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AT MATINS After the 1st reading
from the Psalter, The noble Joseph taking down your spotless Body from the tree, wrapped it in a clean shroud with sweet spices and laid it for burial in a new grave; but on the third day you arose, O Lord, granting the world your great mercy. Verse: Arise, Lord my God, lift up your hand; do not forget your poor for ever.The Angel standing by the grave cried to the women bearing myrrh, ‘Myrrh is fitting for the dead, but Christ has been shown to be a stranger to corruption. But cry aloud: The Lord has risen, granting the world his great mercy!’ Glory. Both now. Cross-Theotokion.You are highly glorified, Virgin Mother of God, and we sing your praise, for through the Cross of your Son Hell has been overthrown, Death has died, we who were dead have risen and been granted life. We have received Paradise, our ancient delight, therefore with thanksgiving we glorify Christ our God as mighty and alone full of mercy. After the 2nd reading from the Psalter, others. You did not prevent the grave stone from being sealed, and risen you granted to all the rock of the Faith. Lord, glory to you! Verse: I will praise you, Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all your marvellous works.The choir of your Disciples rejoices in harmony with the Myrrh-bearing women; for with them we celebrate a common feast to the glory and honour of your Resurrection. Through them, O Lord who love humankind, grant your people your great mercy. Glory. Both now. Theotokion.You are highly blessed, Virgin Mother of God, for through him who was incarnate from you Hell has been taken captive, Adam recalled, the curse slain, Eve set free, death has been put to death and we have been given life; therefore with hymns we cry: Blessed are you Christ our God who have been thus well-pleased, glory to you! After Psalm 118, the Ypakoï. The women coming to your grave after the Passion to anoint your body, Christ God, saw Angels in the tomb and were amazed, for they heard a message from them message, ‘The Lord has risen, granting the world his great mercy’. The Anavathmi. 1st Antiphon. I raise the eyes of my heart to you in heaven, O Saviour. Save me by your radiance. Have mercy, O my Christ, on us who fail you hour by hour in many ways, and give us the means to turn back to you in repentance before the end. Glory. Both now. To the Holy Spirit belong kingship, sanctification and the guidance of creation, for he is God, consubstantial with the Father and the Word. 2nd Antiphon. If the Lord was not among us, who could be kept safe from the one who is both foe and murderer? Do not hand your servant over to their teeth, my Saviour. Like a lion they come against me, for they too are my foes. Glory. Both now. To the Holy Spirit belong the source of life and honour, for, being God, he gives all creatures power and watches over them in the Father through the Son. 3rd Antiphon. Those who trust in the Lord are like the holy mountain: they are utterly unshaken by the assaults of Beliar. Let not those who live for God stretch out their hands in lawlessness; for with his rod Christ forbids his lot. Glory. Both now. By the Holy Spirit all wisdom flows forth, from which grace comes to the Apostles, the Martyrs are crowned for their struggles, and the Prophets see. Prokeimenon [Psalm 7]. Rise up, O Lord my God, according to the decree which you enjoined:* and an assembly of peoples will surround you. Verse: O Lord my God, I have hoped in you. Save me from all who pursue me and deliver me. Let everything that has breath, the Dawn Gospel, Having seen the Resurrection of Christ, Psalm 50 and the rest. And after this the Canon of the Resurrection.Ode 1. Tone 2. Irmos. His overwhelming might once laid low in the deep all Pharaoh’s host; but the incarnate Word, the glorious Lord, has wiped out malignant sin: for he has been greatly glorified. Troparia. The ruler of the world, O Good One, to whom we were enrolled by not obeying your commandment, has been judged by your Cross; for having attacked you as a mortal he has fallen by the might of your authority, and has been proved weak. You came into the world as Redeemer of the race of mortals and prince of the life without corruption; for you tore apart death’s winding sheets by your Resurrection, which we all glorify; for it has been greatly glorified. Theotokion. You have appeared higher than every creature, visible and invisible, O Pure and Ever-Virgin; for you gave birth to the Creator, as he was well pleased to become incarnate in your womb; with your freedom to speak implore him that our souls may be saved. Another Canon, of the Cross and Resurrection, of which the Acrostic, including the Irmi, is: I sing my praise to the life-giving Word. Irmos. Israel the chosen. O Christ you have become strength for the weak, resurrection for the fallen and incorruption for the dead by the suffering of your flesh: for it has been glorified. God the Fashioner and Restorer took pity on his fallen image and raised it up when it was crushed, having himself been