ON TUESDAY EVENING
At, Lord, I have cried, Prosomia.
Stichera for the Cross.
Mode pl. 4. What a paradoxal.
O most benevolent Word of God * who were suspended for us * on the Cross as a criminal, * snatch us from the future fire, * and the frightening sentence we pray; * also exempt us from every penalty, * having the Mother of God imploring You. * For, O most gracious Lord, * every one of us, on any given day, * angers You with sinful thoughts, * O most benevolent Christ. [SD]
Seeing You, the sun was horrified, * as it beheld You, O Lord, * to be stretched out upon the Cross * voluntarily. And earth * shook and also the stones split apart. * The tombs in turn also opened out of fear. * And all the heavenly Powers stood in awe. * Then, as the Virgin watched * You, O Jesus, hanging there upon the Cross, * she cried out and said: Alas! * What is this sight I see? [SD]
Additional Stichera. For the Theotokos. Same Melody.
Ever-virgin Bride of God, rejoice! * For all believers, the hope! * You deliver your servants from * all adversity. Rejoice! And the world is forgiven through you. * Rejoice! Through you was the realm of death destroyed. * You are the life-bearing Paradise. Rejoice! * You are the help of all * who invoke you when they pray and who salute * you, the dwelling place of God, and holy mountain. Rejoice! [GOASD]
Lady and the Mother of our God, * rejoice, O singular hope * and support of the human race; * sanctuary, O rejoice; * sacred lampstand of light, rejoice; * glittering palace of God the King, rejoice; * rejoice, O lantern, bearing the holy light; * rejoice, O undefiled * glory of virginity; again rejoice, * fount that gushes healings for * all those who come to you. [SD]
Utukufu. Sasa.
Glory. Both now. Stavrotheotokion. Same Melody.
What a paradoxal miracle; * Oh, novel mystery! Oh, * what an awful event this is!” * So Your Virgin Mother spoke, * as she witnessed You hanging there, * between two robbers on Golgotha, O Lord, * whom she had borne without labor wondrously. * Weeping she cried to You, * “Woe is me, O most beloved Son of mine! * Harsh and thankless are the ones who had You crucified!” [SD]
Prokimeno. Sauti 1
Prokeimenon. Mode 1.
(Zab 23: 6a) Hakika wema na fadhili zitanifuata siku zote za maisha yangu (mara mbili).
Your mercy, O Lord, shall follow me all the days of my life.
Mstari Bwana ndiye mchunganji wangu, sitapungukiwa na kitu [[SWA]]
Verse: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. [SAAS]
At the Aposticha.
Aposticha. Mode pl. 4. For the Cross.
You were lifted on the Cross, O Christ our God, and You saved the human race; therefore, we glorify Your sufferings. [SD]
Mstari
Verse: I lift my eyes to You, who dwell in heaven. Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hands of their masters, as the eyes of the maidservant look to the hands of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God until He shall have compassion on us. [SAAS]
You were nailed upon the Cross, O Christ our God, and You opened the gates of Paradise. You, our Redeemer, do we glorify. [SD]
Mstari
Verse: Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, for we are greatly filled with contempt; our soul is greatly filled with it. We are a disgrace to those who prosper, and a contempt to the arrogant. [SAAS]
For the Martyrs. Automelon.
Your martyr Saints, O Lord, having become oblivious to life’s endeavors * even disdaining the tormenting tortures all for the life which is to come, * came to be regarded its inheritors. * Therefore they exult with the angelic hosts. * Bestow upon Your people great mercy, at the fervent appeals of these Your Saints. [SD]
Utukufu. Sasa.
Glory. Both now. Stavrotheotokion. Same Melody.
Lamenting as she watched You the only long-suffering and gentle Master * being attached with nails unto the Cross, * Your Mother poured out a flood of tears. * And greatly amazed by Your superlative * charity and superhuman sympathy, * she lauded Your forbearance, O compassionate Lord. [SD]
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ON WEDNESDAY MORNING
MATINS
After the first Psalter reading, Kathismata. For the Cross.
Mode pl. 4.
