Opening Sentence

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:2

Confession

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you 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; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

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

O God, make speed to save us.

O Lord, make haste to help us.

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.

O Gracious Light Phos hilaron

O gracious light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of Life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.

Psalm 47 Omnes gentes, plaudite

1

Clap your hands, all you peoples; *
shout to God with a cry of joy.

2

For the LORD Most High is to be feared; *
he is the great King over all the earth.

3

He subdues the peoples under us, *
and the nations under our feet.

4

He chooses our inheritance for us, *
the pride of Jacob whom he loves.

5

God has gone up with a shout, *
the LORD with the sound of the ram's-horn.

6

Sing praises to God, sing praises; *
sing praises to our King, sing praises.

7

For God is King of all the earth; *
sing praises with all your skill.

8

God reigns over the nations; *
God sits upon his holy throne.

9

The nobles of the peoples have gathered together *
with the people of the God of Abraham.

10

The rulers of the earth belong to God, *
and he is highly exalted.

Psalm 4 Cum invocarem

1

Answer me when I call, O God, defender of my cause; *
you set me free when I am hard-pressed;
have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

2

"You mortals, how long will you dishonor my glory; *
how long will you worship dumb idols
and run after false gods?"

3

Know that the LORD does wonders for the faithful; *
when I call upon the LORD, he will hear me.

4

Tremble, then, and do not sin; *
speak to your heart in silence upon your bed.

5

Offer the appointed sacrifices *
and put your trust in the LORD.

6

Many are saying,
"Oh, that we might see better times!" *
Lift up the light of your countenance upon us, O LORD.

7

You have put gladness in my heart, *
more than when grain and wine and oil increase.

8

I lie down in peace; at once I fall asleep; *
for only you, LORD, make me dwell in safety.

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.

Gospel

Matthew 13:1-9 (NRSV)

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 Let anyone with ears listen!"

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Canticle 17 The Song of Simeon
Nunc Dimittis Luke 2:29-32

Lord, you now have set your servant free *
to go in peace as you have promised;

For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, *
whom you have prepared for all the world to see:

A Light to enlighten the nations, *
and the glory of your people Israel.

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.

• Departure of St. Agatho the 39th Pope of Alexandria
• Commemoration of Saints Karbu, Apollos and Peter
• Martyr Nestor of Soluneia (Thessalonika) (+c.306)
• Monks Nestor the Chronicler, of Pechersk in the Nearer Caves (+c.1114)
• Nestor the NonBookish of Pechersk, in the Farther Caves (XIV)

When Pope Benjamin departed, this Saint was chosen to be the next Patriarch. He faced great tribulations for the sake of keeping the Orthodox faith. As an example, a man whose name was Theodosius, a Malachite, went to the City of Damascus and came before Yazed Ben Moawia the Arab Governor of Damascus, gave him a large sum of money and took from him an order to appoint him Governor of Alexandria, Behira and Marriot. When he took this position he afflicted the Patriarch and levied great taxes on him. The people hated and avoided this Governor because of his excessive evil. He put forth an order that any man who found the Patriarch should slay him. The Patriarch stayed in his cell until God destroyed the Governor.

In the days of this father, the building of St. Macarius' Church in his monastery at Wadi El-Natroun was completed. One night the angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him about a holy monk from the monastery of St. Macarius whose name was John and who lived in Fayoum. The angel instructed him to bring this monk to help him preach and teach to the people. The angel told him that John would be next Patriarch after him. Abba Agatho sent for and brought Father John and delegated to him the work of the churches, their organization, teaching the believers and preaching to them.

Abba Agatho remained in the Papacy for nineteen years and departed in peace.

The Holy Martyr Nestor suffered in the year 306 in the city of Soluneia together with the GreatMartyr Demetrios of Soluneia (commemorated 26 October).

The Monk Nestor the Chronicler was born at Kiev in 1050. He came in his youth to the Monk Theodosii (Feodosii, +1074, commemorated 3 May) and became a novice. The Monk Nestor took monastic vows under the successor to the Monk Theodosii, the hegumen Stephen, and under him was ordained monk-deacon.

Concerning his lofty spiritual life it says that, amidst the number of other monastic fathers he participated in the casting out of a devil from Nikita the Hermit (afterwards a Novgorod Sainted-hierarch, commemorated 31 January), having become fascinated by the Hebrew wisdom of the Old Testament. The Monk Nestor deeply appreciated true knowledge, conjoined with humility and penitence. "Great is the benefit of book learning -- said he -- for books point out and teach us the way to repentance, since from the words of books we discover wisdom and temperance. This is the stream, watering the universe, from which springs wisdom. In books is a boundless depth, by them we are comforted in sorrows, and they are a bridle for moderation. If thou do enter diligently into the books of wisdom, thou then shalt discover great benefit for thy soul. Wherefore that one who readeth books, doth converse with God or the saints."

