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PALM SUNDAY ON SATURDAY EVENING AT LITTLE VESPERS At Lord, I have cried we insert 4 Stichera and sing the following Prosomia. Tone 8. You rose on the third day. Seated on the colt, O Christ, you accepted a song of victory from innocent children, as you, who are praised by Angels with the thrice-holy hymn, came to your Passion. Your King, O Sion, meek and bringing salvation, is coming on a colt, seeking to smite the foe with strength. Rejoice and be glad, as you keep the feast with Palms. Let us believers clap our hands with one accord, as we too, like the Children, offer branches of virtues to Christ. And let us unfold for him the cloaks of good works and mystically receive him. Brethren, let us offer Christ God Palms of virtues as he comes in human form to suffer willingly for our sake, with the strength of the godhead to grant dispassion to all. Glory. Both now. Same melody.He who as God rides on the backs of the Cherubim is seated on a colt as for our sake he comes willingly to the slaughter. Come, let us fervently sing his praise with Palms. Aposticha. Prosomia. New Sion, be radiant with children and sing the hymn with palms, ‘See, your King bringing salvation comes to his Passion’. Verse: From the mouth of babes and sucklings you have made sure of praise. Adam and Eve, rejoice with Prophets. See, the Lord is hastening to call us back through the Passion. Verse: Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is your name in all the earth. He who on high with Father and Spirit receives the Angels’ hymn, makes himself strangely a pauper here below, and receives the praise of Children. Glory. Both now. Same melody.With fear I praise your dread dispensation. To you I cry, ‘Hosanna!’, for you are coming to save me, blessed Lord. Apolytikia. Assuring us before your Passion of the general resurrection, you raised Lazarus from the dead, O Christ God: therefore, like the Children, we also carry tokens of victory, and we cry to you, the Conqueror of death: Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Another, for Palm Sunday only. Buried with you through Baptism, Christ our God, we have been granted immortal life by your Resurrection, and we sing your praises, crying: Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. AT GREAT VESPERS After the Opening Psalm and the whole of the 1st Kathisma of the Psalter, at Lord, I have cried we inset 10 Stichera and sing the following 5 Idiomels, doubling them. [ Note that the left hand choir always has the precedence at Great Vespers on this feast.]Tone 6. Today the grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us together, and taking up the Cross we all say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!’ Same Tone. He who has heaven as his throne and earth his footstool, the Word and co-eternal Son of God the Father, having come to Bethany, showed his humility today on the colt of a dumb animal. Therefore the children of the Hebrews, holding branches in their hands, sang his praise and cried, ‘Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes, the King of Israel’. Same Tone. Let us too, all the new Israel, the Church from the nations, come today and let us cry out, ‘Rejoice greatly, daughter of Sion. Proclaim it, daughter of Jerusalem. For see, your King is coming to you, meek and bringing salvation, and mounted on the colt of an ass, offspring of a beast of burden. Celebrate with the Children. Holding branches in your hands shout his praise, ‘Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes, the King of Israel’. Same Tone. Prefiguring for us your holy Resurrection, loving Lord, you raised a dead man from the grave by your command, Lazarus, your lifeless friend, who by the fourth day had begun to stink. So too, as a symbol, you mounted the colt, O Saviour, borne as on a chariot and giving a sign to the nations. So too Israel your beloved offers you praise from mouths of sucklings and innocent babes, as they see you coming to the Holy City, O Christ, six days before the Passover. Same Tone. Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany and his Disciples approached him, saying, ‘Lord, where do you wish us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?’ But he sent them, saying, ‘Go to the village opposite and you will find a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him and say to the master of the household, ‘The Teacher says, ‘I am celebrating Passover with you along with my Disciples’’’. Glory. Same Tone.Today the grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us together, and taking up the Cross we all say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!’ Both now. The same again.Great Entrance, O Joyful Light and the Saturday Prokeimenon.Then the Readings. The Reading is from Genesis Then Jacob called his sons, and said to them, ‘Gather round, that I may tell you what will happen to you in the last days. Assemble and hear me, sons of Jacob. Hear Israel, hear your father. Juda, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand will be on the back of your enemies. Your father’s sons will bow down before you. Juda is a lion’s whelp. From a tender shoot, my son, you have gone up. He crouches down, he stretches out like a lion, like a whelp. Who will rouse him? A ruler will not fail from Juda, nor a leader from his thighs, until the things laid up for him come, and he is the expectation of the nations. Binding his foal to the vine and his ass’s colt to the branch, he will wash his robe in wine and his cloak in the blood of the grape. His eyes are more cheering than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk’. The reading is from the Prophecy of Sophonias. Thus says the Lord, ‘Rejoice, daughter of Sion. Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your iniquities, he has ransomed you from the hand of your enemies. The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst. You shall see evils no more. At that time the Lord will say to Jerusalem, ‘Be of good courage, Sion Do not let your hands grow weak. The Lord, your God, is in your midst. The Mighty One will save you. He will bring joy upon you and renew you by his love. He will rejoice over you with delight, as on a day of festival. And I will gather your afflicted. Alas! Who has taken up a reproach against you? I will work for your sake at that time. And I will save her that was oppressed and receive her who was rejected, and I will make them a boast and famed in all the earth’. The reading is from the Prophecy of Zachary. Rejoice greatly, daughter of Sion! Shout aloud, daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, just and bringing salvation. He is meek and riding on beast of burden, on a young colt. He will utterly destroy the chariots from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem. And the battle bow he will utterly destroy, and there shall be abundance of peace out of the nations, and he will rule over the waters as far as the sea, and from rivers unto the ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. You shall dwell in your strongholds, prisoners of the congregation. For one day of your exile I will repay you double. For I have bent you Juda as bow for myself. I have filled Ephraim and I will arouse your children, O Sion, against the children of the Greeks, and handle you like a warrior’s sword. Then the Lord will appear over them, and he will go forth like a lightning bolt. The Lord Almighty will sound the trumpet and march forth in the tumult of his threat. The Lord Almighty will protect them. At the Liti. Idiomel Stichera. Tone 1. The All-Holy Spirit, who taught the Apostles to speak in other strange tongues, himself inspires the innocent children of the Hebrews to cry out, ‘Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes, the King of Israel’. Same Tone. The Son and Word of the Father, like him without beginning and co-eternal, came today to the city of Jerusalem, seated on the colt of a dumb animal. The One whom the Cherubim cannot gaze upon with fear Children praise with palms and branches, as mystically they raise the song, ‘Hosanna in the highest to him who has come to save our whole race from error.’ Same Tone. Six days before the Passover your voice was heard, Lord, in the depths of Hell. From it you raised Lazarus, dead for four days, while the children of the Hebrews cried out, ‘Hosanna! Our God, glory to you!’ Tone 2. As you entered the Holy City, Lord, seated on the colt, you were hastening to your Passion, that you might fulfil the Law and the Prophets, while the Children of the Hebrews, foreshadowing the victory of your Resurrection, met you with branches and palms, saying, ‘Blessed are you, O Saviour. Have mercy on us’. Tone 2. Glory to you, O Christ, who are seated on the throne in the highest and are now awaited with your precious Cross. And so the daughter of Sion is glad, the nations of the earth rejoice. Children hold branches, the Disciples tunics; and the whole inhabited world was taught to cry out to you, ‘Blessed are you, O Saviour. Have mercy on us’. Glory. Both now. Tone 3.Six days before the Passover was to take place, Jesus came to Bethany to call back Lazarus who had been dead for four days and to proclaim beforehand the Resurrection. Women too came to meet him, Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus, crying out to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, our brother would not have died’. Then he said to them, ‘Did I not tell you before, one who believes in me, even though they die, will live? Show me where you have laid him’. And the Creator of all things cried to him, ‘Lazarus, come forth!’ And the usual Prayers in the Narthex. At the Aposticha the following Idiomels. Rejoice and be glad, city of Sion, exult and be joyful, Church of God. For see, your King has come with justice, seated upon a colt, praised by Children, ‘Hosanna in the highest! Blessed are you, who have great compassion. Have mercy on us’. Verse: From the mouth of babes and sucklings you have made sure of praise.Today the Saviour came to the city of Jerusalem to fulfil the Scripture. And all took palms in their hands, spread their garments before him, knowing that he is our God, to whom the Cherubim cry without ceasing, ‘Hosanna in the highest! Blessed are you, who have great compassion. Have mercy on us’. Verse: Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is your name in all the earth!You, who ride on the Cherubim and are praised by the Seraphim, mounted like David on a colt, O loving Lord. And Children sang your praise in a manner fitting God. Jews unlawfully blasphemed you. Your sitting on a colt prefigured how the untamed nations were being changed from unbelief to faith. Glory to you, O Christ, who alone are merciful and love humankind. Glory. Tone 6.Today the grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us together, and taking up the Cross we all say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!’ Both now. The same again.Apolytikia. Assuring us before your Passion of the general resurrection, you raised Lazarus from the dead, O Christ God. Therefore, like the Children, we also carry tokens of victory, and we cry to you, the Conqueror of death: Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. ( Twice)Another, for Palm Sunday only. Buried with you through Baptism, Christ our God, we have been granted immortal life by your Resurrection, and we sing your praises, crying: Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. AT MATINS The Six Psalms, The Lord is God, and the Apolytikia as above at Vespers. After the 1st reading from the Psalter, the following Kathisma. Tone 4. Joseph was amazed. Cleansed in soul, let us, like the Children, with branches spiritually praise Christ with faith, as we cry with a loud voice to the Master, ‘Blessed are you, O Saviour, who came into the world to save Adam from the ancient curse, becoming spiritually a new Adam, O Lover of mankind, as you were well pleased. O Word, who have disposed all things for our good, glory to you!’ Another Kathisma. By raising Lazarus, dead for four days, from the grave, Lord, you taught all to cry out to you with Palms and branches, ‘Blessed are you who come’. After the 2nd reading from the Psalter, other Kathismata. Tone 4. Joseph was amazed. Over your friend, O Christ, you mystically shed tears and raise from the dead Lazarus who had died. By this you showed your compassion in your love for mankind. When they learned of your coming, the multitudes of infants went out today, holding Palms in their hands, crying out to you, ‘Hosanna! Blessed are you, for you have come to save the world’. Tone 1. When the stone had been sealed. Peoples and nations, give praise with one accord. For the King of the Angels has now mounted the colt and is coming willingly to smite his foes by the Cross as all-powerful. Therefore the Children too with Palms shout the hymn, ‘Glory to you who have come as Conqueror! Glory to you, Christ Saviour! Glory to you, our God, alone blessed!’ At the Polyeleos, the Selection. In all the earth. Alleluia. Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is your name in all the earth. Glory. Tone 1 Let us worship the Father and glorify the Son, and let us together all sing the praise of the all-holy Spirit, as we cry and say: All-holy Trinity, save us all. Both now. Your people, O Christ, brings you your Mother in supplication; at her prayers grant us your pity, O Good One, that we may glorify you, who dawned from the tomb. After the Polyeleos, the following Kathisma. He who sits on the throne of the Cherubim and on the colt for our sake, and has come to his voluntary Passion, hears today the Children crying out, ‘Hosanna!’ and the crowds replying, ‘Son of David, hasten to save those whom you fashioned, blessed Jesus. For for this you have come, that we may know your glory’. Glory. Both now. The same again.We have a reading from the Homilies on the Gospel according to John about the feast, numbers 65 and 66 [by St. John Chrysostom] Then the 1st Antiphon of the Anavathmi in Tone 4, and after Let everything that has breath:Prokeimenon in Tone 4. From the mouth of babes and sucklings you have made sure of praise. Verse: Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is your name in all the earth!Then the Gospel according to Matthew. [ 21:1-11 & 15-17][ Note that while the Gospel is being read by the priest, we give an epitrachelion and euchologion to the Superior for reading the blessing of the Palms. We place the table near the reading desk of the right hand choir, and on it the baskets holding the crosses.After the Gospel the Abbot reads the blessing of the Palms. Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord.Choir: Lord, have mercy.Superior: Lord, our God, who are seated upon the Cherubim, you have roused your power and sent your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to save the world through his Cross, Burial and Resurrection. As he drew near Jerusalem for his voluntary Passion, the people that sat in darkness and the shadow of death, taking the symbols of victory, boughs of trees and branches of palms, foretold his Resurrection. Do you, Master, yourself keep and preserve us also, who, following their example, on this day before the Feast carry palms and branches in our hands and, like those crowds and those children, offer you our ‘Hosanna!’, so that with hymns and spiritual songs we may be counted worthy of the life-giving Resurrection on the third day; in Christ Jesus, our Lord, with whom you are blessed, together with your all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Choir: Amen.The ecclesiastics scatter palm leaves over the whole floor of the church. ]We do not say, Having seen the Resurrection of Christ, but immediately after Psalm 50 we sing the following.Glory. Tone 2.Today Christ enters the Holy City seated on a colt, abolishing the wicked folly of the nations, that had been left dry and barren of old. Both now. The same again.Today Christ enters the Holy City seated on a colt, abolishing the wicked folly of the nations, that had been left dry and barren of old. Verse: Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy. According to the fullness of your compassion blot out my offences.Tone 6. Today the grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us together, and taking up the Cross we all say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!’ While the Brothers kiss the Gospel the Superior distributes the Palms. Then we sing the Canon, the Irmi twice and the Troparia 4, or 6 times when there are only two, and at the end the Irmi again as Katavasias by both Choirs. The Canon, of which the acrostic is: Hosanna Christ, blessed God A composition of Monk Kosmas. Ode 1. Tone 4. Irmos. ‘The springs of the abyss appeared bereft of liquid and the foundations of the stormy sea were revealed, for by your command you rebuked its fury but saved your chosen People as they sang a song of victory to you, O Lord’. Troparia. From the mouth of innocent babes and sucklings, your own servants, you made sure of praise, to destroy the opponent and by the suffering of the Cross to avenge the fall of the old Adam; to raise him up through a tree as he sang a song of victory to you, O Lord. The Church of the holy ones offers you praise, O Christ who dwell in Sion, while Israel rejoices in you his Maker, and mountains, types of the stony hearted nations exulted before your face, as they sang you a song of victory, O Lord. Katavasia. The springs of the abyss.Ode 3. Irmos. ‘The Israelite people drew water from solid rock, at your command become a flowing stream. You are the rock and life, O Christ, on which the Church has been established as she cries, ‘Hosanna! Blessed are you who come’.’ Troparia. Trembling at your command Hell let go Lazarus, dead for four days, from among the dead. For you, O Christ, are resurrection and life on whom the Church has been established as she cries, ‘Hosanna! Blessed are you who come’. You peoples, sing in Sion in a manner fitting God, and offer a prayer to Christ in Jerusalem. He comes himself in glory with dominion, on whom the Church has been established as she cries, ‘Hosanna! Blessed are you who come’. Katavasia. The Israelite people.The Ypakoļ. Tone 6. [By St Romanos] At first the ungrateful Jews with branches praised Christ God, later with staves arrested him. But as with faith unchanging we ever honour him as Benefactor, let us cry to him, ‘Blessed are you who come to call back Adam.’ Then is read the Sermon of Kyr Andrew of Crete. Ode 4. Irmos. ‘Christ who comes manifestly as our God will comes and will not delay from a mountain overshadowed by forest, a Maiden who gives birth without knowledge of man, said the Prophet of old. Therefore let us all cry out, ‘Glory to your power, O Lord!’’ Troparia. Let the mountains and all the hills break forth into mighty rejoicing at mercy, and let the trees of the forest clap their hands. Praise Christ, you nations, and all you peoples praise him as you cry out, ‘Glory to your power, O Lord!’ The Lord who is king over the ages will come clothed in strength. The splendour of his beauty and glory is beyond compare in Sion. Therefore let us all cry out, ‘Glory to your power, O Lord!’ The Lord who measures Heaven in a span and earth in the hollow of his hand is here. For he chose Sion. In her he was pleased to dwell and reign over the peoples who cry out in faith, ‘Glory to your power, O Lord!’ Katavasia. Christ who comes.Ode 5. Irmos. ‘You that bring good tidings to Sion, go up onto a mountain, and you that preach to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength. Glorious things have been said of you, City of God. Peace upon Israel and salvation to the nations.’ Troparia. God who is seated in the highest upon the Cherubim and looks upon lowly things comes himself in glory with dominion,. And all things will b filled with his divine praise. Peace upon Israel and salvation to the nations. Sion, holy mountain of God, and Jerusalem lift your eyes round about and see your children gathered in you. For see, they have come from afar to worship your King. Peace upon Israel and salvation to the nations. Katavasia. You that bring good tidings.Ode 6. Irmos. ‘The spirits of the Just cried out in joy, ‘Now the new covenant is being granted to the world. And let a people be made new through sprinkling with divine Blood.’ Troparia. Israel, receive the kingdom of God. And the one who walks in darkness see the great light And let a people be made new through sprinkling with divine Blood. Sion, send forth your prisoners who have been set free, and lead them out of the waterless pit of ignorance. And let the people be made new through sprinkling with divine Blood. Katavasia. The spirits of the Just.Kontakion [sung]. Model melody. Tone 6. Mounted on the throne in heaven, Christ God, and on the colt on earth, you accepted the praise of the angels and the hymn of the children who cried to you, ‘Blessed are you who come to call back Adam.’ Ikos [read]. Since you bound Hell, slew Death and raised the world,, with palms the infants praised you, O Christ, as victor, crying out to you to-day, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David. For no more’, they say, ‘will infants be slaughtered because of Mary’s babe, But for all, infants and elders, you alone are crucified. No more against us will the sword advance, for your side will be pierced by a lance, therefore we rejoice and say, ‘Blessed are you who come to call back Adam.’’ Synaxarion from the Menaion. Then the following. On the same day, Palm Sunday, we celebrate the radiant and glorious festival of the entry into to Jerusalem of our Lord Jesus Christ. Verses. The One who spread the sky out with a word, After the raising of Lazarus from the dead, many people saw what had happened and began to believe in Jesus. A decision was taken by the synagogue of the Jews to kill both Christ and Lazarus. Jesus therefore flees, giving place to evil, while the Jews were planning to kill him during the Feast of Passover. When a considerable time had been given to flight, Jesus came six days before Passover, as Scripture says, to Bethany, where Lazarus, the one who had been dead, was. And there a meal took place at which Lazarus also was eating with him. But his sister Mary poured sweet perfume over his feet. And the next day he sent his Disciples to bring the ass and her colt. And he who has heaven as his throne, mounted on the colt entered Jerusalem. The children of the Hebrews threw their garments over it and, cutting down branches of palm trees and carrying others in their hands, they went ahead of him crying out, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel’. This happened because the All-Holy Spirit moved their tongues to praise and extol Christ. They showed this through the Palms [Baļa], that is the branches (Baļon is what the Hebrews call the soft branch) which signified in advance the victory of Christ over death. For it was the custom for the victors in contests or wars to be honoured and escorted in the victory processions with branches of evergreen trees. The colt on the other hand signified us, the people from the nations, on which Christ, seated and resting upon it as victor and conqueror, was proclaimed as King of the whole earth. Of this Feast the Prophet Zachary said, ‘Rejoice greatly, daughter of Sion. See, your King comes to you, meek and seated on a beast of burden and a colt of an ass, offspring of a beast of burden’. And David again says of the Children, ‘From the mouth of babes and sucklings you have made sure of praise.’ But as Christ entered, Scripture says, all Jerusalem was shaken and the crowds, provoked to vengeance by the Chief Priests, were looking to make away with him. But he avoided them by hiding and showing himself, and he spoke to them in parables. By your ineffable compassion, Christ our God, make us victors over the irrational passions, and count us worthy to see your shining victory over death and your radiant and life -bearing Resurrection, and have mercy on us. Ode 7. Irmos. ‘You who saved the Children of Abraham in the fire and slew the Chaldeans who had plotted unjustly against the just, O Lord, highly exalted and God of our Fathers, blessed are you.’ Troparia. With palms in their hands, the peoples bending their knees and rejoicing with the Disciples were crying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David. O Lord, highly exalted and God of our Fathers, blessed are you’. The innocent multitude, being still in infancy, sang your praise in a manner fitting God, O King of Israel and of Angels. ‘O Lord, highly exalted and God of our Fathers, blessed are you.’ With branches of palms the multitudes greeted you, O Christ, and cried out, ‘Blessed is he who has come, King of the ages. O Lord, highly exalted and God of our Fathers, blessed are you.’ Katavasia. You who saved the Children.Ode 8. Irmos. ‘Rejoice, Jerusalem, and keep festival all who love Sion. For the Lord of Powers who reigns over the ages has come. Let the whole earth stand in reverence before his face, and let it cry aloud, ‘All you his works, praise the Lord’.’ Troparia. Mounted on a young colt, Christ your King is here, O Sion. For to abolish the irrational error of idols and restrain the untamed wilfulness of all nations, he is at hand that they may sing, ‘O Lord, highly exalted and God of our Fathers, blessed are you’. Rejoice greatly, daughter of Sion, Christ your God has reigned to the ages, for so it is written, on a colt our just Redeemer has come, meek and bringing salvation, to destroy the prancing arrogance of foes who do not sing, ‘O Lord, highly exalted and God of our Fathers, blessed are you’. The lawless Sanhedrin of disobedient men is scattered from the sacred precincts, for it had made God’s house of prayer into a den of thieves, having banished the Redeemer from their hearts. To him we cry, ‘O Lord, highly exalted and God of our Fathers, blessed are you’. Katavasia. Rejoice, Jerusalem.[Greater in honour is not sung.]Ode 9. Irmos. ‘The Lord is God and has appeared to us. Together celebrate a feast, and rejoicing, come, let us magnify Christ with palms and branches as we cry out in hymns, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, our Saviour’’. Troparia. Nations, why did you rage? Scribes and Priests, why did you meditate vain things, saying, ‘Who is this, to whom Children with palms and branches shout aloud with hymns, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, our Saviour’?’ This is our God and there is none like him. He has found out every just way and given it to Israel his beloved. But after this he appeared and lived among mankind. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, our Saviour. Disobedient people, why do put stumbling blocks for us on the path? Your feet are swift to shed the blood of the Master. But he will arise to save all those who cry, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, our Saviour’. Katavasia. The Lord is God.No Exapostilarion is sung, but only Holy is the Lord our God. We sing the same, and no other, 3 times.At Lauds we insert 6 Stichera, and sing the following Idiomels, doubling the first two. Idiomel Stichera. Tone 4. A very great crowd, Lord, spread their garments in the way, while others cut down branches from the trees and carried them. Those who went ahead and those who followed cried out, saying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed are you who came and who are coming again in the name of the Lord’. ( Twice)The same Tone. As you were about to enter the Holy City, Lord, the peoples were carrying branches of plants as they hymned you, the Master of all things, seeing you seated on the colt, as though they beheld you on the Cherubim. And therefore they cried out , ‘Hosanna in the highest! Blessed are you who came and who are coming again in the name of the Lord’. ( Twice)The same Tone. Come forth, you nations, and come forth you peoples, and look today on the King of Heaven on a humble colt as on a lofty throne treading the path to Jerusalem. Faithless and adulterous generation of the Jews, look on the one whom Isaias saw who has come for our sake in flesh. see, how he weds the new Sion, for she is chaste, and rejects the synagogue that is condemned. As at a marriage that is incorrupt and undefiled, the undefiled and innocent Children run together as they sing his praise. As we raise the song with them, let us cry aloud the Angels’ song, ‘Hosanna in the highest to him who has great mercy!’ The same Tone. Before your voluntary Passion, Christ God, foreshadowing the general Resurrection for the assurance of all, in Bethany you raised Lazarus, dead for four days, by your mighty power, and as giver of light gave sight to the blind, O Saviour. And with your Disciples you entered the Holy City, seated, as though riding on the Cherubim, on the colt of an ass, so fulfilling the preaching of the Prophets. And the Children of the Hebrews with branches and palms went out to meet you. Therefore we also, carrying branches of olive and palms, cry out to you with thanksgiving, ‘Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Glory. Both now. Tone 6.Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany and his Disciples approached him, saying, ‘Lord, where do you wish us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?’ But he sent them, saying, ‘Go to the village opposite and you will find a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him and say to the master of the household, ‘The Teacher says, ‘I am celebrating Passover with you along with my Disciples’’’. [ Note that we are not anointed by the priest during Lauds, as is usual at a Vigil, but we only venerate the icon of the Feast.]Great Doxology and Dismissal. The Liti takes place outside the monastery, [the 1st Hour] and the Instruction. AT THE LITURGY 1st Antiphon. Tone 2. [Psalm 114] Verse 1: I loved, because the Lord will hear the voice of my supplication. At the prayers of the Mother of God, O Saviour, save us. Verse 2: The pangs of death surrounded me; the perils of Hell found me.At the prayers of the Mother of God, O Saviour, save us. Verse 3: I found affliction and pain, and I called on the name of the Lord.At the prayers of the Mother of God, O Saviour, save us. Verse 4: I will be pleasing in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.At the prayers of the Mother of God, O Saviour, save us. Glory. Both now. At the prayers of the Mother of God, O Saviour, save us. 2nd Antiphon. Same Tone. [Psalm 115] Verse 1: I believed, therefore I spoke: I have been humbled exceedingly.Son of God, seated on the foal of an ass, save us who sing to you: Alleluia. Verse 2: How shall I repay the Lord for all that he has given me?Son of God, seated on the foal of an ass, save us who sing to you: Alleluia. Verse 3: I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.Son of God, seated on the foal of an ass, save us who sing to you: Alleluia. Verse 4: I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.Son of God, seated on the foal of an ass, save us who sing to you: Alleluia. Glory. Both now. Only-begotten Son... 3rd Antiphon. Tone 1. [Psalm 117] Verse 1: O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy endures for ever.Assuring us before your Passion of the general resurrection, you raised Lazarus from the dead, Christ our God. Therefore like the children we also carry tokens of victory, and we cry to you, the Conqueror of death: Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Verse 2: Let the house of Israel say that he is good: for his mercy endures for ever.Assuring us before your Passion of the general resurrection, you raised Lazarus from the dead, Christ our God. Therefore like the children we also carry tokens of victory, and we cry to you, the Conqueror of death: Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Verse 3: Let the house of Aaron say that he is good: for his mercy endures for ever.Assuring us before your Passion of the general resurrection, you raised Lazarus from the dead, Christ our God. Therefore like the children we also carry tokens of victory, and we cry to you, the Conqueror of death: Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Verse 4: Let all who fear the Lord say that he is good; for his mercy endures for ever.Assuring us before your Passion of the general resurrection, you raised Lazarus from the dead, Christ our God. Therefore like the children we also carry tokens of victory, and we cry to you, the Conqueror of death: Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Entrance [Psalm 117] Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. The Lord is God and has appeared to us. Son of God, seated on the foal of an ass, save us who sing to you: Alleluia. Apolytikion. Tone 1 Assuring us before your Passion of the general resurrection, you raised Lazarus from the dead, Christ our God. Therefore like the children we also carry tokens of victory, and we cry to you, the Conqueror of death: Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Glory. Apolytikion. Tone 4Buried with you through Baptism, Christ our God, we have been granted immortal life by your Resurrection, and we sing your praises, crying: Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Both now. Kontakion. Tone 4Mounted on the throne in heaven, Christ God, and on the foal on earth, you accepted the praise of the Angels and the hymn of the children who cried to you: Blessed are you who come to call back Adam. Prokeimenon in the 4th Tone. [Psalm 117] Blessed is he who comes * in the name of the Lord. Verse: O give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endures for ever.The Reading is from the Epistle of Paul to the Philippians. Brethren, rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious about nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you. Alleluia in the 1st Tone. [Psalm 97] Verse 1: Sing to the Lord a new song; for the Lord has done marvellous things.Verse 2: All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.Instead of It is truly right we sing:The Lord is God and has appeared to us. Together celebrate a feast, and rejoicing, come, let us magnify Christ with palms and branches as we cry out in hymns, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord: our Saviour’. Communion Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Alleluia. Instead of We have seen the true light we sing: Assuring us before your Passion of the general resurrection, you raised Lazarus from the dead, O Christ God. Therefore like the children we also carry tokens of victory, and we cry to you, the Conqueror of death: Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! In the refectory there is a consolation for the Brethren, for we eat fish. ON PALM SUNDAY EVENING Leave-taking of the Feast of Palms After the Opening Psalm, at Lord, I have cried, we insert 6 Stichera and sing the following Idiomels, doubling them. By John the Monk. Tone 8. Rejoice and be glad, city of Sion, exult and be joyful, Church of God. For see, your King has come with justice, seated upon a colt, praised by children, ‘Hosanna in the highest! Blessed are you, who have great compassion. Have mercy on us’. (Twice) Today the Saviour came to the city of Jerusalem to fulfil the Scripture. And all took palms in their hands, spread their garments before him, knowing that he is our God, to whom the Cherubim cry without ceasing, ‘Hosanna in the highest! Blessed are you, who have great compassion. Have mercy on us’. (Twice) Loving Lord, who ride on the Cherubim and are praised by the Seraphim, you mounted, like David, on a colt. And children sang your praise in a manner fitting God. Jews unlawfully blasphemed you. Your sitting on a colt prefigured how the untamed nations were being changed from unbelief to faith. Glory to you, O Christ, who alone are merciful and love humankind. (Twice) Glory. Rejoice and be glad, city of Sion; exult and be joyful, Church of God. For see, your King has come with justice, seated upon a colt, praised by children, ‘Hosanna in the highest! Blessed are you, who have great compassion. Have mercy on us’. Both now. Loving Lord, who ride on the Cherubim and are praised by the Seraphim, you mounted, like David, on a colt. And children sang your praise in a manner fitting God. Jews unlawfully blasphemed you. Your sitting on a colt prefigured how the untamed nations were being changed from unbelief to faith. Glory to you, O Christ, who alone are merciful and love humankind. Entrance and the Prokeimenon of Sunday evening. At the Aposticha the following Idiomels. By Kyprianos. Tone 2. From palms and branches, as we pass from divine Feast to divine Feast, let us believers make haste together to the solemn and saving celebration of the Sufferings of Christ. Let us look upon him as he undergoes voluntary suffering for our sake, and let us raise a fitting hymn of thanksgiving to him, as we cry out, ‘Source of compassion and harbour of salvation, Lord, glory to you!’ Verse: Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvellous things. By Patriarch Elias. Tone 3. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. He is the Judge of the thoughts and meditations of the heart. Let no one enter putting the unblemished faith on trial. But with meekness and fear let us draw near to Christ that we make receive mercy and find grace for timely help. Verse: All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. By the same. Tone 7. Evil and adulterous Synagogue, who did not keep faith with your own husband, why do you hold fast to the covenant to which you were not heir? Why do you make the Father your boast since you have rejected the Son? You did not accept the Prophets when they proclaimed the Son. Be ashamed in front of your own children as they shout, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ Glory. Tone 2. From palms and branches, as we pass from divine Feast to divine Feast, let us believers make haste together to the solemn and saving celebration of the Sufferings of Christ. Let us look upon him as he undergoes voluntary suffering for our sake and let us raise a fitting hymn of thanksgiving to him crying out, ‘Source of compassion and harbour of salvation, Lord, glory to you!’ Both now. Tone 3. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. He is the Judge of the thoughts and meditations of the heart. Let no one enter putting the unblemished faith on trial. But with meekness and fear let us draw near to Christ that we make receive mercy and find grace for timely help. Apolytikion Virgin Mother of God, and all the rest with the prostrations, as on the preceding Sundays at Vespers. Note that Virgin Mother of God is chanted with music on all the Sundays of holy Lent as on the present one. But on the other days of Holy Week it is simply recited. |
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