Aposticha of Compunction.

I have not acquired repentance, nor yet again tears, therefore, O Saviour, I implore you, before the end turn and grant me repentance, that I may be delivered from damnation.

God, who wish that should be saved, look upon and see my prayer, and do no reject my tears as vain. For who ever approached you, falling down before you, and was not immediately saved? Who ever cried out fervently to you, and was not immediately heard? For you, Master and Lord are found swift to save all those who ask you, through your great mercy.

Glory. Both now.

Lord, I have cried **Stichera of the Apostles.**

**Theotokion.**

To you I lift up my eyes, to you who are enthroned in the heavens. As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master: or as the eyes of a maid toward the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God: until he show us his mercy.

Glory. Both now.

Tone 6. Having placed all your hope.

**Theotokion. Having placed all your hope.**

At your dread coming, O Christ, do not let us hear, ‘I do not know you’; for we have put our hope in you, the Saviour, even though we have not done your commands through our indifference: but spare our souls we beg.

Glory. Both now.

Having received the heavenly power of the Paraclete, Christ’s Apostles routed the regiments of the foe. They rebuked kings, put the wise to shame, simple and unlettered, naked and unarmed they were drawn up in accordance with the Gospel. While they worked deeds of wonder by the word of grace. And so, making the nations obedient to Christ, they intercede with boldness on behalf of our souls.

**Theotokion.**

Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy upon us: for we have our fill of derision; our soul has its fill. Mockery for those at ease: and derision for the proud. ****

Glory. Both now.

Your glorious Disciples, yearning after you and denying themselves, fervently followed you. Taking up the Cross behind you, in obedience to your command, they left the earth behind and obtained heaven as their portion, turning the nations to the true knowledge of you. And now, having become your subjects through all things, they ever intercede with boldness on behalf of our souls.

**Cross-Theotokion. Same melody.**

Of the Martyrs.

Glory. Both now.

I pass my whole in indifference, Lord supremely good, and have arrived fruitless before the end, wretch that I am, carrying only the burdens of evil deeds that are now hard to carry. Scatter them, Lover of mankind, with the weight of your mercy, and give me compunction and saving conversion, O God, at the acceptable and godly intercessions of your Apostles, whom I bring to intercede with her who bore you.

**Cross-Theotokion.**

Your Martyrs, Lord, did not deny you, they did not abandon your commandments. At their prayers, have mercy on us.

Glory. Both now.

Others of St Nicolas. Τριήμερος ἀνέστης Χριστέ.

**Theotokion. The same melody.**

Let us the faithful, like the Archangels, sing the praise of the heavenly bridal chamber, and the gate truly sealed. Hail, through whom the Saviour of all, Christ the giver of life and God, budded for us. Pure Sovereign Lady, cast down our tyrannous and godless foes by your power, O hope of Christians.

Glory. Both now.

Blessed Nicolas, help me as I fall before you, and enlighten the eyes of my soul, wise Saint, that I may see clearly the Giver of light, the Compassionate Lord.

**Theotokion.**

ON MONDAY EVENING

Glory. Both now.

Enemies are seeking me out to do me evil, holy Hierarch. Rescue me, as you have freedom of approach to God, save me from harm and deliver me from men of bloodshed.

**Cross-Theotokion. You rose on the third day.**

Lord, I have cried, **Prosomia of the Lord.**

Glory. Both now.

With faith we have now gained you, O Hierarch, as a haven without storms, an unbreachable wall, a tower of safety, a door of repentance and a faithful guide and champion.

**Cross-Theotokion. Τριήμερος ἀνέστης Χριστέ.**

Tone 6. Having placed all your hope.

Glory. Both now.

The Virgin’s giving birth without travail has clearly become for us the greatest of gifts, for God makes new again our nature that was corrupted and refashions what is human.

