SUNDAY OF THE MAN BORN BLIND

ON SATURDAY EVENING

AT SMALL VESPERS

At Lord, I have cried we insert 4 Stichera and chant 3 of the Resurrection and one by Anatolios in Tone 5, as at Great Vespers.

Glory. Tone 5.

O Lord, as you passed by on the way, you found a man blind from birth. Your Disciples were amazed and asked you, saying, ‘Teacher, who has sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ But you, my Saviour, cried out to them, ‘Neither has he sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God might be revealed in him. I must do the works of him who sent me, which none can do’. So saying you spat on the ground, made clay, and anointed his eyes, and said, ‘Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam’. When he had washed he became whole and cried out to you: ‘I believe Lord’. And he worshipped you. Therefore we too cry out: Have mercy on us!

Both now. Dogmatic Theotokion. Tone 5.

Let us honour the Maiden, revered and worthy of God, in honour higher than the Cherubim, for the Creator of all things, when he wished to become man, made his dwelling ineffably in her, O strange deeds and wondrous mysteries! Who would not be amazed on hearing this, that God becomes man? There was no change in him. He passed through the gates of virginity and no diminution was left in her, as the Prophet says; No man will ever pass through it, except the Lord, the God of Israel, who has great mercy.

At the Aposticha, the Resurrection Sticheron.

Tone 5.

O Christ our Saviour, incarnate, yet not parted from heaven, with sounds of praise we magnify you; for, as the Lord who loves mankind, you accepted Cross and death for the sake of our race; you despoiled the gates of Hell, rose on the third day, and saved our souls.

Then the following of the Mother of God
Tone 5. Hail of ascetic struggles.

Verse: I shall remember your name in every generation and generation.
Hail, seal of the Prophets, proclamation of Apostles inspired by God; for beyond understanding and reason you bore the one who is truly God become incarnate for our sake. Having regained our ancient nobility and enjoying the Paradise of delight, in hymns we honour you, O All-holy, as cause of such splendour and as acceptable advocate, we who are enriched with your everlasting entreaty that we may share the life of your Son, who richly apportions his great mercy.
Verse: Listen, daughter, and see, and incline your ear; and forget your people and your father’s house.
Hail, rational heaven, in which God incarnate made his dwelling; jar of the divine Manna; lamp of the Son; shadowed mountain of God; bridal chamber that contained God; table that provides life; golden lampstand; life-bearing Paradise; bush unburned; ark of sanctification; heavenly ladder; living cloud; rod from Jesse’s root that budded. Implore Christ, O Virgin, to grant our souls his great mercy.
Verse: The rich among the people of the land will entreat your favour.
Hail, All-unblemished, who conceived the Son of God beyond all explanation, and gave to birth him who had truly taken flesh for our sake from your blood, and had a soul with mind and freewill. For having put on Adam whole and entire, he saved him , refashioning humankind. Therefore Christ is proclaimed by us in two natures, displaying in himself the properties of both. Implore him to grant to those who sing your praise his great mercy.

Glory. Both now. Tone 8.

Christ our God, spiritual Sun of justice, by your pure touch you enlightened the one who had been deprived of light from his mother’s womb; by shedding your rays on the eyes of our souls, show us to be sons of the day, that we may cry to you with faith, ‘Great and ineffable is your compassion for us. Lover of humankind, glory to you!‘

Resurrection Apolytikion with its Theotokion, as at Great Vespers.

AT GREAT VESPERS

After Christ has risen, at Lord, I have cried we insert 10 stichera and we sing 7 of the Resurrection and 2 Idiomels of the Blind Man, doubling the first.

Resurrection Stichera. Tone 5.

Through your precious Cross, O Christ, you have shamed the Devil; and by your Resurrection you have blunted the sting of sin and you have saved us from the gates of Death; we glorify you, Only-begotten.
He who gives resurrection to the human race like a sheep was led to the slaughter; the princes of Hades trembled before him, and the gates of pain were lifted up; for Christ, the King of glory had come in, saying to those in chains, ‘Come forth!’ and to those in darkness ‘Reveal yourselves!’
A mighty wonder! The immortal Creator of things invisible, having suffered in the flesh for love of mankind, arose. Come families of the nations and let us worship him; for we, delivered from error by his compassion, have learned to praise one God in three Persons.

Stichera by Anatolios.

We offer you our evening worship, O light that knows no evening, who at the end of the ages, as in a glass, shone on the world through the flesh and went down as far as Hades; abolished the darkness there and showed the light of the resurrection to the nations. Giver of life, O Lord, glory to you!
Let us glorify Christ, the author of our salvation; for by his rising from the dead the world has been saved from error. The Angel choir rejoices, demons’ deception flees, fallen Adam rises, the Devil has been overthrown.
The members of the guard were instructed by the transgressors: ‘Conceal Christ’s Rising. Accept money and say: While we slept the body was stolen from the tomb’. Who ever saw, who ever heard of a corpse being stolen? Moreover one embalmed and naked and that also abandoned its grave-clothes in the tomb? Do not be deceived, you Jews; hear the sayings of the Prophets and know that he is truly the redeemer of the world and all-powerful.
O Lord, our Saviour, who despoiled Hades and trampled on death; who enlightened the world by your precious Cross, have mercy on us.

