Ode 7. An Angel made the furnace.

Prokeimenon, Tone 3.

Deacon: Again and again, in peace let us pray to the Lord.

Both now. Theotokion.

f the first transgression redeemed by your blood, the Martyrs, sprinkled with their own blood, are plainly an image of your slaughter. Blessed are you, the God of our fathers.

Reader: Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Both now. Theotokion, the same Tone.

he arrogant death you slew, O Word, source of life; now therefore receive the one who has fallen asleep in faith, who sing your praise, O Christ, and say: Blessed are you, the God of our fathers.

Deacon: Again we pray for the repose of the soul of the servant of God, N., who has fallen asleep, and that he/she may be pardoned every offence, both voluntary and involuntary.

Both now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. Theotokion.

aving endowed me with life by your divine breath, O Master most divine, grant your Kingdom to him/her who has passed over, that he/she may sing to you, O Saviour: Blessed are you, the God of our fathers.

Deacon: That the Lord our God may establish his/her soul where the righteous rest.

Both now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. Theotokion.

ven nobler than every creature you became, All-blameless, by conceiving God, who smashed the gates of death and shattered their bars; and so, O All-pure, we the faithful sing your praise as Mother of God.

Reader: Lord, have mercy.

Ode 8. From the flame you made a source of dew.

Deacon: The mercies of God, the kingdom of heaven and the forgiveness of his/her sins, let us ask of Christ, our immortal King and God.

isplaying your struggles unshakeably, victorious Martyrs of Christ, you have been adorned with the crown of victory as you cry: We highly exalt you, O Christ, to the ages.

Reader: Grant this, O Lord.

ver gently receive the faithful who have left this life in holiness and have departed to you their Master, giving them rest as you are compassionate as they highly exalt you, O Christ, to the ages.

Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord.

lace now in the land of the meek, O Saviour in your good pleasure, all those who have fallen asleep before us, having justified them by faith and by grace as they highly exalt you to all the ages.

Reader: Lord, have mercy.

ll of us call you blessed, All-blessed one, who gave birth to the Word who is truly blessed, and who became flesh for our sakes. We highly exalt him to all the ages.

Reader: Amen.

Ode 9. It is impossible for humans to see God.

Then the Beatitudes, Tone 6, as follows.

obust strength hope gave the choirs of Martyrs and winged them ardently towards your love, foreshadowing for them the truly unshakeable rest that is to come; which rest grant, O Good one, that he/she who has passed over may attain.

Deacon: Wisdom!

hat he/she who has passed over in faith may attain your bright and divine radiance, be pleased, O Christ, granting him/her, as you alone are merciful, rest in Abraham’s bosom, and vouchsafing him/her eternal happiness.

Reader: The Reading is from the First Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians.

stablish where your light shines forth, O Saviour, who are by nature good and compassionate, who desire mercy and are the abyss of compassion, the one whom you have taken over from this place of sorrow and of the shadow of death.

Deacon: Let us attend.

uly we know you, O Pure one, as the holy Tabernacle, Ark and Table of the Law of grace; for through you forgiveness has been given to those who have been justified through the blood of him who took his body from your womb, All-spotless one.

Priest: Peace to you.

It is impossible for humans to see God, on whom the ranks of Angels dare not gaze. But through you, All-pure one, the incarnate Word has been seen by mortals. As we magnify him, with the heavenly armies we call you blessed.

Reader: And to your Spirit. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. Tone 6.

O God of spirits and all flesh, who trampled down death and crushed the devil, giving life to your world; do you, Lord, give rest to the soul of your servant N., who has fallen asleep, in a place of light, a place of green pasture, a place of refreshment, whence pain, grief and sighing have fled away. Pardon, O God, as you are good and love mankind, every sin committed by him/her in word or deed or thought, because there is none who will live and not sin, for you alone are without sin; your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and your word is truth.

Deacon: Wisdom, stand upright! Let us listen to the Holy Gospel.

For you are the resurrection, the life and the repose of your servant N., who has fallen asleep, Christ our God, and to you we give glory, together with your Father who is without beginning, and your all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages.

Priest: Peace to all.

And after the Ekphonesis, we begin the Idiomels.

Priest: The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to John.

By Monk John, the Damascene. Tone 1.

Priest: Let us attend.

What pleasure in life remains without its share of sorrow? What glory stands on earth unchanged? All things are feebler than a shadow, all things are more deceptive than dreams; one instant, and death supplants them all. But, O Christ, give rest to him You have chosen in the light of your countenance and the sweetness of your beauty, as You love mankind.

Deacon: Again and again, in peace let us pray to the Lord.

Tone 2.

Reader: Lord, have mercy.

