2024

On Friday | March 22

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THE PROPHECY

READER

Prokeimenon. Mode 4.

Psalm 17 (18).

I will love You, O Lord, my strength.

My God is my helper, on Him I will hope. [SAAS]

The reading is from the Prophecy of Isaiah.

PRIEST

Wisdom. Let us be attentive.

READER

Is 3:1-14

For behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, takes away from Judah and from Jerusalem the strong man and the strong woman; the strength of bread and the strength of water; the mighty man and the man of war; the judge, the prophet, the diviner, and the elder; the captain of fifty, the wonderful counselor, the skillful artisan, and the prudent disciple. “I will give children to be their princes, and mockers shall rule over them. The people will collapse, every one on another and every one on his neighbor. The child will be arrogant toward the elder and vulgar toward the honorable.” When a man takes hold of his brother or his father’s servant, saying, “You have clothing; you be our ruler and let my food be under your roof.” In that day, he will protest, saying, “I will not be your ruler, for in my house there is neither food nor clothing. I will not be the ruler of this people.” For Jerusalem is ruined and Judah is fallen, because their tongues are lawless and they are disobedient to the Lord. Now their glory is humbled. The shame on their face witnesses against them. They declare and exhibit their sin as Sodom. Woe to their soul, for they planned evil upon themselves, saying, “Let us hand over the righteous man, for he is burdensome to us.” They shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for the reward of his hands shall be given him. “O My people, your punishers gather you, and those who make demands of you rule over you. O My people, those who bless you lead you astray and trouble the path of your feet.” The Lord stands up to plead and stands to judge His people. The Lord will enter into judgment with the elders of His people and His princes. [SAAS]

Prokeimenon. Mode pl. 2.

Psalm 18 (19).

O Lord, my helper and my redeemer.

The heavens declare the glory of God. [SAAS]

The Readings from Vespers

READER

Prokeimenon. Mode pl. 1.

Psalm 19 (20).

May the Lord hear you in the day of afflictions.

May the name of the God of Jacob defend you. [SAAS]

The reading is from the book of Genesis.

DEACON

Wisdom. Let us be attentive.

READER

Gn 2:20-25, 3:1-20

So Adam gave names to all the cattle, to all the birds of heaven, and to all the wild animals of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. Thus God brought a trance upon Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and filled up the flesh in its place. Then the Lord God built the rib He took from Adam into a woman, and brought her to him. So Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh.” Now the two were naked, both Adam and his wife, and were not ashamed. Now the serpent was more cunning than all the wild animals the Lord God made on the earth. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat from every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees of the garden; but from the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You shall not eat from it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You shall not die by death. For God knows in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw the tree was good for food, was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree beautiful to contemplate, she took its fruit and ate. She also gave it to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of the two were opened, and they knew they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. Then they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden that afternoon, and Adam and his wife hid themselves within the tree in the middle of the garden from the presence of the Lord God. So the Lord God called Adam and said to him, “Adam, where are you?” He replied, “I heard Your voice as You were walking in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” Thus He said, “Who said you were naked? Have you eaten from the one tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” Then Adam said, “The woman You gave me, gave me of the tree, and I ate.” So the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Thus the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than all the wild animals of the earth. On your breast and belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head, and you shall be on guard for His heel.” To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply your pain and your groaning, and in pain you shall bring forth children. Your recourse will be to your husband, and he shall rule over you.” Then to Adam He said, “Because you heeded the voice of your wife, and ate from the one tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground in your labors. In toil you shall eat from it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground from which you were taken. Earth you are, and to earth you shall return.” So Adam called his wife’s name Life, because she was the mother of all living. [SAAS]

Prokeimenon. Mode pl. 2.

Psalm 20 (21).

Be exalted, O Lord, in Your power.

O Lord, the king shall be glad in Your power. [SAAS]

The reading is from the Proverbs of Solomon.

DEACON

Wisdom. Let us be attentive.

READER

Pr 3:21-37

God by wisdom founded the earth and prepared the heavens with discernment. With perception the depths were broken up, and the clouds flowed with dew. My son, do not be careless, but keep my counsel and thinking, that your soul may live, and grace may be around your neck. And there will be healing for your flesh and care for your bones, that you may walk confidently in peace in all your ways, and your foot may not stumble. For if you sit down, you will be without fear, and if you lie down, your sleep will be pleasant. And do not be afraid of intimidation when it comes upon you, nor of the attack of the ungodly when it comes at you; for the Lord will be over all your ways, and He will plant your feet firmly, that you may not be shaken. Do not withhold doing good to the needy, when you may give a helping hand; do not say, when you are able to do good, “Come back tomorrow, and I will give you something”; for you do not know what the next day will bring forth. Do not devise evil things against your friend who dwells beside you and trusts in you. Do not be ready to quarrel with a man in vain, lest he do you some harm. Do not incur the reproach of evil men, neither seek their ways; for every lawless man is unclean before the Lord, and he does not sit among the righteous. The curse of God is in the houses of the ungodly, but He blesses the dwellings of the righteous. The Lord opposes the arrogant, but He gives grace to the humble. [SAAS]

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Stand for the reading of the Synaxarion.

Synaxarion

From the Menaion.

On March 22 we commemorate the holy hieromartyr Basil, Presbyter of the Church of Ancyra.

On this day we also commemorate the holy women martyrs, Kallinike and Vasilissa, who died by the sword.

On this day we also commemorate St. Drosis, daughter of the emperor Trajan, and the five consecrated virgins with her.

The holy new devout martyr Efthymios, who contested in Constantinople in the year 1814, died by the sword.

By the intercessions of Your Saints, Christ O God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

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Fasting Rule

Strict: Refrain from meat, fish, oil, dairy, and eggs.

It is a weekday in Lent.