Idiomel Stichera of the Blind Man. Tone 2.

The man born blind reasoned with himself, ‘Was it through my parents’ sin that I was born blind? Or was I born because of the unbelief of the nations as an accusation? I am not competent to ask when it is day, when night. My feet cannot detect the stumbling blocks of the stones. I have not seen the sun shining, nor him who fashioned me in his image. But I beg you, Christ God: Look on me and have mercy on me. (Twice)

The Same Tone.

As Jesus was passing by from the temple, he found a man blind from birth, and moved with compassion for him put clay on his eyes and said to him, ‘Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam’. He, having washed, gained his sight and gave glory to God. But his next of kin said to him, ‘Who opened the eyes which none of those with sight could cure?’ But he cried out and said, ‘A man called Jesus, he it was said to me: Wash in the Pool of Siloam; and I gained my sight. He is truly Christ Messias of whom Moses spoke in the Law; he is the Saviour of our souls’.

Glory. Tone 5.

O Lord, as you passed by on the way, you found a man blind from birth. Your Disciples were amazed and asked you, saying, ‘Teacher, who has sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ But you, my Saviour, cried out to them, ‘Neither has he sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God might be revealed in him. I must do the works of him who sent me, which none can do’. So saying you spat on the ground, made clay, and anointed his eyes, and said, ‘Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam’. When he had washed he became whole and cried out to you, ‘I believe Lord’. And he worshipped you. Therefore we too cry out: Have mercy on us!

Both now. Theotokion. Same Tone

In the Red Sea was once depicted an image of the bride who knew not wedlock. There Moses the parter of the waters; here Gabriel the servant of the wonder. Then Israel marched dry-shod through the deep; now the Virgin has given birth to Christ without seed. The Sea after the passage of Israel remained untrodden; the Blameless after bearing Emmanuel, remained incorrupt. O God, who exist and pre-exist, and who appeared as a man, have mercy on us.

At the Liti the Sticheron of the Saint of the Monastery.
Glory. Tone 4.

Considering his whole life to be night, the Blind man cried out to you, O Lord: ‘Open my pupils, Son of David, our Saviour, that with all I too may hymn your power’.

Both now. Theotokion. The same Tone.

Assent to the supplications of your servants, O Most Pure, by ending the assaults of our dangers and delivering us from every tribulation: for we have you as our only safe and sure anchor and we have gained your protection; may we who call for your aid, Sovereign Lady, not be put to shame; hasten to the entreaties of those who cry out to you in faith: Hail Sovereign Lady, the help of all, the joy and protection and salvation of our souls.

At the Aposticha, Resurrection Sticheron.
Tone 5.

O Christ our Saviour, incarnate, yet not parted from heaven, with sounds of praise we magnify you; for, as the Lord who loves mankind, you accepted Cross and death for the sake of our race; you despoiled the gates of Hell, rose on the third day, and saved our souls.

Then the Easter Stichera with their verses.

Verse: Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered: and let those that hate him flee before his face.
A sacred Pascha has been shown forth to us to-day, a new and holy Pascha, a mystic Pascha, an all-venerable Pascha, a Pascha that is Christ the Redeemer, a spotless Pascha, a Pascha of the faithful, a Pascha that has opened to us the gates of Paradise, a Pascha that hallows all the faithful.
Verse: As smoke vanishes, so let them vanish: as wax melts before the fire.
Come from the scene, O women bearers of good tidings, and say to Zion: Receive from us the tidings of joy, of the Resurrection of Christ. Exult, dance and be glad, O Jerusalem, for you have seen Christ the King as a bridegroom come forth from the tomb.
Verse: So let sinners perish at the presence of God: and let the righteous be glad.
The Myrrhbearing women at early dawn came near the tomb of the Giver of life; they found an Angel sitting on the stone, and he, addressing them in this manner, said, ‘Why do you seek the living among the dead? Why do you mourn the Incorruptible amid corruption? Go, proclaim it to his Disciples!’
Verse: This is the day that the Lord has made: let us be glad and rejoice in it.
A Pascha of delight, Pascha, the Lord’s Pascha, an all-venerable Pascha has dawned for us, a Pascha on which let us embrace one another with joy. O Pascha, ransom from sorrow! To-day Christ has shone forth from the tomb as from a bridal chamber, and has filled the women with joy, saying: Proclaim it to the Apostles.

Glory. Tone 8.

Christ our God, spiritual Sun of justice, by your pure touch you enlightened the one who had been deprived of light from his mother’s womb; by shedding your rays on the eyes of our souls, show us to be sons of the day, that we may cry to you with faith, ‘Great and ineffable is your compassion for us. Lover of humankind, glory to you!‘

Both now. Tone 5.

