June 29, 2014 Specials

Divine Liturgy Specials on Sunday, June 29, 2014

Tone 2 / Eothinon 3, Peter (†64) and Paul (†67) (Peter’s Confession)

3^rd Sunday of Matthew (Light of the World)  

Ἀντίφωνον α´ – Ἦχος β´ 1 Εὐλόγει, ἡ ψυχή μου, τὸν Κύριον, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐντός μου τὸ ὄνομα τὸ ἅγιον αὐτοῦ. 2 Εὐλόγει, ἡ ψυχή μου, τὸν Κύριον, καὶ μὴ ἐπιλανθάνου πάσας τὰς ἀνταποδόσεις αὐτοῦ. 3 Κύριος ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἡτοίμασε τὸν θρόνον αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἡ βασιλεία αὐτοῦ πάντων δεσπόζει.     Ταῖς πρεσβείαις τῆς Θεοτόκου, Σῶτερ, σῶσον ἡμᾶς.   Ἀντίφωνον β´ – Ἦχος ὁ αὐτός 1 Αἴνει, ἡ ψυχή μου, τὸν Κύριον, αἰνέσω Κύριον ἐν τῇ ζωῇ μου, ψαλῶ τῷ Θεῷ μου ἕως ὑπάρχω. 2 Μὴ πεποίθατε ἐπ' ἄρχοντας, ἐπὶ υἱοὺς ἀνθρώπων, οἷς οὐκ ἔστι σωτηρία. 3 Μακάριος, οὗ ὁ Θεὸς Ἰακὼβ βοηθὸς αὐτοῦ, ἡ ἐλπὶς αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ Κύριον τὸν Θεὸν αὐτοῦ.     Σῶσον ἡμᾶς, Υἱὲ Θεοῦ, ὁ ἀναστὰς ἐκ νεκρῶν, ψάλλοντάς σοι· Ἀλληλούϊα. Δόξα... Καὶ νῦν... Ὁ Μονογενὴς Υἱός...   Ἀντίφωνον γ´ – Ἦχος β' 1 Αὕτη ἡ ἡμέρα, ἣν ἐποίησεν ὁ Κύριος, ἀγαλλιασώμεθα, καὶ εὐφρανθῶμεν ἐν αὐτῇ. 2 Αἰνεσάτωσαν αὐτὸν οἱ οὐρανοὶ καὶ ἡ γῆ, θάλασσα καὶ πάντα τὰ ἕρποντα ἐν αὐτῇ. Ἀπολυτίκιον –  Ἦχος β' Ὅτε κατῆλθες πρὸς τὸν θάνατον, ἡ Ζωὴ ἡ ἀθάνατος, τότε τὸν Ἅδην ἐνέκρωσας τῇ ἀστραπῇ τῆς θεότητος, ὅτε δὲ καὶ τοὺς τεθνεώτας ἐκ τῶν καταχθονίων ἀνέστησας, πᾶσαι αἱ Δυνάμεις τῶν ἐπουρανίων ἐκραύγαζον, Ζωοδότα Χριστὲ ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν δόξα σοι.   Εἰσοδικόν – Ἦχος β´ Δεῦτε προσκυνήσωμεν καὶ προσπέσωμεν Χριστῷ. Σῶσον ἡμᾶς, Υἱὲ Θεοῦ, ὁ ἀναστὰς ἐκ νεκρῶν, ψάλλοντάς σοι· Ἀλληλούϊα. Ἀπολυτίκιον –  Ἦχος β' Ὅτε κατῆλθες πρὸς τὸν θάνατον, ἡ Ζωὴ ἡ ἀθάνατος, τότε τὸν Ἅδην ἐνέκρωσας τῇ ἀστραπῇ τῆς θεότητος, ὅτε δὲ καὶ τοὺς τεθνεώτας ἐκ τῶν καταχθονίων ἀνέστησας, πᾶσαι αἱ Δυνάμεις τῶν ἐπουρανίων ἐκραύγαζον, Ζωοδότα Χριστὲ ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν δόξα σοι.   Ἀπολυτίκιον –  Ἦχος δ' Οἱ τῶν Ἀποστόλων πρωτόθρονοι, καὶ τῆς Οἰκουμένης διδάσκαλοι, τῷ Δεσπότῃ τῶν ὅλων πρεσβεύσατε, εἰρήνην τῇ οἰκουμένῃ δωρήσασθαι, καὶ ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἡμῶν τὸ μέγα ἔλεος. Ἀπολυτίκιον – Ἦχος πλ. δ' Εὐλογητὸς εἶ, Χριστὲ ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, ὁ πανσόφους τοὺς ἁλιεῖς ἀναδείξας, καταπέμψας αὐτοῖς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, καὶ δι' αὐτῶν τὴν οἰκουμένην σαγηνεύσας, φιλάνθρωπε, δόξα σοι. Ἀπολυτίκιον – Ἦχος δ' Κανόνα πίστεως καὶ εἰκόνα πραότητος, ἐγκρατείας Διδάσκαλον, ἀνέδειξέ σε τῇ ποίμνῃ σου, ἡ τῶν πραγμάτων ἀλήθεια· διὰ τοῦτο ἐκτήσω τῇ ταπεινώσει τὰ ὑψηλά, τῇ πτωχείᾳ τὰ πλούσια, Πάτερ Ἱεράρχα Νικόλαε· πρέσβευε Χριστῷ τῷ Θεῷ, σωθῆναι τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν.   Κοντάκιον – Ἦχος β' Προστασία τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἀκαταίσχυντε, μεσιτεία πρὸς τὸν Ποιητὴν ἀμετάθετε. Μὴ παρίδῃς ἁμαρτωλῶν δεήσεων φωνάς, ἀλλὰ πρόφθασον, ὡς ἀγαθή, εἰς τὴν βοήθειαν ἡμῶν, τῶν πιστῶς κραυγαζόντων σοι· Τάχυνον εἰς πρεσβείαν, καὶ σπεῦσον εἰς ἱκεσίαν, ἡ προστατεύουσα ἀεί, Θεοτόκε, τῶν τιμώντων σε. Τρισάγιον. Εἰς τό ᾽Εξαιρέτως:  ῎Αξιόν ἐστιν.... Κοινωνικόν: «Αἰνεῖτε...», Εἴδομεν τό φῶς... Εἴη τό ὄνομα Κυρίου… Ἀπόλυσις· «Ὁ ἀναστάς ἐκ νεκρῶν...».	Divine Liturgy Hymnal, p. 16:  ANTIPHON I – Tone 2 1 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me bless His holy name.  [Psalm 102:1] 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.  [Psalm 102:2] 3 The Lord has prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom rules over all.   [Psalm 102:19]     Through the intercessions of the Theotokos, O Savior, save us. Divine Liturgy Hymnal, p. 18:  ANTIPHON II – Same tone 1 Praise the Lord, O my soul, I shall praise the Lord all my life, I shall sing to my Lord as long as I exist.  [Psalm 145:1-2] 2 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation.  [Psalm 145:3] 3 Happy is he whose helper is the God of Jacob, whose hope is upon the Lord his God.  [Psalm 145:5]     Save us, O Son of God, Who is risen from the dead; who sing to You.  Alleluia. Glory… Both now… O, only begotten Son… Divine Liturgy Hymnal, p. 24:  ANTIPHON III – Tone 2 1 This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad therein.  [Psalm 117:24] 2 Let the heavens and the earth praise Him, the sea and every creature crawling in it.  [Psalm 68:35] APOLYTIKION resurrectional of the Tone of the day, Tone 2 When You descended to the realm of death You as life immortal, rendered to Hades a mortal blow by Your all radiant divinity.  And when You from infernal depths and the darkness below did raise the dead, all the hosts of heavens’ powers did proclaim and cry out: O life giving Christ and our God we give glory.                          (DLH, p. 81)   EISODIKON –Tone 2 Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ. Save us, O Son of God, Who are risen from the dead; who sing to You. Alleluia. APOLYTIKION resurrectional of the Tone of the day, Tone 2 When You descended to the realm of death You as life immortal, rendered to Hades a mortal blow by Your all radiant divinity.  And when You from infernal depths and the darkness below did raise the dead, all the hosts of heavens’ powers did proclaim and cry out: O life giving Christ and our God we give glory.                          (DLH, p. 81)   APOLYTIKION of the Apostles – Tone 4 First in prominence among the Apostles and teachers of the Universe, intercede to the Master of all for peace in the world and for our souls great mercy.                  (Narthex Press) APOLYTIKION of our Church (Holy Trinity) – Tone 8 O Blessed are you, O Christ our God, who by sending down the Holy Spirit upon them, made the fishermen wise and through them illumined the world.  And unto you, the universe was ever drawn, all glory to you, O God. (DLH, p. 115)                                                                                                       APOLYTIKION of our Church (St. Nicholas) – Tone 4(DLH, p. 110) As a yardstick of faith and an icon of gentleness; as a teacher of temperance, your actual deeds have declared you as being among your flock.  In this manner you gained by humility, things most sublime, and through poverty earned true wealth.  Father and our hierarch St. Nicholas intercede with Christ our God that our souls may be saved.                                                                                                        KONTAKION – Tone 2 A protection of us Christians unshamable, intercession before our Creator unwavering.  Please, reject not, the earnest cries of those who have transgressed; but, come to us for you are good, your loving help offer to us, who in faith cry out to you: Hasten to intercede, and speed now to supplicate, as a protection for all time, Theotokos, for those who honor you. Divine Liturgy Hymnal, p. 26:  TRISAGION. DLH, p. 54: AT THE Especially…,  It is truly meet… DLH, p. 66: KOINONIKON:  Praise the Lord…[Psalm 148:1] DLH, p. 70: After Communion, We have seen the true light… DLH, p. 74: Blessed be the Name of the Lord… Divine Liturgy Hymnal, p. 78:  THE DISMISSAL: “May He Who is risen from the dead, Christ...”
