Presanctified Liturgy:
Tuesday in the 3rd Week
The 40 Martyrs of Sebaste
At the Hours:
Troparion of the Martyrs:
Tone 1:
By the pangs of
Thy saints, /
be Thou
entreated, O Lord, /
and heal all our
diseases, //
we beseech Thee, O
Thou Who lovest mankind.
Kontakion of the Martyrs:
Tone 6: Having left
all the army of the world, /
ye cleaved unto the Master
in the heavens, /
O forty passion-bearers of
the Lord; /
for, having passed through
fire and water, O blessed ones, /
as is meet ye received
glory from the heavens //
and a multitude of crowns.
Troparia of the
Prophecy at the 6th Hour:
Reader: The Troparion of the Prophecy, in the 7th Tone: O Lord, Thou art our
salvation and protector in the day of trouble. Have mercy on us according to
Thy great mercy, for Thou lovest mankind.
Glory…. Both Now…
Tone 7 [sticheron melody]: O Lord, Thou
art our salvation /
and protector in the day of
trouble. /
Have mercy on us according to
Thy great mercy, //
for Thou lovest mankind.
Reader: The Prokimenon in the 4th Tone:
The Lord of Hosts is with us,
* our helper is the God of Jacob.
Stichos: Our
God is refuge and strength.
Deacon: Wisdom!
Reader: The reading is from the Prophecy of Isaiah
(9:9-10:4).
Deacon: Let us attend!
Reader: Thus saith the Lord: all the people of Ephraim, and
they that dwelt in Samaria shall know, who say in their pride and lofty heart,
“The bricks are fallen down, but come, let us hew stones, and cut down
sycamores and cedars, and let us build for ourselves a tower.” And God shall
dash down them that rise up against him on mount Zion, and shall scatter his
enemies; even Syria from the rising of the sun, and the Greeks from the setting
of the sun, who devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not
turned away, but still his hand is exalted. But the people turned not until
they were smitten, and they sought not the Lord. So the Lord took away from
Israel the head and tail, great and small, in one day: the old man, and them
that respect persons, this is the head; and the prophet teaching unlawful
things, he is the tail. And they that pronounce this people blessed shall
mislead them; and they mislead them that they may devour them. Therefore the
Lord shall not take pleasure in their young men, neither shall he have pity on
their orphans or on their widows: for they are all transgressors and wicked,
and every mouth speaks unjustly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but
his hand is yet exalted. And iniquity shall burn as fire, and shall be devoured
by fire as dry grass: and it shall burn in the thickets of the wood, and shall
devour all that is round about the hills. The whole earth is set on fire
because of the fierce anger of the Lord, and the people shall be as men burnt
by fire: no man shall pity his brother. But one shall turn aside to the right
hand, for he shall be hungry; and shall eat on the left, and a man shall by no
means be satisfied with eating the flesh of his own arm. For Manasseh shall eat
the flesh of Ephraim, and Ephraim the flesh of Manasseh; for they shall besiege
Juda together. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is yet
exalted. Woe to them that write wickedness; for when they write they do write
wickedness, perverting the cause of the poor, violently wresting the judgement
of the needy ones of my people, that the widow may be a prey to them, and the
orphan a spoil. And what will they do in the day of visitation? for affliction
shall come to you from afar: and to whom will ye flee for help? and where will
ye leave your glory, that ye may not fall into captivity? For all this his
wrath is not turned away, but his hand is yet exalted.
Reader: The Prokimenon in the 3rd Tone: O chant unto
our God, chant ye; chant unto our King, chant ye.
Stichos:
Clap your hands, all ye nations; shout unto God with a voice of rejoicing.
At Lord,
I have cried, on 10:
Tone
2:
Though
I am a creature born on earth, /
yet
sharing in Thine image, O Lord, /
I dare
to call upon Thee, the Creator, as my Father. /
Living
as the Prodigal I have lost the grace of sonship, /
and
forgetful of Thy gifts I have wasted mine inheritance. /
Yet
disown me not, for Thou wast pleased to send Thine only-begotten Son,/
to
suffer for my sake crucifixion in the flesh and death: /
but
in Thy love for man bring me back from evil //
and
make me Thine own. Twice
The
company o martyrs resisted tyrants, /
saying:
‘We are soldiers of the Ruler of the powers on high; /
though
ye give us up to fire and torment, //
we
shall not deny the power of the Trinity.’
Tone
3: O Lord,
who by Thy Cross hast slain the deceiver, /
deliver
me from his delusion, /
for
I have sinned and been beguiled. /
Cleanse
me by the Fast and grant me to do Thy will, O Master, //
that
I may look with joy upon Thy Holy Passion.
I
have been wounded by the sword of pleasure, O Lord, /
and
a shameful death has befallen me. /
O
Master, pierced by a spear /
who
as Savior bringest healing to those wounded by the arrows of the enemy, /
heal
and restore to life my humble soul, //
and
grant me to share in Thy Holy Passion.
Tone
2: May the
Fast bring light to our souls, O Lord, /
and
do Thou count us worthy /
uncondemned
and with rejoicing to behold Thy Cross, /
and
to worship it with fear; /
and
in Thy love for man //
grant
us to attain Thy voluntary Passion.
