service files therite.md

The Procession of the relics and the entrance into the church

Lord, hear my prayer. In your truth give ear to my supplication, and in your justice hear me. Do not enter into judgement with your servant, for in your sight no one living can be justified. For the enemy pursued my soul, humbled my life to the ground, made me dwell in darkness, like those for ever dead. My spirit within me was despondent, and my heart was troubled within me. I remembered days of old, I meditated on all your works. On the works of your hands I would meditate. I stretched out my hands towards you. For you my soul was like a waterless land. Hear me swiftly, O Lord; my spirit has failed. Do not turn your face from me, or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit. Make me hear of your mercy in the morning, for I have hoped in you. Make known to me the way in which I should walk, Lord, for to you I have lifted up my soul. Deliver me from my enemies, Lord; I have fled to you for shelter. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Your good Spirit will guide me in an upright land. For your name’s sake, O Lord, you will make me live. In your justice, you will bring my soul out of affliction, slay my enemies in your mercy and destroy all those that afflict my soul, for I am your servant.

Prokeimenon.

Then the little Litany by the Deacon.

The Priest takes the kairos and does the Proskomidi. The Bishop goes to the Church in which the holy relics have been placed. There he vests in all his pontifical vestments and gives the blessing.

The Bishop says the following prayer in a low voice.

Prayer, said by the Bishop.

Blessed is our God, always now and for ever, and to the ages of ages.

Glory. Both now

And they begin Psalm 142.

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

Psalm 142

The Bishop reads the Gospel.

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

Let us attend. ****

Lord, have mercy. ****

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

Lord, have mercy. ****

Commemorating our all-holy, 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. ****

Ekphonesis by the Bishop.

For you, our God, are holy, 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.

Let us pray to the Lord. ****

Lord, have mercy. ****

ord our God, who are faithful in your words and without deceit in your promises, who gave your holy Martyrs the grace to fight the good fight, to finish the course of true religion and to keep the faith of the true confession, be entreated, all-holy Master, by their intercessions and give to us, your unworthy servants, the grace of a part and inheritance with them, so that, becoming imitators of them, we may be found worthy of the good things laid up for them. ****

By the mercy and love for humankind of your only-begotten Son, with whom you are blessed, together with your all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages.

Peace to all. ****

And to your spirit. ****

Let us bow our heads to the Lord. ****

To you, O Lord. ****

ord our God, at the intercessions of our holy Lady, Mother of God, and of all your Saints, direct the works of the hands of us, your unworthy servants, and make us worthy to be well-pleasing to your goodness. ****

Blessed and glorified be the might of your kingdom, of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages.

After the ekphonesis the Bishop orders that the divine Liturgy take place in the Church in which the sacred Relics had been placed. Then he raises them, with the Paten, on his head and, with the Priests and Clerics going ahead with the holy Gospels and accompanied by the people with lighted lamps, they are brought in procession to the Church that is about to be dedicated, while the following troparia are chanted.

Tone 7.

Holy Martyrs, who fought the good fight and were crowned, intercede with the Lord to have mercy on our souls.

Glory to you, Christ God, boast of Apostles, joy of Martyrs whose preaching was the consubstantial Trinity.

The Bishop leaves the Church, as do all the People, and no one remains inside except for one cleric or lay person, who shuts the outer doors from inside. The Bishop processes in a circle round the Church that is being dedicated while the following Idiomels are sung.

Tone 1. By Monk John.

Be renewed, be dedicated, O new Jerusalem; for the glory and light of the Lord have risen upon you. For the Father has built this house; the Son has established this house; the Holy Spirit has renewed this house, the Spirit which enlightens and strengthens and sanctifies our souls.

The same tone. By Anatolios.

Of old when Solomon dedicated the temple he offered you, Lord, sacrifices and holocausts of irrational beasts; but when you were well-pleased, O Saviour, to put an end to types and to make known the truth, the ends of the earth offer to your glory sacrifices without shedding of blood, for you are Master of all things and you make all things holy by the Holy Spirit.

Tone 6.

For dedication to be honoured is an old law, and it is good; but rather should what is new be honoured through dedication, for islands are dedicated to God, as Isaias says, which are to be understood as the Churches from the nations, which have lately been established and received stability fixed on God. Therefore let us too celebrate spiritually the festival of the present Dedication.

***.* Tone 5.**

O Word, who rest in the bosom of the Father, send down your Holy Spirit on the Church which has been raised up to your name.

When the Bishop arrives before the main doors of the Church, from which he had set out for the first circuit of the Church, he places the sacred Relics on a table that has been put ready, and the Deacon at once reads the Apostle.

The Lord is my enlightenment and my Saviour, whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the defender of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?

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

rethren, the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from One. For this reason he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, ‘I will proclaim your name to my brethren, in the midst of the church I will praise you’. And again, ‘I will put my trust in him’. And again, ‘Here am I, and children whom God has given me’. Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. For it is clear he did not take on himself the nature of Angels, but he took on that of the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to become like his brethren in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make atonement for the sins of the people. For because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.

I cried to the Lord, and God heard me. ****

Peace to all. ****

And to your spirit. ****

The Reading is from the holy Gospel according to John.

Glory to you, Lord! Glory to you! ****

t that time, when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that I, the Son of Man, am?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elias, and still others Jeremias or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon bar Jonas! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ ****

Glory to you, Lord! Glory to you! ****

Once again the Bishop takes the holy Relics on his head and processes around the Church with the Clergy and the People, while the 3rd Ode of the Canon of the Dedication is chanted.