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Stichera of the Holy Apostles

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Stichera of the Holy Apostles Wednesday Evening Vespers Of the Third Week of Lent Lenten Triodion With the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified ON ‘LORD, I CALL…’ – WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31 We use ten stichera: Tone IV Unique melody 10. Canonarch: Bring my soul out of prison: Choir A: That I may give thanks unto Thy name. As the prodigal, / I have wasted the riches that the Father gave me; / now, I am destitute, and dwell in the land of wicked citizens; / in my thoughtlessness, I have become like the beasts without understanding; / and I am stripped of all God’s grace; / but, turning back, I cry to Thee, / the compassionate and merciful Father: / ‘I have sinned; receive me in repentance, O God; // and have mercy upon me’. 9. Canonarch: The righteous shall compass me about: Choir B: Until Thou shalt deal bountifully with me. (Repeat) As the prodigal, / I have wasted the riches that the Father gave me; / now, I am destitute, and dwell in the land of wicked citizens; / in my thoughtlessness, I have become like the beasts without understanding; / and I am stripped of all God’s grace; / but, turning back, I cry to Thee, / the compassionate and merciful Father: / ‘I have sinned; receive me in repentance, O God; // and have mercy upon me’. Martyricon 8. Canonarch: Out of the depths, have I cried unto Thee, O Lord: Choir A: Lord, hear my voice. O ye martyrs of the Lord, / living oblations, / spiritual burnt-offerings, / perfect victims offered unto God, / sheep that know God, and are known by Him, / whose fold, no wolf can enter, / pray ye that we be led, with you, // to feed, also, beside the water of peace. Tone VI By the Lord Joseph 7. Canonarch: And in the Sixth Tone, to the model-melody ‘Having laid aside…’: Let Thine ears be attentive: Wednesday Evening Vespers Of the Third Week of Lent Lenten Triodion With the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Choir B: To the voice of my supplications. O apostles, / eyewitnesses of God, / rays of light from the spiritual sun, / pray that light may be granted to our souls; / deliver us from the gloomy darkness of the passions; / and ask that we may see the day of salvation; / by your prayers and intercessions, / cleanse our hearts, which the evil one hath wounded; / then, saved by faith, / we shall, for ever, honour you, // who preserve the world by your preaching of the truth. 6. Canonarch: If Thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? Choir A: But there is forgiveness with Thee. Like the prodigal son, / I have journeyed into a far country of wickedness; / and I have wasted, in evil, the wealth that Thou gavest me, / O compassionate Father; / I am starved of good deeds, / and clothed in the shame of my transgression; / for I have been stripped bare of God’s grace; / I cry to Thee: / ‘I have sinned’; yet I know Thy loving- kindness; / accept me as one of Thy hired servants, / O merciful Christ, // at the prayers of the apostles, who loved Thee. Tone VI By the Lord Theodore 5. Canonarch: And in the same tone, to the model-melody ‘At the right-hand of the Saviour…’: For Thy Name’s sake, have I patiently waited for Thee, O Lord; my soul hath waited patiently for Thy word: Choir B: My soul hath hoped in the Lord. O apostles of the Lord, / ye are the lights of the inhabited earth, / benefactors and saviours; / as the heavens, / ye declare the glory of God; / and ye are adorned with the stars of your miracles, / and with your wonders of healing; / intercede, fervently, before the Lord on our behalf, / that our prayers may be accepted / as a pure and sweet- smelling fragrance, / and that we may all be counted worthy / to venerate the life-giving cross, / and to gaze on it with fear; / as we worship this, Thy cross, / in Thy love for man, O Saviour, // send down Thy mercy on us. Then, four for St Innocent: Tone VI Wednesday Evening Vespers Of the Third Week of Lent Lenten Triodion With the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified 4. Canonarch: And, in the same tone: From the morning watch, until night, from the morning watch: Choir A: Let Israel hope in the Lord. Called to the New World by the grace of God, as a skilled helmsman of the ship of Christ, thou hast endured dangers on the sea, as thou hast led them adrift in darkness, delusion, and the storms of passions, to the calm harbour of salvation; pray for us, now, Holy Father Innocent, before the Holy Trinity. 