Lenten Triodion

Palm Sunday

Great Vespers on Saturday Evening

After the Psalm of Introduction (Psalm 103) and the Great Litany, we read Blessed is the man (the first kathisma of the Psalter).

To Lord, I have cried, ten stichera are sung:

Tone Six

Today the grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us together,/ and we all take up Thy Cross and say:/ Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord;// Hosanna in the highest. (Twice)

Today the Word and co-eternal Son of God the Father,/ whose throne is the heaven and whose footstool is the earth,/ humbles Himself and comes to Bethany,/ seated on a dumb beast, on a foal./ Then the children of the Hebrews,/ holding branches in their hands, praise Him saying:/ ‘Hosanna in the highest:// blessed is He that comes, the King of Israel.’ (Twice)

Let us also come today, all the new Israel,/ the Church of the Gentiles,/ and let us cry with the Prophet Zechariah:/ Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion;/ shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem;/ for behold, thy King comes unto thee:/ He is meek and brings salvation,/ and He rides upon the colt of an ass,/ the foal of a beast of burden./ Keep the feast with the children,/ and holding branches in your hands sing His praises:/ Hosanna to the highest;// blessed is He that comes, the King of Israel. (Twice)

Prefiguring for us Thy holy Resurrection, loving Lord,/ by Thy command Thou hast raised up from death Lazarus Thy friend,/ who was without the breath of life;/ and after four days in the tomb he had begun to stink./ Then, O Savior, mounted on a foal,/ and as though riding in a chariot,/ Thou hast given a sign unto the Gentiles./ Therefore also Israel Thy beloved/ offers Thee praise out of the mouth of innocent babes and sucklings,/ as they beheld Thee, Christ,// enter the Holy City six days before the Passover. (Twice)

Six days before the Passover Jesus entered Bethany,/ and His disciples came to Him, saying:/ ‘Lord, where wilt Thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the Passover?’/ Then He sent them, saying:/ ‘Go into the village opposite,/ and ye shall find a man bearing a pitcher of water;/ follow him, and tell the master of the house:/ The Teacher says,/ In thy house shall I eat the Passover with My disciples.’ (Twice)

Glory to the Father…

Today the grace of the Holy Spirit/ has gathered us together,/ and we all take up Thy Cross and say:/ Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord;// Hosanna in the highest.

Both now…

Repeat Today the grace…

Entrance, O Gentle Light, and the Prokimenon of the day, The Lord is King.

Lessons:

Genesis 49: 1–2, 8–12

Zephaniah 3 14–19

Zechariah.9: 9–15

At the Litya

Tone One

The All-Holy Spirit,/ who taught the apostles to speak in strange and different tongues,/ now inspires the innocent children of the Hebrews to cry aloud:/ Hosanna in the highest;// blessed is He that comes, the King of Israel.

The Son and Word of the Father,/ like Him without beginning and eternal,/ has come today to the city of Jerusalem,/ seated on a dumb beast, on a foal./ From fear the cherubim dare not gaze upon Him;/ yet the children honor Him with palms and branches,/ and mystically they sing a hymn of praise:/ ‘Hosanna in the highest,/ Hosanna to the Son of David,// who has come to save from error all mankind.’

Six days before the Passover, O Lord,/ Thy voice was heard in the depths of hell,/ and from it Thou hast raised up Lazarus/ who was four days dead./ Then the children of Hebrews cried aloud:// ‘Hosanna to our God: glory to Thee !’

Tone Two

Entering, O Lord, into the Holy City,/ seated upon a foal,/ Thou hast drawn near with haste unto Thy Passion,/ to fulfill the Law and the Prophets./ Then the children of the Hebrews,/ foretelling the victory of the Resurrection,/ came to meet Thee with palms and branches, saying:// ‘Blessed art Thou, O Savior; have mercy upon us.’

Glory be to Thee, O Christ,/ who art seated in the heights upon Thy throne,/ and whom we now await with Thy precious Cross./ Therefore the daughter of Sion is glad,/ and the nations of the earth rejoice exceedingly./ The children hold branches and the disciples spread their garments in the way;/ and all the inhabited earth is taught to cry aloud to Thee:// Blessed art Thou, O Savior; have mercy upon us.