It is the day of Resurrection; let us be radiant for the festival, and let us embrace one another. Let us say, O brethren, even to those who hate us: let us forgive all things at the Resurrection, and so let us cry: Christ has risen from the dead; by death he has trampled on death, and to those in the graves given life.

Resurrection Apolytikion. Model Melody. Tone 5.

Let us believers praise and let us worship the Word who like the Father and the Spirit is without beginning, born from a Virgin for our salvation; for he was well pleased to ascend the Cross in the flesh and undergo death, and to raise those who had died, by his glorious Resurrection.

Theotokion.

Hail gate of the Lord, through which none may pass; hail wall and protection of those who flee to you; hail haven without storms, and who did not know wedlock; who bore in the flesh your maker and God. Do not cease to intercede for those who praise and worship your offspring.

Dismissal.

AT MATINS After the 1st Psalter reading, Resurrection Kathismata. Tone 5. Let us celebrate the Cross of the Lord, let us honour with hymns his holy Burial, and highly glorify his Resurrection; for as God with himself he raised the dead from the graves, having plundered the might of death and the strength of the Devil, and made light dawn for those in Hades. Verse: Arise, O Lord my God, lift up your hand; forget not your poor for ever. O Lord, you were called dead, who put death to death; you were placed in a grave, who emptied the graves: above, soldiers were guarding the tomb, below, you raised the dead from every age. Lord, all-powerful and beyond understanding, glory to you! Glory. Both now. Theotokion. Hail holy mountain on which God has walked: hail living bush and unconsumed by fire; hail the world’s only bridge to God, which leads mortals over to eternal life; hail Maiden undefiled who bore without wedlock the salvation of our souls. After the 2nd Psalter reading, Kathismata. Tone 5. Merciful Lord, transgressors nailed you between malefactors and pierced your side with a lance; but you accepted burial, you overthrew the gates of Hades, and rose on the third day; the women ran to see you and they announced the Resurrection to the Apostles. O Saviour highly-exalted, whom Angels praise, O blessed Lord, glory to you. Verse: I will confess you, Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all your marvellous works. Your strange mystery, O my Saviour, has become the salvation of the world; for as befitted God you rose from the tomb and as God raised with you those who had perished: O life of all, Lord, glory to you. Glory. Both now. Theotokion. O Bride who knew not wedlock, Mother of God, who turned Eve’s grief to joy, we the faithful praise and worship you; for you have brought us back from the ancient curse; and now, all-praised, all-holy one, intercede unceasingly that we may be saved. After Psalm 118, the Evlogitaria. Then the Ypakoο. Tone 5. Amazed in mind by the vision of the Angel and enlightened in soul by the divine Rising, the Myrrhbearers gave the good news to the Apostles: ‘Announce among the nations the Lord’s Resurrection, who works with you by wonders and grants us his great mercy’ The Anavathmi of the Tone. Antiphon 1. In my distress, like David, I sing to you, my Saviour: Deliver me from a treacherous tongue. For dwellers in the desert life is blessed, for their wings are the love of God. Glory. Both now. By the Holy Spirit all things are held fast, the visible with the invisible; for his might is his own as truly one of the Trinity. Antiphon 2. Let us be lifted, O soul, to the mountains; come thither where help comes from. Let your right hand take wing, O Lord, and guard me from every mischief. Glory. Both now. To the Holy Spirit let us say, as we confess him to be God: You are God, life, love, light, mind; you are goodness, you are king for ever. Antiphon 3. For those who said to me: ‘Let us go to the courts of the Lord’, full of great joy, I offer prayers. Dread things shall be brought to fulfilment upon the house of David: for fire shall be there burning every shameful thought. Glory. Both now. To the Holy Spirit belongs the dignity of being the source of life, for from him every living thing is animated, as by the Father and the Word. Prokeimenon. Arise, O Lord my God: for you reign for ever. Verse: I will confess you, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all your wonders. The 8th Resurrection Gospel, then Having seen the Resurrection of Christ, Psalm 50 etc. The Canons, of Easter with that of the Mother of God to 8, and of the Blind Man to 6. Easter Canon. Tone 1. Ode 1. Irmos. The day of Resurrection, let us be radiant, O peoples: Pascha, the Lord’s Pascha; for Christ God has brought us from death to life, and from earth to heaven, as we sing the triumphal song. Troparia. Let us purify our senses, and we shall see Christ shining forth, in the unapproachable light of the Resurrection, and we shall clearly hear him saying ‘Rejoice!’, as we sing the triumphal song. Let the heavens as is fitting rejoice, and let the earth be glad, let the whole world, both seen and unseen, keep the feast: for Christ has risen, our eternal joy. Canon of the Mother of God. Tone 1. The Acrostic in the first Troparia: THEOPHAN. Ode 1. The same Irmos. The boundary of death you forced open, all-pure Virgin, by bearing Christ the eternal Life, who shone out to-day from the tomb, and enlightened the world. Having seen your Son and God risen from the dead, you rejoice with the Apostles, O