Heavenly King, Paraclete, Spirit of truth, present everywhere, filling all things, Treasury of blessings and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, cleanse us from every stain, and, O Good One, save our souls.

¶9

Wisdom. Stand upright. Let us listen to the holy Gospel. Peace to all. ****

¶10

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

¶11

At once the Reader says:

¶12

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.

¶13

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.

¶14

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

¶15

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 lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

¶16

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. ****

¶17

Come, let us worship and fall down before the King, our God.

¶18

Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, the King, our God.

¶19

Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ himself, the King, our God.

¶20

Three Metanias and the Psalms:

¶21

Psalm 5

¶22

Give ear to my words, O Lord, understand my cry. Attend to the voice of my supplication, my King and my God; for to you I shall pray, O Lord. In the morning you will hear my voice. In the morning I shall stand before you, and you will watch over me; because you are not a God who wants iniquity. The evildoer will not dwell with you, nor will the lawless remain before your eyes. You have hated all those who work iniquity; you will destroy all those who speak lies. The Lord abhors a man of bloodshed and deceit. But I in the abundance of your mercy shall enter your house, I shall worship towards your holy temple in fear of you. Guide me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies, direct my way before you. Because there is no truth in their mouths; their heart is vain. Their throat is an open tomb, they deceive with their tongues. Judge them, O God. Let them fall through their counsels; according to the multitude of their impieties cast them out, for they have embittered you, O Lord. And may all those who hope in you be glad; they will rejoice for ever, and you will dwell among them, and all those who love your name will boast in you. Because you will bless the righteous; you have crowned him, O Lord, with your good pleasure. ****

¶23

Psalm 2

¶24

A Psalm of David.

¶25

Why were the nations insolent and why did the peoples meditate vain things? The kings of the earth stood up and the rulers were assembled together against the Lord and against his Christ. ‘Let us break through their bonds and cast away their yoke from us.’ He that dwells in heaven will laugh them to scorn and the Lord will mock them. Then he will speak to them in his anger and panic them in his fury. But I was established as king by him, on Sion his holy mountain announcing the Lord’s decree: The Lord said to me: ‘You are my Son. Today I have begotten you. Ask me, and I shall give you nations as your inheritance, and the ends of the earth as your possession. You will shepherd them with an iron rod; like a potter’s vessels you will smash them.’ And now, kings, understand; be corrected, all who judge the earth. Serve the Lord in fear and rejoice in him with trembling. Accept correction, lest the Lord be angry, and you perish from the right way whenever his fury is suddenly kindled. Blessed are all who have put their trust in him.

¶26

Psalm 21

¶27

To the end, concerning help at dawn. a Psalm of David.

¶28

O God, my God, attend to me; why have you abandoned me? Far from salvation are the words of my offences. My God, I shall cry by day, and you will not hear; and by night, and it shall be no folly for me. But you, the praise of Israel, dwell in the Holy Place. Our fathers hoped in you, they hoped and you delivered them. They cried to you and they were saved, they hoped in you and they were not shamed. But I am a worm and not a man, the scorn of men and the outcast of the people. All who saw me jeered at me, they spoke with their lips, they wagged their heads. ‘He hoped in the Lord, let him deliver him, let him save him, for he wants him’. For you are the one who drew me from the womb, my hope from my mother’s breasts; on you I have been cast since the womb. From my mother’s womb you are my God, do not abandon me. For trouble is near, for there is no one to help me. Many bullocks have surrounded me, fat bulls have assailed me. They opened their mouths against me, like a lion ravening and roaring. I have been poured out like water, and all my bones have been scattered, my heart has become like wax melting inside me. My strength has dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue has stuck to my throat, and you have led me down into the dust of death, For many dogs have surrounded me, an assembly of evil doers has assailed me. They have dug my hands and my feet; all my bones have been numbered; they have observed me and gazed at me. They have parted my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing . But you, Lord, do not keep your help far from me, be attentive to my defence. Deliver my soul from the sword and my only one from the hand of the dog. Save me from the lion’s mouth and my lowliness from the horns of unicorns. I shall declare your name to my brethren, I shall hymn you in the midst of the Church. Those who fear the Lord, praise him, all the seed of Jacob glorify him. Let all the seed of Israel fear him. For he has not spurned nor slighted the pauper’s supplication, nor has he turned his face from me; and he heard me when I called upon him. From you is my praise; in the great Church I shall confess you; I shall pay my vows before those who fear you. The poor will eat and be filled, those who seek the Lord will praise him; their hearts will live for ever. All the ends of the earth will remember and turn back to the Lord and all the families of the nations will worship before him. For the kingdom is the Lord’s and he is master of the nations. All the fat ones of the earth have eaten and worshipped; all those who go down into the earth will fall down before him. And my soul lives for him, and my seed will serve him. The coming generation will be proclaimed to the Lord, and they will proclaim his justice to a people yet to be born, whom the Lord has made.

