Instead of “It is truly meet…”, we chant the refrain and irmos of Ode IX of the festal canon.
Then, “Let my prayer be set forth…”, and three prostrations, and the rest of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.
A Reading from Genesis
On “Lord, I have cried…”, when the Liturgy of St. Gregory is served, 10 stichera: From the Triodion, the idiomelon of the day, twice, and the 3 stichera prosomoia; and 5 stichera of the feast, in Tone VI: Spec. Mel.: “Having set aside…”—
Then, the Little Litany, the exclamation of the Trisagion, and the Trisagion itself.
A Reading from the Prophecy of Ezekiel
Gabriel stood before thee, O Maiden, revealing the preëternal counsel, saluting thee and exclaiming: “Rejoice, O earth unsown! Rejoice, O bush unburnt! Rejoice, O depth hard to fathom! Rejoice, O bridge leading to the heavens and lofty ladder, which Jacob beheld! Rejoice, O divine jar of Manna! Rejoice, annulment of the curse! Rejoice, restoration of Adam: the Lord is with thee! Twice
A Reading from Proverbs
“Thou appearest to me as a man,” the incorrupt Maiden saith to the supreme commander; “yet how is it that thou announcest words which are beyond man? For thou hast said that God is with me, and that He will dwell within my womb. Tell me, how shall I become so spacious a dwelling and a place of sanctity which surpasseth the cherubim? Deceive me no more with falsehood, for I have not known lust, I have not partaken of marriage. How then shall I give birth to a Child?” Twice
Wisdom hath built a house for herself and set up seven pillars. She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine in a bowl and prepared her table. She hath sent forth her servants, calling with a loud proclamation to the feast, saying: “Whoso is foolish, let him turn aside to me.” And to those who want understanding, she saith: “Come, eat of my bread, and drink wine which I have mingled for you. Leave folly, that ye may reign forever; and seek wisdom, and improve understanding by knowledge.” He that reproveth evil men shall get dishonor to himself; and he that rebuketh an ungodly man shall disgrace himself. Rebuke not evil men, lest they should hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. Give an opportunity to a wise man, and he will be wiser: instruct a just man, and he will receive more instruction. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the counsel of the law is the character of a sound mind. For in this way thou shalt live long, and years of thy life shall be added to thee.
“When God desireth, the order of nature is overcome,” said the incorporeal one; “and things beyond man are wrought. Believe thou my true words, O most holy and all-immaculate one!” And she cried aloud: “Be it now with me according to thy words: I shall give birth to the Incorporeal One, Who will take flesh from me, that through this mingling He might lead man up to his primal dignity, in that He alone is mighty!”
A Reading from Exodus
Glory…, Now & ever…: the composition of John the Monk: Idiomelon, in the same tone—
A Reading from Proverbs
The Archangel Gabriel was sent from heaven to announce the conception to the Virgin. And, arriving in Nazareth, he pondered within himself, marvelling at the wonder: “How is it that He is born of the Virgin Who in the highest is unapproachable; that He Who hath heaven for His throne and the earth for His footstool is contained within the Virgin’s womb; that He upon Whom the six-winged and many-eyed beings cannot gaze hath been well pleased to become incarnate of her by His word alone? This is God’s word. Why, therefore, do I stand and not say to the Virgin: ‘Rejoice, O thou who art full of grace! The Lord is with thee! Rejoice, O pure Virgin! Rejoice, O unwedded Bride! Rejoice, O Mother of Life! Blessed is the Fruit of thy womb!’?”
If it be Saturday or Sunday, Glory…, the composition of John the Monk, in Tone VIII—
Entrance. Prokimenon of the day. If it be a weekday, first the readings of the day from the Triodion, and 3 readings for the feast (but if the feast fall on a Saturday or Sunday or during Bright Week, see below):
Then the usual prayers of a vigil. And on re-entering the church we chant the aposticha stichera: idiomela, in Tone IV—
Jacob went forth from the well of the oath, and departed into Haran. And he came to a certain place, and slept there, for the sun had gone down; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it at his head, and lay down to sleep in that place, and dreamed: and behold a ladder fixed on the earth, whose top reached to heaven, and the angels of God ascended and descended on it. And the Lord stood upon it, and said: “I am the God of thy father Abraham, and the God of Isaac. Fear not; the land on which thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. And thy seed shall be like the sand of the earth; and it shall spread abroad to the sea, and the south, and the north, and the east; and in thee and in thy seed shall all tribes of the earth be blessed. And behold I am with thee to preserve thee continually in all the way wherein thou shalt go; and I will bring thee back to this land; for I will not desert thee, until I have done all that I have said to thee.” And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and said: “The Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.” And he was afraid, and said: “How fearful is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”
A Reading from Exodus
Thus saith the Lord: “It shall come to pass from the eighth day and onward, that the priests shall offer your wholeburnt-offerings on the altar, and your peace-offerings; and I will accept you,” saith the Lord. Then He brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary that faceth eastward; and it was shut. And the Lord said to me: “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall pass through it; for the Lord God of Israel shall enter by it, and it shall be shut. For the Prince, He shall sit in it, to eat bread before the Lord; He shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go forth by the way of the same.” And He brought me in by the way of the gate that faceth northward, in front of the house: and I looked, and, behold! the house was full of the glory of the Lord.