holy and full of grace, and as cause of the joy of all, O all-pure Mother of God, you first received the greeting ‘Rejoice’. Canon of the Blind Man. Tone 5. With an Acrostic in the 9th Ode: JOSEPH Composition of Joseph of Thessaloniki. Ode 1. Tone 5. The Irmos. [Israel passed dry-shod, O Lord, over earth on which the sun had never shone, had never seen; deep which the vault of heaven had never seen naked; and you led him to the mountain of your sanctification as he sang and chanted a song of victory.] Troparia. By willingly accepting crucifixion in the flesh, you have become a source of blessing and life for the world, O Master, only all-blessed and Creator of all; therefore we bless you, we hymn and glorify you, as we sing and chant a song of victory. When you were dead, O long-suffering, the noble Joseph laid you in the lowest pit and rolled a stone to the door of the grave; but you rose in glory, raising the world with you, as it sang and chanted a song of victory. The Angel appeared and said to the holy women: Why do you bring spices with tears? Christ has risen! Run, tell the Disciples who have seen God, as they mourn and weep, so that they may leap and dance for joy. Extraordinary wonders the Redeemer performs; he even cured a man blind from birth, anointing him with clay and saying: Go, wash in Siloam, that you may know that I am God who walk the earth bearing flesh because of my compassionate pity. Triadikon. Honouring one Essence in three Persons, let us the faithful glorify the Father and the Son and the right Spirit, maker and Lord, and redeemer of all, one uncreated God, as we cry with the Bodiless hosts: Holy, Holy, Holy are you, O King! Theotokion. Because of his compassionate pity the Lord dwelt in your womb that had not known wedlock, O Pure one, for he wished to save mankind which had perished through the wiles of the foe: implore him then that this city may be saved from every capture and invasion by foes. Katavasia To God the saviour let us sing, to him alone, who led his people through the sea with unmoistened foot and drowned Pharaoh with all his army in the deep, for he has been glorified. Ode 3. Irmos. ’Come let us drink a new drink, not one marvellously brought forth from a barren rock, but the Source of incorruption, which springs up from the tomb of Christ, in whom we are established’. Troparia. Now all things are filled with light, both heaven and earth and those beneath the earth: so let all creation sing Christ’s rising, by which it is established. Yesterday I was buried with you, O Christ, to-day I rise with you as you arise: yesterday I was crucified with you, glorify me with you, Saviour, in your Kingdom. Of the Mother of God. The same Irmos. Holy one, to-day I return to life undefiled through the goodness of him who was born from you and whose brightness blazes to all the ends of the earth. Seeing God, whom you conceived in the flesh, rising from the dead as he said, O holy one, dance; and magnify him as God, O Most Pure. Of the Blind Man. The Irmos. [O Lord, make firm my heart shaken by the waves of life, as God guiding it to a fair haven.] Troparia. Long-suffering Lord, you made firm the hearts of those who are shaken when you shook the earth, by your hallowed Crucifixion, which you underwent in the flesh. The noble Joseph laid you in a new tomb, O merciful; but you arose from the dead on the third day, renewing us all. Why do you seek the Lord as a corpse? He has risen as he said, cried the Angel to the women, dazzling with his godlike form. You once cured a man blind from birth who came to you, All-merciful, glorifying your dispensation and your wonders. Triadikon. We worship God, Father without beginning, Son and divine Spirit, triple uncreated, three-personned nature, one God of all. Theotokion. You gave birth from a virgin womb to God incarnate; implore him, all-holy Lady, to have pity on us. Katavasia. By the power of your Cross, O Christ, make firm my mind to hymn and glorify your saving Assumption. Kontakion of Easter. Tone 8. Model melody. [By St Romanos] Though you descended into the tomb, O Immortal, yet you destroyed the power of Hell; and you arose as victor, O Christ God, calling to the Myrrh-bearing women: Rejoice! and giving peace to your Apostles, O you who grant resurrection to the fallen. Kathisma. Tone 8. The Master and maker of all things, as he passed along found a Blind Man sitting by the way, lamenting and saying: ‘Never in my life have I seen the sun shining or the moon shedding its light; therefore I cry out to you, born of a Virgin to enlighten the universe: Enlighten me, as you are compassionate, that falling down I may cry to you: Master Christ God, grant me forgiveness of my offences through the multitude of your mercy, only lover of mankind’. (Twice). Ode 4. Irmos. Let the Prophet Avvakum, inspired by God, keep the divine watch with us, and show forth the radiant Angel, who with resounding voice declares: To-day brings salvation to the world, for Christ has risen as omnipotent. Troparia. Christ appeared as a male who opened a virgin womb: but as our food he is called ‘lamb’: ‘unblemished’, as our Passover without stain: and ‘perfect’ for he is true God. As a yearling lamb, for us the blessed crown, Christ was willingly sacrificed for all, a cleansing Passover: and from the tomb the fair sun of justice has shone for us again. God’s forebear David dancing leaped before the Ark, mere shadow: but seeing the fulfilment of the types, let us, God’s holy people, inspired, rejoice, for