AT GREAT VESPERS

After the Introductory Psalm, we chant “Blessed is the man…”, the first antiphon.

A Reading from Deuteronomy

On “Lord, I have cried…”, 8 stichera: 4 in Tone IV: Spec. Mel.: “As one valiant among the martyrs…”—

Now & ever…: Dogmatic Theotokion, in the same tone—

A Reading from Deuteronomy

As is meet, let us glorify John and Basil, with Gregory: the three heralds of the great Trinity, the instruments of grace, the harps of the Spirit, the right famous clarions of proclamation, awesome and clear of resonance, who thunder forth from the heights and declare to the ends of the earth the glory of God.

Now & ever…: Theotokion, in the same tone—

A Reading from the Wisdom of Solomon

Let the three champions be honored as is meet: the bulwarks of piety, the three apostles added to the twelve, the rivers pouring forth living water from Eden, flooding the face of the earth with life-bearing and divine streams, and who have molded the Faith as the elements form creation.

There is no speech nor spoken words, which are not heard in their voices, it is said; for the proclamation of the divine and wise teachers hath passed over all the land and the sea of creation. Hence, most excellent things are brought together and assembled through their divine laws into one Orthodoxy, for the ends of the earth.

With voices of hymnody* let us who follow their dogmas praise the instruments of the Holy Spirit, the clarions of the truth, the words of orators, entreating them, as ones who have boldness before the Lord, that He ever grant mighty peace to the whole world, and forgiveness to us all.

And 4 stichera, in Tone II: Spec. Mel.: “With what crowns of praise…”—

With what wreaths of praise shall we crown the teachers, who though in separate bodies were united in spirit, the God-bearing intercessors equal in number with the Trinity, the ministers and luminaries who enlighten the universe, the pillars of the Church, whom Christ our God, Who hath great mercy, doth crown with wreaths of glory, in that they are victorious?

With what beauties of hymnody shall we crown the God-bearing and heavenly initiates and preachers of the mysteries, the exceeding most excellent theologians of Orthodoxy, the great Basil manifest in sanctity, the godly and divinely eloquent Gregory, and John of exceeding golden tongue, whom the Trinity, the Lord, hath glorified as is meet, in that He hath great mercy?

With what words of praise shall we laud the holy hierarchs, the peers of the apostles in grace and equal in the honor of spiritual gifts, the destroyers of impiety, the saviors and guides in word and deed, the shepherds Christ-like in faith, the earthly angels and heavenly men, whom Christ, the Lord of glory, hath honored, in that He hath great mercy?

With what wreaths of praise shall we crown Chrysostom, together with Basil and Gregory, the precious receptacles of the Spirit, the champions of the inviolate Faith, the pillars of the Church, the confirmation of the faithful, the consolation of all sinners, the wellsprings which pour forth water, drinking from which we find delight for our souls, asking forgiveness of transgressions and great mercy?

Glory…, in Tone VI—

Let us praise today the God-bearing fathers, the mystic clarions of the Spirit, who in the midst of the Church have chanted the melodious hymns of theology to the one Trinity immutable in essence and divinity, the destroyers of Arians and champions of the Orthodox, who ever entreat the Lord, that our souls find mercy.

Who doth not call thee blessed, O all-holy Virgin? Who will not hymn thine all-pure birthgiving? For the only-begotten Son Who shone forth timelessly from the Father, came forth, ineffably incarnate, from thee, the pure one; and being God by nature, He became man for our sake, not divided into two Persons, but known in two natures without confusion. Him do thou beseech, O pure and most blessed one, that our souls find mercy!

Entrance. Prokimenon of the day. 3 Readings:

In those days, Moses said to the children of Israel: “Behold, God hath delivered the land before you; go in and inherit the land, which I promised to your fathers, Abraham, and Isaac and Jacob, to give it to them and to their seed after them. And I spoke to you at that time, saying: ‘I shall not be able by myself to bear you. The Lord your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are today as the stars of heaven for a multitude. The Lord God of your fathers increase you a thousand-fold more than you are, and bless you as He hath spoken to you.’ So I took of you wise and understanding and prudent men for your tribes, and I set them to rule over you as rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, and rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens, and scribes to be your judges. And I charged your judges at that time, saying: Hear causes between your brethren, and judge rightly between a man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. Thou shalt not have respect to persons in judgment, thou shalt judge small and great equally; thou shalt not shrink from before the person of a man, for the judgment is God’s.”