Glory to the Father… Both now…

Tone Three

Six days before the Passover/ Jesus came to Bethany,/ to call back Lazarus who was four days dead,/ and to proclaim the coming Resurrection./ The women Martha and Mary, sisters of Lazarus,/ came to meet Him, crying:/ ‘Lord, if Thou hadst been here, our brother had not died.’/ Then He answered them:/ ‘Did I not say to you before:/ He who believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live?/ Show Me where ye have laid him.’// And the Maker of all cried unto him, ‘Lazarus, come forth.’

Aposticha

Tone Eight

Rejoice and be glad, O city of Sion;/ exalt and be exceedingly joyful, O Church of God./ For behold, thy King has come in righteousness,/ seated on a foal,/ and the children sing His praises:/ Hosanna in the highest!/ Blessed art Thou who showest great compassion:// have mercy upon us.

Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast Thou perfected praise.

The Savior has come today/ to the city of Jerusalem, to fulfill the Scriptures;/ and all have taken palms into their hands/ and spread their garments before Him,/ knowing that He is our God, to whom the cherubim sing without ceasing:/ Hosanna in the highest!/ Blessed art Thou who showest great compassion:// have mercy upon us.

O Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is Thy Name in all the earth.

O Thou who ridest on the cherubim and art praised by the seraphim,/ Thou hast sat, O gracious Lord, like David on a foal,/ and the children honored Thee with praise fitting for God;/ but the Jews blasphemed unlawfully against Thee./ Thy riding on a foal prefigured how the Gentiles,/ as yet untamed and uninstructed,/ were to pass from unbelief to faith./ Glory be to Thee, O Christ,// who alone art merciful and lovest mankind.

Glory to the Father…

Tone Six

Today the grace of the Holy Spirit/ has gathered us together,/ and we all take up Thy Cross and say:/ Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord;// Hosanna in the highest.

Both now…

Today the grace… (Repeat)

Apolytikion (troparion) of the feast:

Tone One

In confirming the common Resurrection, O Christ God,/ Thou didst raise up Lazarus from the dead before Thy passion./ Wherefore, we also, like the children bearing the symbols of victory,/ cry to Thee, the Vanquisher of death:/ Hosanna in the highest;// blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. (Twice)

Another troparion:

Tone Four

As by baptism we were buried with Thee, O Christ our God,/ so by Thy Resurrection we were deemed worthy of immortal life;/ and praising Thee, we cry:/ Hosanna in the highest;// blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.

And the rest of Vespers.

Matins

After the Six Psalms and the Great Litany we sing The Lord is God, followed by. the two troparia (apolytikia) as at Vespers.

After the first reading from the Psalter, the sessional hymn:

Tone Four

With our souls cleansed and in spirit carrying branches, with faith let us sing Christ’s praises like the children, crying with a loud voice to the Master: Blessed art Thou, O Saviour, who hast come into the world to save Adam from the ancient curse; and in Thy love for mankind Thou hast been pleased to become spiritually the new Adam. O Word, who hast ordered all things for our good, glory to Thee.

Glory to the Father… Both now…

Tone Four

O Lord, Thou hast raised from the tomb Lazarus who was four days dead, and then hast taught us all to cry to Thee with palms and branches: Blessed art Thou that comest.

After the second reading from the Psalter, the sessional hymn.

Tone Four

O Christ, mystically Thou hast shed tears over Thy friend, and hast raised from the dead Lazarus who lay without life; and Thou hast shown tender compassion for him in Thy love towards mankind. Learning of Thy coming, O Saviour, a multitude of children went out today, bearing palms in their hands and crying to Thee:

Glory to the Father… Both now…

Tone One

Give praise with one accord, O peoples and nations: for the King of the angels rides now upon a foal, and He comes to smite His enemies with the Cross in His almighty power. Therefore the children sing to Him with palms in their hands: ‘Glory be to Thee Who hast come as Conqueror; glory be to Thee, O Christ the Saviour; glory be to Thee, our God, for Thou alone art blessed.’

After the polyeleos, the megalynarion:

We magnify Thee, O Christ the Giver of Life: Hosanna in the highest! And we also cry to Thee: Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.

Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is Thy Name in all the earth (Psalm 8: 2).

