Books - Sources

Horologion - Midnight Office

For a Weekday

Menaion - January 17

Memory of St. Anthony the Great

__________

MIDNIGHT OFFICE

PRIEST

Blessed is our God always, now and forever and to the ages of ages.

( Amen. )

Glory to You, O 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. [HC]

READER

Trisagion Prayers.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (3)

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Now and forever 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 to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Now and forever 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. [GOA]

PRIEST

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to ages of ages.

READER

Amen. Lord, have mercy. (12)

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Now and forever 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. [SAAS]

If the Lity was not sung at Vespers, sing the following:

CHOIR

Idiomela. For the Saint.

From Menaion - - -

Mode 2.

Having established ascetic training on earth, venerable Anthony, ⁄ you drowned all assaults of the passions in the stream of your tears. ⁄ Your God-pleasing life has been acknowledged by all ⁄ as a divine and prayerful ladder rising to the heavens. ⁄ You revealed the fruits of piety within yourself, ⁄ thus healing the weakness of the passions ⁄ of those who cry to you with faith: ⁄ Rejoice, golden and radiant star of the east, ⁄ lamp and shepherd for monastics! ⁄ Rejoice, ever-memorable one, fairest offspring of the desert; ⁄ unshakable foundation of the Church! ⁄ Rejoice, great guide of the lost! ⁄⁄ Rejoice, our boast; the radiant joy of the universe! [OCA]

Mode 2.

Let us honor Anthony, ⁄ an earthly angel and divine man in the heavens, ⁄ a wonderful adornment of the world, ⁄ the joy of those who do good and practice virtues, ⁄ the boast of ascetics! ⁄ For, planted in the house of God, ⁄ he flourished in righteousness. ⁄ Like a cedar in the wilderness, he sheltered Christ’s reasonable sheep ⁄⁄ In holiness and righteousness. [OCA]

Mode 2.

Venerable Father, ⁄ from childhood you practiced virtue with diligence ⁄ becoming an instrument of the Holy Spirit. ⁄ You received from Him the power to work wonders: ⁄ You persuaded men to despise pleasures! ⁄ Now as you are purely illumined by divine light, ⁄⁄ enlighten our thoughts also, Father Anthony. [OCA]

Mode 3.

Venerable Antony, ⁄ as though resting among immaterial things, ⁄ you accomplished an ardent and courageous life of the strictest discipline. ⁄ Bravely resisting the assaults of demons, ⁄ you triumphed over their weakness and soul-destroying error ⁄ by displaying the force and invincible power of the Saviour’s Cross! ⁄ Girded with its power, ⁄ you defeated all those who reject Christ’s divine manifestation in the flesh. ⁄⁄ Beseech Him to grant our souls His great mercy. [OCA]

Glory.

From Menaion - - -

Mode pl. 1.

O devout Father, when you heard the message of the Gospel of the Lord, you left the world behind, reasoning that wealth and glory are of no account. Then you began saying to everyone, “Love God, and you will find eternal grace. Do not prefer anything to His love, so that when He comes in His glory you may find rest with all the Saints.” At his entreaties, O Christ, guard us and save our souls. [SD]

Both now.

From Menaion - - -

Mode pl. 1.

Now we call you blessed, O Virgin Theotokos, and we glorify you, duty-bound as believers; the city unshakable, the wall indestructible, the firm and steadfast protection, and the place of refuge for our souls. [SD]

READER

Trisagion Prayers.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (3)

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Now and forever 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 to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Now and forever 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. [GOA]

PRIEST

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to ages of ages.

READER

Amen.

Apolytikion.

From Menaion - - -

Mode 4.

Imitating the manners of Elijah the Zealot, and following the straight paths of John the Baptist, O Father Anthony, you colonized the desert, and you supported the Empire by your prayers. Therefore intercede with Christ our God to save our souls. [SD]

Lord, have mercy. (40)

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

More honorable than the Cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim, without corruption you gave birth to God the Logos. We magnify you, the true Theotokos.

In the name of the Lord, Father, bless!

PRIEST

Have mercy on us, O God, according to Your great mercy, we pray You, hear us and have mercy.

( Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. )

Let us pray for pious and Orthodox Christians.

( Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. )

Again we pray for our Archbishop (name).

( Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. )

Again let us pray for our country, the president, and all those in public service.

( Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. )

Again we pray for mercy, life, peace, health, salvation, visitation, forgiveness and remission of the sins of all pious and Orthodox Christians living and visiting in this city, the parishioners, the members of the Parish Council and every Ministry of this Parish, and the donors and benefactors of this holy church, and the servants of God [names] who celebrate this holy feast.

( Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. )

Again we pray for the protection of the Holy and Great Church of Christ, our Sacred Archdiocese (and this Sacred Metropolis), this city and every city and land, from wrath, famine, pestilence, earthquake, flood, fire, sword, foreign invasion, civil strife, and accidental death. That our good and benevolent God may be merciful, gracious and kindly-disposed, and may divert and disperse all anger and disease coming against us, and deliver us from His own just threat hanging over us, and have mercy on us.

( Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. )

Again we pray that the Lord our God may hear the prayer of us sinners, and have mercy on us.

( Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. )

PRIEST

Hear us, O God our Savior, the hope of all those who live everywhere on earth and those far out at sea. Be gracious toward our sins, Master, and have mercy on us. For You are merciful and benevolent God, and to You we offer up glory, to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages.

( Amen. )

READER

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Father, bless!

PRIEST

May 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.

( Lord, have mercy. )

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 and save us.

( Amen. )