Great Vigil

The Great Vigil

First Qauma

† IN THE NAME of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, One God, to Whom be glory and upon us, weak and sinful, be mercy and compassion in both worlds unto the Aeon of aeons.
Amen.
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Tzevaoth, heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest. † Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
† HOLY art Thou, O God!
Holy and mighty, holy and immortal, Who was crucified for us: have mercy on us!
† HOLY art Thou, O God!
Holy and mighty, holy and immortal, Who was crucified for us: have mercy on us!
† HOLY art Thou, O God!
Holy and mighty, holy and immortal, Who was crucified for us: have mercy on us!
O Christ, hear us! O Christ, our God, hear us and have mercy! O Christ, our God and King, hear us and have mercy and compassion on us! Barekhmar!
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 tresspasses as we forgive those who tresspass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for † Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Peace be with thee, Virgin Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blest is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners in both worlds. Amen.

Proper of Great Vespers

O GOD, that art without beginning and without end, the Maker of the whole world by Thy Christ, that hast made the day for the works of light, and the night for the refreshment of our infirmity, do Thou now, O Lord, Thou lover of mankind, and Fountain of all good, mercifully accept our evening prayer. Thou that hast brought us through the length of the day and hast brought us to the beginning of the night, grant unto us a peaceful evening and a night free from sin, and vouchsafe unto us everlasting life in Thy Christ, † through Whom be glory, honor, and worship to Thee and Thy Living Holy Spirit, One God, unto the Aeon of aeons.
Amen.

Psalmody

§ The Psalms of the Evening with their Antiphons, ending with the Doxology.

Diptych

Barekhmar! For the holy churches of God, for our Metropolitan, Mar _____, for our Bishop, Mar _____, and for all the clergy and all the faithful, that their prayers may be a stronghold for us, let us pray to the Lord!
Kyrie eleison!
For the founders of this holy house, for those who pray with us here and for those absent from us, let us pray to the Lord!
Kyrie eleison!
For pious rulers and for our civil authorities, let us pray to the Lord!
Kyrie eleison!
For the living, for the sick and for travellers away from home let us pray to the Lord!
Kyrie eleison!
For seasonable weather and the fruit of the earth, for good rains and for the harvest of the land let us pray to the Lord!
Kyrie eleison!
For the safety of humanity and nature let us pray to the Lord!
Kyrie eleison!
For all in captivity, for those in the grave, for all in affliction let us pray to the Lord!
Kyrie eleison!
Help us, save us, have mercy and compassion upon us and keep us, O God, by thy grace!
Kyrie eleison!

Censing

Let us cry out to the Lord at the offering of incense!
Let our prayer arise before Thee as the incense and the lifting up of our hands as the evening sacrifice.
BY THIS incense, O Lord, may Thy will be satisfied. May Thy Mother and Thy servants be honored by it and the faithful departed be pardoned who have put their trust in Thee, Our Lord and God unto the Aeon of aeons.
Amen.

Second Qauma

† HOLY art Thou, O God!
Holy and mighty, holy and immortal, Who was crucified for us: have mercy on us!
† HOLY art Thou, O God!
Holy and mighty, holy and immortal, Who was crucified for us: have mercy on us!
† HOLY art Thou, O God!
Holy and mighty, holy and immortal, Who was crucified for us: have mercy on us!
O Christ, hear us! O Christ, our God, hear us and have mercy! O Christ, our God and King, hear us and have mercy and compassion on us! Barekhmar!
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 tresspasses as we forgive those who tresspass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for † Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Peace be with thee, Virgin Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blest is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners in both worlds. Amen.
† GLORY be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, One God,
in both worlds unto the Aeon of aeons. Amen.

The Vigil Hymn

The pride of Adam's race art thou,
The Mother of our God and Lord;
Blessed by us below art thou,
Above by heavenly hosts adored.

What generation hath not heard
Of thy maternal love and care?
O Mother of the Living Word,
Be thou our help, O Virgin fair!