We magnify Thee…

Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord : the Lord is God and has appeared to us (Psalm 117: 26–7).

We magnify Thee…

Glory to the Father… Both now….

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God (Thrice).

We magnify Thee…

Sessional hymn:

Tone Eight

He who sits upon the throne of the cherubim, for our sake sits upon a foal; and coming to His voluntary Passion, today He hears the children cry ‘Hosanna!’ while the crowd replies, ‘O Son. of David, make haste to save those whom Thou hast created, blessed Jesus, since for this cause Thou hast come, that we may know Thy glory.’

Glory to the Father… Both now…

Repeat.

The first antiphon of the hymn of degrees in Tone Four, From my youth…

Prokimenon: Tone Four

Out of the mouth of babes. and sucklings hast Thou appointed praise (Psalm 8: 3).

O Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is Thy Name in all the earth (ibid., 2).

Let every breath…

Gospel: Matthew 21: 1–11, 15–17.

We do not sing We have seen the Resurrection of Christ, but at once we read Psalm 50. Then the Priest, taking the censer, censes the palms crosswise and says the Prayer for the Blessing of the Palms:

Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord.

Choir: Kyrie eleison.

Priest: O Lord our God, who sittest upon the cherubim, Thou hast reaffirmed Thy power and sent out Thine only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to save the world through His Cross, Burial and Resurrection. When He drew near to Jerusalem for His voluntary Passion, the people that sat in darkness and the shadow of death took, as tokens of victory, boughs of trees and branches of palms, thus foretelling His Resurrection. Do Thou Thyself, O Master, keep and preserve us also, who, following their example, on this eve of the Feast carry in our hands palms and branches, and who like the crowds and the children cry to Thee, ‘Hosanna!’ With hymns and spiritual songs may we attain the life-giving Resurrection on the third day: through Jesus Christ Our Lord, with whom Thou art blessed, together with Thy most holy, good and life-creating Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Then the priest sprinkles the palms with holy water, saying:

These palms are blessed by the grace of the All-Holy Spirit, through sprinkling with this holy water: in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen (Thrice).

After this we sing:

Glory to the Father…

Tone Two

Today Christ enters the City of Bethany riding on a foal, and destroys the wicked and barren folly of the Gentiles.

Both now…

Today Christ…

Have mercy upon me…

Tone Six

Today the grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us together, and ye all take up Thy Cross and say: Blessed is He that comes in the game of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

After the litany, O Lord, save Thy people, the faithful kiss the Book of the Gospels, and the priest distributes to them the palms and branches, which they hold in their hands with lighted candles until the end of the service.

The Canon of the Feast, by Kosmas the Monk

In each canticle, the Irmos is sung twice, and then the troparia are repeated four or six times, so as to make up the number twelve. The Irmos is sung again as Katavasia at the end of each canticle Before the troparia we say Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Ode One

Tone Four

Irmos: The springs of the deep were seen bereft of water,/ and the foundations of the storm-tossed sea were laid bare;/ for in Thy power Thou hast rebuked its fury/ and saved the chosen people,// as they sang to Thee, O Lord, a hymn of victory.

Out of the mouth of Thy servants, the innocent babes and sucklings, Thou has received praise. Thou hast overthrown the adversary and by Thy Passion on the Cross Thou hast avenged Adam’s fall of old; with the Tree Thou hast raised him up, and he sings to Thee, O Lord, a hymn of victory

The Church of the saints offers praise to Thee, O Christ, who dwellest in Sion, and Israel rejoices in Thee that made him. The mountains, figuring the stony-hearted Gentiles, exult before Thy face, and they sing to Thee, O Lord, a hymn of victory.

Ode Three

Irmos: The people of Israel drew water from the stony rock,/ for it became at Thy command a flowing stream./ O Christ, Thou art Thyself our rock and life;/ on Thee the Church is founded, and she cries aloud:// Hosanna, blessed art Thou that comest.

Trembling at Thy command, hell yielded up Lazarus who was four days dead. For Thou, O Christ, art the resurrection and the life; on Thee the Church is founded, and she cries aloud: Hosanna, blessed art Thou that comest.