When the Robber saw the Author of life hanging on the Cross, he said, “If He who is crucified with us were not God incarnate, the sun would not have hid its rays, nor would the earth have quaked and trembled. I pray You who endure everything, remember me, O Lord, in Your Kingdom.” [SD]
Between the two robbers, Your Cross was a balance of justice. One was weighed down to hell by the weight of his blasphemy, the other floated up from his sins to the knowledge of theology. O Christ God, glory to You. [SD]
Utukufu. Sasa.
Glory. Both now. Stavrotheotokion. By conceiving the wisdom.
When the Ewe-lamb beheld hanging on the Cross * the Redeemer and Shepherd and Lamb of God, * she wept and she wailed with grief, * and she bitterly cried aloud, * “Now the world is receiving its redemption, and it leaps for joy; * whereas I see You crucified, and my heart burns inside of me. * In your tender mercy You endure crucifixion, * O God most benevolent, and long-suffering Lord of all.” Now with faith we pray to her, * “O Virgin, show compassion to us, * and forgiveness of offenses grant to us * who with faith duly honor your Son’s holy suffering.” [SD]
After the second Psalter reading, Kathismata. For the Cross.
O Life of all, You rose.
A tree once blossomed death in the middle of Eden. * The tree in the middle of the earth has produced life. * Tasting from the former, * we the incorrupt became corruptible, * whereas with the latter * we have delighted in incorruptibility. * For Christ our God has saved the human race * by means of His divine Cross. [SD]
When he perceived.
Of old the tree in the garden stripped us naked, * and by its taste did the enemy bring in death. * Now the tree of the Cross, which for all mankind is bearing * the garment of life, was planted upon the earth, * and therefore is all the world filled with every joy. * As we see it exalted now, let us, O peoples, cry aloud * together unto God in faith: * Full of glory is Your house, O Lord. [SD]
Utukufu. Sasa.
Glory. Both now. Stavrotheotokion. Same Melody.
The Theotokos, standing by the Cross and weeping * and in a pitiable condition, uttered crying: * Son, Your Passion is truly beyond comprehension. * I cannot endure to be separated from * my own flesh and blood, nor see You upon a cross. * Overlook not Your handmaiden. Resurrect from the dead, * and glorify me crying out: * Glory be to You, most merciful One. [SD]
After the third Psalter reading, Kathismata. For the Cross.
When he perceived.
The tree in Eden of old produced bitterness, * whereas the tree of the Cross has flowered sweet life. * For when Adam had eaten he slipped into corruption. * But we who enjoy the food of the flesh of Christ * are given new life and mystically deified, * and moreover do we receive the everlasting rule with God. * And therefore we cry out in faith: * Glory be to Your Passion, O Word. [SD]
For the Martyrs. Same Melody.
When they had deadened burning impulses and movements * of sinful passions by their self-control and virtue, * then the Martyrs of Christ were given the divine grace * of driving away the illnesses of the sick * and working wonders, alive and after their death. * Paradoxical miracle it is indeed, that naked bones * should pour out cures abundantly. * Glory be to our only God. [SD]
Utukufu. Sasa.
Glory. Both now. Stavrotheotokion. O Life of all, You rose.
The Ewe-lamb without spot saw the Lamb and the Shepherd * suspended on the Cross and she cried out and uttered: * What is it that I see now, * my Son, this strange and unhoped for spectacle? * How have You been convicted * as the mortals, being the Life of all? * Yet, on the third day, arise from the dead, * O Word of God, as You have said. [SD]
Canon for the Cross.
Irmosi.
Mode pl. 4. Ode i. Heirmos.
The rod of Moses working wonders once submerged Phar’onic charioteers * when it smote the waters * in the figure of a cross and thereby split the sea in two; * while it rescued on dry land wayfaring fugitive Israel, * which to God resoundingly sang a song. [SD]
Troparia
Troparia.
