Midnight Office Thursday, August 29, 2024

Books - Sources

Horologion - Midnight Office

Menaion - August 29

Commemoration of the Beheading of the Holy Forerunner

__________

MIDNIGHT OFFICE

PRIEST

Blessed is our God always, now and ever and to the ages of ages.

( Amen. )

Glory to You, O God, glory to You.

Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, present in all places and filling all things, treasury of good things and giver of life: come; take Your abode in us; cleanse us of every stain, and save our souls, O Good one. [GOA]

READER

Trisagion Prayers.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (3)

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, forgive our sins. Master, pardon our transgressions. Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Your name’s sake.

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [GOA]

PRIEST

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and to ages of ages.

READER

Amen. Lord, have mercy. (12)

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Come, let us worship and bow down before God our King.

Come, let us worship and bow down before Christ God our King.

Come, let us worship and bow down before Him, Christ our King and God.

Psalm 50 (51).

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy; and according to the abundance of Your compassion, blot out my transgression. Wash me thoroughly from my lawlessness and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my lawlessness, and my sin is always before me. Against You only have I sinned and done evil in Your sight; that You may be justified in Your words, and overcome when You are judged. For behold, I was conceived in transgressions, and in sins my mother bore me. Behold, You love truth; You showed me the unknown and secret things of Your wisdom. You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be cleansed; You shall wash me, and I will be made whiter than snow. You shall make me hear joy and gladness; my bones that were humbled shall greatly rejoice. Turn Your face from my sins, and blot out all my transgressions. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with Your guiding Spirit. I will teach transgressors Your ways, and the ungodly shall turn back to You. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall greatly rejoice in Your righteousness. O Lord, You shall open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise. For if You desired sacrifice, I would give it; You will not be pleased with whole burnt offerings. A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit, a broken and humbled heart God will not despise. Do good, O Lord, in Your good pleasure to Zion, and let the walls of Jerusalem be built; then You will be pleased with a sacrifice of righteousness, with offerings and whole burnt offerings; then shall they offer young bulls on Your altar. [SAAS]

If the Lity was not sung at Vespers, sing the following:

CHOIR

Idiomela of the Lity.

From Menaion - - -

Mode 1.

What shall we call you, Prophet? ⁄ Angel, apostle, martyr: ⁄ Angel, for you have spent your life like those who have no body. ⁄ Apostle, for you have taught the nations, ⁄ and martyr, for your head has been cut off for the sake of Christ. ⁄⁄ Pray to Him then that our souls may be granted great mercy. [OCA]

Mode 1.

We now celebrate the memorial of the beheading of the Forerunner: ⁄ At that time you gushed forth blood upon the platter, ⁄⁄ and now you pour forth healing to the ends of the earth! [OCA]

Mode 1.

Today the mother of murder ⁄ acting with more wickedness than has ever been seen, ⁄ has roused her utterly wanton daughter ⁄ to evil against the divinely-chosen and greatest of all the prophets. ⁄ For while hateful Herod was celebrating his ungodly birthday ⁄ she contrived according to the oath he had given her for her dancing, ⁄ to beg for the precious head of the herald of God, ⁄ that gushed forth miracles. ⁄ And he, quite mad, fulfilled his promise ⁄ and gave her the sworn reward of her dancing. ⁄ But the initiate of the coming of Christ ⁄ ceased not after death to rebuke them for their abominable union, ⁄ but reproved them loudly, saying: ⁄ It does not become you to commit adultery with the wife of your brother Philip. ⁄ What birthday, killer of prophets and feast full of blood! ⁄ Let us with reverent minds ⁄ making ourselves white as snow, ⁄ rejoice on this day and keep feast. ⁄ And let us ask the Forerunner to propitiate the Trinity for us ⁄⁄ to be delivered from the disgrace of the passions and to save our souls! [OCA]

Glory.

From Menaion - - -

Mode pl. 1.

Herod, intending to escape reproaches for his sinful doings, ⁄ gave your head, Forerunner, to a lawless woman. ⁄ For the wretched man did not know ⁄ that in having it carried round on a platter he was rebuking himself. ⁄ But as teacher of purity and guide to redeeming repentance, ⁄ Baptist, intercede with Christ for us ⁄⁄ to be delivered from the disgrace of the passions! [OCA]

Both now.

From Menaion - - -

Mode pl. 1.

Now we call you blessed, O Virgin Theotokos, and we glorify you, duty-bound as believers; the city unshakable, the wall indestructible, the firm and steadfast protection, and the place of refuge for our souls. [SD]

READER

Trisagion Prayers.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (3)

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, forgive our sins. Master, pardon our transgressions. Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Your name’s sake.

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

PRIEST

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and to ages of ages.

READER

Amen.

Apolytikion.

From Menaion - - -

Mode 2.

The memory of the just is observed with hymns of praise; for you suffices the testimony of the Lord, O Forerunner. You have proved to be truly more ven’rable than the Prophets, since you were granted to baptize in the river the One whom they proclaimed. Therefore, when for the truth you had contested, rejoicing, to those in Hades you preached the Gospel, that God was manifested in the flesh, and takes away the sin of the world, and grants to us the great mercy. [SD]

Lord, have mercy. (40)

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Greater in honor than the Cherubim, and in glory greater beyond compare than the Seraphim; you without corruption gave birth to God the Word, and are truly Theotokos. You do we magnify.

In the name of the Lord, Father, bless!

PRIEST

May God have compassion on us and bless us; may his face shine upon us and have mercy on us.

READER

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Holy father, give the blessing!

PRIEST

May Christ our true God, through the intercessions of His all-pure and all-immaculate holy Mother, (local patron saint); of the holy and righteous ancestors of God Joachim and Anna, and of all the saints, have mercy on us and save us, as He is good, benevolent, and merciful God.

Let us pray for the peace of the world.

CHOIR (intoned after each petition)

Lord, have mercy.

PRIEST

For the pious and Orthodox Christians.

For our our Archbishop (name).

For our nation.

For the armed forces.

For our absent fathers, brothers and sisters.

For those who help us and those who serve us.

For those who hate us and those who love us.

For those who have asked us, the unworthy, to pray for them.

For the release of the captives.

For those sailing the seas.

For those laid up with illnesses.

Let us also pray for the abundance of the fruits of the earth.

And for all our fathers and brethren departed this life, those who lie here in peace, and the Orthodox everywhere.

Let us say for ourselves, also: Lord, have mercy; Lord, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.

Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us.

CHOIR

Amen.