A Reading from Proverbs
But if the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is not celebrated, then on “Lord, I have cried…”, we appoint 8 stichera: 3 stichera prosomoia from the Triodion, and 5 of the feast; Glory…, Now & ever…: The Archangel Gabriel was sent from heaven… Entrance. Prokimenon. The readings for the day from the Triodion, and 3 readings of the feast. Then, “Vouchsafe, O Lord…” At the aposticha, the sticheron idiomelon of the day, from the Triodion, twice; and the sticheron of the martyrs; Glory…, Now & ever…: “Today the joy of the annunciation is come!…” After “Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart…”, the troparion of the feast. Litany. 3 prostrations. Dismissal.
At meals we are permitted wine and oil, on whatever day the feast may fall, in honor of the all-holy Theotokos.
Be it known that if the feast of the Annunciation fall on any of the Saturdays of the Fast, we read first the readings of the day (at Vespers on Friday evening), and after them 5 readings of the feast — first these two:
Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he brought the sheep nigh to the wilderness, and came to the Mount of Horeb. And an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the bush, and he saw that the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. And Moses said: “I will go near and see this great sight, why the bush is not consumed.” And when the Lord saw that he drew nigh to see, the Lord called him out of the bush, saying: “Moses, Moses!” And he said: “What is it?” And He said: “Draw not nigh hither: loose thy sandals from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” And He said: “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses turned away his face, for he was afraid to gaze at God. And the Lord said to Moses: “I have surely seen the affliction of My people that is in Egypt, and I have heard their cry caused by their taskmasters; for I know their affliction. And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land, and to bring them into a good and wide land, into a land flowing with milk and honey.”
The Lord hath made me the beginning of His ways for His works. He established me before time was in the beginning, before He made the earth: even before He made the depths; before the fountains of water came forth; before the mountains were settled, and all the hills, He begetteth me. The Lord made countries and deserts, and the highest inhabited parts under the heavens. When He prepared heaven, I was present with Him; and when He prepared His throne upon the winds, and when He strengthened the clouds above, and when He secured the fountains of the earth, and when He strengthened the foundations of the earth: I was by Him, arranging all things. I was that in which He took delight; and daily I rejoiced in His presence continually.
And then the 3 readings —from Genesis, Ezekiel and Proverbs— as set forth above.
Similarly, if Annunciation fall on a Sunday, the five readings are read as set forth above (but there are no readings from the Triodion).
But if the feast fall on a weekday, the 3 readings are read at vespers on the eve of the feast, while the 2 readings are read at the Liturgy on the feast itself.
At the first hour of the night (i.e., about 7 o’clock in the evening), the great bell is rung for a time, and then all the bells are rung. And when all are assembled in the church, and the priest intoneth the blessing and censeth, we chant Great Compline, singing “God is with us!…” in Tone VIII, antiphonally, and the usual troparia: “Day is passed…” After the first Trisagion, the troparion of the feast: “Today is the crown of our salvation…” After the second Trisagion, the kontakion of the feast: “To thee, the champion leader…” And after “Glory to God in the highest…”, we go forth to the narthex, where we perform the Litia as usual.
At Litia, these stichera, in Tone I—
The composition of Byzantius: In the sixth month the supreme commander was sent to thee, the pure Virgin, to announce to thee the word of salvation, and to cry out to thee: “Rejoice, O joyous one! The Lord is with thee! Thou shalt give birth to the preëternal Son of the Father, and He shall save His people from their sins!”
The composition of Anatolius: During the sixth month the Archangel Gabriel was sent from heaven to the city of Nazareth of Galilee, to convey to the Maiden the joy of the annunciation. And, approaching her, he cried aloud, saying: “Rejoice, O joyous one! The Lord is with thee! Rejoice, O receptacle of the uncontainable Essence! For thy womb hath held Him Whom the heavens cannot contain, O blessed one! Rejoice, O honored restoration of Adam and deliverance of Eve, thou joy of the world and gladness of our race!”
