Ode 6. Irmos

After the small litany the Kontakion

For the transcendent Prayer

‘The lowest deep of sins has closed round me, and no longer able to endure its tempest, like Jonas I cry out to you, Master, ‘Bring me up from corruption’.’

Prayer; and great terror, drops of blood,

‘You call me Lord and Teacher, my disciples, for so I am’, you cried, O Saviour. ‘And so imitate the example, the way you have seen in me’.

‘One who has no stain does not need his feet washed. You, my disciples, are clean, but not all; for the inclination of one of you is to insane folly’.

The lowest deep of sins has closed round me, and no longer able to endure its tempest, like Jonas I cry out to you, Master, ‘Bring me up from corruption’.

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

Lord, have mercy. ****

Help us, save us, have mercy on us and keep us, O God, by your grace. ****

Lord, have mercy. ****

Calling to remembrance our most holy, most pure, most blessed and glorious Lady, Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, with all the Saints, let us entrust ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God. ****

To you, O Lord. ****

For you are the King of peace and the Saviour of our souls, and to you we give glory, to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. ****

Tone 2. By Romanos the Melodist.

After taking the bread into his hands the traitor secretly stretches them out and takes the price of the One who fashioned humankind with his own hands; and he remained unrepentant, Judas the slave and deceiver.

As we all draw near with fear to the mystic table, let us receive the Bread with pure souls, remaining beside the Master that we may see how he washes the feet of the Disciples and dries them with the towel, and let us do as we have seen, being subject to one another and washing one another’s feet; for Christ himself so ordered his disciples, as he declared; but he did not listen, Judas the slave and deceiver.

The Menologion of the day and then the following notice:

On holy and great Thursday the godlike Fathers have arranged all things well and have handed on to us that we should celebrate in turn four events from the godlike Apostles and sacred Gospels: the sacred Washing, the mystical Supper (that is the handing on for us of the dread Mysteries), the transcendent Prayer and the Betrayal itself.

Verses for the sacred Washing

At evening God washed the Disciples’ feet,

Whose foot once walked in Eden before dusk. ****

For the Mystical Supper

Double the Supper that Law’s Pascha brings

And Pascha new: the Master’s Body, Blood. ****

O Christ, drop from your face, as pleading to

Escape from death, by this you cheat the foe. ****

For the Betrayal

What need of swords, of staves, O erring folk,

‘Gainst one who longs to die for world’s release?

In your ineffable compassion, Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.