Thou Mother to both God and man,
Thy hopeful children stand to plead
For thy good prayers for all our land,
To keep it from all wrath and need.
Amen.

ETERNAL Savior, King of kings, Thou alone art the Almighty Lord God of all beings, the God of our holy and blameless fathers and mothers in the faith; the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob; merciful and compassionate, long-suffering, and abundant in mercy. Unto Thee every heart is open and every heart is seen, and to Thee is every secret thought revealed. To Thee do the souls of the righteous cry aloud. Upon Thee do the hopes of the godly trust, O Thou Father of the innocent, Thou hearer of the supplication of them that call upon Thee in righteousness. Thou knowest even the supplications that are not uttered by our lips, for Thy providence reaches as far as the inmost thoughts of humankind. By Thy knowledge Thou searchest the thoughts of everyone, and in every region of the whole earth the incense of prayer and supplication is sent up to Thee. O Thou that hast appointed this present world as the place of the combat for righteousness, open unto all the gate of Thy mercy. Thou hast shown unto all, by natural judgment and the admonitions of Thy Law, how the possession of riches is not everlasting and the ornament of beauty is not perpetual and that our strength and force are easily dissolved. Only the good conscience of faith unfeigned passes through the midst of the heavens and takes hold of the right hand of the joy which is to come. Even so, before the promise of the restoration of all things is accomplished, our souls exult in hope and are joyful.

O Loom of God, wherewith He made
Himself a coat of human flesh,
Thou mother and still yet a maid,
Thine ancient praise we sing afresh.

Of old did Moses make a place,
A tent of skins for God to dwell;
But thou didst clothe with skin the Grace
Of Him that saves our life from hell.

When we at last go to our rest,
When death from strife shall set us free,
O let it be thy tenderness
That we, when we awake, shall see.

AND UNTO Thee be glory, † to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, One God, in both worlds unto the Aeon of aeons.
Amen.

As incense burnt in censers gold
In Heaven when our prayers ascend
Remember, Lord, the saints of old
And us with them, as we depend.

Thy faithfulness to us maintain
That brought them to Thee through the fire
And that upheld them through their pain
And did their holy zeal inspire.

Thy martyrs, Lord, throughout the years
Have offered Thee their lives for Thine.
In dungeons dark, through anguished tears,
They saw Thy holy light divine.
Amen.

BLESSED art Thou O Lord, the King of the universe, that by Thy Christ hast made the whole world and didst order the chaos by Him. By Thy power, O Lord, the earth is beautified and the heavens are rendered luminous with stars. Thou art the orderer of Night and Day. Thou didst command the waters to be gathered together and the dry land to appear. Thou hast made them for the life of creatures small and great, and the skillful wisdom of Thy providence imparts to each its good. At the conclusion of the creation didst Thou give direction to Thy Wisdom to form rational creatures as the stewards of the world, forming a body out of the four elements and preparing a soul out of nothing and a mind as the conductor of the soul. And when we were disobedient and went astray, Thou didst deprive us of the life which might have been our reward, but didst not destroy us forever. Thou layest us to sleep for a time and shalt yet call us to resurrection and loose from us the bonds of death through Jesus Christ, who is our hope.

Thy saints, O Heaven's Holy King,
Before Thy throne of majesty
Their just and holy labors bring
And set them at the feet of Thee.

Apostles, prophets, martyrs bow
And worship Thee with holy song.
Remember us and save us now
And rescue us from wrath and wrong.

O Holy God, to Thee we pray
To help us in our time of need
And like Thy saints that by Thee stay,
Guide us in every word and deed.

AND UNTO Thee be glory, † to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, One God, in both worlds unto the Aeon of aeons.
Amen.

Thy mercy, Lord, to us unfold
Who unto Thee approach with tears,
And be as Thou wast wont of old
When love of Thee drove out our fears.