When I had pleasurably eaten from the tree, then I became one dead. * You, O Word, revived me, by Your dying on the Cross, * adorning me with glory. Hence I adore Your dominion, * and I extol Your immeasurable * mercy, and I honor Your suffering. [SD]
When He was crucified, our Lord and Savior, the uncultivated Vine, * gave us His divine grace as if dripping out like wine * that gladdens the believers’ hearts, while completely restraining * deceptive error like drunkenness, * and cleansing the sin from our hearts and souls. [SD]
For the Martyrs.
Adorned with sacred marks of torture you endured, O holy Martyrs of Christ, * glorying in labors of your martyrdom, you stand * with glory near your Lord and God, the producer of beauty. * And now with glory you celebrate, * O renowned and Godlike, all-honored Saints. [SD]
O holy Martyrs, being clearly strengthened by the strength that comes from God, * manfully you struck down all of the destructive might * of him who had been powerful. Therefore you were awarded * glorious crowns for your victory. * Now you stand with joy near the Lord of all. [SD]
Stavrotheotokion.
As she was standing by Your Cross, O Lord, and as she saw the injuries * on Your holy body, Your pure Virgin Mother wept. * And pricked in heart she said, “Alas! Woe is me, O my Child. * I felt no pain giving birth to You. * Now I am worn out by this awful pain.” [SD]
Canon for the Theotokos.
The rod of Moses.
Concerning you, O Lady, pure and glorified, glorious things have been said. * You became the only glory of believers all. * Please make me a partaker of future glory, O Virgin, * by your entreaties, and I will sing * glorifying you, O all-blameless one. [SD]
Blessed indeed, O ever-blessed Virgin, is the holy fruit of your womb, * through Whom all we mortals from the curse have been released. * All-blameless and all-holy one, inexplicable wonder, * and mystifying phenomenon, * how through your Son saved humanity! [SD]
The hosts of Angels importune You earnestly, O Master, every day, * with the congregation of Disciples and the band * of Prophets and Your martyr Saints * and Your holy Ascetics. * O most benevolent Lord and God, * through the Theotokos forgive our sins. [SD]
With faith I pray to you who welcomed in your womb the unendurable fire: * O all-blameless Lady, from Gehenna rescue me; * and free me from the punishment that for me has been stored up * because of my many sinful deeds, * through your own acceptable prayers to God. [SD]
Irmosi.
Ode iii. Heirmos.
In the beginning, You O Christ, * established all of the heavens, * and You made firm the earth upon the waters, * with intelligence divine. Confirm me on the Church’s rock. * No one but You is holy, and only You are benevolent. [SD]
Troparia
Troparia.
You once establish by a word * the heavens and set the earth on * its foundation, with the sea being shackled. * You were bound for me and hung * upon the Cross, that from the bonds * of sin You might release me, * O most benevolent Lord and God. [SD]
The foe, encountering the tree, * namely the Cross, was together * with his vicious demons slain; while the one who * tasting wrongly was condemned * is granted mercy once again. * And also all creation * is fully stablished in piety. [SD]
For the Martyrs.
Although subjected to a host * of divers tortures and swords and * savage beasts and to bodily exposure, * the courageous and divine * Athletes remained invincible * against their persecutor, * receiving strength from the higher Might. [SD]
The holy Witnesses of Christ, * through wakeful thinking and reason, * did aspire after that which is lasting * and did utterly disdain * all that is fleeting. Hence did they * endure with great rejoicing * the unendurable suffering. [SD]
Stavrotheotokion.
Watching the Lamb of God be led * to His deliberate Passion * and be crucified in body, the Ewe-lamb * who is greatly honored wept * while she lamented in distress; * and offering up glory * did she extol His longsuffering. [SD]
Canon for the Theotokos. O divine Master Builder.
Having fallen, O Pure one, from a divine way of life, * I have been compared to the cattle, and now I have become * condemned in every way. * Since you have borne the divine Judge, * save me and deliver me from condemnation all. [SD]
Grant me sighs unsubsiding, and tears, O Maid graced by God, * in my soul; and grant me persistent compunction in my heart, * that I may properly * lament the passions that with me * naturally developed due to my own carelessness. [SD]
O compassionate Master, * heavenly hierarchies * ministering spirits, the Prophets and Your Apostles’ band * and martyr Saints all join * Your holy Mother entreating: * Grant unto Your people the remission of their sins. [SD]
O compassionate Lady, beseech compassionate God * to account me worthy, O Pure one, of divine sympathy, * even if I possess * an uncompassionate manner. * Call me back from callousness by means of penitence. [SD]
Irmosi.
