At Great Compline

At the tenth hour of the night [i.e., 4 o’clock in the morning], the great bell is rung to announce the service, whereupon all the bells are rung. The priest and deacon, having put on their sacerdotal vestments, begin the service as is done for all the feasts of the Lord.

Deacon: Bless, master.

And as the priest censeth, we begin reading Great Compline from the beginning: Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee! O heavenly King… Trisagion, and the rest. We chant “God is with us!…” in hymnody. In place of the usual troparia, “Enlighten mine eyes…”, we chant the troparion of the feast; and instead of “Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us…”, we chant the kontakion of the feast. After “Glory to God in the highest…”, Litia is performed as usual, at which we chant these stichera idiomela, the composition of Cosmas the Monk, in Tone IV—

Priest: Blessed is our God…

He that doth clothe Himself with light as it were with a garment hath deigned for our sake to become like as we are; and today He is covered with the streams of the Jordan, though He hath no need to be purified by them, but that, through the cleansing He receiveth, He might Himself bestow regeneration upon us. Oh, the wonder! Without fire Christ God, the Savior of our souls, casteth anew, and without shattering He fashioneth, and He saveth those who are enlightened in Him.

Beholding Thee, Who in the Spirit and in fire doth purge away the sin of the world, coming to Him, the Baptist cried out in awe and trembling, saying: “I dare not touch Thine all-pure head! Do Thou sanctify me by Thy divine epiphany, O Master Who alone lovest mankind!

Come ye, let us emulate the wise virgins! Come ye, let us greet the Master Who hath appeared unto us! For He hath come to John like a Bridegroom. The Jordan, seeing Thee, was afraid and ceased its flow. And John cried out: “I dare not touch the head of the Immortal One!” The Spirit descended in the form of a dove, to sanctify the water. And a voice was heard from heaven, saying: “This is my Son Who hath come into the world to save the human race!” O Lord, glory be to Thee!

Christ is baptized. He cometh up out of the waters and leadeth the world up with Himself. And He beholdeth the heavens opening, which Adam closed to himself and to those with him. And the Spirit beareth witness to His divinity, for He maketh haste to come to His like. And a voice is heard from heaven; for the Savior of our souls is borne witness to from thence.

The hand of the baptist trembled when it touched Thine all-pure head. The River Jordan turned back, not daring to minister unto Thee; for if it was in awe of Joshua son of Nun, how could it not have been stricken with awe by its own Creator? O our Savior Who alone lovest mankind, Thou hast fulfilled all Thy dispensation, that Thou mayest save the world by Thine epiphany.

Glory…, the composition of John the Monk, in Tone VIII —

Desiring to fulfill that which Thou hast established from before time, O Lord, Thou didst accept ministers of Thy mystery from among all creatures: Gabriel from among the angels, the Virgin from among men, the star from among the heavens, and the Jordan from among the waters, wherein Thou didst destroy the iniquity of the world. O our Savior, glory be to Thee!

Now & ever…, the composition of Anatolius, in the same tone—

Today creation is enlightened! Today all things are glad, those of heaven and those on earth! Angels and men mingle together! For where the King arriveth, there doth order prevail. Wherefore, let us all hasten to the Jordan and see how John baptizeth the sinless head which no man fashioned. And, chanting the cry of the angel, let us exclaim together: The grace of God hath appeared, saving all men, illumining and granting mercy unto the faithful!