¶29

**x3**). Lord, have mercy (**x3**).

¶30

When you were crucified, O Christ, the tyranny of the enemy was destroyed, his power trampled underfoot; for it was not an Angel, not a human, but you, the Lord himself, who saved us. Glory to you!

¶31

What shall we call you, O Full of grace? Heaven? For you made the Sun of righteousness to dawn. Paradise? For you made the flower of incorruption blossom. Virgin? For you remained incorrupt. Pure Mother? For you held in your holy embrace a Son who is the God of all. Implore Him that our souls may be saved.

¶32

And we sing at once the following idiomels in Tone 8:

¶33

Today the veil of the Temple is rent, as a reproof against the transgressors; and the sun hides its own rays, as it sees the Master crucified. (

¶34

**Twice, without a verse**) ****

¶35

Why were the nations insolent and why did the peoples meditate vain things?

¶36

You were led like a sheep to the slaughter, Christ King, and as an innocent lamb you were nailed to the Cross by lawless men for our sins, O Lover of mankind.

¶37

The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were assembled together against the Lord and against his Christ.

¶38

You were led like a sheep to the slaughter, Christ King, and as an innocent lamb you were nailed to the Cross by lawless men for our sins, O Lover of mankind.

¶39

**Same Tone.**

¶40

Allowing the lawless to arrest you, Lord, you cried out, ‘Though you strike the shepherd and scatter the twelve sheep, my disciples, I could call to my side more than twelve legions of Angels; but I forbear, that the hidden and secret things, which I revealed to you through my Prophets, may be fulfilled.’ Lord, glory to you!

¶41

¶42

He gathered iniquity to himself; he went out and spoke in the same manner.

¶43

Blessed is one who considers the poor and needy; the Lord will deliver in an evil day.

¶44

The Reading is from the Prophecy of Zachary

¶45

Thus says the Lord: I shall take my beautiful staff and I shall throw it away, to annul my covenant that I had made with all the peoples. And it shall be annulled on that day, and the Chananites, the sheep that will be guarded for me, will know that it is the word of the Lord. And I shall say to them, ‘If it seems right to you, weigh out and give me my wages; but if not, keep them.’ So they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. Then the Lord said to me, ‘Cast it into the furnace, and see if it is proved metal, in the same way that I was proved by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the furnace into the house of the Lord, as the Lord had commanded me.

¶46

The Reading is from the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians.

¶47

Brethren, may I never boast of anything except the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! As for those who will follow this rule - peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. From now on, let no one make trouble for me; for I carry the marks of the Lord Jesus branded on my body. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.

¶48

And that he would count us worthy to listen to the holy Gospel, let us pray to the Lord God. ****

¶49

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. ****

¶50

And to your spirit. ****

¶51

The reading is from the holy Gospel according to Matthew. ****

¶52

Glory to you, O Lord, glory to you!