Sin doth in us its woeful fight,
Strife and its awful sickness spread;
Restore to us a spirit right
And set Thy peace in battle's stead.

We have to Thee for refuge fled
Who have Thy Holy Name confessed;
Take pity on us, Lord, instead
And put forgiveness in our breast.
Amen.

GREAT art Thou, O Lord Almighty, and great is Thy power. Of Thine understanding there is no reckoning, O Creator and Savior. In Thy long-suffering and mercy Thou sparest sinners and callest them to repentance. The heavens declare Thy dominion and the earth declares Thy steadfastness. All creatures made by Thy word show forth the greatness of Thy power. Wherefore do we send up a hymn to Thee, since Thou hast power over all. Thou art kind in Thy benefits and beneficent in Thy compassion. Thou art in heaven and on earth and in the sea and in all finite things, yet art Thyself unconfined by anything and of Thy majesty there is no bound. There is none holy besides Thee, the God and Father of Jesus Christ and the Lord of them that serve Him.

The gates of mercy open wide
And we unto Thine Altar go.
Forgive our wrath and greed and pride!
Thy mercy unto sinners show.

It was not we that loved Thee first,
But it was Thou that didst love us;
And that when we were at our worst.
What other love is given thus?

Let all this day choose whom they will,
But let us unto Christ belong.
Grant us forgiveness, Lord, we pray
As we forgive our neighbor's wrong.

AND UNTO Thee be glory, † to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, One God, in both worlds unto the Aeon of aeons.

At heaven's holy altar, Lord,
Their memory eternal be.
Eternal life with Thee award
To them that put their trust in Thee.

With Abraham and all the just,
With Mary and the saints of old
Reward in kind their faithful trust
And raise them up and make them whole.

Thy faithful ones that on Thee wait
Bring Thou unto the living land,
O Christ our God, both small and great
Raise Thou to dwell at Thy right hand.
Amen.

O THOU that hast fulfilled the promises delivered through Thy prophets, and had mercy on Zion and compassion on Jerusalem by exalting the throne of David by the birth of Jesus Christ, born of his seed through the Blessed Virgin; accept the prayers of the people Thou hast called forth from the nations as Thou didst accept of the gifts of the righteous in their generations. Accept them as the sacrifice of Abel, as the sacrifice of Noah, of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob, of Moses in the desert and of Aaron between the dead and the living. Now also do Thou receive the prayers of Thy people which are offered to Thee with knowledge, through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit.

Thy throne, Thou dread and awesome King,
On mercy founded is, and might;
And truth surrounds, like firy ring,
Where thunderous sing the Watchers bright.

Baptism's fountain let allay
The firy river and its flame.
Bring Thou to Thee upon that day
Each one Thou callest by Thy Name.

Let them ascend Thy holy hill
And stand before Thine awesome Throne
All those firstborn in Thy goodwill
That Thou hast chosen for Thine own.

AND UNTO Thee be glory, † to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, One God, in both worlds unto the Aeon of aeons.
Amen.

Third Qauma

The Proper of Great Matins

O GOD, the God of spirits and of all flesh, that art beyond compare and that standest in need of nothing, that hast given the sun to have rule over the day, and the moon and the stars to have rule over the night; do Thou now also look down upon us with gracious eyes, and receive our morning prayer, and have mercy upon us. For Thou, the eternal God, that art without end, hast given us our being and our well-being through Jesus Christ, Thy Son. Do Thou vouchsafe unto us also through Him eternal life. † And to Thee with Thine Onlybegotten Son and Thy Living Holy Spirit, One God, be glory, honor and worship in both worlds unto the Aeon of aeons.
Amen.

Psalmody

§ The Psalms of the Morning with their Antiphons, ending with the Doxology.