O ye people, sing in Sion a hymn fitting for God, and offer prayer to Christ in Jerusalem. For he comes in power and glory: on Him the Church is founded, and she cries aloud: Hosanna, blessed art Thou that comest.

Ypakoë

Tone Six

First they sang in praise of Christ our God with branches,/ but then the ungrateful Jews seized Him and crucified Him on the cross./ But with faith unchanging/ let us ever honor Him as Benefactor,/ crying always unto Him:// Blessed art Thou that comest to call back Adam.

Ode Four

Irmos: ‘Christ comes,’ the Prophet said of old,/ ‘revealing Himself as our God;/ He shall come and shall not tarry,/ from the mountain overshadowed by the forest,/ born of a Maiden who has not known man.’/ Therefore we all cry aloud:// Glory to Thy power, O Lord.

Let the mountains and all the hills break forth into great rejoicing at the mercy of God, and let the trees of the forest clap their hands. Give praise to Christ, all ye nations, and magnify Him, all ye peoples, crying: Glory to Thy power, O Lord.

King of the ages, the Lord comes clothed in strength. The surpassing splendor of His beauty and His glory is revealed in Sion. Therefore we all cry aloud: Glory to Thy power, O Lord.

The Lord is here, who measures the heaven with a span and the earth in the hollows of His hand. For He has chosen Sion; there has He been pleased to dwell, ruling over the peoples that cry aloud with faith: Glory to Thy power, O Lord.

Ode Five

Irmos: Go up to the mountain,/ Thou that bringest good tidings to Sion;/ and Thou that preachest to Jerusalem,/ lift up Thy voice with strength./ Glorious things are spoken of Thee, O City of God:// Peace be upon Israel and salvation to the Gentiles.

God who is enthroned on high upon the cherubim and yet cares for the lowly, is Himself come in power and glory, and all things shall be filled with His divine praise. Peace be upon Israel and salvation to the Gentiles.

O Sion, holy mountain of God, and Jerusalem, lift up thine eyes round about and behold thy children, gathered in thee. For lo, they have come from afar to worship thy King. Peace be upon Israel and salvation to the Gentiles.

Ode Six

Irmos: The spirits of the righteous cried aloud in joy:/ Now is a new covenant granted to the world:// let the people be renewed through sprinkling with the Blood of God.

O Israel, receive God’s Kingdom; let him that walks in darkness see the great light; and let the people be renewed through sprinkling with the Blood of God.

Set free thy prisoners, O Sion, and let them go; bring them out of the waterless pit of ignorance; and let the people be renewed through sprinkling with the Blood of God.

Kontakion

Tone Six

Being borne upon a throne in heaven, and upon a colt on the earth,/ O Christ God, Thou didst accept the praise of the angels/ and the laudation of the children as they cry to Thee:// Blessed is He that cometh to recall Adam.

Ikos

O immortal Lord, Thou hast bound hell, slain death, and raised the world: therefore the children, carrying palms, sing praise to Thee as Victor, O Christ, and they cry aloud to Thee this day: ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! For no more’, say they, ‘shall the little children be slain because of Mary’s Child; but Thou alone art crucified for all, both young and old. No more shall the sword be against us, for Thy side is pierced by a spear. With great rejoicing, then, we cry: Blessed art Thou that comest to call back Adam.’

Ode Seven

Irmos: Thou hast saved the children of Abraham in the fire/ and slain the Chaldeans,/ who plotted unrighteously against the righteous./ Blessed art Thou, O Lord God of our fathers,// and praised above all.

With palms in their hands, the people knelt and they rejoiced with the disciples, crying: ‘Hosanna to the Son of David: blessed art Thou, O Lord God of our fathers, and praised above all.’

The innocent children sang to Thee a hymn fitting for God, O King of Israel and of the angels: ‘Blessed art Thou, O Lord God of our fathers, and praised above all.’

With palms and branches the multitude greeted Thee, O Christ, and cried: ‘Blessed art Thou who comest, O King of the ages; blessed art Thou, O Lord God of our fathers, and praised above all.’

Ode Eight

Irmos: Rejoice, O Jerusalem,/ and ye that love Sion, keep feast./ For He who rules unto all ages,/ the Lord of Hosts, is come./ Let all the earth stand in reverence before His face and cry aloud:// O all ye works of the Lord, praise ye the Lord.