¶53

At that time, when morning had come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. And having bound him, they led him away and handed him over to Pontius Pilate the governor. Judas, seeing that Jesus had been condemned, repented and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.’ But they said, ‘What is that to us? See to it yourself.’ And flinging down the pieces of silver in the temple he went away and hanged himself. But the chief priests picked up the pieces of silver and said, ‘It is not permitted to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.’ So they conferred together and bought with them the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. And so that field has been called *Field of Blood* until today. Then what had been said by the prophet Jeremy was fulfilled, when he said, And the took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one who was prized, whom they prized from the children of Israel, and gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord had commanded me. But Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned him saying, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You say so.’ And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders he made no answer. Then Pilate says to him, ‘Do you not hear how many things they are testifying against you?’ But he did not answer him with s single word, so that the governor was greatly amazed. Now on the occasion of the feast the governor was accustomed to release to the crowd one prisoner whom they wished. They had at the time a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when they had assembled Pilate said to them, ‘Whom do wish me to release to you? Barabbas or Jesus called Christ?’ For he knew that they had handed him over through envy. But while he was seated on the tribunal, his wife sent to him saying, ‘Have nothing to do with that just man. For I have suffered many things today in a dream because of him.’ But the chief priests and elders had persuaded the crowds that they should ask for Barabbas. Pilate says to them, ‘So what shall I do with Jesus called Christ?’ They say to him, ‘Let him be crucified!’ The governor said, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted even louder, saying, ‘Let him be crucified!’ So Pilate, seeing that he was getting nowhere, but that a riot was starting instead, took water and washed his hands in full view of the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of the blood of this just man. You look to it.’ And the whole people answered and said, ‘His blood be on us and on our children.’ Then he released Barabbas to them, but Jesus he had scourged and handed him over to be crucified. Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the praetorium and gathered the whole cohort round him. They stripped him and dressed him in a scarlet cloak, and having woven a crown of thorns, they placed it on his head and a reed in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ They spat on him and took the reed and struck it on his head. And when they had mocked him, they took off the cloak and dressed him in his own clothes and led him away to crucify him. As they went out they found a Cyrenian named Simon; they forced him to carry his cross. At that time, when the soldiers had reached a place called Golgotha, which means place of a Skull, they gave him vinegar to drink mixed with gall. And when he had tasted it he would not drink. But when they had crucified him they divided up his garments, casting lots. And they sat there and watched him. And they placed over his head his written accusation: This is Jesus the king of the Jews. Then they crucified with him two thieves, one on his right and one on his left. While the passers by blasphemed him, wagging their heads and saying, ‘You who destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days! Save yourself. If you are Son of God, come down from the cross.’ Likewise the chief priests mocked him along with the scribes and elders and Pharisees, saying, ‘He saved others. He cannot save himself. If he is the king of Israel, let him now come down from the cross and we will believe in him. He trusted in God, let him now deliver him, if he wants him. For he said, ‘I am the son of God.’ And the thieves who were crucified with him reviled him in the same way. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. But around the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama savachthani?’ That is, ‘My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?’ Some of those who stood there when they heard this said, ‘This one is calling on Elias.’ And immediately one of them ran and taking a sponge filled it with vinegar and putting it one a reed gave him to drink. But the rest said, ‘Stop, let us see if Elias is coming to help him,’ But Jesus, having once more cried out with a loud voice, gave up the spirit. And behold, the veil of the Temple was rent in two, from the top to the bottom, and the earth was shaken and the rocks were rent, and the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints that slept were raised, and coming out of their graves after his rising they entered the Holy City and appeared to many. But the centurion and those with him, when they saw the earthquake and all that happened, were greatly afraid and said, ‘Truly this was a son of God.’ And there were many women there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him. Among them were Mary Magdalen and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

¶54

Glory to you, O Lord, glory to you! ****

¶55

Direct my steps according to your word, and let no iniquity lord it over me. Deliver me from the slander of men, and I shall keep your commandments. Let your face shine on your servant, and teach me your statutes. Let my mouth be filled with your praise, O Lord, that I may hymn your glory, all day long your splendour.

¶56

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

¶57

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.

¶58

¶59

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

¶60

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.

¶61

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. ****

¶62

Come, let us all sing the praise of him who was crucified for us; for Mary looked upon him on the Tree and said: ‘Though you endure the Cross, yet you are my Son and my God’.

¶63

Lord, have mercy. (**x40**)

¶64

At every time and at every hour, in heaven and on earth worshipped and glorified, Christ God, long-suffering, great in mercy, great in compassion, loving the just and merciful to sinners, calling all to salvation by the promise of the blessings to come; do you, Lord, yourself accept our entreaties at this hour, and direct our lives to your commandments. Sanctify our souls, purify our bodies, correct our thoughts, cleanse our ideas and deliver us from every distress, evil, and pain. Wall us about with your holy Angels, that protected and guided by their host we may reach the unity of the faith and the knowledge of your unapproachable glory; for you are blessed to the ages of ages. Amen.

