AT VESPERS

After the Opening Psalm, we recite

O Joyful Light, **the Prokeimenon of the day, and the Readings.**

The Reading is from Genesis.

Blessed is the man. **At** Lord, I have cried **we insert 10 Stichera and we sing 3 of the Resurrection, 1 by Anatolios and 6 Prosomia of the Holy Fathers.**

**Theotokion. The 1st of the Tone.**

The Reading from Deuteronomy.

Tone 6

**Theotokion.**

The Reading from Deuteronomy.

The Patriarch Germanos the Younger collected together in one Canon the seven Councils of the Fathers, which had taken place at different times, excellently writing together and strengthening their teachings; he also presents them to the Lord as unsleeping advocates of salvation and fellow-shepherds of the flock.

The letter of the Law laid down for the children of the Hebrews that the heptad was to be honoured, and they devoted themselves to a shadow and reverenced it. But you, O Fathers, came together in a heptad of Councils, at the behest of God, who fashioned the universe in a hexad of days and blessed the seventh, and you made the heptad even more honourable by laying down a definition of the Faith.

Thrice-blessed Fathers, you have handed down that the Trinity is the cause of the birth of the world for all things that are created; for with mystic reason you established three and four Councils, and you appeared as champions of orthodox reason, for you showed that while there are four elements, it is the Trinity which created them and made the world.

It would have been sufficient for the Prophet Elisaius to have bent over once at most to breathe life into the child that lay dead; nevertheless he bent over seven times and lay right over him, thus like a scout he foretold your comings together, by which you breathed life into the slaying of God the Word, by putting to death Arius and his boon companions.

Revered Fathers, with wisdom you sewed together the torn garment of Christ, rent asunder by baying hounds, for you could not bear to look on his nakedness, as Sem and Japhet of old could not on their father’s, and you put the parricide to shame along with his supporters: Arius, whose name the madness bears.

As true shepherds you bravely drove away the Macedioniusses, the Nestoriusses, the Eftychisses, the Dioscorusses, Apollinariusses and Sabellioseverusses, exposed as dangerous wolves in sheepskins, far from the Saviour’s flock stripped of their fleeces, making them thrice-wretched; therefore we call you blessed.

Let us praise to-day the mystical trumpets of the Spirit, the Godbearing Fathers, who sang a harmonious melody of theology in the midst of the Church, one Trinity, unchanging Essence and Godhead; the overthrowers of Arius, the champions of the Orthodox, who ever intercede with the Lord that he may have mercy on our souls.

Now when Abram heard that Lot his nephew had been taken captive, he numbered his own home-born servants three hundred and eighteen, and pursued the enemy as far as Dan. And he fell upon them by night, he and his servants, and smote them and pursued them as far as Chobal, which is on the left of Damascus. And he brought back all the cavalry of Sodom, and he brought back Lot his nephew and all his goods and the women and the people. And the king of Sodom came out to meet him, after his return from the slaughter of Chodologomor and the kings with him, to the valley of Sabi; this was the plain of Kings. And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was Priest of the Most High. And he blessed Abram and said: Blessed is Abram by the most high God, who created the heaven and the earth. And blessed is the most high God, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.

Moses said to the sons of Israel: See, I have delivered the land before you; go in and inherit the land which I swore to your fathers, to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob, to give it to them and to their seed after them. And I spoke to you at that time saying: I alone shall not be able to bear you. The Lord your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are to-day as the stars of heaven in multitude. May the Lord the God of our fathers multiply you a thousand times more than you are, and bless you as he has spoken to you. And I took from you wise and understanding and prudent men, and I set them to rule over you, captains of thousands and hundreds and fifties and tens and recorders for your judges. And I commanded your judges at that time, saying: Hear cases between your brethren, and judge rightly between a man and his brother and the stranger who is with him. You shall not have respect to persons in judging. You shall hear the small as well as the great. You shall not shrink before any man’s person; for the judgement is God’s.

Moses said to the sons of Israel: Behold the heaven and the highest heaven belong to the Lord your God, the earth and all that is in it. the Lord preferred your fathers, to love them: and he chose their seed after them, you above all nations, as it is at this day. So circumcise the hardness of your heart and stiffen your neck no longer. For the Lord your God is God of Gods and the Lord of Lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality, who takes no bribe. He executes judgement for the stranger, the orphan and the widow; and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. You shall fear the Lord your God and serve him, and to him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in his name. He is your boast, he your God, who has done for you the great and wonderful things which your eyes have seen.

At the Liti, the usual.

Holy Fathers, you have become sure guardians of the Apostolic traditions; for by teaching the orthodox doctrine of the consubstantiality of the Holy Trinity, you overthrew in Council the blasphemy of Arius. With him you refuted Macedonius, the opponent of the Spirit, and condemned Nestorius, Eftychis and Dioscorus, Sabellius and Severus the Leaderless. We implore you: beg that we who have been delivered from their error may preserve our life spotless in the faith.

Mother of God, the protection of all who ask, in you we trust, in you we boast, in you is all our hope. Intercede with him who was born from you on behalf of your unprofitable servants.