The Archangel Gabriel was sent by God from heaven to the undefiled Virgin, to the city of Nazareth of Galilee, to announce to her a conception strange in manner. The incorporeal servant was sent to the animate city and noetic gate, to declare the descent and arrival of the Master. The heavenly warrior was sent to the all-holy palace of glory, to prepare for the Creator a dwelling-place which cannot be taken away. And, approaching her, he cried: “Rejoice, O fiery throne, far more glorious than the creatures with four faces! Rejoice, O throne of the King of heaven! Rejoice, O unquarried mountain, all-precious receptacle, for in thee hath all the fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily, at the good pleasure of the everlasting Father and through the coöperation of the most Holy Spirit! Rejoice, O joyous one! The Lord is with thee!”
Let the heavens be glad and let the earth rejoice! For He Who with the Father is equally everlasting, equally without beginning and equally enthroned, taking unto Himself His loving mercy toward mankind, hath appointed for Himself an abasement, by the good pleasure and counsel of the Father, and hath made His abode within the Virgin’s womb, which was wholly purified by the Spirit. O the wonder! God is among men, the Infinite One is contained in a womb, the Timeless One hath entered into time! And what is more glorious: His conception is seedless, His abasement is ineffable. How great is this mystery! For God doth empty Himself and becometh incarnate, He took on form when the angel spake of His conception to the pure one, saying: “Rejoice, O joyous one, the Lord is with thee, Who hath great mercy!”
But if the feast fall on a weekday, then we chant: Glory…, Now & ever…: “Today Gabriel announceth…”
Now & ever…, in Tone II—
Today Gabriel announceth the glad tidings to her who is full of grace, saying: “Rejoice, O Mother unwedded, who knoweth not wedlock! Marvel not at my strange appearance, neither be thou afraid, for I am an archangel. The serpent once deceived Eve, but now I announce joy to thee: thou shalt remain incorrupt and shalt give birth to the Lord, O all-pure one!”
During the sixth month the archangel was sent to the pure Virgin, and having pronounced a salutation to her, he announced that the Deliverer would come forth from her. Wherefore, having accepted the salutation, she conceived Thee, the preëternal God, Who wast well-pleased to become ineffably incarnate for the salvation of our souls.
Stichos: Proclaim from day to day the good tidings of the salvation of our God.
The Theotokos heard a tongue which she did not know, for the archangel spake to her words of annunciation. And accepting his salutation with faith, she conceived Thee, the preëternal God. Wherefore, rejoicing, we cry out to Thee: O God Who wast immutably incarnate of her, grant peace to the world and great mercy to our souls!
Stichos: O sing unto the Lord a new song, sing unto the Lord all the earth.
Behold, our restoration hath now been revealed to us! God uniteth Himself to men in manner past recounting! Falsehood is dispelled by the voice of the archangel! For the Virgin receiveth joy, an earthly woman hath become heaven! The world is released from the primal curse! Let creation rejoice and chant aloud: O Lord, our Creator and Deliverer, glory be to Thee!
Glory…, Now & ever…, the composition of Andrew of Jerusalem, in the same tone—
Today is the joy of the annunciation, the triumph of virginity! Those below are united to those above! Adam is restored, and Eve is freed from her primal grief! The tabernacle of our nature, mingled with divinity, hath become the temple of God! O the mystery! Incomprehensible is the image of His abasement, and ineffable the richness of His goodness! An angel serveth the miracle, and the Virgin’s womb receiveth the Son. The Holy Spirit is sent down from on high, and the Father is well-pleased. The covenant is enacted by common consent. Saved thereby, let us cry out together with Gabriel to the Virgin: Rejoice, O joyous one, from whom Christ God, our salvation, is come, assuming our nature and elevating it in Himself! Him do thou entreat, that our souls be saved.
Then, “Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart…”; and after Our Father…, the troparion of the feast, in Tone IV—
Today is the crown of our salvation and the revelation of the mystery which is from before the ages! The Son of God becometh the Son of the Virgin, and Gabriel announceth the glad tidings of grace. Wherefore, with him let us cry out to the Theotokos: Rejoice, O thou who art full of grace! The Lord is with thee! Thrice
Then, “Blessed be the name of the Lord…”, chanted thrice; and the reading of the feast.
On “Lord, I have cried…”, 11 stichera (but beginning the stichoi as usual for 10 stichera): the idiomelon of the day from the Triodion, twice (Note: the sticheron of the martyrs is not chanted); 3 stichera prosomoia from the Triodion; 3 stichera of the feast, idiomela, in Tone IV—
During the sixth month the archangel was sent to the pure Virgin, and having pronounced a salutation to her, he announced that the Deliverer would come forth from her. Wherefore, having accepted the salutation, she conceived Thee, the preëternal God, Who wast well-pleased to become ineffably incarnate for the salvation of our souls.