¶65

Lord, have mercy (

¶66

**x3**). Glory. Both now. Greater in honour than the Cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim, without corruption you gave birth to God the Word, truly the Mother of God we magnify you. In the name of the Lord, bless, Father. ****

¶67

May God take pity on us and bless us, and make his face shine on us and have mercy on us. ****

¶68

Christ, the true light, who enlighten and hallow everyone who comes into the world, may the light of your countenance be signed upon us, that in it we may see your unapproachable light; and direct our steps to the doing of your commandments; at the intercessions of your all-most pure Mother and of all your Saints. Amen.

¶69

To you my Champion and Commander I your city saved from disasters dedicate, O Mother of God, hymns of victory and thanksgiving; but as you have unassailable might from every kind of danger now deliver me, that I may cry to you: Hail, Bride without bridegroom! ****

¶70

CATECHESIS 73

¶71

On the Saving Passion of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ

¶72

**by our Venerable Father Theodore the Studite.**

¶73

Brethren and Fathers, while the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ when they are recalled are always able to pierce the soul, they do so especially in these present days, on which each of them reached its end. What then are they? The murderous council against him, the Jewish arrest, his being led away to death, his arraignment before Pilate’s tribunal, the interrogation, the scourging, the blows, the spittings, the insults, the mockeries, the ascent of the Cross, the nailing of his hands and feet, the tasting of gall, the piercing of his side and all the other things which blazed forth with them, which the world cannot contain, nor can anyone worthily proclaim, not human tongue, nor even all the tongues of angels together. For let us consider, brethren, this great and ineffable mystery. The Lord *who reveals the counsels of hearts* and knows every human desire is the one who is taken before a council of death; the Lord *who bears all things by the word of his power* is the one who is handed over to sinners; the Lord *who binds the water in the clouds* and sows in the earth in due season and uniformly is the one who is led away prisoner; the Lord *who measures the heavens with the span of his hand and the earth in a handful and weighed all the mountains in the balance* is the one who is struck by the hand of a servant; the Lord who adorned the boundaries of the earth with flowers is the one who is dishonourably crowned with thorns; the Lord who planted the tree of life in Paradise is the one who is hanged upon an accursed tree. O great and more then natural sights! The sun saw them and faded, the moon saw them and was darkened, the earth perceived them was shaken, the rocks perceived them and were rent, all creation was turned back at the outrages done to the Master. The lifeless elements which have no senses, as if endowed with life and sensation from fear of the Lord and from the spectacle of what is seen, were amazed and altered; and do we, who have been honoured with reason, for whose sake Christ died, remain untouched and unweeping in these days? How could we be less rational than things which have no reason, more unfeeling than the stones? In no way, my brothers, in no way. Let us rather be amazed in a manner worthy of God, by being changed with a fair change; let us draw down tears, sacrifice the passions, changing insults for insults and exchanging wounds for wounds, the one through obedience, the other through unflinching confession. Do we not see the burning incitements of divine love? Who ever dwelt in prison for a friend? Who accepted slaughter for their beloved? But our good God not only did the one and both of them, but accepted ten thousand sufferings for the sake of us, the condemned. Fittingly then the blessed Apostle, when he thought on these things and became powerfully aware of the love of God, said *For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, neither angels nor rules nor powers, neither present nor future, neither height nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord*. For such was the love God had for us *that he gave his only Son, that all who believe in him might not perish, as it is written, but have eternal life.* As an exchange for this love, the saints, when they had nothing to offer, offered their own bodies and blood by asceticism and struggle, singing with blessed David the song: *What return may we make to the Lord for all that he has given to us?* Let us also, brethren, cry out these words each day, as we serve him with an unceasing attitude of love, striving again and again for what is better, so that we may become heirs with the saints of the eternal blessings in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and might with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages.

Translated by Ephrem Lash. Edition lash.en.anastasis.