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Triodion

On Monday of the Third Week at Vespers

Menaion - March 9

Memory of the Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebastia

__________

PRESANCTIFIED

From the Triodion.

Sticheron Idiomelon. Mode 2.

Bring my soul out of prison to give thanks to Your name, O Lord. [SAAS]

Gracious Father, ⁄ my senselessness has robbed me of all your gifts. ⁄ I have been far from you, working for a stranger. ⁄ I have tended beasts, but was not even filled with their food. ⁄ Knowing your compassion, I have run to you: ⁄⁄ Clothe my nakedness with your love for mankind and save me. [OCA]

Sticheron Idiomelon. Mode 2.

The righteous shall wait for me, until You reward me. [SAAS]

Gracious Father, ⁄ my senselessness has robbed me of all your gifts. ⁄ I have been far from you, working for a stranger. ⁄ I have tended beasts, but was not even filled with their food. ⁄ Knowing your compassion, I have run to you: ⁄⁄ Clothe my nakedness with your love for mankind and save me. [OCA]

For the Martyrs.

Mode 2.

Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord; O Lord, hear my voice. [SAAS]

By the holy martyrs praying for us, ⁄ singing the praises of Christ, ⁄ all error has come to an end, ⁄⁄ and mankind is being saved by faith. [OCA]

Stichera Prosomia. By Joseph.

Mode 1. N/M (O Martyrs, extolled.)

Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. [SAAS]

Let us love the Fast! ⁄ By the power of the Holy Spirit ⁄ it will drive out the evil passions from the soul. ⁄ It will strengthen us in performing divine deeds; ⁄ it will direct our minds to heaven. ⁄ It will mediate forgiveness for our transgressions ⁄⁄ granted to us by the bountiful God. [OCA]

Mode 1. N/M (O Martyrs, extolled.)

If You, O Lord, should mark transgression, O Lord, who would stand? For there is forgiveness with You. [SAAS]

All my life, Lord, I have foolishly wasted with strangers. ⁄ Now, like the Prodigal, I cry with compunction: ⁄ I have sinned, heavenly Father! ⁄ Be merciful to me, and save me! ⁄ Do not forsake me for ever, ⁄⁄ even though I, myself, had forsaken you. [OCA]

Another. By Theodore.

Mode 3.

Because of Your law, O Lord, I waited for You; my soul waited for Your word. My soul hopes in the Lord. [SAAS]

Come, let us sing in psalms of joy ⁄ embracing the precious Fast! ⁄ In it, we spiritually tread on the serpent, ⁄ crying to Christ with boldness: ⁄ Account us worthy, Savior, ⁄ of beholding without condemnation and adoring your holy Cross ⁄⁄ and rejoicing in it with joy. [OCA]

Stichera. For the Saints.

From Menaion - - -

Idiomelon. Mode 2.

From the morning watch until night; from the morning watch until night, let Israel hope in the Lord. [SAAS]

Bravely enduring the present, rejoicing in what they hoped for, the holy Martyrs said to one another: “Are we not stripping off our garments? So let us also put off the old man. Winter is bitter, but Paradise is sweet. Freezing is painful, but the reward is pleasant. Let us not waver, O fellow soldiers. Let us endure for a little while, so that we may wear the crowns of victory that are given by Christ God, the Savior of our souls.” [SD]

Idiomelon. Mode 2.

For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption; and He shall redeem Israel from all his transgressions. [SAAS]

Bravely enduring the present, rejoicing in what they hoped for, the holy Martyrs said to one another: “Are we not stripping off our garments? So let us also put off the old man. Winter is bitter, but Paradise is sweet. Freezing is painful, but the reward is pleasant. Let us not waver, O fellow soldiers. Let us endure for a little while, so that we may wear the crowns of victory that are given by Christ God, the Savior of our souls.” [SD]

Idiomelon. Mode 2.

Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; praise Him, all you peoples. [SAAS]

Throwing off all their garments, entering the lake without flinching, the holy Martyrs said to one another: “For the sake of Paradise, which we forfeited of old, let us not cling to our corruptible garments today. Once because of the snake, we put on a garment of mortality; so let us now take it off for the general resurrection. Let us think nothing of the icy frost that melts, and let us hate the flesh, so that we may wear the crowns of victory that are given by Christ God, the Savior of our souls.” [SD]

Idiomelon. Mode 2.

For His mercy rules over us; and the truth of the Lord endures forever. [SAAS]

Viewing the torture as pleasure, running to the freezing lake as to warm comforts, the holy Martyrs said to one another: “Let us not shrink from the winter weather, so that we may escape the fiery Gehenna. Let our feet be burnt so they can dance forever. Let our hands drop off, so we may lift them to the Lord. And let us have no pity for our mortal nature. Let us choose death, so that we may wear the crowns of victory that are given by Christ God, the Savior of our souls.” [SD]

Glory.

From Menaion - - -

Mode pl. 2.

O fellow believers, let us extol with songs of praise those forty medaled Martyrs, and let us melodiously address them, “O medaled Martyrs of Christ, rejoice! We salute you: Hesychius, Meliton, Heraclius, Smaragdus, and Domnus; Euonicus, Valens, Vivianus, Claudius, and Priscus! We salute you: Theodulus, Euthychius, and John; Xantheas, Helianus, Sisinius, Cyrion, Angius, Aetius and Flavius! We salute you: Acacius, Ecditius, Lysimachus, Alexander, Elias, and Candidus; Theophilus, Dometian, godly Gaius, and Gorgonius! We salute you: Eutyches, Athanasius, Cyril, and Sacerdon; Nicholas, Valerius, Philoctimon, Severian, Chudion, and Aglaius! O Martyrs, you are celebrated in song by everyone, and you have confidence in praying to Christ our God. Earnestly intercede with Him, to save us who faithfully observe your most solemn memory.” [GOASD]

Both now. Theotokion.

