Opening Sentence
You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witness in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8
Confession
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
Most holy and merciful Father:
We confess to you and to one another,
and to the whole communion of saints
in heaven and on earth,
that we have sinned by our own fault
in thought, word, and deed;
by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.
Have mercy on us, Lord.
We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit.
Have mercy on us, Lord.
We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives,
We confess to you, Lord.
Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and
our exploitation of other people,
We confess to you, Lord.
Our anger at our own frustration, and our envy
of those more fortunate than ourselves,
We confess to you, Lord.
Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts,
and our dishonesty in daily life and work,
We confess to you, Lord.
Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our
failure to commend the faith that is in us,
We confess to you, Lord.
Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs
we have done: for our blindness to human need and suffering, and
our indifference to injustice and cruelty,
Accept our repentance, Lord.
For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts
toward our neighbors, and for our prejudice and contempt toward
those who differ from us,
Accept our repentance, Lord.
For our waste and pollution of your creation,
and our lack of concern for those who come after us,
Accept our repentance, Lord.
Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart
from us;
Favorably hear us, for your mercy is great.
Accomplish in us the work of your salvation,
That we may show forth your glory in the world.
By the cross and passion of your Son our Lord,
Bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.
Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.
Invitatory Pascha
Lord, open our lips.
Jubilate
Be joyful in the Lord, all you
lands;
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.
Know this: The Lord himself is
God;
he himself has made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and call upon his Name.
For the Lord is good;
his mercy is everlasting;
and his faithfulness endures from age to age.
Antiphon
Alleluia. The Lord is risen indeed: Come let us adore him. Alleluia.
Psalm 40 Expectans, expectavi
Psalm 54 Deus, in nomine
Gloria Patri
Glory
to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Exodus 34:18-35 (NRSV)
18 You shall keep the festival of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt. 19 All that first opens the womb is mine, all your male livestock, the firstborn of cow and sheep. 20 The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. No one shall appear before me emptyhanded. 21 Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in plowing time and in harvest time you shall rest. 22 You shall observe the festival of weeks, the first fruits of wheat harvest, and the festival of ingathering at the turn of the year. 23 Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the LORD God, the God of Israel. 24 For I will cast out nations before you, and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land when you go up to appear before the LORD your God three times in the year. 25 You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven, and the sacrifice of the festival of the passover shall not be left until the morning. 26 The best of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the LORD your God. You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk. 27 The LORD said to Moses: Write these words; in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. 28 He was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. 29 Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; 34 but whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Canticle 10 The Second Song of Isaiah
Quaerite Dominum Isaiah 55:6-11
Seek the Lord while he wills to be found; *
call upon him when he draws near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways *
and the evil ones their thoughts;
And let them turn to the Lord, and he will
have compassion, *
and to our God, for he will richly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, *
nor your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
*
so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as rain and snow fall from the heavens
*
and return not again, but water the earth,
Bringing forth life and giving growth, *
seed for sowing and bread for eating,
So is my word that goes forth from my mouth;
*
it will not return to me empty;
But it will accomplish that which I have purposed,
*
and prosper in that for which I sent it.
Glory
to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
1 Thessalonians 3:1-13 (NRSV)
1 Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we decided to be left alone in Athens; 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and coworker for God in proclaiming the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you for the sake of your faith, 3 so that no one would be shaken by these persecutions. Indeed, you yourselves know that this is what we are destined for. 4 In fact, when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we were to suffer persecution; so it turned out, as you know. 5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith; I was afraid that somehow the tempter had tempted you and that our labor had been in vain. 6 But Timothy has just now come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love. He has told us also that you always remember us kindly and long to see usjust as we long to see you. 7 For this reason, brothers and sisters, during all our distress and persecution we have been encouraged about you through your faith. 8 For we now live, if you continue to stand firm in the Lord. 9 How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you? 10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith. 11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. 13 And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Matthew 5:27-37 (NRSV)
27 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell. 31 "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' 32 But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. 33 "Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.' 34 But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let your word be 'Yes, Yes' or 'No, No'; anything more than this comes from the evil one.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Canticle 18 A Song to the Lamb
Dignus es Revelation 4:11, 5:9-10, 13
Splendor and honor and kingly
power *
are yours by right, O Lord our God,
For you created everything that
is, *
and by your will they were created and have their being;
And yours by right, O Lamb that
was slain, *
for with your blood you have redeemed for God,
From every family, language, people,
and nation, *
a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
And so, to him who sits upon the
throne, *
and to Christ the Lamb,
Be worship and praise, dominion
and splendor, *
for ever and for ever more.
