The
Exaltation of the Holy Cross
It
should go without saying that if one has any possible means of traveling to a
Church
to
attend the liturgy for the feast, they should do so. However, if it is not possible for
one
to do so, the following is provided so that at least they can participate in
the feast
to
the extent possible, under such circumstances.
In
place of the usual antiphons, use the festal antiphons:
The
First Antiphon (Second Tone)
Stichos
1: O God, my God, attend to me; why hast Thou forsaken
me?
Refrain: Through
the prayers of the Theotokos, O Savior, save us.
Stichos
2: Far from my salvation are the words of my
transgression.
Refrain: Through
the prayers of the Theotokos, O Savior, save us.
Stichos
3: My God, I will cry by day, and wilt Thou not
hearken? and by night, and it shall not be unto folly for me.
Refrain: Through
the prayers of the Theotokos, O Savior, save us.
Stichos
4: But as for Thee, Thou dwellest in the sanctuary, O
Praise of Israel.
Refrain: Through
the prayers of the Theotokos, O Savior, save us.
Glory to
the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto
the ages of ages. Amen.
Refrain: Through
the prayers of the Theotokos, O Savior, save us.
The
Second Antiphon (Second
Tone)
Stichos
1: O God, why
hast Thou cast us off unto the end?
Refrain: O Son of
God Who wast crucified in the flesh, save us who sing to Thee: Alleluia.
Stichos
2: Remember Thy congregation which
Thou hast purchased from the beginning.
Refrain.
O Son of God Who wast crucified in the flesh, save us who sing to Thee: Alleluia.
Stichos
3: This is Mount Zion wherein Thou
hast dwelt.
Refrain: O Son of
God Who wast crucified in the flesh, save us who sing to Thee: Alleluia.
Stichos
4: But God is our king before the
ages, He hath wrought salvation in the midst of the earth.
Refrain: O Son of
God Who wast crucified in the flesh, save us who sing to Thee: Alleluia.
Glory to
the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto
the ages of ages. Amen.
O only-begotten Son and Word of God, Who art immortal, yet didst deign for our salvation to be
incarnate of the Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, and without change didst
become man, and was crucified, O Christ God, trampling down death by death. Thou Who art one of the Holy Trinity,
glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit, save us.
The
Third Antiphon
Reader:
Stichos 1: The Lord is king, let the peoples
rage; He sitteth on the cherubim, let the earth be
shaken.
Choir: (Troparion, Tone 1): O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine
inheritance. Grant Thou victory unto Orthodox Christians over their enemies,
and by the power of Thy Cross do Thou preserve Thy commonwealth.
Stichos 2: The Lord
is great in Zion, and He is high above all peoples.
Choir:
Repeat
Troparion
Stichos 3: Worship
the Lord in His holy court.
Choir:
Repeat
Troparion
Instead
of “O come let us worship…” the Choir signs the entry verse:
Exalt
ye the Lord our God, and worship the footstool of His feet, for it is holy.
And
immediately after that, the choir sings the Troparion of the feast:
Tone 1: O Lord, save Thy people
and bless Thine inheritance. Grant Thou victory unto Orthodox Christians over
their enemies, and by the power of Thy Cross do Thou preserve Thy commonwealth.
Instead of the Trisagion:
Before Thy Cross we bow down, O Master, and Thy holy Resurrection we glorify. Thrice Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. And Thy holy Resurrection we glorify. Before Thy Cross we bow down, O Master, and Thy holy Resurrection we glorify.
The Epistle
Reader: The
Prokimenon in the 7th Tone: Exalt ye the Lord our God, and
worship the footstool of His feet for it is holy.
Choir: Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship the footstool of His feet for it
is holy.
Reader: The
Lord is king, let the peoples rage.
Choir: Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship the
footstool of His feet for it is holy.
Reader: Exalt
ye the Lord our God.
Choir: And worship the footstool of His feet for it is holy.
Reader: The Reading is from the First Epistle of
the Holy Apostle Paul to the Corinthians: [1st Corinthians 1:18-24]
Reader: Alleluia
in the 1st Tone.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: Remember
Thy congregation which Thou hast purchased from the beginning.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: But God is our king before the ages,
He hath wrought salvation in the midst of the earth.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Gospel [John 19:6-11, 13-20, 25-28, 30-35]
Kontakion
Tone 4: O Thou Who wast lifted
up willingly on the Cross, * bestow Thy mercies upon the new community named
after Thee, O Christ God; * gladden with Thy power the Orthodox Christians, *
granting them victory over enemies; * may they have as Thy help the weapon of
peace, the invincible trophy.
Instead of “It is truly
meet…” we chant the Irmos of the 9th Ode of the First Canon of
the feast, Eighth Tone:
Refrain: Magnify, O my soul, the most precious
Cross of the Lord.
Irmos: O Theotokos, thou art a mystical Paradise, who
untilled hast brought forth Christ. He
hath planted upon the earth the life-giving Tree of the Cross: therefore at its exaltation on this day, we worship Him and
thee do we magnify.