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Vespers Verses
Tones 5 to 8
Tone 5
1. By your precious cross, O Christ,
You have put the devil to shame
By your resurrection, You destroyed the sting of sin;
You saved us from the gates of death.
We praise You, the only-begotten Son.
2. The Lord who bestows resurrection upon the race of men was led like a
lamb to the slaughter.
The powers of the Abyss trembled; its gates opened.
Christ the King of glory entered it.
He said to those in chains: "Come out!"
To those in darkness, he said, "Let light surround you!"
3. Truly, it is a great wonder:
Because of his love for man, the Creator suffers.
Now He is risen again--immortal.
Come, all you nations and peoples,
Let us bow to Him in worship.
Because of his love, He saved us from error,
And we have learned to praise
One God in three Divine Persons.
4. We offer You this evening worship, O Light who never fades!
In the fulness of time, You filled the world with light,
Your flesh being a mirror of your splendor.
You descended into the Abyss, dispelling its darkness.
You revealed the light of your resurrection to the world.
O Lord, giver of light, glory be to You!
5. Let us praise Christ, the Author of our salvation:
By his resurrection from the dead,
He has saved the world from error.
The angelic hosts rejoices; the deceit of the demons vanishes;
Adam fallen is raised again.
6. The guards were told to deny the resurrection:
Bribed with money they were told to say:
"While we slept, his body was taken away."
When has a naked and embalmed body ever been stolen,
Leaving the burial cloth in the tomb?
Do not be deceived--learn from the prophets and understand
That Christ is truly the Savior of the world and the almighty Lord.
7. O Lord and Savior,
You despoiled the Abyss and conquered Death.
You enlightened the world by your cross:
Have mercy on us!
8. Glory be to the Father+, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and
ever and forever. Amen.
A symbol of the pure Virgin and bride
Is revealed in the Red Sea:
There, Moses divided the waters;
Here, Gabriel is the minister of a wonder.
There, Israel crossed the deep as on dry land;
Here, the Virgin gives birth and remains a virgin.
There, the sea remained uncrossable after Israel passed;
Here, the Immaculate One remains a virgin after the birth of Immanuel.
O Immortal and eternal God,
You appeared as man:
Have mercy on us!
At the Apostichon
1. O Christ our Savior,
Not leaving heaven, you became man.
You suffered and died for us because of your love.
We extol you in song!
You crushed the gates of the Abyss;
You arose on the third day
Granting salvation to our souls.
2. O Christ, Giver of life,
From your side pierced by the lance
There flowed pardon, salvation, and life for all.
Accepting death, you gave us eternal life:
Your burial has made us free.
Being God, you raised us with you in glory.
We cry out to you:
"O Lord, Lover of mankind, glory be to You!"
3. O Christ, Lover of mankind,
Your death and descent into the Abyss are marvels.
You conquered death by rising with you in glory.
Those bound for ages by the chains of death.
Grant to us who praise your resurrection
The forgiveness of our sins; make us worthy of paradise:
You alone love mankind.
4. O Lord, You suffered for us;
On the third day you rose from the dead.
Heal our bodily passions;
Raise us from our sin, and save us:
You alone love mankind.
5. Glory be to the Father+, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and
ever and forever. Amen.
O Virgin most pure,
You are a temple, palace, the throne of the King.
Through you, Christ the Lord has appeared.
He is the Sun of Justice and the Savior.
He willed to enlighten those in darkness,
Those fashioned in his image by his hand.
We beseech you, worthy of our praise,
You are his mother.
Intercede for the salvation of our souls.
Tone 6
1. O Christ, You conquered the Abyss, You ascended the cross,
You raised those who stood in the shadow of death.
You are the only one free among the dead.
From your light you give life.
Almighty Savior, have mercy on us!
2. Today Christ has conquered death.
He is risen as he said;
He has given joy to the world.
Let us all sing a hymn and say
"O Source of life, unapproachable light,
Almighty Lord, have mercy on us!"
3. O Lord, you are present everywhere:
Where can we poor sinners flee?
Heaven is where you dwell;
In the Abyss, you conquered death;
In the depths of the sea,
Your powerful hand is there, O Lord.
