Song of ascents, the first antiphon of Tone IV
Unto thee, the intercessor for the Lemko people, do we cry aloud in prayer: Help us, O father Maximus, for our enemies are more than the sands of the sea, and they persecute and oppress the little flock of Christ; but extend to us thy strong right arm, and save us from perishing.
After the first chanting of the Psalter, this sessional hymn, in Tone VIII —
Full of the grace of God, thou didst blamelessly minister to thy flock, confirming the words of thine instruction with works of the virtues; and inspiring all to mercy and loving-kindness, thou didst teach them not to take the broad way which leadeth to destruction, but to tread the straight and narrow way whereby we may attain unto the heavenly homeland.
Glory…, Now & ever…: Theotokion, in the same tone —
At “God is the Lord…”, the troparion of the hieromartyr, twice; Glory…, Now & ever…: the resurrectional theotokion, in the same tone.
After the second chanting of the Psalter, this sessional hymn, in Tone V —
Unvanquished by the hordes of the enemy is the fortress of thine intercession, O all-immaculate one; for thou didst conceive the Lord and Master of all without knowing man, and without experiencing the pangs of childbirth didst give birth to Him. Wherefore, as our heavenly intercessor, shelter and protect our souls, that we may obtain great mercy.
Glory…, Now & ever…: Theotokion, in the same tone —
Canon of Supplication to the Theotokos [the Paraclysis], with 6 troparia, including the irmos; and that of the holy hieromartyr, with 8 troparia, in Tone III —
After the Polyeleos, this sessional hymn, in Tone IV: Spec. Mel.: “Thou hast appeared today…” —
Leaving thy parents and the home of thy childhood, thou didst risk arrest by traveling to Mount Pochaev, seeking safe harbor amid the raging storms of life. And arriving at the holy Lavra thou didst find tranquillity of soul, and wast nurtured with pure Orthodox dogmas and the living water of true piety; so that when the time came for thee to suffer for the Faith, thou didst possess the spiritual strength to endure to the end.
Glory…, Now & ever…: Theotokion, in the same tone —
Both canons from the Octoechos, and that of the saint, with 4 troparia, the composition of Joseph, in Tone VIII—
Jesus most sweet, the only-begotten Son of the Father, Who was conceived within thy womb through the activity of the Holy Spirit, received thine immaculate soul in His all-pure hands, and bore it up to the heavens, from whence thou dost look down upon us, thy lowly servants, and intercedest at His fiery throne, that He deal with us according to His infinite mercy.
Polyeleos, and this magnification —
We magnify thee, O holy hieromartyr Maximus, and we reverence thine honored sufferings, which thou didst endure for Christ.
Selected Psalm verses —
A Our God is refuge and strength [Ps. 45: 2]
B A helper in afflictions which mightily befall us. [Ps. 45: 2]
A Therefore shall we not fear when the earth be shaken. [Ps. 45: 3]
B O God, who shall be likened unto Thee? Be Thou not silent, neither be still, O God. [Ps. 82: 2]
A For behold, Thine enemies have made a noise, and they that hate Thee have lifted up their heads. [Ps. 82: 3]
Against Thy people have they taken wicked counsel, and have conspired against Thy saints. [Ps. 82: 4]
A They have made the dead bodies of Thy servants to be food for the birds of heaven. [Ps. 78: 2]
B The flesh of Thy saints for the beasts of the earth. [Ps. 78: 2]
A They have poured out their blood like water. [Ps. 78: 3]
B For Thy sake we are slain all the day long. [Ps. 43: 23]
A We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. [Ps. 43: 23]
B Thou hast made us a byword among the nations. [Ps. 43: 15]
A And I became a man scourged all the day long. Ps. 72: 14]
B By fire hast Thou tried us even as silver is tried by fire. [Ps. 65: 11]
A We went through fire and water, and Thou didst bring us out into refreshment. [Ps 65: 12]
B Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous. [Ps. 31: 11]
A For the Lord is in the generation of the righteous. [Ps. 13: 5]
B And their inheritance shall be for ever. [Ps. 36: 18]
A The righteous cried, and the Lord heard them. [Ps. 33: 18]
B A light hath dawned forth for the righteous man, and gladness for the upright of heart. [Ps. 96: 11]
A In everlasting remembrance shall the righteous be. [Ps. 111: 6]
B In the saints that are in His earth hath the Lord been wondrous; He hath wrought all His desires in them. [Ps. 15: 3]
A Wondrous is God in His saints, the God of Israel. [Ps. 67: 36]
B The righteous man shall flourish like a palm tree, and like a cedar in Lebanon shall he be multiplied .[Ps. 91: 13]
A The righteous man shall be glad in the Lord, and shall hope in Him. [Ps. 63: 11]
B And all the upright in heart shall be praised. [Ps. 63: 11]
Glory…, Now & ever… Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, glory to Thee, O God. Thrice
Even the most eloquent of orators cannot praise thy valor and endurance as is meet, O holy hieromartyr; for, unafraid, thou didst face thine executioners, and with courage didst pray that the Holy Faith be established. Great is the reward thou hast received for thy steadfastness, O Maximus, from the right hand of the Judge of the contest.
Storm-tossed upon the sea of life, the ship of my soul is foundering, heavy laden with a burden of unrepented sins, and the billows of the passions unceasingly buffet it. But do thou save me from perishing in my transgressions, O Theotokos, thou good pilot of my soul, and steer me to the shelter of the safe harbor of thine intercessions.
Prokimenon, in Tone IV —
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.
Stichos: What shall I render unto the Lord for all that He hath rendered unto me?
Let every breath praise the Lord.
Gospel according to Matthew, § 38
[Mt. 10: 32-38]
The Lord said to His disciples: “Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father Who is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father Who is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be those of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me.”
After Psalm 50, this sticheron, in Tone VI —
Translated by Isaac Lambertsen. Edition menaion.en.lambertsen.