Christ has risen as omnipotent. Of the Mother of God. Same Irmos. Even he who fashioned Adam your forefather, O holy one, is fashioned from you, and by his own death he has destroyed Adam’s death today, and shed light on all with the divine beams of his Resurrection. Seeing Christ, whom you bore, shining in beauty from the dead, O Pure one, fair and lovely and spotless among women, as you rejoice to-day with the Apostles at the salvation of all, glorify him. Of the Blind Man. The Irmos. [I heard your report, Lord, and I was afraid; I considered your dispensation and I glorified you, only lover of mankind.] Troparia. By being placed on a Tree you, who are life, brought me, who had died through a tree, back to life through your great mercy. Therefore, O Word, I glorify you. Marvellously assembled together with your Initiates, O Lord, you said to them: Go forth, proclaim my Resurrection everywhere. Confirming your Rising from the grave, Lord, for many days you assembled together with your friends, and made them joyful. You gave sight to a man Blind from the womb, Lord, when you said: Go, wash and receive your sight, and glorify my Godhead. Triadikon. O Trinity, identical in honour, undivided in Essence, divided in Persons, save all who with fear faithfully glorify you. Theotokion. We glorify your child-bearing above nature, O Immaculate, in faith blessing you, O all unblemished, as the one who gave birth to the God of all. Katavasia. O Lord I heard the report of the sovereign power of your Cross: that through it Paradise was opened: and I cried, Glory to your power, O Lord. Ode 5. Irmos. Let us arise in the early dawn, and instead of myrrh, offer praises to the Master; and we shall see Christ, the Sun of Justice, who causes life to dawn for all. Troparia. Those who were held by Hades’ bonds, seeing your measureless compassion, press forward to the light, O Christ, with joyful step, praising an eternal Passover. With torches in our hands let us go forth to meet Christ as he comes from the grave, like a bridegroom, and with the festive ranks of Angels, let us feast God’s saving Passover. Of the Mother of God. Same Irmos. O pure Mother of God, the assembly of the devout is enlightened by the divine, lifegiving rays of the Resurrection of your Son, and is filled with joy. You did not open the gates of the Virgin, when you took flesh; you did not break the seals of the grave, O King of creation. Therefore when she saw you risen, she rejoiced. Of the Blind Man. The Irmos. [Have pity on my wretched soul as it fights a night battle with the darkness of the passions, and make your rays clear as day shine in me, O spiritual Sun, to turn my night into light.] Troparia. You were lifted up on a Tree, and lifting up all mortals with yourself, O merciful, you put to death the hostile serpent and, as only God of all, gave life to what your hands had fashioned. Willingly you became a corpse and were laid in a tomb, immortal King, and you emptied all the palaces of Hell, raising the dead by your Resurrection. When you had accomplished great marvels upon earth, O Word, a lawless people slew you; but, being alone powerful, Lord Christ, you rose, as you had foretold, from the dead. Having opened the eyes of one who had not seen the natural light, you enlightened the pupils of his soul and led him to give glory when he recognised you as maker, through compassion seen as a mortal. Triadikon. Let all us faithful glorify a Trinity in unity and a Unity in trinity, Father, Son and right Spirit, one God, truly creator of all. Theotokion. How did you bear a child without knowing man, O Virgin-mother, full of God's grace? How nourish creation's nourisher? As he alone understands, who is maker of all and God. Katavasia. Rising in the early dawn we cry to you, O Lord: Save us, for you are our God, and we know no other but you. Ode 6. Irmos. You went down to the deepest parts of the earth, and you shattered the everlasting bars that held fast those that were fettered, O Christ. And on the third day like Jonas from the whale, you arose from the tomb. Troparia. Keeping the seals intact O Christ, you rose from the tomb, you who did not harm the locks of the Virgin’s womb at your birth, and you have opened to us the gates of Paradise. O my Saviour, the living, unslain Victim, as God offering yourself willingly to the Father, you raised up with yourself all Adam’s race, in rising from the tomb. Of the Mother of God. The same Irmos. Prisoner of old of death and corruption, the human race has been brought back through him was took flesh from your spotless womb to incorruptible and everlasting life, O Virgin Mother of God. He who went down, O Holy one, into your womb, dwelt there and took flesh beyond understanding, went down into the lowest parts of the earth and raised Adam with himself when he rose from the tomb. Of the Blind Man. The Irmos. [As you delivered the Prophet from the beast, O Lord, bring me too, I pray, from the deep of ungovernable passions; that I may look again towards your holy temple.] Troparia. Crucified with thieves, O Master, from evil thieves and soul-destroying passions, you delivered us who praise in harmony your Crucifixion and your Rising, O Lord who loves mankind. A lifeless corpse they laid you in a tomb, O Christ, who breathe life into all the dead; but you arose, Lord, emptying all the graves, O Word, by your sovereign power. After your Rising, O Christ, you said to your friends: Tarry in Jerusalem, until you are clothed with invincible strength and