**Theotokion.**

From my youth I have been wholly enslaved to the pleasures of the flesh and have become a lodging of passions of the soul that tyrannise over me; while with total lack of reason, Saviour, I have despised your commandments. But do you, who fashioned me and know our weakness, who alone are without sin, give me pardon, O Compassionate, for the sins I have committed in ignorance and knowledge, in body and in mind from my youth, O only loving and most merciful.

Glory. Both now.

When your Disciples were storm-tossed in the boat, O Christ, they shouted out, ‘Teacher, save us, we are perishing!’ And now we cry aloud, ‘Saviour who love mankind, deliver us from our constraints, we beg.’

**Theotokion.**

Who will deliver me from the death of my miserable flesh and keep my soul from hurt and from temptation? For living in enjoyment the flesh holds sway with tyrannical force and rises in rebellion against the soul, and it afflicts it again and grows weak. Ah, wretch that I am! Therefore, my Saviour, I am unable to hold out against its weakness. But, my Maker, do not let my spirit be conquered by dust, that spirit which you breathed into as you were well-pleased.

Lord, the Apostles once grasped the depth of the sea through nets, later the height of the Kingdom through teachings. By their skill they searched the depth that cannot be grasped, while by their faith they reached your bosom that cannot be circumscribed, and they proclaimed to the world your Son who is beyond time. At their intercessions and those all the Saints, have mercy on us.

When you wish to separate me from the bonds of the flesh by your command, then spare my soul, O Immortal, sending out a gentle Angel, looking like one bringing gladness, to take me up and save me from the rulers of darkness, easily empowering me to take a fair ascent in the air and to reach the worship of your dread throne uncondemned, O God supremely good.

Of the Martyrs.

Others, of the Forerunner.

Your Cross, Lord, became for your Martyrs an invincible weapon. For they saw the death that lay before them and looking forward to the life to come, they were given power by their hope in you. At their entreaties, have mercy on us.

Condemned by my life of a wastrel, I fall down before you, who are glorified beyond all accounting, and I implore you from the depth of my heart: See the affliction of my soul, you who outshone joy. See the sores of my heart, Herald of repentance, and grant me salvation through your godly intercession, O Forerunner, as you entreat the Lord.

Mother of God, you are the true vine who gave bud to the fruit of life. We implore you, ‘Intercede, Sovereign Lady, with the Apostles and all the Saints, that he have mercy on our souls’.

Wholly condemned by wickedness, wholly drowned by despair, I am utterly evil and dark. I am wholly and utterly marked by unseemly pleasures; wholly and terribly ruined and ill-treated. I fall at your footprints, blessed John. Do not cast me away, but save me, friend and Forerunner of the Lord.

on thursday evening

Deliver my soul from the bitter death of sin and faults, O Forerunner, and make me lives by the godly works of Christ’s commandments by the power of your intercessions. Put an end to wars that are invisibly waged against me, and guide my by the straight paths of saving and eternal rest by your entreaties to God.

Lord, I have cried **Stichera of the Cross, Prosomia.**

Remembrance of wrongs is a sign of anger and temper is a manifestation of anger. Through them absurdities of insults shamelessly leap up from the wretched mouth, making the one who is activated by them liable to Gehenna’s fire, as it written. Therefore, soul, keep watch, flee bitter temper, anger, wrath and insolence and every foul-smelling excess, as you cry out to the Mother of God, ‘My Lady, save me!’

Tone 6. You rose on the third day. Τριήμερος ἀνέστης Χριστέ.

I have not gained repentance, nor again tears, therefore I implore you, O Saviour, before the end to turn me back and give me compunction, that I may be delivered from punishment.

My God, long-suffering, loving mankind, full of mercy and pitying, how did you endure slaughter and death on a Tree for the sake of the human race? We glorify your compassion.

At your dread Coming, O Christ, may we not hear, ‘I do not know you’, for we have put our hope in you, our Saviour, though we do not carry out your commands through our indifference. But spare our souls, we beg.