3. Canonarch: For, with the Lord, there is mercy; and, with Him, is plenteous redemption: Choir B: And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. (Repeat) Called to the New World by the grace of God, as a skilled helmsman of the ship of Christ, thou hast endured dangers on the sea, as thou hast led them adrift in darkness, delusion, and the storms of passions, to the calm harbour of salvation; pray for us, now, Holy Father Innocent, before the Holy Trinity. 2. Canonarch: O praise the Lord, all ye nations: Choir A: Praise Him, all ye people. A prophet, raised up from among the Aleuts, heard, from an angel, that thou wouldst journey afar, leaving thy family to speak with a great man; once his words had been fulfilled, by the infinite wisdom and mercy of God, we received thee, again, as the first bishop to rule our land; intercede, now, for the flock that thou hast gathered. 1. Canonarch: For His merciful kindness is great towards us: Both choirs: And the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. People of two continents, with different tongues and customs, rejoice, today, through thee, in the mystery of the tongues of Pentecost, and in the fall of the cursed tower of human pride, which kept at enmity all the nations of the earth, until they were caught in the net of faith, worshipping the consubstantial Trinity. DOXASTICON Tone VI Canonarch: Glory in the same tone: Wednesday Evening Vespers Of the Third Week of Lent Lenten Triodion With the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Both choirs: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. In mortal danger from a storm at sea, thou hast looked to the north star of the Church of Christ, and, through the prayers of Saint Herman of Alaska, hast found grace and deliverance; with him, now, intercede for our souls. THEOTOKION Tone VI Canonarch: ‘Now and ever…’ in the same tone: Both choirs: Now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. My heart’s eye I lift up to thee, O Mistress; disdain not my feeble sighing; at the hour when thy Son shall come to judge the world, be thou my protection and helper. PROKEIMENON (Ps. 51) Tone IV I will trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. Verse: Why dost thou boast, O mighty man, of mischief done against the godly? Old Testaments Readings Deacon: Let us attend. Priest: Peace be unto all! Deacon: Wisdom! Reader: The Prokeimenon in the 4th Tone: I will trust in the mercy of God / forever and ever. Choir: Refrain. Wednesday Evening Vespers Of the Third Week of Lent Lenten Triodion With the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Reader: Why do you boast, O mighty man, of mischief done against the godly? Choir: Refrain. Reader: I will trust in the mercy of God... Choir: ...forever and ever. Deacon: Wisdom! Reader: The Reading is from Genesis (7:6-9). Deacon: Let us attend! Reader: Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came on the earth. And Noah with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood. Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. Deacon: Let us attend! Reader: The Prokeimenon in the 4th Tone: When the Lord turns back / the captivity of His people. Choir: Refrain. Reader: The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” Choir: Refrain. Reader: When the Lord turns back… Choir: ...the captivity of His people. All present make a full prostration while the Priest exclaims: Wednesday Evening Vespers Of the Third Week of Lent Lenten Triodion With the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Priest: Wisdom, let us attend! The Light of Christ, Illumines all! Reader: The reading is from Proverbs (9:12-18). Deacon: Let us attend! Reader: If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it. The foolish woman is loud; she is ignorant and knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the high places of the town, calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way: ‘You who are simple, turn in here!’ And to those without sense she says, ‘Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.’ But they do not know that the dead* are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol. (“Let my prayer arise…” and then immediately:) Prokeimenon & Readings for St. Innocent, Enlightener of the Aleuts Deacon: Let us attend! Priest: Peace be unto all! Reader: And to your spirit! Deacon: Wisdom! Reader: The Prokeimenon in the 1st Tone: My mouth shall speak wisdom; / the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
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