Presanctified Liturgy: Wednesday in the 2nd Week
St. Basil the Confessor
Tone 1: Keeping a spiritual fast, O brethren, /
let us speak no lies with our tongue, /
not giving our brother cause for scandal; /
but through repentance /
let us make the lamp of our soul burn brightly, /
and let us cry with tears to Christ: //
Forgive us our trespasses in Thy love for mankind. (Twice)
O Martyrs worthy of all praise, /
your bodies were not buried in the earth, /
yet heaven has received you; /
the gates of Paradise were opened to you, /
and entering within ye have eaten from the Tree of Life. //
Pray to Christ that He may grant peace and mercy to our souls.
Tone 3:
At the prayers of Thy divine apostles, /
grant in Thy love, O merciful Lord, /
that we may spend the time of the Fast with truly contrite minds; //
so may we all be saved and glorify Thee.
Mighty and terrible shall be Thy coming, O Lord, /
when Thou shalt sit in righteous judgment. /
Though I deserve punishment, condemn me not, //
But accept the prayers of Thine apostles and spare me, O God.
Tone 6: O apostles of Christ, /
shining lights to mortal men, /
treasuries of the wise knowledge of our God, /
filling the world with riches: /
through your holy prayers /
deliver us from temptation as we sing your praises, /
and guide us through the season of the Fast, /
watchfully guarding our lives in peace. /
So shall our prayers be acceptable to Christ /
as we celebrate His Passion, //
and with boldness we shall offer glory to our God.
Tone 4 (Special Melody: “Thou hast given a sign…”):
Desiring a blessedness which passeth understanding, /
thou didst reckon abstinence to be food, /
poverty to be wealth, lack of acquisitions to be abundant possessions, /
and humility to be glory, O wondrous one. /
Wherefore, thou didst also receive thy desire /
in accordance with thine understanding, //
abiding in the tabernacles of the saints, O Basil. Twice
Thou didst complete the immutable course of abstinence, /
and didst keep the Faith. /
Wherefore, thou hast been adorned with a crown of righteousness, O father, /
which Christ hath prepared for thee, /
awarding thee recompense in accordance with thy merits, /
and bestowing upon thee honors and rewards for thy pangs. /
Him do thou beseech, O divinely inspired one, //
that He save our souls.
All love of pleasure which enslaved thy body /
didst thou cast off, O divinely wise one, /
harrowing thy senses with the pangs of abstinence, /
with terrible living conditions, /
the endurance of temptations, and the withdrawing of evil circumstances; /
and thereby thou hast received never-ending delight, //
everlasting sweetness and ineffable joy.
Glory… Both now… Same Tone and Melody:
Take pity, O Mistress, /
upon me who am brought low by the assaults of the demons, /
and have been cast down into the pit of destruction; /
and set me firmly upon the rock of the virtues, /
fending off the attacks of the enemy. /
Vouchsafe that I may obey the commandments of thy Son and our God, //
that I may receive remission on the Day of Judgment.
Prokimena and Old Testament Readings
Tone 6: Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, ye righteous.
Stichos: Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven.
Reading: Genesis 4:16-26
Tone 1: Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we have hoped in Thee.
Stichos: Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: praise is meet for the upright.
Reading: Proverbs 5:15 - 6:3