Presanctified Liturgy:
Wednesday in the 4th Week
Hieromartyr
Mark the Bishop of Arethusa, Martyr Cyril the Deacon of Heliopolis, and others
who suffered under Julian the Apostate
Tone
4:
The
Fast that brings us blessings has now reached it midmost point; /
it
has helped us to receive God’s grace in the days that are past, /
and
will bring us further benefit in the days still to come. /
For
by continuing in what is right we attain yet greater gifts. /
We
therefore cry to Christ, the giver of all good: /
O
Thou who for our sakes hast fasted and endured the Cross, /
make
us worthy to share uncondemned in Thy divine Passover. /
May
we spend our lives in peace //
and
rightly glorify Thee with the Father and the Spirit.
Tone
5: If we
look for a spiritual recompense, /
let
us perform our good deeds in secret; /
let
us not proclaim them in the streets /
but
keep them hidden in our hearts. /
Then
He Who sees the secrets of all men will reward us for our abstinence. /
Let
us complete the Fast, not with a sad countenance, /
but
praying in the inner chamber of our souls; /
and
without ceasing, let us cry: /
Our
Father Who art in heaven, /
lead
us not into temptation, we pray, //
but
deliver us from the evil one.
Your
souls, O holy martyrs, /
were
filled with an insatiable love; /
not
denying Christ ye endured great sufferings and torments, /
and
ye cast down the tyrant’s pride. /
Ye
kept the Faith unaltered and unharmed, /
and
now have gone to dwell in heaven, /
since
ye have boldness before Christ, /
pray
that peace be given to the world, //
and
to our souls great mercy.
Tone
1: Let us wash our souls clean in the waters of
the Fast, /
and,
approaching the precious and honored Cross of the Lord, /
let
us venerate it in faith; /
let
us draw from it divine enlightenment, //
gathering
the fruit of eternal salvation, peace and great mercy.
O
Cross, glory of the apostles, /
attended
by principalities and powers and archangels, /
keep
safe from all harm those that venerate thee. /
Grant
us to follow rightly to the end the divine path of abstinence, //
and
to reach the day of salvation when we too shall be saved.
Tone
7: As we
venerate today the Cross of the Lord, let us cry: /
Rejoice,
Tree of Life, victor over hell; /
rejoice,
joy of the world and slayer of corruption, /
for
by thy power thou scatterest the demons! /
Strong
support of the faithful, weapon that cannot be broken, //
we
pray thee, guard and sanctify those who show thee honor.
Tone
8 (Special Melody: “O all-glorious wonder…”):
O
venerable and holy martyred hierarch, /
shining
sacredly with the light of the priesthood, /
thou
didst emit /
the
unfading radiance of martyrdom. /
And
now thou hast passed over to the never-waning effulgence, /
wherein
the choirs of the martyrs rejoice, /
and
where the ranks of angels join chorus. /
With
them be thou ever mindful of us, //
O
blessed and God-pleasing one. Twice
O
Cyril, martyr and athlete, /
manifest
as a servant of God /
thou
didst minister unto Christ; /
and,
sacrificed as a pure immolation, /
thou
wast offered up upon the altar of God, O divinely blessed one, /
and
hast received a precious inheritance, /
ever
abiding /
amid
the splendors of the saints, //
holy
of calling and deed.
O
all-praised martyrs of Christ, /
ye
passed without harm /
through
the furnace of torments /
with
the dew of divine grace, /
and
have been vouchsafed to dwell by still waters, /
having
received the prize of victory. /
Wherefore,
rejoicing today, we celebrate with faith /
your
sacred memory, O holy ones, //
glorifying
Christ.
Glory...
Now and ever...Tone 8 [from
Triodion, p. 349]:
Today
He Who is intangible in essence /
becometh
tangible to me /
and
undergoeth suffering, freeing me from the passions. /
He
Who granteth light to the blind /
is
spat upon by the mouths of the iniquitous, /
and
giveth His shoulders over to stripes /
for
those who have been made captive. /
And
the pure Virgin Mother, /
seeing
Him upon the Cross, cried aloud in pain: /
"Woe
is me, O my Child! /
What
is this that Thou hast done? /
Thou
Who art comely in beauty beyond all men /
dost
show Thyself to be bereft of breath and sight, /
lacking
in appearance and beauty. /
Woe
is me, O my Light! /
I
cannot look upon Thee asleep. /
I
am wounded within, /
and
a cruel sword passeth through my heart! /
I
hymn Thy sufferings, /
I
worship Thy loving-kindness. //
O
Long-suffering One, glory be to Thee!
Prokimena
and Old Testament
Tone
4:
Blessed
is the Lord, the God of Israel, * Who alone doeth wonders.
Stichos: O God, give Thy judgment to
the king, and Thy righteousness to the son of the king.
Tone
4:
But
it is good for me * to cleave unto God.
Stichos: How good is God to