The fast of the holy Apostles is very ancient, dating back to the first centuries of Christianity. We have the testimony of St. Athanasius the Great, St. Ambrose of Milan, St. Leo the Great and Theodoret of Cyrrhus regarding it. The oldest testimony regarding the Apostles Fast is given to us by St. Athanasius the Great (†373). In his letter to Emperor Constance, in speaking of the persecution by the Arians, he writes: "During the week following Pentecost, the people who observed the fast went out to the cemetery to pray." "The Lord so ordained it," says St. Ambrose (†397), "that as we have participated in his sufferings during the Forty Days, so we should also rejoice in his Resurrection during the season of Pentecost. We do not fast during the season of Pentecost, since our Lord Himself was present amongst us during those days … Christ’s presence was like nourishing food for the Christians. So too, during Pentecost, we feed on the Lord who is present among us. On the days following His ascension into heaven, however, we again fast" (Sermon 61). St. Ambrose bases this practice on the words of Jesus concerning his disciples in the Gospel of Matthew (9:14, 15): "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridgeroom is with them? The days will come, when the	bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” St. Leo the Great (†461) says: "After the long feast of Pentecost, fasting is especially necessary to purify our thoughts and render us worthy to receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit ... Therefore, the salutary custom was established of fasting after the joyful days during which we celebrated the resurrection and ascension of our Lord, and the coming of the Holy Spirit.'' The pilgrim Egeria in her Diary (4th c.) records that on the day following the feast of Pentecost, a period of fasting began. The Apostolic Constitutions, a work no later than the 4th c., prescribes: "After the feast of Pentecost, celebrate one week, then observe a fast, for justice demands rejoicing after the reception of the gifts of God and fasting after the body has been refreshed." From the testimonies of the 4th c., we ascertain that in Alexandria, Jerusalem and Antioch the fast of the holy Apostles was connected with Pentecost and not with the feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul on June 29. In the first centuries, after Pentecost there was one week of rejoicing, that is Privileged Days, followed by about one week of fasting. Nicephoros, Patriarch of Constantinople (806-816), mentions the Apostle's Fast.                JOHN SANIDOPOULOS
This insert is a gift from our Byzantine School.  We invite you to join us on the last Wednesday of each month at 6 pm, as we explore the selection of liturgy “specials” for each week, and other issues related to the liturgical services of our Church.  Next mtg: 7/30/14!     Please consult the Sunday Bulletin for our regular announcements, or contact Tasos Ioannides, ioanniam@uc.edu or (513) 556-3137.  Translation Sources: DLH= Divine Liturgy Hymnal; FSD=Fr Seraphim Dedes; KL=Kevin Lawrence; FEH =Fr Edward Hughes; FEL=Fr Ephraim Lash.