FIRST HOUR

READER

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 5.

Give ear to my words, O Lord, Hear my cry. Give heed to the voice of my supplication, my King and my God, for to You will I pray, O Lord. In the morning You shall hear my voice; in the morning I will stand before You, and I will watch. For You are not a God who wills lawlessness, nor shall the evildoer dwell with You. The lawless shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all the workers of lawlessness; You shall destroy all who speak falsehood; the Lord abhors the man of violence and deceit. But as for me, in the fullness of Your mercy I will come into Your house; in fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple. Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make straight Your way before me. For there is no truth in their mouth; their heart is vain; their throat is an open grave; they deal deceptively with their tongues. Judge them, O God. Let them fall by their false accusations; cast them out in the multitude of their ungodliness; for they provoked You, O Lord. But let all who hope in You be glad; they will greatly rejoice forever, for You will dwell in them; and all who love Your name will boast in You. For You will bless the righteous; O Lord, You crowned us with the shield of Your goodwill. [SAAS]

Psalm 89 (90).

O Lord, You became a refuge to us in generation and generation; before the mountains were made, and before the earth and the world were formed, and from everlasting to everlasting, You are. Do not let man be turned back to humiliation, and You said, “Return, you sons of men.” For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday, which passed, and like a watch in the night. Years shall be objects of contempt to them; in the morning let man pass by like grass; in the morning let him blossom, and pass by; in the evening let him fall off, be dried up and withered. For we fainted in Your wrath, and in Your wrath we were troubled. You set our transgressions before You, our time in the light of Your face. For all our days failed, and in Your wrath we fainted; our years were spent in thought like a spider. As for the days of our years, their span is seventy years, but if we stay strong, perhaps eighty; and most of them are labor and pain; for meekness came upon us, and we shall be chastened. Who knows the power of Your wrath, and who knows Your anger because of Your fear? So make known Your right hand to us, that we may number our days, and our heart may be bound with wisdom. Return, O Lord; how long? and be entreated concerning Your servants. We were filled with Your mercy in the morning, and in all our days we greatly rejoiced and were glad; gladden us in return for the days You humbled us, for the years we saw evil things. And behold Your servants and Your works, and guide their sons; and let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the works of our hands. [SAAS]

Psalm 100 (101).

O Lord, I will sing to You of mercy and judgment; I will sing and understand in a blameless way; when will You come to me? I walked in the innocence of my heart in the midst of my house. I have not set any lawless thing before my eyes; I hated those Who commit transgressions; a crooked heart shall not cleave to me; as for the evil man who turned away from me, I did not know him. He who secretly slanders his neighbor, this one I chased away; the one with an arrogant eye and insatiable heart, with this one I did not eat. My eyes were on the faithful of the earth, so they might dwell with me; he who walks in a blameless way, this one ministered to me. He who acts arrogantly did not dwell in the midst of my house; he who speaks unjustly did not prosper before my eyes. In the morning I slew all the sinners of the earth, so as to destroy from the city of the Lord all the workers of lawlessness. [SAAS]

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia. Glory to You, O God. (3)

Lord, have mercy. (3)

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

There is no reading of an additional Kathisma from the Psalter.

And then:

CHOIR

Mode pl. 2.

In the morning hear my voice, O my King and my God. [SD]

Verse 1: Give ear to my words, O Lord, hear my cry. [SAAS]

In the morning hear my voice, O my King and my God. [SD]

Verse 2: Give heed to the voice of my supplication, my King and my God

In the morning hear my voice, O my King and my God. [SD]

READER

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Theotokion.

What shall we call you, O Lady full of grace? Heaven? For you gave rise to the Sun of righteousness. Paradise? For you blossomed the flower of incorruption. Virgin? For you remained incorrupt. Pure Mother? For you held in your holy embrace a Son who is the God of all. Entreat Him to save our souls. [SD]

CHOIR

Direct my steps according to Your teaching and let no lawlessness rule over me. (2)

Ransom me from the slander of men, and I will keep Your commandments. (2)

Make Your face shine upon Your servant and teach me Your ordinances. (2)

Let my mouth be filled with Your praise, O Lord, that I may sing of Your glory and of Your magnificence all the day long. (3) [SAAS]

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. [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 ever and to ages of ages.

READER

Amen.

Stavrotheotokion.

Come quickly, O Lord, and keep us from becoming enslaved * to foes who speak blasphemies against You, Christ our God, * and boastfully threaten us. * Annihilate by the power of Your Cross those who fight us. * Let them know how the faith of the Orthodox has power. * Only benevolent God, accept Your Mother’s prayers for us. [SD]

Lord, have mercy. (40)

O Christ our God, who at all times and at every hour, both in heaven and on earth, are worshipped and glorified, long suffering and plenteous in mercy and compassion; who love the just and show mercy to the sinners; who call all men to salvation through the promise of the blessings to come: Do You, the same Lord, receive also our supplications at this present time, and direct our lives according to Your commandments. Sanctify our souls; purify our bodies; set our minds right; clear up our thoughts, and deliver us from every sorrow, evil and distress. Surround us with Your holy Angels so that being guarded and guided by their presence, we may arrive at the unity of the faith and the knowledge of Your ineffable glory; for blessed are You unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Lord, have mercy. (3)

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

Amen.

PRIEST

We now make three prostrations: i.e. we recite the Prayer of St. Ephrem (quietly or mentally), and with each verse we make a bow or prostration.

While it has become customary for this prayer to be recited by someone aloud, nevertheless the indicated practice is that it be recited inaudibly and mentally by everyone, clergy and congregants alike, with the accompanying bows etc.

Prayer of St. Ephrem

O Lord and Master of my life, do not permit the spirit of laziness and meddling, the lust for power and idle talk to come into me.

Instead, grant me, Your servant, the spirit of prudence, humility, patience and love.

Yes, Lord and King, give me the power to see my own faults and not to judge my brother. For You are blessed unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Then we make the sign of the cross 12 times, each time saying, “God, be gracious to me a sinner and have mercy on me.” Then we repeat the third verse of the Prayer (quietly or mentally) and make a final bow or prostration.

Yes, Lord and King, give me the power to see my own faults and not to judge my brother. For You are blessed unto the ages of ages. Amen.

PRIEST

O Christ, the true light that enlightens and sanctifies every man who comes into the world, let the light of Your countenance shine on us, that in it we may behold the unapproachable light. And direct our steps to keep Your commandments, by the intercessions of Your all-immaculate Mother and all the saints. ( Amen. )

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.

Father, bless!

PRIEST

Glory to You, O Christ our God. Glory to You.

May Christ our true God, through the intercessions of His all-pure and all-immaculate holy Mother, the power of the precious and life-giving Cross, the protection of the honorable, bodiless powers of heaven, the supplications of the honorable, glorious prophet and forerunner John the Baptist, of the holy, glorious, and praiseworthy apostles, of the holy, glorious, and triumphant martyrs, of our righteous and God-bearing fathers, (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.

Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us.

CHOIR

Amen.