Welcome to you, and we worship you saying:
"O Lord risen from the dead, have mercy on us!"
4. We take pride in your cross, O Christ;
We praise and glorify your resurrection.
You are our God:
We know no other.
5. Glory be to your power, O Lord!
You have destroyed the power of death;
You have renewed us by your cross;
You have granted us life and great mercy.
6. We bless the Lord at all times;
We sing of his resurrection:
By accepting the cross, He has destroyed death.
7. By your burial, O Lord,
You have broken and destroyed the bonds of death.
Your resurrection has enlightened the world.
O Lord, glory be to You!
8. Glory be to the Father+, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and
ever. and forever. Amen.
Who would not call you blessed , Theotokos?
Who would not praise your virginal birthgiving?
The only-begotten Son, born of the Father before all ages,
Has become incarnate of you in a manner beyond understanding.
God by nature has taken the nature of man for us.
Not divided into two persons, He has two natures without mixture or
confusion.
O most pure and holy, intercede with him
That He may have mercy on our souls.
At the Apostichon
1. Your resurrection, O Christ our Savior,
The angels in heaven praise with hymns!
Make us on earth also worthy with a pure heart
To extol and give glory to You.
2. You broke the gates of the Abyss; You broke its bonds:
You are God Almighty.
You raised our fallen race.
We sing to you:
"O Lord, risen from the dead, glory be to You."
3. Christ willed to save us from corruption;
He was crucified, buried in the tomb.
The faithful women sought him.
In tears they said:
"O Savior of all, how did you accept burial?
How were you stolen, how taken away?
Which place holds your life-giving body?
Appear to us, O Lord, as you promised.
Wipe away our tears."
While they wept, an angel appeared saying:
"Enough tears: go tell the disciples the news:
The Lord is risen
Granting forgiveness and mercy to the world."
4. Freely you accepted death;
You conquered death by your burial;
You arose on the third day in glory as God;
You granted eternal life and mercy to the world.
5. Glory be to the Father+, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and
ever, and forever. Amen.
Christ is the Lord, my Maker and Savior.
He came from your womb in my likeness, O most pure Lady.
He freed Adam from the ancestral curse.
O Virgin since you are the Theotokos,
We never cease calling upon you.
As the angel, we also say:
"Hail, Lady, Advocate, shield and salvation of our souls!"
Tone 7
1. Come, let us rejoice in the Lord:
He has crushed the power of death;
He has enlightened the human race.
Let us cry out with the angels of heaven:
"Our Maker and Savior, glory be to You!"
2. You suffered the crucifixion and burial for us, O Savior.
Being God, you put Death to death by your death.
Therefore, we bow to your resurrection, O Lord.
Glory be to You!
3. The Apostles saw the resurrection of the Creator.
They were amazed and sang the angelic hymn of praise.
This is the glory of the Church;
The devil has been defeated.
This is the wealth of the Kingdom.
O Lord, you suffered for us:
Glory be to You!
4. Arrested by sinful men, O Christ,
You are still my God; I am not ashamed.
Seeing You scourged, I will not deny You;
Seeing You on the cross, I will not hide.
I praise your resurrection: your death is life for me.
Almighty Lord, Lover of mankind, Glory be to You!
5. Christ fulfilled the prophecies of David.
On Sion He manifested his greatness to his disciples.
He showed Himself praised and glorified
With the Father and the Holy Spirit,
First as the Word before He became man;
Now incarnate He died for us as man;
He rose by his own power.
He is the Lord and Lover of mankind.
6. O Christ, you freely descended into the Abyss.
As God and Lord, You conquered Death.
You arose on the third day.
You freed Adam from the bonds of death.
He cried out in song and said:
"Glory be to your resurrection; You alone love mankind!"
7. O Lord, You were buried in the tomb as asleep.
Powerful and strong, You arose on the third day.
You raised Adam from the corruption of death:
You are the Almighty Lord.
8. Glory be to the Father+, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and
ever, and forever. Amen.
O Theotokos: you became a mother outside the laws of nature.