Glory
to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Orthodox Saints
John, Disciple of Gregory Dekapolites (+c.820-850)
Evthymii (+1435), Antonii (Anthony), and Felix of Karelia (+1418)
Victor, Zoticus, Xeno, Acindinus, Severian, and Caesarius (+303)
Sainted Kozma the Confessor, Bishop of Chalcedon (+c.815-820)
The Monk John was born at the end of the VIII Century. At a young age he became a disciple of the Monk Gregory Dekapolites (+c.820, commemorated 20 November) and accepted monastic tonsure from him at the Soluneia (Thessalonika) monastery. Under the guidance of this experienced teacher, the Monk John attained to high spiritual accomplishment.
When the emperor Leo the Armenian (813-820) renewed the persecution against Orthodox Christians because of their veneration of holy icons, the Monk Gregory Dekapolites together with the Monk Joseph the Writer of Church-Song (+c.863, commemorated 4 April) and his student the Monk John set off from Soluneia to Constantinople, to muster opposition to the Iconoclast heresy. In spite of persecution, for several years Saints Gregory and John fearlessly defended Orthodoxy, and preached veneration of holy icons. After many hardships the Monk Gregory died (in about the year 820), and soon after him his faithful student John also expired to the Lord. The Monk Joseph the Song-Writer transferred the relics of Saints Gregory and John and placed them in a church of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker.
The Holy Martyrs Victor, Zoticus, Acindinus, Xeno, Severian and Caesarius suffered under the emperor Diocletian (284-305). When he began a fierce persecution against Christians, one of the first to suffer was the holy GreatMartyr and Victory-Bearer George (+303, commemorated 23 April). Saint George's unshakable faith and bravery during the time of his suffering led many pagans to Christ. The saints were struck with astonishment that Saint George suffered no harm from the tortuous wheel, and they declared within earshot of all, that they too did believe in Christ. By order of the judge the holy martyrs were beheaded at Nicomedia (+303).
Sainted Kozma, Bishop of Chalcedon, and his companion the Monk Auxentios, lived during the IX Century, at a time when the Iconoclasts oppressed the adherents of Orthodoxy. Saint Kozma while still in his youth had withdrawn to a monastery and accepted monastic tonsure. Afterwards he was ordained to the dignity of bishop of Chalcedon and he zealously defended the Orthodox faith against the Iconoclast heretics. The Monk Auxentios was an helper to the saint in this struggle.
The Iconoclasts tried in manifold ways to sway the saint over to their side, but he remained faithful to Orthodoxy to the very end. Saint Kozma did not obey the decree of the emperor Leo the Armenian (813-820) about the discarding of holy icons from the churches. For this he was expelled from his cathedra-seat and exiled to prison. When the saint returned from exile, he continued with Saint Auxentios to defend the veneration of holy icons. At the mitigation of the persecution, Saint Kozma was weak in body, but remained all the more strong in spirit. Sainted Kozma (+c.815-820) and the Monk Auxentios to their very end steadfastly preserved the Orthodox faith.
The Holy Martyr John Kulikos was born in the Greek district of Epirus, in the city of Ianina. His parents were pious, but he was orphaned at an early age, and he set off to Constantinople. Of the means left him by his parents, he built a small stall in the city bazaar and was occupied with trade.
He loved to work, he honourably filled all his orders, and his business was successful. But the soul of the saint yearned not for earthly blessing, but for the Kingdom of Heaven.
Saint John lived during difficult times. Constantinople was under the dominion of the Turks, and Christians were subjected to oppressions. Many a Christian tradesman and merchant went over to Mahometanism. Saint John reproached them for their betrayal of Christ and he sustained also the unwavering in their faith. The apostates were thus filled with hatred towards Saint John and they desired his ruin. The saint knew this, but was not afraid: in his soul grew the yearning to suffer for the faith in Christ.