As a flower withers and as a dream passes, so every human being is dissolved. But once again, at the sound of the trumpet, all the dead will arise as by an earthquake to go to meet you, Christ God. Then, Christ our Master, establish in the tents of your Saints the spirit of your servant whom you have taken over from us.

Deacon: Again we pray for the repose of the soul of the servant of God, N., who has fallen asleep, and that he/she may be pardoned every offence, both voluntary and involuntary.

Another, outside the Typikon. Tone 2.

Deacon: That the Lord our God may establish his/her soul where the righteous rest.

Alas, what an ordeal the soul endures once separated from the body! Alas, what tears then, and there is none to pity her! She turns towards the Angels, her entreaty is without effect; she stretches out her hands to men, she has none to help. Therefore my dear brethren, thinking on the shortness of our life, let us ask of Christ rest for him who has passed over, and for ourselves his great mercy.

Reader: Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Tone 3.

Deacon: The mercies of God, the kingdom of heaven and the forgiveness of his/her sins, let us ask of Christ, our immortal King and God.

Everything human which does not survive death is vanity; wealth does not last, glory does not travel with us; for at death’s approach all of them disappear; and so let cry out to Christ the Immortal one: Give rest to him who has passed from us, in the dwelling of all those who rejoice.

Reader: Grant this, O Lord.

Tone 4.

Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord.

Truly most fearful is the mystery of death, how the soul is forcibly parted from the body, from its frame, and how that most natural bond of union is cut off by the will of God. Therefore we entreat you: Give rest in the tents of your just ones, him/her who has passed over, O Giver of life, Lover of mankind.

Reader: Lord, have mercy.

Another, outside the Typikon. Tone 4.

Glory. Tone 6.

Where is the attraction of the world? Where the delusion of the temporary? Where is gold, where silver? Where the throng and hubbub of servants? All dust, all ashes, all shadow. But come, let us cry out to the immortal King: O Lord, grant your eternal good things to him who has passed from us, giving him rest in the happiness which does not age.

Priest: For yours is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages.

Tone 5.

Reader: Amen.

I remembered how the Prophet cried out: I am earth and ashes; and I looked again into the tombs and saw the naked bones, and I said: Who then is a king or a soldier, a rich man or a beggar, a just man or a sinner? But give rest, O Lord, with the just to your servant.

Then the following troparia are sung in the 4th Tone:

Tone 6.

Reader: Amen.

Your command which fashioned me was my beginning and my substance; for wishing to compose me as a living creature from visible and invisible nature, you moulded my body from the earth, but gave me a soul by your divine and life-giving breath. Therefore, O Christ, give rest to your servant in the land of the living, in the tents of the just.

Priest: Glory to you, Christ God, our hope, glory to you.

Tone 7.

Reader: Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen. Lord have mercy (x3). Holy father, bless.

Give rest, our Saviour, to our brother/sister, whom you have taken over from transient things, as he/she cries, ‘Glory to you!’

Reader: Amen.

Another, outside the Typikon. Tone 7.

Priest: Glory to you, Christ God, our hope, glory to you.

Having fashioned man in the beginning in your image and likeness, you placed him in Paradise to govern your creatures; but led astray by the envy of the devil he tasted the food and became a transgressor of your commandments; and so you condemned him, O Lord, to return again to the earth from which he had been taken, and to beg for rest.

Reader: Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen. Lord have mercy (x3). Holy father, bless.

Tone 8.

I grieve and lament when I contemplate death, and see the beauty fashioned for us in God’s image lying in the graves, without form, without glory, without shape. O the wonder! What is this mystery which has happened to us? How have we been handed over to corruption, and yoked with death? Truly it is at God’s command, as it is written, God who grants rest to him who has passed over.

In your Kingdom remember us O Lord, when you come in your Kingdom.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy.

The Thief, O Christ, who cried out to you on the cross: Remember me, you proclaimed in advance to be a citizen of Paradise; make me also, the unworthy, worthy of his repentance.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Lord of life and death, give rest in the courts of the Saints to him/her whom you have taken from this temporary life as he/she cries out: Remember me, when you come in your kingdom.

Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the children of God.

Master of souls and bodies, in whose hand is our breath, the consolation of the afflicted, give rest in the land of the just your servant whom you have taken over.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of justice, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

May Christ give you rest in the land of the living, open to you the gates of Paradise, make you a citizen of the Kingdom, and grant you forgiveness of the sins you committed in life, O Lover of Christ.

Blessed are you when men revile and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you for my name’s sake.

Let us go out and see in the graves that man is bare bones, food for worms and stench, and realise what wealth is, what beauty, what strength, what loveliness.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.

Let us listen to what the Almighty cries: Woe to those who seek to behold the dread day of the Lord; for it is darkness; for it will test all things by fire.