Ode iv. Heirmos.
You are my strength. * You are my power, O Christ my Lord. * God my Savior, You are my exceeding joy. You came to us, never absent from the bosom of the Father, * and You assumed human poverty. * And so I join the Prophet Habakkuk, singing: Glory * to Your strength, O benevolent Lord my God! [SD]
Troparia
Troparia.
The human race has been recalled from the fateful fall * that the first-man Adam had sustained of old, for now the Lord who created all * of His own volition was lifted up on a wooden cross. * His holy fingers bloody, with nails His hands were fastened * to the cross, and His side by a lance was pierced. [SD]
The Cross was raised, causing the fall of deception all. * You were stripped, O Savior, and the hostile foe was stripped as well, and Adam was clothed * in the sacred garment of incorruption indeed divine. * O Christ, the sun was darkened during Your crucifixion, * and the world was enlightened because of this. [SD]
For the Martyrs.
For Christ the Word, who for the world sacrificed himself, * you, O Martyrs, offered up yourselves as newly slaughtered victims; and with the streams * of your blood you dried up deception’s ocean, by grace divine. * And now you ever hold back the overflow of illness * with miraculous cures that you rain on us. [SD]
You underwent excruciating dismemberment, * mutilation of your bodies, the extraction of your teeth, fingernails, and tongues. * Hands and feet were brutally amputated, O Martyr Saints. * Now you are counted worthy of superlative glory, * and you stand near the throne of the God of all. [SD]
Stavrotheotokion.
The spotless Ewe beheld her Calf being crucified. * As she watched Him being lifted on the cross she cried aloud, and lamenting said, * “How could these transgressors have no compassion on You, my Son, * since You showed them such mercy, but instead they have chosen * Your unjust execution by treachery?” [SD]
Canon for the Theotokos. You are my strength.
Tear up the bond, the wicked record of all my sins, * blessed Mother, with the holy spear that pierced the divine side of your Son who willed * to become incarnate of you, O Virgin immaculate. * And pray Him to enroll me, who have mindlessly drifted * far from God, in the book of those being saved. [SD]
All-blameless Maid, by your superlative childbirth, * you have magnified all who were once debased, with whom I too seriously fell * and sinned more than others. Oh, count me worthy to be absolved; * and I will glorify you and also magnify you * with my songs of divine love and gratitude. [SD]
In you, O Maid, the laws of nature were redefined * when transcending nature you were pregnant with the Word of God. I implore you now: * Blameless Virgin, save me, by interceding on my behalf. * Alas, I have committed many sins and have wandered * far from God; but wholeheartedly I repent. [SD]
The hostile foe, using the poisonous darts of sin, * gravely wounded my entire soul, and he has likewise wholly defiled my heart * with sensual pleasures, and from the straight way led me astray. * I therefore now entreat you, Theotokos, accept me * now returning, and save me, O Virgin pure. [SD]
Irmosi.
Ode v. Heirmos.
Why reject me, Your servant, * from before Your face, O Lord the light that never sets? * Miserable sinner that I am, now this strange darkness covers me. * Savior, I implore You to bring me back to Your commandments, * which are light, and I pray You to guide my ways. [SD]
Troparia
Troparia.
O long-suffering Jesus, * willingly You tasted gall to free me from the taste * of sensual pleasure. * To divest me of cursed mortality, * naked You were fastened unto the cross during Your Passion. * I extol Your compassion and sympathy. [SD]
By enduring Your Passion, * You rendered my soul, which was corrupted, new again. * Crucified, O Logos, * to the Father you gave up your soul and died. * Earth did not endure it * when, though inanimate, it saw this; * and in fear it was quaking, extolling You. [SD]
For the Martyrs.