Prayer for Forgiveness

Let us bend our knees unto the Lord!
Kyrie eleison!
ALMIGHTY, eternal God, Lord of the whole world, Creator and Governor of all things, Thou didst through Thy Christ create humanity as the ornament of the world. Thou didst give us a law written in our heart so that we might live according to it as rational creatures, and then didst give us Thy goodness when we had sinned as a pledge of the opening of the door of repentance unto us. Look down upon us who have bended the knees of their soul and body to Thee, for Thou desirest not the death of us sinners, but that we turn from our wickedness and live. O Thou that didst accept the repentance of the Ninevites, willing all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, do Thou now accept of the repentance of Thy servants. Behold, there is none without sin, for if Thou, O Lord, markest iniquities, who shall stand? But do Thou restore us to Thy grace, and bring us to everlating life in the world to come, and unto Thee be glory, honor and worship, † Father, Son and Holy Spirit, One God, in both worlds unto the Aeon of aeons.
Amen. Barekhmar!
Stomen kalos!
Kyrie eleison!
† MAY Almighty God grant us all pardon and absolution and remission of sins in both worlds unto the Aeon of aeons.
Amen.

Prayer for Blessing

Let us bow down our heads unto the Lord!
To Thee, O Lord.
O GOD, the Lord of mercy that didst form humanity in Thine image and likeness as a rational creature and didst give us authority to rule and care for the other creatures of the earth as Thy stewards, that hast called out Thy Church from among the nations as a nation of kings and priests for the salvation of the world, and that hast established the several orders of the clergy; the diaconate to serve, the presbyters to exhort and the episcopate to govern Thy Church, do Thou now also look down, O Lord Almighty, and cause Thy face to shine upon Thy people who bow down their heads and their hearts before Thee, and bless them by Thy Christ, through whom Thou hast enlightened us with the light of knowledge and hast revealed Thyself to us. † For adoration is due to Him from every rational and holy nature, and to Thee and to Thy Living Holy Spirit, the Comforter, One God, in both worlds unto the Aeon of aeons.
Amen. Barekhmar!
† The blessing of Almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be with you all, my kindred, unto the Aeon of aeons.
Amen.

Diptych

The Fourth Qauma

Gospel Lesson

Stomen Kalos! The Holy Gospel according to St N.
† PEACE be with you all.
And with thy spirit.
At that time...

§ Gospel Lessons for the Great Vigil of High Holy Days are as follows.
Circumcision: St. Luke 13: 6 - 9. Epiphany: St. Mark 1: 1-11. Presentation: St. Luke 2: 22- 40. Annunciation: St. Mark 3: 31-35. Ascension: St. Mark 16: 14 - 20. Pentecost: St. John 15: 20 - 25. Transfiguration: St. Mark 8: 38-9: 13. Dormition: St. Luke 2: 42-51. Birth of the Virgin: St Matthew 12: 46-50. Holy Cross: St. Matthew 24: 1-35. Christmas: St. John 1: 1-18.

This is a true account of our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Halleluyah! Halleluyah! Halleluyah!

§ A Sermon may follow here.

The Great Dismissal Prayers

The Great Doxology

GLORY be to God in the highest,
and on earth peace and goodwill among men. We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we worship Thee, we glorify Thee, we give thanks unto Thee for Thy great glory, Lord King, Heavenly God, Father Almighty, O Lord and Onlybegotten Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us! Thou that sittest at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us! For Thou only art Holy, Thou only art the Lord, Jesus Christ, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

The Prayer of St. Simeon

O LORD, let now Thou Thy servant depart in peace,
according to Thy word; for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light for the revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.

The Dismissal

O LORD, save Thy people, and bless Thine inheritance which Thou hast purchased with the Precious Blood of Thy Christ. Feed them under Thy right hand and cover them under Thy wings, and grant that they may fight the good fight and finish their course and keep the faith immutably, unblameably, and unreprovably, through our Lord Jesus Christ, † Thine Onlybegotten Son, with Whom be glory, honor, and worship to Thee and Thy Living Holy Spirit, One God, in both worlds unto the Aeon of aeons.
Amen.

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