At Matins

Song of Ascents, the first antiphon.

Glory..., Now & ever... Alleluia... Thrice .

After the first chanting of the Psalter, this sessional hymn of the feast, in Tone VI—

No sooner was the tree of Thy Cross planted, O Christ our Lord, than the foundations of death were shaken. That which hades swallowed greedily it spewed forth, trembling. Thou hast revealed to us Thy salvation, O Holy One, and we glorify Thee. O Son of God, have mercy upon us!

At “God is the Lord…”, the troparion of the feast, twice; Glory…, that of the saint; Now & ever…, that of the feast.

After the second chanting of the Psalter, this sessional hymn, in Tone VI—

Glory…, Now & ever…, in Tone I: Spec. Mel.: “When the stone had been sealed…”—

On “God is the Lord…”, the troparion of the feast, thrice . After the kathismata, the sessional hymns of the feast. Canon of the feast, with 12 troparia. The Irmos is chanted twice . The same irmoi are chanted as katavasiae, both choirs together. After Ode III, sessional hymns of the feast, twice . After Ode VI, kontakion and ikos of the feast. At Ode IX, we do not chant the Magnificat. Canon I, with 8 troparia, and Canon II with 6 troparia. The irmoi of Ode IX of both canons are chanted twice . Katavasiae: The irmos of Canon I with its refrain, followed by the irmos of Canon II with its refrain. Prostration. Exapostilarion of the feast, twice . On the Praises, 4 stichera of the feast; Glory…, Now & ever…, doxasticon of the feast. Great Doxology. After “Our Father”, the troparion of the feast. Litanies and dismissal.

After the Polyeleos, this sessional hymn, in Tone VII—

We bow down before the tree of Thy Cross, O Thou Who lovest mankind, for Thou wast nailed thereto, O Life of all. Thou didst open paradise to the thief who approached Thee with faith, O Savior, and he was vouchsafed sweetness for confessing Thee: “Remember me, O Lord!” Accept us like him, for we cry: We have all sinned! Disdain us not, for Thou art compassionate!

On the Hours

Now & ever…, sessional hymn of the feast, in Tone VIII: Spec. Mel.: “That which was mystically ­commanded…”—

Today the words of the prophet have been fulfilled! For, behold! we bow down before the place where Thy feet stood, O Lord, and, receiving the Tree of salvation, we have achieved liberation from sinful passions through the supplications of the Theotokos, O Thou Who alone lovest mankind.

Troparion and kontakion of the feast.

Glory…, Now & ever…, in Tone VIII: Spec. Mel.: “That which was mystically commanded…”—

On “God is the Lord…”, the troparion of the resurrection, twice ; Glory…, Now & ever…, that of the feast. After the kathismata, the sessional hymns of the resurrection, and their theotokia. “Blessed art Thou, O Lord… The council of the angels was amazed…”, and the hypacoi of the tone. Hymns of ascent and prokimenon of the tone of the week. “Let every breath…” Gospel of the resurrection. “Having beheld the resurrection of Christ…” Psalm 50 and the rest as usual. Canons: Resurrection, with 4 troparia; Theotokos, with 2 troparia; and that of the feast, with 8 troparia. Katavasia: the irmoi of the feast. After Ode III, the kontakion and ikos of the feast; sessional hymn of the feast, twice . After Ode VI, the resurrectional kontakion and ikos. At Ode IX, we chant the Magnificat. Resurrectional exapostilarion; Glory…, Now & ever…, that of the feast. On the Praises, 8 stichera: 4 of the resurrection, and 4 of the feast, including the doxasticon, with the festal stichoi; Glory…, the evangelical sticheron; Now & ever… “All-blessed art thou,…” Great Doxology. After “Our Father”, the matins resurrectional troparion only. Litanies and Dismissal. First Hour and final Dismissal.

Of old, Joshua, the son of Nun, mystically prefigured the image of the Cross when he stretched forth his arms in the form of the Cross, O my Savior; and the sun stood still until he had cast down all the enemy opposed to Thee, O God. And now Thou hast raised with Thee the whole world, which saw Thee set upon the Cross, destroying the might of death.

On the Hours

Polyeleos, and this magnification—

Troparia of the resurrection and the feast at each Hour. After “Our Father”, we alternate the festal and resurrectional kontakia.

We magnify thee, O holy hierarch father Demetrius, and we honor thy holy memory; for thou entreatest Christ God for us.

Selected Psalm verses—

A Hear this, all ye nations; give ear, all ye that inhabit the world. [Ps. 48: 2]

B My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding. [Ps. 48: 4]

A Come, ye children, hearken unto me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. [Ps. 33: 12]

B I have proclaimed the good tidings of Thy righteousness in the great congregation. [Ps. 39: 10]

A Thy truth and Thy salvation have I declared. [Ps. 39: 11]

B I will declare Thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I hymn Thee. [Ps. 21: 23]

A That I may hear the voice of Thy praise, and tell of all Thy wondrous works. [Ps. 25: 7]

B O Lord, I have loved the beauty of Thy house, and the place where Thy glory dwelleth. [Ps. 25: 8]

A I have hated the congregation of evil-doers, and with the ungodly will I not sit. [Ps. 25: 5]

B For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and I have not acted impiously toward my God. [Ps. 17: 22]

A The mouth of the righteous shall meditate wisdom, and his tongue shall speak of judgment. [Ps. 36: 30]

B His righteousness abideth unto ages of ages. [Ps. 110: 3]

A Thy priests shall be clothed with righteousness, and Thy righteous shall rejoice. [Ps. 131: 9]

B Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house; unto ages of ages shall they praise Thee. [Ps. 83: 5]

Like a palm-tree hast thou blossomed forth from the earth in incorruption, and like the cedar in Lebanon hast thou been multiplied in miracles; thou hast been exalted in revelation, standing like a city upon a mountaintop, and like a lamp hast shone forth in thy memory as from beneath a bushel. And all of us, beholding the things fulfilled in thee, glorify Him Who hath so magnified thee among His saints. As thou hast boldness before Christ the Lord, pray thou, O Demetrius manifest in holiness, that He save and enlighten our souls.

Glory…, in the same tone—

Of old, in paradise, a tree stripped me naked, the enemy bringing about mortality through eating; but the tree of the Cross, bearing for men the vesture of life, hath been planted in the ground, and the whole world hath been filled with all manner of joy. Beholding it uplifted, O ye people, let us cry out to God together: Fill Thou Thy house with glory!

Prokimenon, in Tone IV—

My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.

Stichos: Hear this, all ye nations; give ear, all ye that inhabit the world.

Let every breath praise the Lord.

Gospel according to John, § 35

from the midpoint (Jn. 10: 1-8)

The Lord said to the Jews that came to Him: “Verily, verily, I say unto you: He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.” This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which He spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again: “Verily, verily, I say unto you: I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before Me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.”

After Psalm 50, this sticheron, in Tone VI—

O holy hierarch Demetrius, thou good and faithful servant, who increased the talant entrusted to thee by thy Master: grace hath poured forth in thy lips, for with thy teachings thou hast adorned the Church, hast made plain the truth of Orthodoxy, and hast put the thoughts of the schismatics to shame. Wherefore, after thy departure, as during thy lifetime, strive thou that, convinced by thy miracles, the vain-minded may come to their senses and with us glorify God in three Hypostases.