June 21, 2015 Specials

Divine Liturgy Specials on Sunday, June 21, 2015

Tone 2 / Eothinon 3, 3rd Sunday of Matthew (Seek the Kingdom)

Julian, M (†c.305); Terentius of Iconium, HM (†1^st c.); New-Martyr Niketas (†1792)

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 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 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...”
In today’s Gospel reading [Mt 6:22-33], Christ urges us not to be anxious about our lives and bodies—what we shall eat, drink, or wear.  But how can this be, if we must eat and drink, and clothe ourselves?  Are we not earthly beings, who are bound by laws of biological existence?  Do we not come from our forefather Adam, who is dust [Gen 3:19], and as he was so we also are [1 Cor 15:48]?  This is true; we are descendants of Adam, and find ourselves in a fallen state.  We sustain our lives by devouring the created world, we wrap out bodies in that which is corruptible, our soul draws its inspiration from the lusts and desires of our bodies, and our spirit feeds on the passions of the soul.  This is the order of life that has become habitual to us, but it is not natural for us; God did not create us for such an existence. Christ came to restore our nature, to lift us out of the fallen state, and to give a new and original order to our lives.  Our spirit must now find nourishment in God, the source of being; our soul must be inspired by things divine, even as the spirit draws it to God; even our bodies must not live “by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” [Mt 4:4], that is to say, by Christ Himself, Who is the Word of God; and instead of our old corrupt nature, we must now put on new nature [Eph 4:24]—Christ Himself [Gal 3:27].  Finding the basis of our being in the things of this temporal world, we mold our lives in accordance with that which is not the source of being, and today is, “but tomorrow is thrown into the oven” [Lk 12:28].	By being anxious about corruptible things, we unite our hearts to corruption; for where our treasure is, there our heart will be also” [Mt 6:21]. On the contrary, seeking “first the kingdom and his righteousness” [Mt 6:33], that is to say, directing our lives toward God, finding the basis of our lives in Him Who is life itself, we “become heirs of the kingdom” [Jas 2:5] and of eternal life with God. Christ is not calling us to stop eating—He Himself ate and drank, and His disciples did the same; He is not calling us to disregard our clothing—He Himself wore a robe made for Him by His Most Pure Mother. Christ is not calling us to reject our life, but to sanctify it: to bring every aspect of our life to the service of the kingdom, to remember that the goal of Christian life is theosis—a union with Christ and ascension of our nature to the right side of the Father, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well” [Mt 6:33].  Note that Christ is saying that these things will be yours as well.  God knows that we need all these things [Mt 6:32].  He placed us in this world, and He blesses the labor of our hands.  But let us not be like the man to whom God said “Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” [Lk 12:20].  Let us instead firmly bind our hearts to heaven by making it—heaven—our treasure.  Only such a life is pleasing in God’s sight, because only such a life is truly life—life in the fullness of being and life abundant [Jn 10:10].                    Fr. Sergei Sveshnikov, ROCOR (2010)
This insert is a gift from our Byzantine School.  We invite you to join us on the last Thursday 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: 8/27/15!     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.