put to death; for he has been glorified. Another Canon of the most holy Mother of God, of which the Acrostic is: I sing my praise to the life-giving Maiden. The same Irmos. Of old an immaterial ladder and a path in the sea strangely made dry revealed your giving birth, O Pure One. We all sing its praise, for it has been glorified. The Power of the Most High, the perfect Substance and Wisdom of God, took a body from you, O Immaculate, and conversed with mortals; for he has been glorified. The Sun of righteousness came through the closed untrodden gateway of your womb, O Pure One, and shone upon the world: for he has been glorified. Ode 3. Irmos. The desert, the barren Church from the nations, flowered like a lily, O Lord, at your coming, by which my heart has been established. Troparia. At your passion creation was changed when it saw you, who had done all things by your divine bidding, mean in appearance and sneered at by lawless men. You fashioned me from dust by your own hand according to your image, and when I was crushed back again to the dust of death through sin, you descended with me to hell, O Christ, and raised me up again with you. Theotokion. The ranks of Angels were amazed, and the hearts of mortals trembled at your birth-giving, O All-Pure; therefore in faith we honour you as Mother of God. Another, of the Cross and Resurrection. Christ, who is beyond all, has been made a little lower than the Angels by his suffering in the flesh. Dead you were numbered with the lawless, O Christ, but you appeared to the Women shining with the crown of the glory of your Rising. Of the Mother of God. The same Irmos. The One beyond all time, as Maker of time, was fashioned of his own will as a babe from you, O Virgin. Let us, the faithful, praise the womb that is wider than the heavens; for through it Adam, rejoicing, has become a citizen of heaven. Ode 4. Irmos. From a Virgin you came, not an ambassador, not an Angel, but the Lord himself incarnate, and you saved me, humanity, entirely; therefore I cry to you: Glory to your power, O Lord! Troparia. As one condemned, my God, you stood before the tribunal and did not cry out, O Master, pronouncing a judgement for the nations, the salvation which you wrought for the world through your passion, O Christ. The swords of the foe failed at your passion; but by your descent into Hell the cities of your opponents were sacked and the arrogance of the tyrant was brought low. Theotokion. All we believers know you to be a harbour of salvation and an unshakeable wall, Sovereign Lady, Mother of God, for by your prayers you deliver our souls from dangers. Another of the Cross and Resurrection. Seeing you nailed to the Cross, O Christ, the Virgin who had borne you without pains, endured a mother’s pains. Death is conquered, a corpse despoils the gates of Hell; for now that the all-devouring has been rent open, all that is above nature has been given me. Of the Mother of God. The same Irmos. See, the divine mountain for the house of the Lord, the Mother of God, is being most manifestly exalted above the Powers of heaven. O Virgin, who alone bore the Master of creation beyond the laws of nature, you have been granted the epithet divine. Ode 5. Irmos. O Christ you have become the Mediator between God and mortals, for through you, O Master, from the night of ignorance we have access to your Father, the source of light. Troparia. Like a cedar, O Christ, you crushed the insolence of the foe, when of your own will as you were well-pleased, you were raised up with your flesh, O Master, on cypress, pine and cedar. They laid you, O Christ, as a lifeless corpse in the lowest pit, but by your own stripes, O Saviour, you raised with yourself the slain who slept forgotten in the tombs. Theotokion. Beseech your Son and Lord, pure Virgin, to grant deliverance to prisoners and peace from hostile circumstances to those who trust in you. Another, of the Cross and Resurrection. The former Adam, refusing to fast, tasted of the tree that brought death; but the Second, by being crucified, wipes out his sin. O Christ, impassible in your immaterial godhead, you became passible and mortal in nature. Giving incorruption to the dead, you raised them from the vaults of Hell. Of the Mother of God. The same Irmos. You clouds, rain down the sweetness of joy for those on earth, for a Child has been given, who is our God before the ages, incarnate from the Virgin. When the Most High became incarnate from the Virgin without seed in the last times, the light shone on my life and flesh, and destroyed the gloom of sin. Ode 6. Irmos. Surrounded by a depth of offences, I call upon the unsearchable depth of your compassion: lead me up from corruption, O God. Troparia. The Just is judged as a malefactor and nailed with the lawless to the tree, by his own blood granting forgiveness to the guilty. Through one man, the first Adam, death entered the world of old; and through one, the Son of God, Resurrection has been revealed. Theotokion. Without knowing man you bore a child, O Virgin, and you remain ever virgin, showing the proofs