You endured blows, crucifixion and abuse, O long-suffering and only Giver of life, wishing to redeem all from the hand of the deceiver, and you bear all things, O supremely Good.

Of the Martyrs.

As Shepherd you ascended the Cross and stretched out your hands, crying out, ‘Come to me and be enlightened, mortals darkened by deception. For I am light’. Glory to you, only Giver of light.

The Martyrs who bore witness for your sake, O Christ, endured many torments and received the perfect crown in heaven, that they may intercede for our souls.

Others, of the Mother of God. Ἡ ἀπεγνωσμένη.

For the afflicted, transformation and liberation for the ailing are you, O Virgin Mother of our God; save your City, save us all. To those embattled you are peace; you are calm to those tossed by the tempest, the one Protection of the faithful.

O Virgin, set upright my soul, bowed down and bent double by the heavy and unbearable weight of offences. For with your mother’s boldness you can easily persuade the Saviour who sets upright those who are broken down. And by your mediation tear up the record of my sins through your great mercy.

on tuesday evening

See one who is condemned by sins, ruined by iniquities and who has despised the commands of God, and do not cast me from your presence. For you, Mother of God, are my hope and defence. Therefore by your intercessions attend to me, cleanse me of every stain through your great mercy.

Lord, I have cried, **Prosomia of the Lord.**

Open to me the door of repentance, All-holy Virgin. Give me a fount of tears, grant me compunction and a temperate heart, for I name you my only sure defence. I place on you all my expectation. Do not reject me in my shame, but accept me and save me, Sovereign Lady, through your great mercy.

Tone 6. Ἡ ἀπεγνωσμένη.

The all-pure Virgin, seeing you nailed to the Tree, cried aloud, ‘My Son and God, what is this strange and marvellous report of you that you endure through your great pity?’

In your love for mankind, O Compassionate, raise me up, who have been swallowed down by sins and torn in pieces by love of pleasures. Do not let me become an object of malignant joy to demons. Do not dismiss me as unworthy of your dread mysteries. But accept me as you are merciful before the groans and tears of my departure, and free from the passions.

Your Cross, O Lord, is life and assistance for your people. And trusting in it we sing your praise, our God crucified in the flesh. Have mercy on us.

Lament, my soul, before your departure; fall down before the Creator in repentance; offer tears from your whole heart; cry out to Christ in compunction, ‘I have sinned against you, O Word, do not despise me, do not reject me, just Judge, nor send me away to fire, O Long-suffering, through your great mercy.’

Your Cross, O Lord, has opened Paradise to the human race. And saved from corruption we sing your praise, our God crucified in the flesh. Have mercy on us.

Others, of the Mother of God. Having placed all your hope.

Of the Martyrs.

‘The marriage of the heavenly Bridegroom has been prepared’, cry the heralds. Why do you willingly delay, my black soul? Truly everything about is filthy, your garments are those of sensuality, and so how, wretch, are you going to enter? Come, fall down, crying out before the end to her who did not know wedlock, ‘Sprinkle me with the hyssop of your intercessions, pure Virgin, cleanse me and make me worthy of the bridal chamber, that I may magnify you.

Your Martyrs, O Lord, did not deny you, they did not desert your commandments. At their prayers have mercy on us.

With purity of mind, O holy, all-pure Virgin, Isaias foretold that you would give birth to the Maker of all creation. For you appeared from eternity as alone all-blameless. Therefore I beg you, purify my defiled heart, and make me a partaker in the divine radiance of your Son, O Maiden, and of a place at his right hand, when, as it is written, he takes his throne to judge the whole world.

The Virgin once stood with the virgin Disciple by the Tree at the time of the crucifixion and weeping she cried out, ‘Alas, how you suffer all things, O Christ who are dispassion!’

The Harlot, when of old she emptied out the alabaster jar of sweet myrrh upon your feet, Master, was freed of all that she had done. The Thief was no sooner seen to remember you, than you led at once into Paradise. But what shall I do, wretch that I am? I have no sweet myrrh, no compunction. Have mercy on me freely, take pity on me, O Word, your immaculate Mother entreats, whom you have given to your world as a mighty refuge.