You, O Martyrs, are highly * decorated for the tortures you endured for God, * following the One who * through His Passion has given dispassion to all, * the eternal Father’s only-begotten Son and Logos, * with whom You are eternally glorified. [SD]
O invincible Martyrs * of the Savior, estranged from the things below, * you received your portion * of the unseen divine palaces on high, * where you are residing, and by divine participation * immaterially you are deified. [SD]
Stavrotheotokion.
Lauded Lady, you cried out, * “Never was this seen before. The One who looks on earth * and thus makes it tremble * has been nailed to a cross and has gone to sleep, * wishing to awaken those who have slept from the beginning! * O my Son, I adore Your long-suffering.” [SD]
Canon for the Theotokos. Why reject me, Your servant.
Now do all generations * call you ever-blessed, as you prophesied they would. * And the hosts of heaven * sing your praise, for among women you alone * joined to things in heaven the things on earth: “You are the blessed * restoration of Adam who fell of old!” [SD]
I entreat you, O Virgin, * Mother of the Word, who from irrationality * saved us, in His goodness. * Give me strength to remain safe and not to fall * from my good condition, that undeterred I may continue * to be pleasing to God in my words and deeds. [SD]
You, O Word, in Your mercy, * deeper than the ocean, emptied Your all-holy blood * on the Cross to save me. * Now I pray You to dry up the ocean of * my unseemly passions, that in compunction I may please You, * by the prayers of Your Mother, O Lord my God. [SD]
Irmosi.
Ode vi. Heirmos.
My transgressions and my sins, * like a tempest on the deep sea, afflict me * and forcibly compel me to the depths of despondency. * So I pray You to extend * Your mighty arm to me, as to Peter, * O God, my Pilot and Savior, and rescue me. [SD]
Troparia
Troparia.
All angelic hosts on high * were extolling You, O Lord, in amazement, * as they beheld You hanging on the cross, You the Word of God. * By Your wound, O Savior, You healed first-made Adam, who had been wounded. * And now the ancient curse is nullified. [SD]
Glory to Your might, O Christ! * For the human race was freed from the shackles * when You yourself were shackled in the flesh, O forbearing Lord. * And the tyrant has been bound, and all the faithful now ridicule him * like a little bird in a fowler’s snare. [SD]
For the Martyrs.
Medaled Martyrs, you appeared * to be godlike, for like coals glowing brightly, * by grace you burned up all the fuel of pagan impiety, * lying on the fiery coals as whole-burnt offerings, and receiving * divine refreshment from your Lord and God. [SD]
You, O medaled Martyr Saints, * as the flock of Christ, the true and good Shepherd, * remained uninjured even in the midst of ferocious wolves. * And when you had finished well the race for God, you entered the sheepfold * above in heaven, there to dwell with Him. [SD]
Stavrotheotokion.
“Lord of life are You, my Son! * I conceived You as a virgin and bore You, * more beautiful than all the sons of men,” so the Virgin cried. * “So how can it be that You die on the cross now devoid of beauty, * Who beautify all things by willing it?” [SD]
Canon for the Theotokos. Be gracious to me.
The nature of humankind * received great mercy, O merciful * and all-pure Virgin, though you, * for you carried in your womb * the merciful Lord and God. * Therefore I implore you * to have mercy on my sorry soul. [SD]
The bodiless hosts on high * with all the Prophets and Hierarchs * and Your Apostles, O Christ, * and Martyrs implore You now. * At the intercessory * prayers of her who bore You, * save Your people from calamity. [SD]
O Virgin, you are like earth * that without tillage produced its fruit, * the Tiller who made all things. * I entreat you, show my soul * to be fruitful through divine * knowledge, for by passions * it is overgrown through carelessness. [SD]
I disobeyed the commands * that were designed to lead me to God, * and I have become a slave * to the passions willfully. * Therefore I implore you now, * ever-virgin Mary: * Set me free from their command of me. [SD]
Irmosi.
Ode vii. Heirmos.