sure support from on high. You made clay, and anointed the eyes of the man Blind from birth, and you gave him the grace of sight as he hymned your immaculate power, through which you saved the world. Triadikon. Three-personned Unity, Father unbegotten, Son begotten, Spirit proceeding, thrice-holy Lord, one Essence, one Power, save your whole people. Theotokion. Who can recount your great things, O Pure one? For beyond nature you bore God in the flesh, who delivers the world from every sin through you, Virgin all-unblemished. Katavasia. The deep surrounded me, the sea beast became a grave to me. But, O Lover of mankind, I called out to you, O Lord, and your right hand saved me. Kontakion. Tone 4 With the eyes of my soul mutilated I come to you, O Christ, as the man blind from birth, crying to you in repentance: You are the radiant light of those in darkness. The Ikos. Grant me a stream of inexpressible wisdom, and knowledge from above, O Christ, light of those in darkness and guide of those who stray; that I may recount what the divine book of the Gospel of peace teaches: the miracle of the blind man; for being blind from birth he receives both physical eyes and eyes of the soul, as he cries: You are the radiant light of those in darkness. Synaxarion of the Menaion, then the following. The same day, the sixth Sunday from Pascha, we celebrate the wonder done to the man blind from birth by our Lord and God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Verses. Giver of light, Lyght out of Lyght, one blind From birth, O Word, you furnish now with eyes. In your boundless mercy, giver of light, Christ our God, have mercy and save us. Amen. Ode 7. Irmos. He who delivered the Children from the furnace, becoming man suffers as a mortal, and through suffering he clothes the mortal with the glory of incorruption: the only blessed and most glorious God of our fathers. Troparia. The holy women hastened after you with sweet spices. Whom they sought with tears as a mortal, they worshipped with joy as the living God, and they proclaimed the mystic Passover, O Christ, to your disciples. We feast death’s slaughter, the overthrow of Hell, the first fruits of a new eternal life: and dancing we hymn the cause: the only blessed and most glorious God of our fathers. How truly holy and all-festive is this saving night, how full of light, herald of the bright day of the resurrection, in which the timeless Light shone bodily for all from the tomb. Of the Mother of God. The same Irmos. Having slain death, your Son, O all-pure one, has to-day given to all life that endures to ages of ages: the only blessed and highly exalted God of our fathers. He who reigns over all creation becoming man dwelt in your womb, O full of God’s grace, and having endured the Cross and death he has risen as God and raised us with himself, for he is all powerful. Of the Blind Man. The Irmos. [Quencher of fire was the prayer of the young men; the furnace, herald of the marvel, refreshed and did not scorch, did not burn up those who hymned the God of our fathers.] Troparia. When you were hung upon the Tree, O Saviour, the sun was quenched, the earth heaved, all creation was shaken, and the dead were raised from the graves. When you rose from the dead, O King, the souls which slept there were raised with you and glorified your sovereign power, through which the bonds of death were loosed. At dawn a choir of women came to anoint you, but learning that you had risen, Lord, they rejoiced with the sacred Disciples; through whom grant us redemption from evils. You anointed with clay the eyes of the man born Blind and you ordered him to go to Siloam: having washed he gained his sight as he hymned you, O Christ, King of all. Triadikon. Let us hymn the Father without beginning, the Son likewise without beginning and the all-holy Spirit: Holy, Holy, Holy, are you, O God, King of all. Theotokion. After child-birth you were seen to be a virgin, O Pure one; for you gave birth, O Immaculate, to God who made natures new by his power; ever implore him that we may be saved. Katavasia. You saved the young men in the fiery furnace: blessed are you the God of our fathers. Ode 8. Irmos. This chosen and holy day is the first of Sabbaths, the Queen and Lady, the Feast of Feasts and the Festival of Festivals on which we bless Christ to all the ages. Troparia. Come let us share in the new fruit of the vine, of joy divine, and in the kingdom of Christ, on the glorious day of the Resurrection, hymning him as God to all the ages. Lift your eyes around you, O Zion, and see: for behold like beacons shedding light divine your children have come to you, from West and North, from the Sea and from the East, blessing Christ in you to all the ages. Almighty Father, Word and Spirit, nature united in three Persons, beyond all being and beyond all Godhead, into you we have been baptised and we bless to all the ages. Of the Mother of God. The same Irmos. As the creator came into the world through you, O Virgin Mother of God, he tore open the womb of Hell and gave us mortals the Resurrection; therefore we bless him to the ages. Your Son, O Virgin, having overthrown the might of death, in his resurrection, as a mighty God, has exalted us with himself and deified us; therefore we praise him to the ages. Of the Blind Man. The Irmos. [The King and creator of all, O assembly of Angels, congregation of mankind, priests praise, levites bless, people highly exalt to the ages.] Troparia. The ranks of Angels, seeing you hanging upon the Cross, O