of the godhead of your Son and God. Another, of the Cross and Resurrection. You placed the Cherubim as guards of the tree of life against fallen man; but on seeing you they opened the gates; for you appeared guiding the Thief to Paradise. By the death of one man Hell was deserted and without resource, for the great wealth that one man had amassed, Christ emptied on behalf of us all. Of the Mother of God. The same Irmos. Human nature enslaved through sin found freedom through you, pure Lady; for your Son was sacrificed like a lamb on behalf of all. We all call on you the true Mother of God to deliver the servants who provoke to anger; for you alone have acquired boldness towards the Son. Kontakion. Seeking the things on high. You rose from the tomb, all-powerful Saviour, and seeing the marvel Hell was struck with fear, and the dead arose, and creation, seeing, rejoices with you, Adam shares in the joy; and the world ever praises you, my Saviour. Ikos. You are the light of those in darkness, you are the resurrection of all and the life of mortals and you have raised up all with yourself, despoiling the might of death, O Saviour, and smashing the gates of Hell, O Word; and mortals when they saw marvelled at the wonder, and all creation rejoices in your Resurrection, O Lover of humankind. Therefore we all glorify and hymn your condescension; and the world ever praises you, my Saviour. Ode 7. Irmos. The godless order of a lawless tyrant fanned the soaring flame; but Christ let fall the dew of the Spirit upon the God-fearing children. He is blessed and highly exalted. Troparia. O Master through your compassion you could not bear to see humankind tyrannised by death, but, becoming man, you came and saved it by your own blood. You are blessed and highly exalted. O Christ, the gate-keepers of Hell, seeing you clothed in the robe of vengeance, trembled; for you had come, Master, to worst the foolish tyrant, your servant. You are blessed and highly exalted. Theotokion. We acknowledge you as the Holy of Holies, O Virgin undefiled, Mother without bridegroom, as her who alone bore the unchangeable God; for you have become the source of incorruption for all the faithful by your divine child-bearing. Another, of the Cross and Resurrection. Of old disobedience condemned the Forefather in Eden; but willing he was condemned, annulling the charge against the offender, the God of our fathers, supremely divine and most glorious. You saved him who was wounded by the envenomed tongue in Eden; for your cured the bite willingly incurred by your willing passion, O God of our fathers, supremely divine and most glorious. You called me back to light as I walked in the shadow of death when you struck shadowy darkness of Hell with the blaze of your Godhead, O God of our fathers, supremely divine and most glorious. Of the Mother of God. The same Irmos. Jacob in the night, as in a riddle, saw God incarnate; but he appeared from you in the beacon-fire to those who sang: God of our fathers, supremely divine and most glorious. He wrestles with Jacob, foreshadowing the signs of the ineffable weaving that took place in you, O pure one, through which was willingly united with humankind the God of our fathers, supremely divine and most glorious. Profane the one who does not proclaim you, the Virgin’s Son, one of the Trinity, nor cries with unwavering mind and tongue: O God of our fathers, supremely divine and most glorious. Ode 8. Irmos. A furnace once in Babylon, by divine decree, divided its action, burning up the Chaldeans but refreshing the faithful who sang: All you works of the Lord, bless the Lord. Troparia. When they saw the robe of your flesh, O Christ, made scarlet with your blood, the ranks of Angels were aghast with awe at your great long-suffering and they cried: All you works of the Lord, bless the Lord. O merciful, by your Rising you have clothed my mortality in immortality; therefore rejoicing your chosen people sings to you, O Christ, and cries: Death is truly swallowed up in victory. Theotokion. Without seed you conceived and bore ineffably him who though inseparable from the Father, dwelt in your womb as God and man, O all-pure Mother of God; therefore we all acknowledge you as the salvation of us all. Another, of the Cross and Resurrection. O rich in mercy, you were seen nailed to a Cross; willingly you were buried and arose on the third day, and you delivered, O lover of humankind, all mortals who sing to you in faith: Let all creation hymn the Lord, and highly exalt him to all the ages. O Word of God, you went down to the lowest parts of the earth to deliver the one you had fashioned by your power, O my Christ, from corruption, and when you had made him incorruptible you made him a partaker in your eternal glory, as he cries: Let all creation hymn the Lord and highly exalt Christ to all the ages. Of the Mother of God. The same Irmos. Through you he who is incomparable in goodness and power, was seen on earth and lived among men, to whom all we faithful sing as we cry: Let all creation that has been given existence hymn the Lord, and