thee a haven of
salvation, /
and pouring out the oil of myrrh with her tears, she
cried to Thee: /
“Lo, Thou art He who
accepts the repentance of the sinful. //
O Master, save me from the waves of sin in Thy great
mercy.”
Today Christ comes to the house of the Pharisee, /
and the sinful woman draws near and falls down at
His feet, crying: /
“Behold me sunk in sin, /
filled with despair by reason of my deeds, /
yet not rejected by Thy love. /
Grant me, Lord, remission of my sins, and save me.”
The harlot spread out her hair before Thee, O
Master, /
while Judas stretched out his hands to the
transgressors: /
she, to receive forgiveness; and he, to receive
money. /
Therefore
we cry aloud to Thee //
who wast sold and hast set us free: O Lord, glory to
Thee.
Evil-smelling and defiled, the woman drew near to
Thee, /
shedding tears upon Thy feet, O Savior, /
and proclaiming Thy Passion. /
“How can I look upon Thee, O Master? /
Yet Thou hast come to save the harlot. /
I am dead: raise me from the depths, /
as Thou has raised Lazarus on the fourth day from
the tomb. /
Accept me in my wretchedness, //
O Lord, and save me.”
Full of despair on account of her life, /
her evil ways well known, /
she came to Thee, bearing oil of myrrh, and cried
aloud: /
“Harlot though I am, cast me not out, O Son of the
Virgin; /
despise not my tears, O Joy of the angels; /
but receive me in repentance, O Lord, //
and in Thy great mercy reject me not, a sinner.”
Glory…
Both now… Tone 8: The
woman who had fallen into many sins, /
perceiving Thy divinity, O Lord, /
fulfilled the part of a myrrh-bearer; /
and with lamentations she brought sweet-smelling oil
of myrrh to Thee /
before Thy burial.
/
“Woe is me”, she said, “for night surrounds me, dark
and moonless, /
and stings my lustful passion with the love of
sin. /
Accept the fountain of my tears, /
O Thou who drawest down
from the clouds the waters of the sea. /
Incline to the groanings of my heart, /
O Thou who in Thine ineffable self-emptying /
hast bowed down the heavens. /
I shall kiss Thy most pure feet and wipe them with
the hairs of my head, /
those feet whose sound Eve heard at dusk in
Paradise, and hid herself for fear. /
Who can search out the multitude of my sins /
and the abyss of Thy judgments, O Savior of my
soul? /
Despise me not, Thine handmaiden, //
for Thou hast mercy without measure.”
Prokimena
and Old Testament
Tone
4:
O
give thanks unto the God of heaven; / for His mercy endureth for ever.
Stichos: O
give thanks unto the God of gods; for His mercy endureth forever.
Tone
4:
O
Lord, Thy mercy endureth for ever; / disdain not the work of Thy hands.
Stichos: I
will confess Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; and before angels will I chant
unto Thee.
Gospel:
Matthew 26:6-16.