Christ, universal King, and altering all creation, were struck with fear as they hymned your love for mankind. Hell, seeing you below, groaned aloud and rapidly gave back the dead whom it had held under guard since time began, O Christ, as they hymned your love for mankind. Having accomplished extraordinary marvels, you were willingly lifted up on a cross and joined with the dead, O Christ, and you put Hell to death and with courage released all its prisoners. You gave eyes to the Blind Man who came to you, O Christ, ordering him to wash in the spring of Siloam, to see and to proclaim you as God, manifest in the flesh for the salvation of the world. Triadikon. O undivided Trinity, unconfused Unity, God of all and creator of all things, save from manifold temptations those who hymn and faithfully worship your might. Theotokion. Immaculate Virgin, full of God's grace, ever implore your Son not to put me to shame on the day of judgement, but to number me with the chosen sheep. Katavasia. Son of God, begotten of the Father before the ages, and in these last times incarnate of a Virgin Mother: praise him, O priests, highly exalt him, O people, throughout all the ages. Ode 9. Irmos. Megalynarion: Magnify, O my soul, him who suffered willingly, and was buried, and arose from the grave on the third day. Shine, shine, O New Jerusalem, for the glory of the Lord has risen upon you; dance now and be glad, O Zion, and you too rejoice, O pure Mother of God, at the arising of him to whom you gave birth. Megalynarion: Magnify, O my soul, Christ the Giver of life, who arose from the grave on the third day. Shine, shine, O New Jerusalem, for the glory of the Lord has risen upon you; dance now and be glad, O Zion, and you too rejoice, O pure Mother of God, at the arising of him to whom you gave birth. Megalynarion: Christ is the new Passover, the living sacrificial victim, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. O your divine and beloved and sweetest voice; you have truly promised that you will be with us unto the end of the world, O Christ; and we faithful rejoice, having this as an anchor of hope. Megalynarion: To-day the whole creation is glad and rejoices, for Christ has risen and Hell has been despoiled. O great and most sacred Pascha, Christ; O Wisdom and Word and Power of God! Grant that we may partake of you fully in the unwaning day of your Kingdom. Of the Mother of God. The same Irmos. Now in harmony, O Virgin, we faithful call you blessed: Hail gate of the Lord: Hail living city: Hail through whom to-day the light of the Resurrection from the dead of him who was born from you has shone for us. Rejoice, be glad, divine gate of the light; for Jesus, who set in the tomb, has dawned shining more brightly than the sun, and shedding his rays on all the faithful, O Sovereign Lady full of God’s grace. Of the Blind Man. The Irmos. [For he that is mighty has done great things for you, showing you to be a pure virgin after child-birth, for you bore without seed your own maker: therefore, O Mother of God, we magnify you.] Troparia. Joined to the gallows of the Cross, Christ Saviour, you triumphed over all the hostile forces of the foe, and abolished the former curse; therefore as is right we magnify you. On seeing you below with your soul, O Word, Hell groaned aloud and in fear released all the dead, who recognised the might of your authority; with whom as is right we magnify you. Jeeing him accomplishing signs and dread wonders the people of the Hebrews in jealousy slew him who plundered Hell by his Resurrection, and as powerful raised all with him. Even as you said, you rose from the dead, O Giver of Life, and appeared to the holy Disciples after your Rising, you who did signs and gave sight to the blind; with them to the ages we magnify you. Triadikon. Praise I give to Light, the Father, glory to Light, the Son, a hymn to Light, the ‘upright Spirit’: one undivided Light, recognised in three Persons, God, King of all creation. Theotokion. Holy Virgin, you appear wider then the heavens for you contained and bore in a body God, the uncircumscribed, for the redemption of all those who sing your praise with undoubting faith. Katavasia. O Mother of God, since beyond speech or thought you bore in time, in marvellous manner, him who is timeless, with one mind we the faithful magnify you. Then: Holy is the Lord our God. Exapostilarion of Easter. Having fallen asleep in the flesh as a mortal, O King and Lord, you rose again on the third day, raising up Adam from corruption, and abolishing death. O Pascha of incorruption, O salvation of the world. Of the Blind Man. The same melody. Give sight, O Lord, to the eyes of my soul, maimed by gloomy sin, by grafting in humility, O merciful, and cleansing me with tears of repentance. Another. As he passed by, our Saviour found a blind man without sight; spitting upon the ground and making clay he anointed him and sent him to Siloam to go and wash; when he had washed he came seeing your light, my Christ. At Lauds we insert 8 Stichera and we sing 7 of the Resurrection. Tone 5. [Or 3 of the Resurrection, 1 of the Blind Man and the Easter Stichera with their verses.] Lord, while the grave was sealed by transgressors, you came forth from the tomb as you had been born from the Mother of God. Your bodiless Angels did not know how you had become incarnate; nor did the soldiers who were guarding you know when you arose: for both are sealed for those who enquire; but the wonders have been revealed to those who in faith