ON FRIDAY EVENING

‘The judges of Israel condemned you to a judgement that carried death with it, my Son, standing you, Saviour, who judge the dead and the living, before a tribunal as one to be judged; and they set you before Pilate and condemned you trial. Ah, the lawless ones! And as I see it, I am wounded and condemned with you, O Lord. Therefore I judge that to die is better than to live’ cried the Mother of God with groans, O only Merciful.

Lord, I have cried, **Prosomia of the Lord.**

Your Cross, Lord, is life and resurrection for your people, and trusting in it we sing your praise, our God who was crucified in the flesh. Have mercy on us.

Tone 6. Ἡ ἀπεγνωσμένη.

Your Cross, Lord, opened Paradise to the human race, and freed from corruption we sing your praise, our God who was crucified in the flesh. Have mercy on us.

Deliver me from Gehenna that awaits me, Judge most just, take me, who am condemned, from the everlasting fire, show me, O Word, to be impregnable to the hostile tempest. Wretch that I am, I tremble when I consider the multitude of my faults, and I fall before you with tears and a broken heart as I ask your mercy.

Of The Martyrs.

Who would not weep for me, who have transgressed my Master’s commandment through lack of self-mastery; who dwell in Hades instead of Paradise? Food that seemed to me sweet was turned to gall. I have been shown to be a stranger to your glory, O Compassionate, and to the Angels. But make me repentant, as you are a Lord who is merciful and compassionate because of your great mercy.

The Martyrs, Champions and citizens of heaven, having struggled on earth, endured many torments. At their intercessions and prayers, Lord, keep us all.

Giver of life, set all those who have fallen asleep in faith in the land of the living, in places of repose, in eternal dwellings, where the light of your face shines out ungrudgingly, where the delight and joy and peace of the Righteous are found, overlooking all their faults in deed, word and thought, Master, through your great goodness.

When she saw you crucified, O Christ, she who bore you cried out, ‘What is the strange mystery I see, my Son? How are you, the giver of life, hanged in the flesh, dying on a Tree?

Others, of the Martyrs. Automela.

on Wednesday evening

Those who bore witness to you, O Christ, endured many torments, and received the crown of perfection in heaven, that they might intercede on behalf of our souls.

The Martyrs, champions and citizens of heaven, endured many torments as they struggled on earth. At their prayers and entreaties, Lord, protect us all.

Your Cross, Lord, became an invincible weapon for the Martyrs. For they saw the death that awaited them and looking to the life to come they were empowered by their hope in you. At their intercessions have mercy on us.

Who will not call you blessed, All-holy Virgin? Who will not sing the praise of your child-birth without labour? For the only-begotten Son, who shone from the Father beyond time, came forth from you, pure Maiden, ineffably incarnate. By nature he is God, by nature he became man for our sakes, not divided in a duality of persons, but known without confusion in a duality of natures. O honoured and all-blessed, implore him to have mercy on our souls.

Your Martyrs, Lord, did not deny you, they did not abandon your commandments. At their prayers, have mercy on us.

Of the Dead.

Blessed are those whom you have chosen and taken, O Lord.

Your command, which fashioned me, was my beginning and my substance; for wishing to compose me as a living creature from visible and invisible natures, 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 righteous.

Their souls shall dwell among good things.

Tasting of the tree in Eden of old decreed pain for Adam, when a serpent vomited poison, for through it death entered and devoured the whole human race. But the Master came, destroyed the dragon and granted us resurrection. To him let us cry, ‘Saviour, spare too those whom you have taken, and give them rest with the Just’.

At the prayers of her who gave you birth, O Christ, those of your Martyrs, Apostles, Prophets, Hierarchs, Venerable and Righteous ones, and all your Saints, give rest to your servants who have fallen asleep.