The fire in Babylon * withdrew in fear from the condescension of God. * For this reason the Servants * within the furnace as in a moist meadow danced * with feet exultant, and sang that immortal hymn, * saying, “O God of our fathers, blessed are You!” [SD]
Troparia
Troparia.
Your hands suffered injury, * those hands by which You performed the miracles. * You endured to be wounded * and in so doing, O Christ, You healed all my wounds. * Forbearing Logos, I sing out extolling You, * saying: O God of our fathers, blessed are You! [SD]
O Christ, You were crucified, * and You were pierced in the hands and feet with nails. * By a spear was Your side pierced, * and You gushed forth forgiveness of sins for all, * who never cease to extol You in sacred hymns, * singing: “O God of our fathers, blessed are You!” [SD]
For the Martyrs.
Let us form a chorus now * and sing in praise of the Martyr Saints of God. * In the heights they are numbered * with hosts of Angels, and they are luminous guides * for those on earth, and they praise Him unceasingly, * singing: “O God of our fathers, blessed are You!” [SD]
Because you were sanctified, * you now reside in the splendid light of the Saints, * and you graciously send down * sanctification and liberation from sin * to all who praise you in song and who worship Christ, * singing: “O God of our fathers, blessed are You!” [SD]
Stavrotheotokion.
“O Word, You are crucified!” * the Virgin cried. “O unsetting Sun, You have set! * And beholding the Passion * of You its Master, the sun halted in its path; * it could not bear it to shine, so it hid its light. * Yet I extol and adore Your power, O God.” [SD]
Canon for the Theotokos. The fire in Babylon.
You granted ineffable. * terrific blessings to us, O Mother of God, * by your ineffable childbirth. * Save me, I pray, from terrible punishment, * and grant ineffable joy to my sorry soul, * and I will ever extol you, all-lauded one. [SD]
I frittered away my life, * and being lazy I have not borne any fruit. * O Virgin, I am frightened * of condemnation and the unquenchable fire. * To you who bore the unbearable Fire I pray: * By your entreaties, save me from eternal fire. [SD]
Surpassing all miracles * is the great miracle of your childbirth. * O immaculate Virgin. * So I entreat you, all-holy Mother of God, * to show your mercies and love to me wondrously, * and save and rescue from the coming wrath of God. [SD]
I know that I lived my life * with crass indifference and that I ignored * Your most godly commandments, * O Christ my Savior, and your all-holy laws. * Take pity. Save me, through her who gave birth to You, * O very merciful Lord, my Benefactor and God. [SD]
Irmosi.
Ode viii. Heirmos.
The tyrant king of Babylon * had the furnace made seven times * hotter for the godly men, for he was furious. * But after he witnessed how * a higher power rescued them, * he cried out and said, “You Servants, bless the Creator; * sing hymns to the Redeemer, O you priests; and you people * exalt Him beyond measure, unto all the ages.” [SD]
Troparia
Troparia.
Christ, when You were incarnated, * You blossomed forth from Jesse’s root. * When You wore the crown of thorns You uprooted the thorns * that sprang up as a result * of Adam’s disobedience. * And when You were nailed to the Tree, You counteracted * the curse the tree had blossomed. * You save those who are singing: * “You peoples now exalt Christ unto all the ages.” [SD]
You, Lord, became a mortal man * so that man might become divine. * Savior, You were crucified and given gall to drink * and pierced in Your holy side, * in Your sublime benevolence. * We who have been saved by what You suffered, O Logos, * with gratitude are singing, “O you priests and you peoples * supremely now exalt Christ, unto all the ages.” [SD]
For the Martyrs.
Bound hand and foot, O Martyr Saints, * as if lambs, you were sacrificed, * mercilessly roasted on a spit over the fire, * or thrown to the wild beasts; * for some of you, your heads were cut off. * Now with joy unutterable you are all rejoicing * and singing, “O you Servants, O you priests and you peoples * supremely now exalt Christ, unto all the ages.” [SD]
Martyrs, you dwell with Angels now, * wearing crowns for your victories; * for you trampled brutal and ferocious enemies. * We pray you to intercede * on our behalf and pray to the Lord, * that we may conduct our lives with love and with concord, * extolling Him and singing, “O you priests; and you peoples * supremely now exalt Christ, unto all the ages.” [SD]
Stavrotheotokion.