worship the mystery: grant us as we praise it joy and your great mercy. Lord, having smashed the eternal bars and torn apart the chains, you rose from the tomb, leaving behind the grave-clothes as proof of your true burial for three days; and while being guarded in a cave, you went ahead into Galilee. Great is your mercy, Saviour beyond understanding! Have mercy upon us. Lord, the women ran to your tomb to see you, the Christ who had suffered for ours sakes; and as they approached they saw with fear an Angel sitting on the stone which had been rolled away; and he cried out to them, saying: ‘The Lord has risen. Tell his Disciples that he who saves our souls has risen from the dead’. Lord, as you came out while the grave was sealed, so you came in to your Disciples while the doors were shut, and showed them the bodily sufferings which you had accepted, O long-suffering one. As sprung from the David’s seed, you endured stripes, but as Son of God you freed the world. Great is your mercy, Saviour beyond understanding! Have mercy on us. Stichera by Anatolios. Lord, King of the ages and maker of all, who accepted crucifixion and burial in the flesh for our sakes, that you might free us all from Hell, you are our God and we know no other but you. Lord, who will recount your dazzling wonders? Who will declare your dread mysteries? For incarnate for our sakes, as you willed, you manifested the might of your power; for by your Cross You opened Paradise to the Thief; by your burial you smashed the bars of Hell; and by your Resurrection you enriched the universe. Compassionate one, glory to you. The Myrrhbearing women, coming very early to your grave, were seeking to anoint you, the immortal Word and God; and instructed by the words of the Angel they turned back with joy, declaring openly to the Apostles that you, the life of all, had risen and granted the world pardon and your great mercy. Verse: Look on me and have mercy on me: for I am alone and poor. And of the Blind Man. Idiomel. Tone 8. Christ our God, who took flesh through your compassionate mercy and taking pity in your ineffable compassion on one who had been deprived of light from the womb, you granted him divine brilliance, touching with soil his pupils with your moulding fingers. Do you now, O provider of light, illumine too the senses of our souls, as you alone are provider without stinting. Glory. Same Tone. Who will recount your powers, O Christ? Who number the multitudes of your wonders? For twofold you appeared on earth through your goodness, twofold also the healings you bestow: for you opened not only the bodily eyes of one who was maimed from the womb, but also those of his soul. Therefore he confessed you the hidden God, who grant to all your great mercy. Both now. You are most blessed. [Easter Verses. Verse: Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered: and let those that hate him flee before his face. A sacred Pascha has been shown forth to us to-day, a new and holy Pascha, a mystic Pascha, an all-venerable Pascha, a Pascha that is Christ the Redeemer, a spotless Pascha, a Pascha of the faithful, a Pascha that has opened to us the gates of Paradise, a Pascha that hallows all the faithful. Verse: As smoke vanishes, so let them vanish: as wax melts before the fire. Come from the scene, O women bearers of good tidings, and say to Zion: Receive from us the tidings of joy, of the Resurrection of Christ. Exult, dance and be glad, O Jerusalem, for you have seen Christ the King as a bridegroom come forth from the tomb. Verse: So let sinners perish at the presence of God: and let the righteous be glad. The Myrrhbearing women at early dawn came near the tomb of the Giver of life; they found an Angel sitting on the stone, and he, addressing them in this manner, said: Why do you seek the living among the dead? Why do you mourn the Incorruptible amid corruption? Go, proclaim it to his Disciples. Verse: This is the day that the Lord has made: let us be glad and rejoice in it. A Pascha of delight, Pascha, the Lord’s Pascha, an all-venerable Pascha has dawned for us, a Pascha on which let us embrace one another with joy. O Pascha, ransom from sorrow! To-day Christ has shone forth from the tomb as from a bridal chamber, and has filled the women with joy, saying: Proclaim it to the Apostles. Glory. Same Tone. Who will recount your powers, O Christ? Who number the multitudes of your wonders? For twofold you appeared on earth through your goodness, twofold also the healings you bestow: for you opened not only the bodily eyes of one who was maimed from the womb, but also those of his soul. Therefore he confessed you the hidden God, who grant to all your great mercy. Both now. It is the day of Resurrection; let us be radiant for the festival, and let us embrace one another. Let us say, O brethren, even to those who hate us: let us forgive all things at the Resurrection, and so let us cry: Christ has risen from the dead; by death he has trampled on by death, and to those in the graves given life.] Great Doxology and Dismissal. Before the 1st Hour, the Eothinon. Tone 8. Mary’s hot tears did not flow in vain, for she was granted Angels to teach her and the sight of you, O Jesu. But, as a weak woman, she still had earthly thoughts, and therefore she was debarred from touching you, O Christ; but still she was sent as a herald to your Disciples, to whom she spoke the good tidings, announcing your ascent to your Father’s realm. With her make us also worthy of your appearing, O Master and Lord. anastasis