On Great Friday he went to his spiritual father and asked blessing for the deed of martyrdom. The priest counselled the youth to examine himself and to prepare himself for the deed by fasting and prayer, so that at the time of torture he would not abjure C hrist. Saint John prayed ardently to the Lord to strengthen his powers. At night on Great Saturday he saw himself in a dream, standing in a fiery furnace and singing praise to the Lord. Interpreting this vision as an indication to go to martyrdom, Saint John received the Holy Mysteries and asked of the priest blessing to enter into the act of martyrdom.
When Saint John arrived at the market, vexed tradesmen there began to reproach him that he had promised to renounced Christ, but that he was not fulfilling his given word. In answer to this the martyr in earshot of all declared, that he was a Christian and had never renounced nor would he ever renounce Christ. Then the envious had him arrested. The judge tried to persuade Saint John to go over to Mahometanism, since he esteemed him as a skilled and respected master-craftsman. But the martyr steadfastly confessed himself a Christian. Over the course of several days they wearied him with hunger and thirst, and beat him without mercy. They sentenced the martyr to burning in a bon-fire. Saint John met his sentence with joy. When they led him to the blazing bon-fire, he went boldly into the very midst of the flames. The torturers, seeing that Saint John was readied to be burnt in the bon-fire, pulled him out and beheaded him with the sword (+1526). They then threw the head and body of the martyr into the bon-fire.
Christians gathered up the bones of the martyr which remained from the fire, and reverently they transferred them to the cathedral church.
The Monks Evthymii, Antonii (Anthony), and Felix started their ascetic deeds in the Karelian land in about the year 1410. The Monk Evthymii founded the Karelian Nikolaev monastery. But scarcely had he succeeded in building a church in the name of Saint Nicholas and several cells, when in 1419 Norwegians descended upon the monastery, burnt the church and killed several of the monks. The Monk Evthymii again set about construction.
The boyarina-noble Martha asked prayers at the monastery for her sons who died in 1418 (they were the sons of the Novgorod posadnitsa-mayoress Martha's first husband, Philip Vasil'evich). Exploring their land, the young brothers perished at the mouth of the North Dvina River, and they were buried at the Karelian Nikolaev monastery. In life they were distinguished for their works of charity. In the manuscripts of the Saints of the Karelian monastery their names were entered into the ranks of the Saints. Over the graves of the holy brothers was built a chapel, and in the year 1719 -- a church in honour of the Meeting (Sretenie) of the Lord. The Monk Evthymii was glorified by his apostolic labors in the enlightening of the Karelian peoples. He died in the year 1435, and in 1647 his relics were uncovered. There is a service to the Monks Evthymii, Antonii and Felix. The memory of the monk Evthymii in the "Iconographic Originals" is placed also under 20 January because of his name-in-common with the Monk Euthymios the Great.
Apostles' Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his
only son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord's Prayer
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.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Suffrages A
Show us your mercy, O Lord;
And grant us your salvation.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
Let your people sing with joy.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
For only in you can we live in safety.
Lord, keep this nation under your care;
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Let your way be known upon earth;
Your saving health among all nations.
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.
Collect of the Day: Fourth Sunday of Pascha
O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people; Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A Collect for Fridays
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
For Mission
O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
World Cycle of Prayer
We pray for the people of Mauritania.
Ecumenical Cycle of Prayer
We pray for our sisters and brothers, members of the Church of Scotland.
For Our Enemies
O God, the Father of all, whose Son commanded us to love our enemies: Lead them and us from prejudice to truth; deliver them and us from hatred, cruelty, and revenge; and in your good time enable us all to stand reconciled before you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For Social Justice
Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart, that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For Young Persons
God our Father, you see your children growing up in an unsteady and confusing world: Show them that your ways give more life than the ways of the world, and that following you is better than chasing after selfish goals. Help them to take failure, not as a measure of their worth, but as a chance for a new start. Give them strength to hold their faith in you, and to keep alive their joy in your creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A Prayer Attributed to St. Francis
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
General Thanksgiving
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.A Prayer of St. Chrysostom
Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.
Benediction
Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia. Alleluia.
Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20,21Thanks be to God. Alleluia. Alleluia.