8/29/2021 - Divine Liturgy

Special Hymns for Today  

Troparion - Tone 1 (Resurrection) 

When the stone had been sealed by the Jews, / while the soldiers were guarding Your most pure body, / You rose on  the third day, O Savior, / granting life to the world. / The powers of heaven therefore cried to You, O Giver of Life: /  “Glory to Your Resurrection, O Christ! / Glory to Your Kingdom!//Glory to Your dispensation, O Lover of  mankind!” 

Troparion - Tone 2 (Forerunner)  

In giving birth you preserved your virginity. / In falling asleep you did not forsake the world, O Theotokos. / You  were translated to life O Mother of Life,//and by your prayers you deliver our souls from death. 

Kontakion – Tone 1 (Resurrection) 

As God, You rose from the tomb in glory, / raising the world with Yourself. / Human nature praises You as God, for death has vanished. / Adam exults, O Master! / Eve rejoices, for she is freed from bondage and cries to You://“You are the Giver of Resurrection to all, O Christ!” 

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit . . . 

Kontakion - Tone 5 (Forerunner) 

The glorious beheading of the Forerunner / became an act of divine dispensation, / for he preached to those in hell the coming of the Savior. / Let Herodias lament, for she entreated lawless murder, / loving not the Law of God, nor eternal life,//but that which is false and temporal. 

. . . both now and ever and unto ages of ages, Amen.  

Steadfast Protectress of Christians . . .

The Prokeimenon in the 1st Tone (Resurrection):

Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us as we have set our  hope on You! (Ps. 32:22) 

Congregation: Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us as we have set our hope on You!  

Reader: v: Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the just! (Ps. 32:1) 

Congregation: Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us as we have set our hope on You!  

Reader: Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us . . .  

Congregation: . . . as we have set our hope on You! 

The Reading is from the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians (4:9-16)  

For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death;  for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are  wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! To the present hour  we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. And we labor, working with our own  hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the  filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now. I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved  children I warn you. For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers;  for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Therefore I urge you, imitate me. 

Reader: The Prokeimenon in the 7th Tone (Forerunner): The righteous shall rejoice in the Lord and shall hope in  Him. (Ps. 63:11a) 

Congregation: The righteous shall rejoice in the Lord and shall hope in Him. 

The Reading is from the Holy Book of Acts (13:25-33)  

And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not He.  But behold, there comes One after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to loose.’ Men and brethren, sons  of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent. For  those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets  which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him. And though they found no cause for death in  Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death. Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning  Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead. He was seen  for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people. And  we declare to you glad tidings – that promise which was made to the fathers. God has fulfilled this for us their children,  in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You.’ 

Priest: Peace be to thee [that reads]  

Reader: And to thy spirit. The Alleluia in the 1st Tone: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!  

Congregation: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!  

Reader: God gives vengeance unto me, and subdues people under me.  

Congregation: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!  

Reader: He magnifies the salvation of the King and deals mercifully with David, His anointed, and his seed forever. 

Congregation: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!  

Reader: The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 

Congregation: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia! 

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to St Matthew (17:14-23) 

And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, “Lord, have mercy  on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse  generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked  the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus  privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I  say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will  move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” Now  while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful. 

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark (17:14-23) (Forerunner) 

Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, “John the Baptist is risen from  the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.” Others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is the  Prophet, or like one of the prophets.” But when Herod heard, he said, “This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been  raised from the dead!” For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of  Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; for he had married her. Because John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you  to have your brother’s wife.” Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; for  Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did  many things, and heard him gladly. Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his  nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee. And when Herodias’ daughter herself came in and danced, and  pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, “Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to  you.” He also swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom.” So she went out and said  to her mother, “What shall I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist!” Immediately she came in with haste  to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” And the king  was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.  Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in  prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples  heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb. Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told  Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. 

Sunday Communion Hymn  

Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the highest! (Ps. 148:1) 

The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance! He shall not fear evil tidings! (Ps. 111:6) 

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia! 

Saint Nikolai