As you were looking at the Son * of your womb being crucified, * you could not endure the anguish that you felt inside. * You sighed with distress and pain, * and with maternal cries of lament, * you cried out and said, “My Child, what am I seeing? * Though in Your divine nature * impassible, You suffer! * You will to liberate the human race from corruption.” [SD]
Canon for the Theotokos. The tyrant king.
Virgin, revive my deadened soul; * raise it up from its fateful fall; * heal it of the wounds that it sustained throughout my life. * Bring peace to my mind and heart, * and calm the billowing waves of life’s * trials and calamities, and save me who cry out: “O Servants, bless. Extol Him, O you priests. And you peoples * supremely now exalt Christ, unto all the ages.” [SD]
I, like the Robber on the cross, * cry to You, “Lord, remember me!” * Like the harlot, I am weeping. Like the Prodigal, * I cry to You, “I have sinned.” * I am despairing yet penitent. * Take me back, through intercessions of the Theotokos. * And I will sing with fervor: * “O you priests and you peoples * supremely now exalt Christ, unto all the ages.” [SD]
O Theotokos, praised by all, * we entreat you and all the saints, * the uncounted hosts of holy angels in the heights, * the Martyrs, Ascetic Saints, * Apostles, and the Prophets of old. * Intercede for all the faithful who are inspired * to sing, “O Servants, bless Him. * O you priests and you peoples * supremely now exalt Christ, unto all the ages.” [SD]
Irmosi.
Ode ix. Heirmos.
The heavens were astounded because of this, * and the ends of the earth were astonished, because God himself * bodily appeared to the human race, * O Theotokos, coming forth * from your virgin womb, which indeed became * more spacious than the heavens. * And therefore by the orders * of men and angels you are magnified. [SD]
Troparia
Troparia.
O Master, by Your Passion You healed my wounds, * by the wounds You sustained and Your holy blood that stained Your hands. * Good One, You directed my steps along * the paths of salvation, Lord, * even if Your own feet were pierced with nails: * those feet which our first parents * in Paradise of old heard * as You were walking, and they hid themselves. [SD]
The first-created man fell a major fall. * Now he stands upright, for You were fastened upright to the Cross. * All the devil’s might has been overthrown. * And all the earth is sanctified * by the blood and water that issued from * Your holy side. And therefore, * O tender-loving Savior, * we magnify You now unceasingly. [SD]
For the Martyrs.
While being mutilated, O Martyr Saints, * you dismantled the instruments of torture that you endured * valiantly tormented. And hand and foot * you bound the devil with chains * and the shackles that had been used on you, * subjecting him by God’s grace. * And thus humiliated * he was the laughing-stock of all who saw. [SD]
The earth is sanctified by the sacred blood * and the all-holy relics of Martyrs that it has received. * They have providentially now become * an ever-flowing fountainhead * of all kinds of healing and cures for all * the ills of soul and body, * by grace divine repelling * the harm and injury the demons cause. [SD]
Stavrotheotokion.
The Virgin cried aloud, “O forbearing Lord, * I eluded the labor of childbirth when You were born. * As You are enduring enormous pain * and voluntary suffering * in Your holy Passion, I feel the pain * is welling up inside me, * my soul is filled with anguish.” * So let us magnify her worthily. [SD]
Canon for the Theotokos. All hearers shuddered.