In those days, Moses said to the children of Israel: “Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the Lord thy God, the earth and all things that are therein. Only the Lord chose your fathers to love them, and He chose out their seed after them, even you, beyond all nations, as at this day. ­Therefore, ye shall circumcise the hardness of your heart, and ye shall not harden your neck. For the Lord your God, He is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great and strong and terrible God, Who doth not admire a face, nor will He by any means accept a bribe: executing judgment for the stranger and orphan and widow; and He loveth the strange to give him food and raiment. And ye too shall love the stranger, for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve Him, and shalt cleave unto Him, and shalt swear by His name. He is thy boast, and He is thy God, Who hath wrought in the midst of thee these great and glorious things, which thine eyes have seen.”

The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure is taken for misery, and their going from us to be utter destruction: but they are in peace. For though they be punished in the sight of men, yet is their hope full of immortality. And having been a little chastised, they shall be greatly rewarded: for God proved them, and found them worthy for Himself. As gold in the furnace hath He tried them and received them as a burnt offering. And in the time of their visitation they shall shine, and run to and fro like sparks among the stubble. They shall judge the nations, and have dominion over the people, and their Lord shall reign for ever. Those who put their trust in Him shall understand the truth: and such as be faithful in love shall abide with Him: for grace and mercy is to His saints, and He hath care for His elect.

At Litia, the sticheron of the temple, and these stichera, the composition of Nilus Xanthopoulos—

In Tone II: Come, ye servants of the heavenly Trinity, let us praise the earthly trinity of holy hierarchs—Basil, the namesake of kingship, Gregory called the Theologian, and John who was truly named for grace—who plumbed the depths of the wisdom of the Spirit: the currents of the ocean, the ever-flowing wellsprings pouring forth living water, the lustrous pearls, the lamps unto the earth, the helmsmen of the Church, the trees bearing lustrous fruit, the grace-filled builders, the mouth of my Christ and champions of the Trinity, who are illumined directly thereby and pray unceasingly in behalf of our souls.

Made radiant by the coals which burn with unbearable Fire, let us praise them with faith; for, set afire through union with Him, they became beacons for the world, showing themselves to be a living power for the poor; and they manifestly and piously preached the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And unto them let us say: Rejoice, O divinely wise trinity of the Trinity!

In Tone VI: Glory to Thy wise providence, O holy and worshipful Trinity! For Thou hast given unto men three great luminaries from among men, who shine forth with the light of Thy knowledge and enlighten with the radiance of Thy saving and honorable desires! For thereby the whole world, enriched with the light of understanding, is rendered effulgent by Thy glory, and hasteneth to Thy blessed kingdom. Exhorting us to hearken to their divine teachings, O Holy Trinity, do Thou Thyself hearken to their supplications in our behalf, and, in that Thou art God most compassionate, save Thou our souls, O Thou Who lovest mankind.

Glory…, in Tone VI—

Assembling together, O ye who love the feasts of the Church, with songs of praise let us hymn the holy hierarchs of Christ, the glory of the fathers, the pillars of the Faith, the teachers and preservers of the faithful, and let us say: Rejoice, O all-wise Basil, beacon and indestructible tower of the Church! Rejoice, O Gregory the Theologian, celestial mind and greatest among hierarchs! Rejoice, O most golden John of golden eloquence, manifest preacher of repentance! O fathers who art thrice rich, never cease in your supplications to Christ in behalf of those who with faith and love celebrate your most sacred and divine festival.

Assembling, O ye who love the feasts of the Church, with songs of praise let us hymn the only Theotokos, the beauty of virginity, the noetic ­gladness, the firm rampart of the faithful, and let us say: Rejoice, O pure Virgin Mother, radiant lamp and portal of heaven! Rejoice, O most pure one, thou sacred tabernacle who contained God in thy womb! Rejoice, thou who beyond dispute dost surpass all the ranks of heaven! Wherefore, O Mother without husband, O Mistress, cease thou never to preserve thy servants, who ever hymn thee with faith and love, and worship thy seedless birthgiving.