The Theotokos heard a tongue which she did not know, for the archangel spake to her words of annunciation. And accepting his salutation with faith, she conceived Thee, the preëternal God. Wherefore, rejoicing, we cry out to Thee: O God Who wast immutably incarnate of her, grant peace to the world and great mercy to our souls!
Behold, our restoration hath now been revealed to us! God uniteth Himself to men in manner past recounting! Falsehood is dispelled by the voice of the archangel! For the Virgin receiveth joy, an earthly woman hath become heaven! The world is released from the primal curse! Let creation rejoice and chant aloud: O Lord, our Creator and Deliverer, glory be to Thee!
And 3 stichera of the archangel, in Tone I: Spec. Mel.: “O most lauded martyrs…”—
The great Gabriel, the most godly, radiant and salvific intelligence, who with the ranks on high beholdeth the light of the threefold Sun and chanteth divine and awesome hymns, prayeth that He grant unto our souls peace and great mercy.
The great mystery unknown before to the angels and kept secret from before time began was entrusted to thee alone, O Gabriel; having arrived in Nazareth, thou didst declare it to her who alone is pure. With her do thou pray, that God grant unto our souls peace and great mercy.
Stichos: He maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire.
Ever full of light, doing the will of the Almighty and carrying out His commands, O chief among the angels, most excellent Gabriel, save those who honor thee with love, ever asking that God grant unto our souls peace and great mercy.
Glory…, Now & ever…, idiomelon, in Tone VI—
The Archangel Gabriel was sent from heaven to announce the conception to the Virgin. And, arriving in Nazareth, he pondered within himself, marvelling at the wonder: “How is it that He is born of the Virgin Who in the highest is unapproachable; that He Who hath heaven for His throne and the earth for His footstool is contained within the Virgin’s womb; that He upon Whom the six-winged and many-eyed beings cannot gaze hath been well pleased to become incarnate of her by His word alone? This is God’s word. Why, therefore, do I stand and not say to the Virgin: ‘Rejoice, O thou who art full of grace! The Lord is with thee! Rejoice, O pure Virgin! Rejoice, O unwedded Bride! Rejoice, O Mother of Life! Blessed is the Fruit of thy womb!’?”
During the chanting of the stichera, the priest performeth proskomedia.
Entrance with the Gospel book. “O gladsome Light…” Prokimenon.
Readings of the day, from the Triodion. And 2 readings for the feast:
Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he brought the sheep nigh to the wilderness, and came to the Mount of Horeb. And an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the bush, and he saw that the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. And Moses said: “I will go near and see this great sight, why the bush is not consumed.” And when the Lord saw that he drew nigh to see, the Lord called him out of the bush, saying: “Moses, Moses!” And he said: “What is it?” And He said: “Draw not nigh hither: loose thy sandals from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” And He said: “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses turned away his face, for he was afraid to gaze at God. And the Lord said to Moses: “I have surely seen the affliction of My people that is in Egypt, and I have heard their cry caused by their taskmasters; for I know their affliction. And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land, and to bring them into a good and wide land, into a land flowing with milk and honey.”
The Lord hath made me the beginning of His ways for His works. He established me before time was in the beginning, before He made the earth: even before He made the depths; before the fountains of water came forth; before the mountains were settled, and all the hills, He begetteth me. The Lord made countries and deserts, and the highest inhabited parts under the heavens. When He prepared heaven, I was present with Him; and when He prepared His throne upon the winds, and when He strengthened the clouds above, and when He secured the fountains of the earth, and when He strengthened the foundations of the earth: I was by Him, arranging all things. I was that in which He took delight; and daily I rejoiced in His presence continually.
Prokimenon, in Tone IV—
Proclaim from day to day the good tidings of the salvation of our God.
Stichos: O sing unto the Lord a new song, sing unto the Lord all the earth.
Epistle to the Hebrews, § 306 [Heb. 2: 11-18]
Brethren: He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: “I will declare Thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto Thee. And again: I will put my trust in him. And again: Behold I and the children which God hath given me. Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor those who are tempted.
Alleluia, in Tone I—
Stichos: He shall come down like rain upon a fleece, and like rain-drops that fall upon the earth.
Stichos: His name shall be blessed unto the ages, before the sun doth His name continue.
Gospel according to Luke, § 3 [Lk. 1: 24-38]
In those days, Elizabeth, the wife of Zachariah, conceived, and hid herself five months, saying: “Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein He looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.” And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said: “Hail, thou who art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her: “Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: And He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end.” Then said Mary unto the angel: “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” And the angel answered and said unto her: “The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible.” And Mary said “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” And the angel departed from her.
And the rest of the Liturgy of John Chrysostom.
Communion Verse—
The Lord hath elected Sion, He hath chosen her to be a habitation for Himself.
Translated by Isaac Lambertsen. Edition menaion.en.lambertsen.