In the monastery the Monk Nestor had the obedience of being the chronicler. In the 1080's he wrote the "Account about the Life and Perishing of the Blessed PassionBearers Boris and Gleb" in connection with the transfer of the relics of the saints to Vyshgorod in the year 1072 (commemorated 2 May). In the 1080's the Monk Nestor also compiled the Life of the Monk Theodosii of Pechersk. And in 1091 on the eve of the altar-feast of the Pechersk monastery, he was entrusted by the hegumen John to dig up out of the ground, for transfer to the church, the holy relics of the Monk Theodosii (Uncovering Relics, commemorated 14 August).

The chief work in the life of the monk Nestor was the compiling in the years 1112-1113 of the "Tale of Bygone Years" ["Povest' Vremmenykh Let"]. "Here is the tale of years gone by, from whence the Russian land came to be, who at Kiev started first to be prince and from whither the Russian land is arrayed" -- so with the very first line the Monk Nestor specifies his purpose. His is an extraordinarily wide circle of sources: of prior Russian chronicle accounts and sayings, monastery records, the Byzantine Chronicles of John Malalos and George Amartolos, various historical collections, the accounts of the boyar-elder Ian Vyshatich and of tradesmen and soldiers, of journeymen and of those who knew -- all set together by him with an unified and strict Church point of view. This permitted the Monk Nestor to write his history of Russia as an inclusive part of world history -- the history of the salvation of the human race.

The monk-patriot expounds the history of the Russian Church in the significant moments of its historical settings. He speaks about the first mentioning of the Russian nation in historical sources -- in the year 866, during the time of the holy Patriarch of Constantinople Photios; he narrates about the creation of the Slavonic alphabet and writing by the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius; and about the Baptism of holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Ol'ga at Constantinople. The chronicle of the Monk Nestor has preserved for us an account about the first Orthodox church in Kiev (under the year 945), about the confessors deed of the holy Varangian Martyrs (under the year 983), about the "testing of the faiths" by the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Vladimir (year 986) and the "Baptism of Rus'" (the year 988). We are indebted to the first Russian Church historian for accounts about the first metropolitans of the Russian Church, about the emergence of the Pechersk monastery, and about its founders and ascetics. The times in which the Monk Nestor lived were not easy for the Russian land and the Russian Church. Rus' lay torn asunder by princely feuds; the steppe Polovetsian nomads laid waste both city and village with plundering raids, they snatched off Russian people into slavery, and burnt churches and monasteries. The Monk Nestor was an eyewitness to the devastation of the Pechersk monastery in the year 1096. In the chronicle is given a theologically thought out patriotic history. The spiritual depth, historical fidelity and patriotism of the "Tale of Bygone Years" [in English otherwise also known as "The Russian Primary Chronicle"] establish it among the ranks of significant creations of world literature.

The Monk Nestor died in about the year 1114, having left to the Pechersk monk-chroniclers the continuation of his great work. His successors in the writing of the chronicles were: the hegumen Syl'vestr, adding on contemporary accounts to the "Tales of Bygone Years"; the hegumen Moisei [Moses] Vydubitsky lengthened it to the year 1200; and finally, the hegumen Lavrentii, having written in the year 1377 the most ancient of our surviving copies that preserve the "Tale" of the Monk Nestor (this copy is known as the "Lavrentian Chronicle"). The hagiographic tradition of the Pechersk ascetics was continued by Sainted Simon, Bishop of Vladimir (+1226, commemorated 10 May), the compiler of the "Kievo-Pechersk Paterikon." Narrating the events connected with the lives of the holy saints of God, Saint Simon often quotes, from among other sources, the Chronicles of the Monk Nestor.

The Monk Nestor was buried in the Nearer Caves of the Monk Antonii of Pechersk. The Church also honours his memory together with the Sobor [Assemblage] of the holy Fathers of the Nearer Caves on commemorated 28 September and on the 2nd Sunday of Great Lent when is celebrated the Sobor of all the Kievo-Pechersk Fathers. His works have many times been published [in English also as "The Russian Primary Chronicle"].

The Monk Nestor the NonBookish, named thus in distinction from the Monk Nestor the Chronicler, asceticised in the Farther Caves. His memory is celebrated 27 October it seems, because of his name in common with the Martyr Nestor of Soluneia (+306).

The name of the Monk Nestor the NonBookish is mentioned in the General Service to the Monks of the Farther Caves: "The Word of God, comprehended of man, taught thee not by bookish wisdom, O holy Nestor, but from on high; thou hast beheld it through the prayers of the Angel, and thy end thou did foresee; may we with thee be made partakers, we pray, in honouring thine memory." His memory is celebrated also on commemorated 28 August and on the 3rd Sunday of great Lent.

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: Pentecost, proper 25

Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A Collect for Protection

Be our light in the darkness, O Lord, and in your great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of your only Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

For Mission

Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen.

World Cycle of Prayer

Motherland Nigeria

Ecumenical Cycle of Prayer

We pray for our sisters and brothers, members of the Mennonite Church.

The Mennonite Church

For Agriculture

For Those We Love

For Quiet Confidence

O God of peace, who has taught us that in returning and rest we will be saved, in quietness and confidence will be our strength: By the might of your Spirit lift us, we pray, to your presence, where we may be still and know that you are God; 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

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.

Thanks be to God. Alleluia. Alleluia.