highly exalt him to all the ages. Rightly proclaiming you pure we glorify you, Mother of God, for you bore one of the Trinity incarnate, to whom with the Father and the Spirit we all sing: Let all creation hymn the Lord, and highly exalt him to all the ages. Ode 9. Irmos. The Son of the Father without beginning, God and Word, incarnate of a Virgin, has appeared to us, to give light to what is darkened, to gather what is scattered; therefore we magnify the all-hymned Mother of God. Troparia. O Saviour the thrice-blessed tree of your immaculate Cross was planted on Calvary as in Paradise, and watered by the divine blood and water from your divine side, O Christ, it has blossomed with life for us. Crucified, O all-powerful, you laid low the mighty, and exalting human nature which lay below in Hell’s prison, you placed it on your Father’s throne: as you are coming with that nature we worship and magnify you. Of the Trinity. As with right belief we the faithful hymn the triple Unity, the consubstantial Trinity, let us glorify the inseparable nature, supremely divine, triple light, radiance without evening, alone uncompounded which sheds light upon us. Another, of the Cross and Resurrection. In the midst of the condemned you were hung up like a lamb, O Christ, on the Cross on Calvary, your side pierced by a lance; in your goodness you have granted to us who are made of dust but who honour you in faith your divine Resurrection. Let us the faithful all worship God, who by his own death destroyed with might the power of death; for he raised with him the age-long dead, and to all he grants life and Resurrection. Another, of the Mother of God. A rod of strength has been given to our rotten nature: the Word of God in your womb, O Pure One, and he raised it up when it had fallen into Hell; therefore, all-pure, as Mother of God we magnify you. Master receive with compassion as ambassador on our behalf your Mother whom you chose, and all things will be filled with your goodness, that we may all magnify you as our benefactor. At Lauds, Stichera of the Resurrection. Everything that has breath and every creature glorifies you, O Lord, for through your Cross you destroyed death to show the peoples your Resurrection from the dead, as you alone love humankind. Let the Jews say how the soldiers lost the King they were guarding. Why did the stone not guard the rock of life? Either let them give up the one who was buried or praise him risen, saying with us: Glory to the multitude of your mercies: Saviour, glory to you!. Rejoice you peoples and be glad: An Angel sat upon the grave stone; he gave us good tidings saying: Christ has risen from the dead and filled the universe with sweet fragrance. Rejoice you peoples and be glad! Before your conception, Lord, an Angel brought the greeting ‘Hail’ to the one full of grace: at your Resurrection an Angel rolled the stone from your glorious grave. The one revealed the signs of joy instead of sorrow; the other instead of death proclaimed to us a Master, giver of life. Therefore we cry to you, ‘Benefactor of all humankind, Lord, glory to you!’ Other Stichera of Anatolios. The women sprinkled sweet spices with their tears upon your grave, and their mouths were filled with joy as they said, ‘The Lord has risen!’ Let nations and peoples praise Christ our God, who willingly endured the Cross for us and spent three days in hell; and let them worship his Resurrection from the dead, through which all the ends of the world have been filled with light. You were crucified, you were buried, O Christ, as you willed; you despoiled death as God and Master, granting the world eternal life and your great mercy. In truth, lawless ones, by sealing the tomb you have granted us a greater marvel; the guards have the knowledge; today he came from the grave, and they said: You said that while we slept the Disciples came and stole him. And who steals a corpse, especially one that is naked? But he has risen by his own authority as God, leaving behind his grave-clothes in the tomb. Come, O Jews, see how he did not burst the seals the One who trampled on death and grants the human race life without end and his great mercy. Glory. The Eothinon.Both now. You are highly blessed. Great Doxology and after it the troparion: To-day salvation has come to the world.
AT THE LITURGY Typica and the Beatitudes. We bring you the prayer of the Thief, and we cry to you: Remember us, O Saviour, in your Kingdom. 7. We bring you, for pardon of offences, the Cross, which you accepted for our sake, O lover of humankind.6. We worship your burial and your Rising, Master, through which you have redeemed the world from corruption, O Lover of humankind.5. By your death, Lord, death has been swallowed up, and by your Resurrection, O Saviour, you have saved the world.4. Those who slept in darkness, O Christ, seeing you the Light in the lowest depths of Hell, rose up.3. On rising from the grave you met the Myrrhbearers and ordered them to tell your Disciples of your Rising.Glory.
Both now. Theotokion.
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