The Circumcision of the Lord / St Basil the Great

32nd Sunday after Pentecost / Tone 7

Great Vespers: The priest vested in epitrachilion, cuffs, and phelonion, opens the royal doors, censes (with the deacon) the Holy Table and Altar. The deacon, standing before the royal doors, exclaims: Arise! O Lord, bless! And the priest, making the sign of the Cross with the censer before the Holy Table exclaims: Glory to the holy, and consubstantial, and life-creating, and indivisible Trinity, and then sings O come let us worship, and then completes the censing of the whole temple, while the choir sings the 103rd Psalm: Bless the Lord, O my soul. After the censing, the royal doors are shut, and exiting the altar, the priest reads the lamp lighting prayers before the royal doors. The litany of peace. Blessed is the man.

Lord I have Cried, Tone 7: on 10: Octoechos 3; Feast 3 (Descending unto the human race); St. Basil 4 (O father who art the namesake of kingship); G: Hierarch (As a lover of wisdom); N: Sunday Dogmatic Theotokion in the tone of the week.

Entry; O Gladsome Light; Prokimenon of the day, Tone 6: The Lord is King. 3 Old Testament Readings.

Litany: Let us all say; Vouchsafe, O Lord; Litany: Let us complete our evening prayer. The servers process out to the Narthex. The icons and the people are censed.

Litia: Stichera of the Temple, and then of St. Basil (Having caused Christ, the Well-spring of life); G: Hierarch (Grace was poured forth in thy lips); N: Feast (Descending unto the human race).

Litany of the Litia: Save, O God, Thy people; and the prayer: O Master plenteous in mercy.

Aposticha: Octoechos; G: Hierarch (Receiving the grace of miracles from heaven); N: Feast (The all good God was not ashamed).

Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart; Trisagion to Our Father; Troparia: Hierarch (Thy fame hath gone forth into all the earth) x2; O Theotokos and Virgin x1.

While the Troparia are sung, the deacon (or the priest, if there is no deacon) censes three times around the table on which are placed 5 loaves, wheat, wine, and oil. Prayer for the blessing of the loaves; Blessed be the name of the Lord, x3; Psalm 33: I will bless the Lord at all times; to …but they that seek the Lord shall not be deprived of any good thing; Priest: The blessing of the Lord; Choir: Amen; And the reader begins the Six Psalms.

Matins: After the Six Psalms, the litany of peace.

God is the Lord, Tone 7; Troparia: Resurrection x2; G: Hierarch; N: Feast.

After each Kathisma: Small Litany; Sessional hymns from the Octoechos.

Polyeleos and Magnification of the Hierarch: We magnify thee, O holy hierarch father Basil, and we honor thy holy memory, for thou dost pray for us to Christ our God; The Evlogitaria (The assembly of angels was amazed).

Small litany; Hypakoe of the Tone; all the Sessional hymns of the Saint; G: Hierarch (The grace of thy divine discourses); N: Feast (The Master and Creator of all).

Hymns of Ascents, and Prokimenon, Tone 7.

Matins Gospel 10, John 21:1-14 (§66).

Having beheld the resurrection; Psalm 50; G: Through the prayers of the apostles; N: Through the prayers of the Theotokos; Have mercy on me, O God; Jesus having risen. Save, O God, Thy people.

Canon: Resurrection 4 Glory to Thy Holy Resurrection, O Lord.

Feast 4 Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Hierarch 6 Holy Hierarch, Father Basil, pray to God for us.

Irmos of the Canon of the Resurrection, Tone 7.

Katavasia of Theophany: The Lord mighty in battle. & Israel passed through the storm-tossed deep.*

After Ode 3, Kontakion of the Feast (The Lord of all undergoeth circumcision), Sessional hymn of the Hierarch (Having learned the wisdom of the Word); G/N: Feast (As Thou art an abyss of love for mankind).

After Ode 6, Kontakion (Thou didst prove to be an unshakable foundation) and Ikos of the Hierarch

At Ode 9, More Honorable. The Festal refrains of the Feast and Hierarch are not sung. Holy is the Lord, our God.

Exapostilaria: Resurrection; G: Hierarch (With the desire of love of wisdom); N: Feast (The Creator of the ages).

Praises, Tone 7, on 8: Resurrection 4; Hierarch 4 (Having become a child of God through grace – with the Doxasticon (Grace was poured forth in thy lips) and the final two psalm verses: My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding. & The mouth of the righteous shall meditate wisdom and his tongue shall speak of judgment); G: Gospel Sticheron; N: Most blessed art thou. After the Great Doxology, the Troparion: Today is salvation; the two remaining Litanies and Resurrectional Dismissal: May Christ our True God, Who arose from the dead; First Hour.

Hours: Troparia: Resurrection; G: Feast & Hierarch, alternating; Kontakion: Feast & Hierarch, alternating.**

Liturgy of St. Basil the Great: Beatitudes on 12: Octoechos 4; Feast 4, Ode 3; Hierarch 4, Ode 6.

After the entrance, the choir sings: O come let us worship and fall down before Christ, Who rose from the dead, O Son of God, save us who sing to Thee: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Then the Troparion of the Resurrection; Feast; Hierarch; G: Kontakion of the Hierarch; N: Kontakion of the Feast.

Prokimenon for the Sunday before Theophany, Tone 6: Save, O Lord, and of the Hierarch, Tone 1: My mouth shall speak wisdom.

Epistle: II Tim. 4:5-8 (§298); Col. 2:8-12 (§254); Heb. 7:26-8:2 (§318).

Alleluia, Tone 8 (Sunday before Theophany & Feast).

Gospel: Mark 1:1-8 (§1); Luke 2:20-21,40-52 (§6); Luke 6:17-23 (§24).

Instead of It is truly meet: All creation rejoiceth in thee.

Communion Hymn: Praise the Lord in the heavens & In everlasting remembrance. Resurrectional Dismissal.

After the Liturgy: The Moleben for the New Year. However, some do this service after the vigil at midnight.

*Also sung on the apodosis of Theophany, January 14.

** When it occurs that there are two kontakia appointed to be read at the hours, the Kontakion that was chanted after the 3rd Ode is read at the 1st Hour, and at the 6th Hour. The Kontakion which was chanted after the 6th Ode is read at the 3rd Hour and at the 9th Hour (before the Vespers of the following day).