You were prefigured by the bed * of King Solomon surrounded by mighty men * sixty in number, O Maid, * as Holy Scripture describes it; for in you * did God the Logos lay and rest. * I pray you to keep me safe * by your own might, and repel * countless hordes of demons, for they have shaken me. [SD]
Dripping with sweetness most divine, * as the Mother of the sweetness of all mankind, * sweeten my soul, I pray. * Alas! the serpent’s venom has poisoned it. * And intercede that I remain * a stranger to bitter sin, * now and forevermore, * O protection of the faithful that never fails. [SD]
Glorious Sun, O Jesus Christ, * please illuminate this miserable soul of mine, * heeding the prayers of her * who bore You, Mary the all-pure child of God, * as well as those of Your divine * Apostles and Hierarchs, * Prophets and Martyr Saints, * the Ascetics and Your bodiless Ministers [SD]
Master, I shudder at the thought * of Your fearful Second Coming, O only King; * and I am so afraid, * for I am wholly condemned and at a loss. * Before the end I cry to You: * Spare me, O benevolent * and good and merciful Lord, * by your Mother’s intercessions, and save me, I pray. [SD]
At the Aposticha of Lauds.
Aposticha. Mode pl. 4. For the Cross.
The rod of Moses prefigured Your precious Cross, O our Savior. For by means thereof You save Your people as from the depth of the sea, O benevolent Lord. [SD]
Mstari Asubuhi tumejazwa na huruma yako, Ee Bwana; [[SWA]]
Verse: We were filled with Your mercy in the morning, and in all our days we greatly rejoiced and were glad; gladden us in return for the days You humbled us, for the years we saw evil things. And behold Your servants and Your works, and guide their sons. [SAAS]
Automelon.
The paradise of Eden once produced the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the midst of all the plants. * Whereas the holy Church, O Christ, now has brought forth Your precious Cross, * gushing forth eternal life into the world. * But while the one brought on Adam’s death when he had taken it for food, * the other gave the Robber life * when for believing he was saved. * Make us partakers of the forgiveness he received from You, O Christ, * who by Your Passion ended the frenzy aimed against us of the foe; * and, O Lord, account us worthy of inheriting Your heavenly Rule. [SD]
Mstari Ubora wa Bwana Mungu wetu uwe juu yetu; atuongoze kwa kazi ya mikono yetu; hata kazi ya mikono yetu Aiongoze. [[SWA]]
Verse: And let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the works of our hands. [SAAS]
For the Martyrs. What are we to call you.
Invincible Martyrs of Christ our God, * having triumphed over error by the power of the Cross, * you have duly now received the grace of everlasting life. * Of tyrants’ * angry threats you were not terrified. * Tormented * by their tortures, you were full of joy. * And now your blood has become for us * the cure of body and soul alike. * Do intercede, * we entreat you, that our souls be saved. [SD]
Utukufu. Sasa.
Glory. Both now. Stavrotheotokion. Same Melody.
She who as the Ewe-lamb gave birth to You * without seed, as she beheld You to be crucified, O Lord, * dug her nails into her face and, weeping, cried aloud to You: * How can You * bear this unjust slaughter, O my Son? * How is it * that as man You die, Immortal One? * O sweetest Light, speak a word to me. * Look at Your Mother lamenting You, * and glorify her, O Logos, by Your resurrection. [SD]
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LITURGY
Sifa za heri.
The Beatitudes. Mode pl. 4.
Savior of the world, remember us Your servants * as upon the Cross You remembered the Robber, * only compassionate Christ, and account us worthy * of inheriting Your heavenly Rule. [SD]
Moses once portrayed the Cross when he extended * his rod and split the sea for the Israelite people * to pass. And making the sign of the Cross, do we now * turn back our spiritual enemies. [SD]
Jacob stretched his hands in cruciform of old when * blessing Joseph’s sons. And thus did he prefigure * Your precious Cross, through which we all have been delivered, * O Christ our Savior, from the ancient curse. [SD]
For the Martyrs.
Bravely you endured excruciating tortures, * imitating Christ’s own sufferings, O Martyrs. * Having been crowned with the laurels of incorruption, * you promenade about the heavens now. [SD]
Utukufu.
Glory.
Glory to Father the only immortal; * glory to the Son who lives unto the ages; * and glory equally to the all-holy Spirit * the sanctifier of the universe. [SD]
Sasa.
Both now. Stavrotheotokion.
From your virgin womb has risen the Creator * of the sun and moon, O ever-blessed Maiden. * And all creation was quaking as it perceived Him, * O Theotokos, to be crucified. [SD]