Riding upon a young foal, Christ thy King is at hand, O Sion. For He has come to destroy the senseless error of idolatry and to restrain the untamed willfulness of all the Gentiles, teaching them to sing: O all ye works of the Lord, praise ye the Lord.

Greatly rejoice, O Sion, for Christ thy God shall reign for ever. As it is written, He is meek and brings salvation. Our righteous Deliverer has come riding on a foal, that He may destroy the proud arrogance of His enemies who will not cry: O all ye works of the Lord, praise ye the Lord.

The lawless company of disobedient men was driven out from the precincts of the temple, for they had made God’s house of prayer into a den of thieves, and they rejected from their hearts the Redeemer unto whom we cry aloud: O all ye works of the Lord, praise ye Lord.

We do not sing the Magnificat and More honorable than the cherubim…

Ode Nine

Irmos: God is the Lord, and hath appeared unto us;/ make ye a feast, and with gladness,/ come, let us magnify Christ with palms and branches,/ with hymns crying aloud:// blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord our Savior.

Why do ye rage, ye heathen? Ye scribes and priests, why do ye imagine vain things, saying: ‘Who is this to whom children cry aloud with palms and branches, Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord our Savior.

This is our God, and there is none other like Him; He has found out every righteous way and given it to Israel His beloved; and afterward He has shewn Himself upon earth and lived among men. Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord our Savior.

O disobedient nation, why do ye set stumbling-blocks upon our path? Your feet are swift to shed the blood of the Master, but He shall rise again, to save all those who cry: Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord our Savior.

There is no special exapostilarion, but we sing (as usual on Sundays) Holy is the Lord our God (thrice) in Tone Four.

The Praises

Six stichera are sung:

Tone Four

A very great multitude spread their garments in the way, O Lord;/ others cut down branches from the trees and carried them./ Walking before and after Thee, they cried:/ ‘Hosanna to the Son of David:/ blessed art Thou who hast come// and shalt come again in the Name of the Lord’. (Twice)

When Thou wast about to enter the Holy City, O Lord,/ the multitude carried branches from the trees/ and sang to Thee, the Master of all./ They saw Thee riding on a foal as though upon the cherubim,/ and they cried: ‘Hosanna in the highest!/ Blessed art Thou who hast come// and shalt come again in the Name of the Lord.’ (Twice)

Come forth, ye nations,/ and come forth, ye peoples;/ look today upon the King of heaven,/ who enters Jerusalem seated upon a humble colt/ as though upon a lofty throne./ O unbelieving and adulterous generation of the Jews,/ draw near and look on Him whom once Isaiah saw:/ He is come for our sakes in the flesh./ See how He weds the New Sion, for she is chaste,/ and rejects the synagogue that is condemned./ As at a marriage pure and undefiled,/ the pure and innocent children gather and sing praises./ Let us also sing with them the hymn of the angels:// Hosanna In the highest to Him that has great mercy.

Before Thy voluntary Passion, Christ our God,/ Thou hast given to all men an assurance of the general resurrection;/ for at Bethany Thou hast raised by Thine almighty power Lazarus who was four days dead,/ and as Giver of Light, O Savior,/ Thou hast made the blind to see./ With Thy disciples Thou hast entered the Holy City,/ seated upon the foal of an ass as though upon the cherubim,/ and so Thou hast fulfilled the preaching of the prophets./ The children of the Hebrews with palms and branches came to meet Thee./ Therefore we also, bearing palms and olive branches,/ cry aloud to Thee in thanksgiving:// Hosanna in the highest; blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord.

Glory to the Father…Both now…

Tone Six

Six days before the Passover Jesus entered Bethany,/ and His disciples came to Him, saying:/ ‘Lord, where wilt Thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the Passover?’/ Then He sent them, saying:/ ‘Go into the village opposite,/ and ye shall find a man bearing a pitcher of water;/ follow him and tell the master of the house:/ The Teacher says,// In thy house shall I eat the Passover with My disciples.’

The Great Doxology, ending with the troparion of the feast.

The two Litanies, and the Dismissal of the Feast: May He who consented to ride on the foal of an ass for our salvation, Christ our true God…