PRIEST
Blessed is our God always, now and ever and to the ages of ages.
READER: Amen.
PRIEST
Glory to You, our God, glory to You.
Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, present in all places and filling all things, treasury of good things and giver of life: come; take Your abode in us; cleanse us of every stain, and save our souls, O Good one.
READER
Trisagion Prayers.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (3)
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, forgive our sins. Master, pardon our transgressions. Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Your name’s sake.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
PRIEST
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and to ages of ages.
READER
Amen. Lord, have mercy. (12)
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Come, let us worship and bow down before God our King.
Come, let us worship and bow down before Christ God our King.
Come, let us worship and bow down before Him, Christ our King and God.
Psalm 50 (51).
Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy; and according to the abundance of Your compassion, blot out my transgression. Wash me thoroughly from my lawlessness and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my lawlessness, and my sin is always before me. Against You only have I sinned and done evil in Your sight; that You may be justified in Your words, and overcome when You are judged. For behold, I was conceived in transgressions, and in sins my mother bore me. Behold, You love truth; You showed me the unknown and secret things of Your wisdom. You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be cleansed; You shall wash me, and I will be made whiter than snow. You shall make me hear joy and gladness; my bones that were humbled shall greatly rejoice. Turn Your face from my sins, and blot out all my transgressions. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with Your guiding Spirit. I will teach transgressors Your ways, and the ungodly shall turn back to You. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall greatly rejoice in Your righteousness. O Lord, You shall open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise. For if You desired sacrifice, I would give it; You will not be pleased with whole burnt offerings. A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit, a broken and humbled heart God will not despise. Do good, O Lord, in Your good pleasure to Zion, and let the walls of Jerusalem be built; then You will be pleased with a sacrifice of righteousness, with offerings and whole burnt offerings; then shall they offer young bulls on Your altar.
If the Lity was not sung at Vespers, sing the following:
Idiomela. For the Feast.
Mode 1.
Today, what David said in the holy Psalm has truly come to pass. Lo and behold, we are worshiping at the footstool of Your immaculate feet. And now, we who are hopeful in the shadow of Your wings, cry out to You, all-compassionate Lord: Let the light of Your face be stamped on us! Exalt the horn of Your Orthodox people, by the exaltation of Your holy Cross, O very merciful Christ.
Mode 1.
The tree of what is truly life, on Calvary planted, and on which the King of the ages wrought salvation, in the middle of the earth today exalted, to the ends of the world extends sanctification; and the Church of the Resurrection is dedicated. In heaven Angels are exultant, on earth the people are jubilant, as they sing the words of David, “Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at the footstool of His feet; for He is holy,” He who grants to the world the great mercy.
Mode 1.
O Christ, the Patriarch Jacob prefigured Your Cross, when blessing the sons of Joseph, for crossing his hands he laid one on each of their heads. Today, as we exalt the Cross, we pray to You, O Savior: Grant success to our leaders who love us Christians, as You gave victory long ago to Constantine.
Mode 2.
The divine treasure that was hidden underground, namely the Cross of the Giver of Life, appeared in the sky to the God-fearing Emperor, indicating the spiritual sign by which he would conquer his enemies. He rejoiced, and with faith and love he attained exalted contemplation from God. And with the utmost dispatch, he had the Cross unearthed and displayed, for the world’s redemption and the salvation of our souls.
Mode 2.
When Patriarch Jacob crossed his hands in blessing Joseph’s sons, he prefigured the mighty sign of Your Cross. Now we possess it as an unbreakable shield, and we mightily drive away demonic hordes. By it we humble the devil’s conceit, and neutralize the lethal forces of implacable Amalek. We the faithful now reverently exalt the Cross, and to receive forgiveness of sins we display it, appealing to Your goodness, as we sing with uplifted voices: O Lord, who became incarnate from the Virgin, have mercy on us! O good One, take pity on us, whom Your hands so wisely fashioned!
Mode 2.
You are my mighty shelter, O tripartite Cross of Christ. Sanctify me by your power, so that with faith and love I may venerate and glorify you.
Mode 4.
Let us strike up our songful festivities today, and with faces aglow and voices aloud resoundingly say: “O Christ, You consented to be condemned; You were spit on and whipped, You wore the purple robe, and You were lifted on the Cross. When the sun and the moon had witnessed this, they hid their light; the earth quaked in fear, and the curtain of the Temple was torn in two. We pray You now to grant us Your precious Cross to guard and protect us, and to drive away demons.” And all of us shall venerate it with a kiss and cry aloud: ‘O Cross, save us by your power; sanctify us by your splendor, and empower us by your exaltation, O holy Cross, for you have been given to us as light and the salvation of our souls.’”
Mode 4.
O Cross, your radiant form in the sky foretold victory to the pious emperor, Constantine the Great. When Helen, his mother, discovered you, she displayed you to the world. And even today, we the congregations of believers exalt you and cry aloud: “Illumine us by your radiance, O life-bearing Cross; sanctify us by your strength, O all-venerable Cross; and fortify us by your exaltation, as you are raised against all hostile forces!”
Idiomelon. Mode 4.
Portraying in advance the action of the precious Cross, Moses routed the adversary Amalek in the wilderness of Sinai, O Christ. For when he spread out his arms, in the form of the Cross, the people became strong. And now the outcome of those events has been fulfilled in us. Today the Cross is exalted, and the demons are banished. Today the entire creation is liberated from corruption. For it is through the Cross that all the gifts of grace have shined on us. Therefore, rejoicing, we all bow down before You and say, “How magnified are Your works, O Lord. Glory to You!”
READER
Trisagion Prayers.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (3)
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, forgive our sins. Master, pardon our transgressions. Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Your name’s sake.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
PRIEST
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and to ages of ages.
READER: Amen.
Apolytikion.
Mode 1.
Save, O Lord, Your people and bless Your inheritance, granting victory to the faithful over the enemy, and by Your Cross protecting Your commonwealth.
Lord, have mercy. (40)
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Greater in honor than the Cherubim, and in glory greater beyond compare than the Seraphim; you without corruption gave birth to God the Word, and are truly Theotokos. You do we magnify.
In the name of the Lord, Father, bless!
PRIEST
May God have compassion on us and bless us; may his face shine upon us and have mercy on us.
READER
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Holy father, bless.
PRIEST
May He who rose from the dead, Christ our true God, through the intercessions of His all-pure and all-immaculate holy Mother, (local patron saint); of the holy and righteous ancestors of God Joachim and Anna, and of all the saints, have mercy on us and save us, as He is good, benevolent, and merciful God.
Let us pray for the peace of the world.
READER (intoned after each petition)
Lord, have mercy.
PRIEST
For the pious and Orthodox Christians.
For our our Archbishop (name).
For our nation.
For the armed forces.
For our absent fathers, brothers and sisters.
For those who help us and those who serve us.
For those who hate us and those who love us.
For those who have asked us, the unworthy, to pray for them.
For the release of the captives.
For those sailing the seas.
For those laid up with illnesses.
Let us also pray for the abundance of the fruits of the earth.
And for all our fathers and brethren departed this life, those who lie here in peace, and the Orthodox everywhere.
Let us say for ourselves, also: Lord, have mercy; Lord, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.
Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us.
READER: Amen.