I worship the Father, without beginning through birth or cause; I glorify the Son who was begotten; I praise the Holy Spirit who shines forth with the Father and the Son.

How does milk gush from your breasts, O Virgin? How do you nourish him who nourishes creation? He knows, who made water spring from a rock, veins of water for the thirsty people, as it is written.

Blessed is the way on which you journey today, for a place of rest has been prepared for you (x3)

Verse: To you I shall cry, O Lord my God, do not be silent towards me; never be silent towards me or I shall become like those who go down to the pit.

Brethren, I do not wish you to be ignorant about those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so too God will bring with him those who sleep through Jesus. We tell you this by the Lord’s word, that we who are left alive at the Lord’s coming will by no means precede those sleep. Because the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, at the voice of an Archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are left alive will be snatched up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall all be with the Lord.

Verse: Blessed is the one whom you have chosen and taken, O Lord.

People: And to your spirit.

People: Glory to you, O Lord, glory to you!

The Lord said to the Jews who had come to him, ‘Amen, Amen I say to you, that one who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life; and is not coming to judgement, but has passed over from death to life. Amen, Amen I say to you that the hour is coming and is now, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who have heard will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has given to Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to deliver judgement also, because he is son of man. Do not marvel at this; because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice; and they will come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, but those who have done ill to the resurrection of judgement. I can do nothing of myself; as I hear, I judge, and my judgement is just; because I do not seek my will, but the will of the Father who sent me’.

People: Glory to you, O Lord, glory to you!

And after this is finished the senior Priest, or the Bishop, if one is present, says the following prayer out loud, going and standing near the body; while the other Priests do the same. Note that every time the Deacon says the Litany each of the Priests in order says this prayer quietly during the Litany as he stands by the body and then the conclusion out loud.

O God of spirits and all flesh, who trampled down death and crushed the devil, giving life to your world; do you, Lord, give rest to the soul of your servant N., who has fallen asleep, in a place of light, a place of green pasture, a place of refreshment, whence pain, grief and sighing have fled away. Pardon, O God, as you are good and love of mankind, every sin committed by him/her in word or deed or thought, because there is no one who will live and not sin, for you alone are without sin; your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and your word is truth.

For you are the resurrection, the life and the repose of your servant N., who has fallen asleep, Christ our God, and to you we give glory, together with your Father who is without beginning and your all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages.

People: Amen.

And after this, the Final Greeting takes place, and we sing the following Verses, prosomia.

Tone 2. When from the tree.

Come, let us give the final kiss, brethren, to the dead, as we give thanks to God; because he/she has left his/her family and is hastening to the grave, he/she has no further care for things of no moment, affairs of the much-wearied flesh. Where now are his/her relatives and friends? Now as we are parted let us pray that the Lord will give him/her rest.

What is this parting, O brethren? What the grieving, what the lamentation in this present instant? Come then, kiss him/her who a moment ago was with us; he/she is being entrusted to a grave, covered by a stone, left to dwell in darkness, buried with the dead; all we his/her relatives and friends as we are now being parted, let us pray that the Lord will give him/her rest.

Now the whole wretched festival of life’s vanity is being dissolved; for the spirit has left its dwelling, the clay has turned black, the vessel has been broken, without voice, without sensation, without movement; as we escort him/her to the grave. Let us pray that the Lord will give him/her rest for ever.

What is our life? Merely a flower, a vapour and morning dew. Come then, let us look closely at the graves; where is the body’s beauty? Where its youth? Where are the eyes and the form of the flesh? All have withered like grass, all have vanished; come, let us fall down before Christ with tears.

Great the weeping and lamentation, great the sighing and constraint at the parting of the soul; Hell and destruction, the life of transitory things, the insubstantial shadow, the sleep of error, the untimely fancied toil of earthly life. Let us fly far from every worldly sin that we may inherit the things of heaven.

As we look on one who lies dead let us accept this expression of the final moment; for he/she passes like smoke from the earth, he/she blossomed like a flower, was cut down like grass, is wrapped in a winding sheet, hidden in earth. When we have left him/her out of sight, let us pray to Christ to give him/her rest for ever.

Come, offspring of Adam, let us look at one in our image who has been laid in earth, who has discarded all his/her beauty, been dissolved in a grave by the rottenness of worms, wasted by darkness, hidden in earth. When we have left him/her out of sight, let us pray to Christ to give him/her rest for ever.

When the soul is about to be snatched by force from the body by fearsome Angels, it forgets relatives and friends and its concern is for its stand at the coming trial of vanity and much wearied flesh. Come, let us all beseech the Judge and pray that the Lord pardon all that he/she has done.

