service_book menaion

Second Sunday after Pentecost: God-bearing Fathers on Mount Athos

At “Lord, I have cried…”, four stichera of the resurrection, from the Octoechos; and Glory…, of the venerable fathers, in Tone I —

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

After “Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace…”, the Troparion of the resurrection; Glory…, the Troparion of the venerable fathers, in Tone I —

SERVICE TO THE VENERABLE & GOD-BEARING FATHERS

O all ye assemblies of monastics, come to the chariot of God, which is adorned with thousands and myriads of the virtues, and let us praise the fathers of Mount Athos: the venerable ones and holy hierarchs, the martyrs and hieromartyrs, those known by name and those whose names are unknown; for by word and deed, by their divers ways of living the angelic life, and by the gifts they received from God, they have truly been revealed as saints, and have shown the Mountain to be rightly named for holiness; and God hath glorified their very graves with miracles and fragrant myrrh. And now, standing before Christ Who hath glorified them, they pray earnestly for us who celebrate their memory.

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

WHO HAVE SHONE FORTH IN FASTING ON MOUNT ATHOS

Now & ever…: The Dogmaticon for Little Vespers, from the Octoechos.

Now & ever...: Theotokion, in Tone I.

Which is Celebrated by the Holy Church on the Second Sunday After Pentecost

At the Aposticha, one sticheron from the Octoechos, and these stichera, in Tone II: Spec. Mel.: “When from the Tree…” —

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

AT LITTLE VESPERS

When ye took the Cross of the Lord upon your shoulders and entered upon the contest of fasting on Athos, and overcame the flesh and the world, and destroyed all the wiles of the prince of this world, then did the multitude of demons cry out to one another with lamentations: “O friends, how our might hath vanished!”

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

June 8: Holy Martyr Theodore the General

Stichos: The saints shall boast in glory, and they shall rejoice upon their beds.

THE 8th DAY OF THE MONTH OF JUNE

When certain inhabitants of the Holy Mountain submitted to the Latin-minded and entered into communion with them, thus saving their own lives, then, aflame with zeal for the Faith, O God-bearers, ye rejected their union. Wherefore, having endured death and multifarious tortures, ye have been adorned with the crown of martyrdom.

COMMEMORATION OF THE HOLY GREAT MARTYR

Glory…, in Tone V —

THEODORE THE GENERAL

O blessed multitude of the fathers of Mount Athos, who can praise thee as is meet? For, emulating John the Baptist, Paul of Thebes and Anthony the Great, ye made your abode in the wild and trackless land of Athos, trusting in God Who saveth you; and having struggled with the help of divine grace, ye made your sacred dwellings everywhere on the Mountain and have nurtured a multitude of monastics on the pastures of salvation. And now, deliver us, your flock, from all want, and pray that our souls be saved.

Second Sunday after Pentecost: All Saints of Russia

The prophecies concerning thee have been fulfilled, O pure Virgin; for one of the prophets foretold thee to be the gate in Eden which faceth the East, through which no one would pass save the Creator of thee and the whole world; and another foretold thee as the bush burning with fire, which remained unconsumed, in that the Fire of the Godhead abode within thee; and yet another called thee the holy mountain whence the Cornerstone was cut without the aid of men’s hands, which broke asunder the image of the noetic Nebuchadnezzar. Truly great and all-glorious is the mystery manifest in thee, O Mother of God! Wherefore, we glorify thee, for through thee hath salvation come to our souls.

THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

In hymns let us honor the fathers of the wilderness of Athos, the angels in the flesh, the confessors and the venerable, holy hierarchs and martyrs; and, emulating their virtues, let us cry aloud, saying: Glory to Him Who hath glorified you! Glory to Him Who hath crowned you! Glory to Him Who hath shown you to be our intercessors amid tribulations!

SERVICE TO ALL THE SAINTS WHO HAVE SHONE FORTH IN THE RUSSIAN LAND

When Gabriel announced to thee, “Rejoice!”, O Virgin, the Master of all became incarnate within thee, the holy tabernacle, at his cry, as the righteous David said. Thou wast shown to be more spacious than the heavens, having given birth to thy Creator. Glory to Him Who made His abode within thee! Glory to Him Who came forth from thee! Glory to Him Who hath set us free by thy birthgiving!

On the first Sunday after the commemoration of All Saints, which is the first Sunday of the Fast of the holy, glorious and all-praised Apostles, we celebrate the memory of all the saints who have shone forth in the land of Russia.

On “Lord, I have cried...”, 4 stichera of the resurrection, in Tone I; and Glory…, in Tone VI —

AT LITTLE VESPERS:

The memory of the saints hath been shown to be a cause of great festivity for our land; and, boasting therein, let us say: Forget not your native land of Russia, but be ye mindful of all of us who keep your memory, O all ye saints, praying to the Lord in our behalf.

At the Aposticha, one sticheron of the resurrection, in Tone I; and these stichera of the saints, in Tone I: Spec. Mel.: “Joy of the ranks of heaven...” —

Stichos: The righteous cried, and the Lord heard them.

Let us all pray to Christ, celebrating today the memory of the glorious Vladimir, the author of the enlightenment of the Russian land; and with him let us harmoniously hymn our divine fathers, saying unto them: O all ye saints, entreat the Lord in our behalf, that He grant us great mercy!

Stichos: Blessed are all those who fear the Lord, that walk in His ways.

Rejoice, thou mountain of the Caves most rich, curdled by the Spirit! Rejoice, O paradise of immortal delights; for within thee hath our God been well pleased ever to dwell, enriching thee with the torrents of wonders which thou dost pour forth through His venerable ones!

Glory…, in Tone I —

With spiritual songs let us all cry out: Rejoice and be glad, O city of Kiev, who hast presented us with the all-rich Olga! Rejoice, thou city of Suzdal’, who hast given rise to the right-believing Euphrosynia, a fruit of the tree of paradise, the confirmation of fasters! And with them let us also bless the all-glorious Febronia of Murom, Anna of Kashin, and Euphrosynia, the adornment of the land of Polotsk, and all the women of the Russian land who have been pleasing unto God; and let us cry out to them: O most blessed and holy ones, pray ye to the Lord in our behalf, that He grant us great mercy!

The prophet called thee the cloud of the everlasting Light, O Virgin; for Christ our God, the Word of the Father, Who shone forth from thee like the dew upon the fleece, hath enlightened the world and abolished deception. We beseech thee, O all-pure one: Cease thou never earnestly to entreat Him in behalf of us who confess thee to be the true Theotokos.

After “Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart…”, Trisagion through Our Father, and the Troparion of the Resurrection; Glory…: that of the saints, in Tone VIII —

The land of Russia doth offer Thee, O Lord, all the saints who have shone forth in it, as the beauteous fruit of Thy salvific splendor. By their supplications and through the Theotokos preserve Thou the Church and our land in peace profound, O most Merciful One.

O Good One, Who for our sake wast born of the Virgin and, having endured crucifixion, cast down death by death, and as God revealed the resurrection: disdain not that which Thou hast fashioned with Thine own hand. Show forth Thy love for mankind, O Merciful One; accept the Theotokos who gave Thee birth and prayeth for us; and save Thy despairing people, O our Savior!