Tone
1:
The
choir of forty-fold splendor, /
the
whole army assembled by God, /
hath
shone forth upon the Fast /
in
their honorable sufferings, //
illumining
and enlightening our souls. (Twice)
Tone
2:
The
martyrs considered the lake to be a paradise, /
and
winter to be as the heat of day, O Christ God; /
and
thoughts of the tyrants’ threats did not frighten them. /
Valiant,
they feared not the increase of tortures, /
having
acquired the weapon of the Cross; /
and
therewith, as mighty, they vanquished the foe, //
for
which thy have received crowns of grace.
Who
will not hymn the choir of the martyrs forty in number? /
For
they entered the waters of the lake boldly, /
and,
huddling together in the cold, /
they
chanted a hymn unto the Lord: /
Nay,
in the rivers art Thou wroth against us, O Lover of mankind? /
Lighten
Thou the oppression and bitterness of the wind, /
for
our feet are empurpled with our own blood, /
and
Thou has led us into thine everlasting habitations, O God! //
May
the bosom of Abraham warm us!
Glory...
in the same tone:
Prophetically
David cried aloud in the Psalms: /
We
went through fire and water, /
and
Thou didst bring us out into refreshment!
/
And
ye, O martyrs of Christ, /
Fulfilling
the word in very deed, /
passed
through fire and water /
and
entered into the Kingdom of Heaven. /
Wherefore,
pray, O ye forty athletes, //
that
we be given great mercy.
Both
now… Tone 2 [“When from the Tree...”]:
The
all-pure one, beholding the Creator of all /
Who
endured much affliction /
and
was lifted up upon the Cross,
groaned,
saying: “O all-hymned Lord, my Son and
God, /
how
is it that Thou endurest dishonor in the flesh, /
desiring
to honor Thy creation? /
Glory
to Thy great loving-kindness and condescension, //
O
Thou Who lovest mankind!”
1st
Prokimenon:
Tone 3: Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, * in
the city of our God.
Stichos: In
the city of the Lord of Hosts, in the city of our God.
Deacon: Wisdom!
Reader: The reading is from Genesis
(7:1-5).
Deacon: Let us attend!
Reader: The Lord God said to Noah, “Enter thou and
all thy family into the ark, for thee have I seen righteous before me in this
generation. And of the clean cattle take in to thee sevens, male and female,
and of the unclean cattle pairs male and female. And of clean flying creatures
of the sky sevens, male and female, and of all unclean flying creatures pairs,
male and female, to maintain seed on all the earth. For yet seven days having
passed I bring rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will blot
out every offspring which I have made from the face of all the earth. And Noah
did all things whatever the Lord God commanded him.
2nd
Prokimenon:
Tone 2: My
mouth shall speak wisdom, * and the meditation of my heart shall be of
understanding.
Deacon: Wisdom!
Reader: The reading is from
Proverbs (8:32-9:11).
Deacon: Let us attend!
Reader: My son, hear me: blessed is the man who shall
hearken to me, and the mortal who shall keep my ways; watching daily at my
doors, waiting at the posts of my entrances. For my outgoings are the outgoings
of life, and in them is prepared favor from the Lord. But they that sin against
me act wickedly against their own souls: and they that hate me love death.
Wisdom has built a house for herself, and set up seven pillars. She has killed
her beasts; she has mingled her wine in a bowl, and prepared her table. She has
sent forth her servants, calling with a loud proclamation to the feast, saying,
“ Whoso is foolish, let him turn aside to me:” and to them that want
understanding she says, “Come, eat of my bread, and drink wine which I have
mingled for you. Leave folly, that ye may reign for ever; and seek wisdom, and
improve understanding by knowledge.” He that reproves evil men shall get
dishonour to himself; and he that rebukes an ungodly man shall disgrace
himself. Rebuke not evil men, lest they should hate thee: rebuke a wise man,
and he will love thee. Give an opportunity to a wise man, and he will be wiser:
instruct a just man, and he will receive more instruction. The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom, and the counsel of saints is understanding: for to
know the law is [the character] of a sound mind. For in this way thou shalt
live long, and years of thy life shall be added to thee.
Then, Let my prayer arise,
followed by the prayer of St. Ephrem with 3 prostrations.
The Epistle
Reader: The Prokimenon in the 5th Tone: Thou, O Lord, shalt keep us and
shalt preserve
us from this generation, and forevermore.
Choir: Thou, O Lord,
shalt keep us and shalt preserve us from this
generation, and forevermore.
Reader: Save me, O Lord, for a righteous man there
is no more; for truths
have diminished from the sons of men.
Choir: Thou,
O Lord, shalt keep us and shalt preserve us from this
generation, and forevermore.
Reader: Thou, O Lord, shalt keep us.
Choir: And shalt preserve us from this generation, and forevermore.
Reader: The Reading is
from the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the
Hebrews: [Hebrews 12:1-10]
Reader: Alleluia in the 4th Tone.
Choir: Alleluia,
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: Shout with jubilation unto the Lord all the earth; chant ye unto His
name, give glory in praise of Him.
Choir: Alleluia,
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: For Thou hast proved us, O God, and by
fire hast Thou tried us
even as silver is tried by fire.
Choir: Alleluia,
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Gospel [Matthew
20:1-16]
Communion
Verse: O taste and see that the Lord is good. Rejoice in the
Lord, O ye righteous; praise is meet for the
upright. Alleluia, Alleluia,
Alleluia!