In birthgiving you remained a virgin.
This is beyond understanding and human speech.
Words cannot describe the wonder of your birthgiving.
More glorious is the nature of your conceiving, O Pure One!
The manner of your birthgiving is beyond our understanding.
For when God so wills, the laws of nature are broken.
We firmly believe you to be the Theotokos.
We hasten to you in prayer:
Intercede for the salvation of our souls.
At the Apostichon
1. You rose from the dead, O Savior of mankind.
Through your body, you raised mankind.
O Lord, glory be to You!
2. Let us worship the Lord:
He has risen from the dead and enlightened mankind.
By his resurrection, He has freed us from the suffering of the Abyss.
He has granted us life and great mercy.
3. O Christ, you descended into the Abyss;
You despoiled Death and rose on the third day;
You raised us with you:
We glorify your all powerful resurrection.
O Lord, you alone love mankind.
4. O Lord, you were awe-inspiring:
Even when in the tomb as asleep,
Being all powerful, you rose on the third day.
You raised Adam who cried out:
"Glory be to your resurrection; You alone love mankind!"
5. Glory be to the Father+, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and
ever, and forever. Amen.
O most pure Lady:
All on earth take refuge under your protection.
We cry out to you: O Theotokos and our hope,
Deliver us from our many sins
And save our souls.
Tone 8
1. We offer You an evening hymn and spiritual worship, O Christ,
For by your resurrection,
You have deigned to have mercy on us.
2. Lord, O Lord,
Do not turn us away from your presence.
But because of your resurrection,
Deign to have mercy on us.
3. Rejoice O Holy Sion!
Mother of all the Churches, dwelling of God:
You were the first to receive the forgiveness of sins
Through the resurrection.
4. In the fulness of time and by his own free will,
The Word, born of God the Father before all ages,
Became incarnate of the Virgin.
He endured crucifixion and death.
By his resurrection
He saved man dead from the beginning.
5. Let us glorify your resurrection, O Christ!
Through this, you delivered the race of Adam
From the suffering of the Abyss.
As God, you granted eternal life to the world
And great mercy.
6. Glory be to You, O Christ our Savior!
Only-begotten Son of God,
You were crucified on the cross.
You arose from the grave on the third day.
7. We glorify You, O Lord:
You freely endured the cross for us.
We worship You, Almighty Savior:
Do not turn us from your presence.
Hear and save us
Because of your resurrection:
You alone love mankind.
8. Glory be to the Father+, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and
ever and forever. Amen.
Because of his love for mankind,
The King of heaven appeared on earth.
He became incarnate of a pure Virgin and lived among men.
He was seen in the body he received from her.
He is the One and only Son,
Having two natures but not two persons.
Therefore we profess Christ to be our true God,
Proclaiming Him to be really perfect God and perfect man.
O Virgin Mother: intercede with Him
That He may have mercy on our souls.
At the Apostichon
1. You descended from heaven, O Christ!
You ascended the cross;
You accepted death, O Life Immortal!
To all in darkness, You are the true light;
To all the fallen, You are resurrection,
Enlightenment and Savior,
Glory be to You!
2. Let us glorify Christ risen from the dead.
He assumed a body and soul.
Separated in his passion,
His pure soul entered the Abyss, despoiling it.
Even in the tomb,
He remained untouched by corruption.
He is the Savior of our souls.
3. O Christ, we glorify your resurrection in psalms and hymns.
You freed us from the suffering of the abyss.
As God, you granted us eternal life
And great mercy.
4. O Lord of all, Creator of heaven and earth:
Suffering on the cross, You became a fountain of immortality:
You endured burial and rose in glory.
By your powerful hand, you raised Adam with you.
Glory to your resurrection on the third day.
Through it, you gave us eternal life
And the forgiveness of sins.
You alone are the gracious Lord.
5. Glory be to the Father+, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and
ever, and forever. Amen.
O unwedded Virgin,
You conceived God in the flesh.
O Mother of Almighty God,
Receive the prayers of your servants.
O Virgin ever pure, obtain the forgiveness of our sins.
Hear our supplication and pray
For the salvation of our souls.
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