Come, brethren, let us look in the tomb at the ashes and dust, from which we were fashioned. Where are we now going? What have we become? What is a poor person, what a rich? What a master, what a free? Are they not all ashes? The beauty of the face has rotted and death has withered all the flower of youth.

Truly all the pleasant and glorious things of life are vanity and corruption! For we all depart, we shall all die, monarchs and rulers, judges and potentates, rich and poor and every mortal being. For now those that were once in life have been cast into tombs. May the Lord give them rest we pray.

Now all the body’s organs are idle, that a little while ago were active; all useless, dead, insensible; for eyes are dimmed, feet bound, hands lie still and hearing with them, tongue is locked in silence, is entrusted to a grave; truly everything human is vanity.

Save those who hope in you, All-pure Mother of the unsetting Sun, who bore God; with your prayers, we beg you, ask him who is supremely good to give rest where the souls of the righteous are at rest to him/her who has passed over; make him/her heir to good things in the courts of the just to eternal memory.

As you see me lying without voice and without breath, all weep for me, brothers and friends, relatives and acquaintances; for only yesterday I was talking with you, and suddenly the dread hour of death came upon me. But come, all who loved me, and kiss me for the last time; for I shall not walk with you again, nor speak with you any more; because I am on my way to the Judge, with whom there is no respect of persons; for slave and master stand alike before him, king and soldier, rich and poor, with the same rank; for each will be glorified or shamed in accordance with their own deeds. But I ask and implore you all, pray for me without ceasing to Christ God, that I may not be condemned because of my sins to the place of torment, but that he will establish me in the place of the light of life.

At the prayers of her who gave you, birth, O Christ, and of your Forerunner, of the Apostles, Prophets, Hierarchs, Ascetics, of the Just and of all the Saints, give rest to your servant who has fallen asleep.

Holy God, Holy Strong, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse us from our sins. Master, pardon our iniquities. 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 to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen

Our Father, in heaven, may your name be hallowed, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

With the spirits of the righteous made perfect in death give rest, O Saviour, to the soul of your servant; keeping it for the life of blessedness with you, O Lover of mankind.

In your repose where all your saints find rest, give rest, O Lord, to the soul of your servant, for you alone are immortal.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

You are our God who descended into Hell and did away with the pains of those who had been bound; give rest, O Saviour, also to the soul of your servant.

O only pure and spotless Virgin, who bore God without seed, intercede for the salvation of the soul of your servant.

The Priest gives the Dismissal as follows:

May he who has authority over the living and the dead, as immortal King, and who rose from the dead, Christ, our true God, through the intercessions of his most pure and holy Mother, of the holy, glorious and all-praised Apostles, of our venerable and God-bearing fathers, of the holy and glorious forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, of the holy and righteous Lazarus, dead for four days, the friend of Christ, and of all the Saints, establish in the tents of the righteous the soul of his servant who has gone from us, give him/her rest in the bosom of Abraham, and number them him/her with the righteous; and have mercy on us and save us, for he is a good God and loves mankind.

Eternal your memory, our brother/sister, worthy of blessedness and ever-remembered.

Eternal Memory (x3).

And so taking up the remains, we leave for the grave, singing the Holy God etc.

AT THE GRAVESIDE

And the remains are laid in the tomb. The Priest takes some dust with the shovel and scatters it crosswise over the remains, saying:

The earth is the Lord’s, and its fullness; the world and all who dwell on it.

And after this he pours the oil of the lamp, or the ash from the censer over the remains. And so they fill the grave, as usual, while saying the following Troparia.

With the spirits of the righteous made perfect in death give rest, O Saviour, to the soul of your servant; keeping it for the life of blessedness with you, O Lover of mankind.

In your repose where all your saints find rest, give rest, O Lord, to the soul of your servant, for you alone are immortal.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

You are our God who descended into Hell and did away with the pains of those who had been bound; give rest, O Saviour, also to the soul of your servant.

O only pure and spotless Virgin, who bore God without seed, intercede for the salvation of the soul of your servant.

The Priest gives the Dismissal as follows:

May he who has authority over the living and the dead, as immortal King, and who rose from the dead, Christ, our true God, through the intercessions of his most pure and holy Mother, of the holy, glorious and all-praised Apostles, of our venerable and God-bearing fathers, of the holy and glorious forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, of the holy and righteous Lazarus, dead for four days, the friend of Christ, and of all the Saints, establish in the tents of the righteous the soul of his servant who has gone from us, give him/her rest in the bosom of Abraham, and number them him/her with the righteous; and have mercy on us and save us, for he is a good God and loves mankind.

Eternal your memory, our brother/sister, worthy of blessedness and ever-remembered.

Eternal Memory (x3).