Mode pl. 2. When the saints deposited.

Knowingly I slipped and fell, * and the deceiver enslaved me * by his tricks, O Bride of God. * I the wholly wretched one * run for refuge now * to your most wonderful mercy and compassion, and your fervent prayer, all-holy Maid, * release me from the bonds and from my temptations and troubles all, * and save me, O all-blameless one, * from every demonic assault on me, * and I shall with longing revere you, glorify you, and extol * and magnify you, whom all now call * blessed Lady evermore. [SD]

DEACON

Wisdom. Arise.

READER

Gladsome light of holy glory of the holy, blessed, heavenly, immortal Father, O Jesus Christ: arriving at the hour of sunset and having seen the evening light, we praise the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God. It is worthy for You to be praised at all times with happy voices, O Son of God and Giver of life; * and therefore the world glorifies You.

READINGS – “LET MY PRAYER”

DEACON

The evening…

From Triodion - - -

READER

Prokeimenon. Mode 4.

Psalm 43 (44).

We shall praise God all day long.

O God, we heard with our ears. [SAAS]

The reading is from the book of Genesis.

PRIEST

Wisdom. Let us be attentive.

READER

Gn 6:9 – 22

Noah was a righteous man, who was perfect in his generation and well-pleasing to God. So Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Now the earth was corrupt before God and filled with unrighteousness. Thus the Lord God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh corrupted their way on the earth. Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with unrighteousness through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of square timber. You shall make the ark in compartments, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. Thus you shall make the ark: three hundred cubits in length, fifty cubits in breadth, and thirty cubits in height. Now when you assemble the ark, you shall gradually finish it up to a cubit at the top, and set the door in its side. You shall make the ark with lower, second, and third stories. And behold, I am bringing a flood of water on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life. Whatever is on the earth shall die. But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark – you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. From every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing on the earth after its kind, two of every kind, they will enter into the ark with you, male and female, to keep them alive. You shall also take for yourself all kinds of food to eat, and you shall gather it both for yourself and for them.” Thus Noah did according to all the Lord God commanded him, so he did. [SAAS]

Prokeimenon. Mode pl. 2.

Psalm 44 (45).

They shall remember your name from generation to generation.

My heart overflowed with a good word. [SAAS]

READER (sung)

Command!

The Priest holds a lit candle in his right hand with the censer hanging below it, stands before the holy Table, gestures crosswise and says:

PRIEST

Wisdom. Arise.

Then he turns to face the people, blesses them crosswise with the candle, and says:

The light of Christ shines on all.

READER

The reading is from the Proverbs of Solomon.

PRIEST

Wisdom. Let us be attentive.

READER

Pr 8:1 – 21

[Son,] You shall proclaim wisdom that discernment may obey you; for she is on the lofty summit and stands in the midst of the paths. For she sits beside the gates of princes and sings at the entrances, “You, O men, I exhort, and I utter my voice to the sons of men; understand astuteness, O simple ones, and put it in your heart, O uninstructed ones. Obey me, for I speak sacred things, and from my lips I will bring forth things that are true. For my mouth shall speak the truth, but false lips are an abomination before me. All the words of my mouth are with righteousness; there is nothing in them crooked or twisted. All things are evident to those who understand and true to those who find knowledge. Lay hold of instruction and not silver, and knowledge rather than tested gold, and choose perception rather than pure gold. For wisdom is better than precious stones, and every costly thing is not worthy of her. I, wisdom, dwell with counsel, and I call upon knowledge and understanding. The fear of the Lord hates unrighteousness, and both rudeness and arrogance, and the ways of wicked men; and I hate the perverted ways of evil men. Counsel and safety are mine; discernment is mine, and strength is mine; by me, kings reign, and princes write of righteousness; by me, noblemen become great, and by me, monarchs have power in the land. I love those who love me, and those who seek me shall find me. Riches and glory belong to me, and abundant possessions, and righteousness; it is better to enjoy my fruits than gold and precious stones, and my fruits are better than choice silver. I walk in the ways of righteousness, and I am conversant with the paths of judgment; that I may distribute substance to those who love me, and may fill their treasuries with good things. [SAAS]

(Go back to the Presanctified Liturgy booklet. After “Let my prayer…” find the Epistle and Gospel readings here.)

THE READINGS

Prokeimenon. Mode pl. 1. Psalm 11.

You shall guard us, O Lord; You shall preserve us. [SAAS]

Verse: Save me, O Lord, for the holy man has ceased. [SAAS]

The Epistle

For the Martyrs.

The reading is from Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews.

Heb. 12:1 – 10

Brethren, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin that easily distracts, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who instead of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation which addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage when you are punished by him. For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers to discipline us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time at their pleasure, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. [RSV]

Alleluia. Mode 4. Psalm 65.

Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.

Verse 1: Shout to God, all the earth. [SAAS]

Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.

Verse 2: For You, O God, tested us; You tried us in the fire.

Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.

The Gospel

For the Martyrs.

The reading is from the holy Gospel according to Matthew.

Mt. 20:1 – 16

The Lord said this parable, “The kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing; and he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the householder, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you, and go; I choose to give to this last as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’ So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few are chosen.” [RSV]

(Go back to the Presanctified Liturgy booklet.)