Monday, September 9, 2024

Order of Service for the Sacred Diaconate (Vespers, Part 2)

[Prokimenon]

After the end of Gladsome Light, the deacon says, Let us attend, and the priest, Peace be with all. And again, the deacon: Wisdom, let us attend. And the Prokimenon of the day is chanted.

When it is completed, the deacon, going out and standing in the usual place, says: Let us all say with our whole soul and with our whole mind, let us say, and the rest.

And after the exclamation, the priest says, Peace be with all. The deacon: Let us bow our heads to the Lord, and the priest says the prayer: Lord our God, who bowed the heavens, And he exclaims: Blessed be the might of thy kingdom.

[Litë]

And after the exclamation, the Litë Stichera are chanted. While these are being chanted, the deacon enters, and taking the thurible, putting incense in it, and asking for a blessing as usual, he goes out together with the priest through the north side, the Holy Doors being closed, and with lamps going before them, and passing through the Beautiful Gates, and after them all the brothers, they stand in the narthex. While the brothers are chanting, the deacon censes everyone as usual.

After the completion of the stichera, standing in the usual place, the deacon says: O God, save thy people and bless thine inheritance until the end. And Lord, have mercy is chanted forty times.

Then again he says: Again we pray for our most pious and God-protected emperors, and Lord, have mercy is chanted three times.

And again he says: Again we pray for the remission of sins of the servant of God (name), the hieromonk, and all our brotherhood in Christ.

And the remaining two petitions: For the protection of this holy monastery, and For every Orthodox Christian soul.

Then thus the priest says: Peace be with all.

The deacon: Let us bow our heads to the Lord.

And the priest, turning towards the west, says this prayer in a loud voice: O Master, most merciful Lord Jesus Christ our God, while the deacon stands on his right, holding the orarion with three fingers of his right hand.

[Aposticha Stichera]

Then, while the Aposticha Stichera are being chanted verse by verse, with lamps going before, all enter the temple. And the candle stands are placed on either side of the prepared tetrapod, on which lies a plate with wheat and five loaves, which we have the custom of offering in the church, and on either side of the plate, two vessels full, one of wine, the other of oil. The wine is placed on the left, and the oil on the right.

[Nunc Dimittis, Trisagion and Apolytikion]

The priest and deacon stand inside the Beautiful Gates. When the stichera verses are completed, the Lord, now let your servant depart is said, along with the Trisagion. After the Our Father, the priest exclaims: For thine is the kingdom.

Then the Apolytikion of the day is chanted.

If it is Sunday, Hail Virgin Mother of God is chanted three times.

If it is the feast of a great saint, the troparion of the saint is chanted twice, and Hail Virgin Mother of God once.

If it is a feast of the Lord or the Mother of God, the troparion of the feast is chanted three times.

[Blessing of the Loaves]

While the final Apolytikion is being chanted loudly and slowly, the deacon, having first asked the priest's blessing for the incense and received it, censes around the loaves in the form of a cross, then the abbot, and then the loaves again only in front. As the priest approaches, the deacon stands at his right side, holding the censer in his left hand and the orarion with three fingers of his right hand. When the troparion is finished, he points to the five loaves with the orarion and says: Let us pray to the Lord. The priest says the prayer: Lord Jesus Christ our God, who blessed the five loaves...

As the brothers say I will bless the Lord, the priest and deacon enter the sanctuary. The brothers recite the psalm up to they shall not want any good thing. The priest, from inside the sanctuary, exclaims: The blessing of the Lord be upon you, by his grace and love for mankind, always, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Then he removes his priestly vestments and they exit.

[Conclusion of Great Vespers]

If there is a reading, the priest says the verse: By the prayers of our holy fathers.

If there is no All-Night Vigil, after the completion of the stichera verses, the priest enters the sanctuary and after the Trisagion exclaims: For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory. The Apolytikion is chanted, and the deacon standing outside exclaims after the Trisagion: Bless, master. The priest from inside says: Blessed be the One Who Is, Christ our God, always, now and ever and unto the ages of ages.

They chant May God strengthen the Emperors. The priest says quietly: Most Holy Mother of God, save us. The brothers: More honorable than the Cherubim. Again the priest quietly: Glory to thee, O God our hope, glory to thee. The brothers say: Glory, now and ever. Lord, bless.

The priest opens the Holy Doors, lowers his phelonion, with the deacon standing outside on the right holding the orarion as usual, and says this dismissal: May Christ our true God, through the intercessions of his all-pure mother, of the holy, glorious and all-praised apostles, and of all the saints, have mercy on us and save us, for he is good and the friend of mankind. If it is a feast of the Lord, he gives the dismissal appropriate to the feast. If it is the feast of a great saint, he also mentions the saint's name in the dismissal.

If there is a procession, after the dismissal the deacon takes the thurible and exits with the priest, with lamps going before them, just as described previously for Great Vespers.

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