The Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great - Part 1

The Divine Liturgy of Our Father Among the Saints Basil the Great Priest: Blessed is the kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. People: Amen. The Great Litany and the Antiphons Deacon: In peace let us pray to the Lord. People: Lord, have mercy. Deacon: For the peace of God and the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord. People: Lord, have mercy. Deacon: For peace in the whole world, for the stability of the holy churches of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord. People: Lord, have mercy. Deacon: For this holy house and for those who enter it with faith, reverence, and the fear of God, let us pray to the Lord. People: Lord, have mercy. Deacon: For our Archbishop (Name), our Bishop (Name), the honorable presbyters, the deacons in the service of Christ, and all the clergy and laity, let us pray to the Lord. People: Lord, have mercy. Deacon: For our country, the president, and all those in public service, let us pray to the Lord. People: Lord, have mercy. Deacon: For this parish and city, for every city and town, and for the faithful who live in them, let us pray to the Lord. People: Lord, have mercy. Deacon: For favorable weather, an abundance of the fruits of the earth, and temperate seasons, let us pray to the Lord. People: Lord, have mercy. Deacon: For travelers by land, sea, and air, for the sick, the suffering, the captives, and for their salvation, let us pray to the Lord. People: Lord, have mercy. Deacon: For our deliverance from all affliction, wrath, danger, and distress, let us pray to the Lord. People: Lord, have mercy. Priest: Help us, save us, have mercy upon us, and protect us, O God, by Your grace. People: Lord, have mercy. Deacon: Remembering our most holy, pure, blessed, and glorious Lady, the Theotokos and ever virgin Mary, with all the saints, let us commit ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God. People: To You, O Lord. Priest: (in a low voice) Lord, our God, whose power is beyond compare, and glory is beyond understanding; whose mercy is boundless, and love for us is ineffable; look upon us and upon this holy house in Your compassion. Grant to us and to those who pray with us Your abundant mercy. Priest: For to You belong all glory, honor, and worship to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. People: Amen. The First Antiphon (The designated verses from the Psalms are sung with the hymn:) People: By the intercessions of the Theotokos, Savior, save us (3) Deacon: In peace let us again pray to the Lord. People: Lord, have mercy. Deacon: Help us, save us, have mercy upon us, and protect us, O God, by Your grace. People: Lord, have mercy. Deacon: Remembering our most holy, pure, blessed, and glorious Lady, the Theotokos and ever virgin Mary, with all the saints, let us commit ourselves and one another, and our whole life to Christ our God. People: To You, O Lord. Priest: (in a low voice) Lord our God, save Your people and bless Your inheritance; protect the whole body of Your Church; sanctify those who love the beauty of Your house; glorify them in return by Your divine power; and do not forsake us who hope in You. Priest: For Yours is the dominion, the kingdom, the power, and the glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. People: Amen. The Second Antiphon The designated verses from the Psalms are sung with the hymn: People: Save us, O Son of God, (Who rose from the dead), to You we sing: Alleluia (3). On weekdays we sing "Who are wondrous among Your saints". Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen. Only-begotten Son and Word of God, although immortal You humbled Yourself for our salvation, taking flesh from the holy Theotokos and ever virgin Mary and, without change, becoming man. Christ, our God, You were crucified but conquered death by death. You are one of the Holy Trinity, glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit; save us. Deacon: In peace let us again pray to the Lord. People: Lord, have mercy. Deacon: Help us, save us, have mercy upon us, and protect us, O God, by Your grace. People: Lord, have mercy. Deacon: Remembering our most holy, pure, blessed, and glorious Lady, the Theotokos and ever virgin Mary, with all the saints, let us commit ourselves and one another, and our whole life to Christ our God. People: To You, O Lord. Priest: (in a low voice) Lord, You have given us grace to offer these common prayers with one heart. You have promised to grant the requests of two or three gathered in Your name. Fulfill now the petitions of Your servants for our benefit, giving us the knowledge of Your truth in this world, and granting us eternal life in the world to come. Priest: For You are a good and loving God, and to You we give glory, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. People: Amen. The Third Antiphon The designated verses of the Psalms are sung with the Apolytikion. The Small Entrance While the Apolytikion is sung, the Priest carrying the holy Gospel Book comes in procession before the Beautiful Gate and prays in a low voice: Master and Lord our God, You have established in heaven the orders and hosts of angels and archangels to minister to Your glory. Grant that the holy angels may enter with us that together we may serve and glorify Your goodness. For to You belong all glory, honor, and worship to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen. The Priest blesses the entrance saying in a low voice. Blessed is the entrance of Your saints always, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen. The Deacon raises the holy Gospel Book and says: Deacon: Wisdom. Let us be attentive. People: Come, let us worship and bow before Christ. Save us, O Son of God who rose from the dead, to You we sing: Alleluia. (On weekdays we sing: "who are wondrous among Your saints. " Feasts of the Lord have their own Entrance Hymns) The Priest enters the sanctuary. The Apolytikion is repeated and the Troparion of the church and the Kontakion of the day are sung. The Trisagion Hymn Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord. People: Lord, have mercy. Priest (in a low voice): Holy God, You dwell among Your saints. You are praised by the Seraphim with the thrice holy hymn and glorified by the Cherubim and worshiped by all the heavenly powers. You have brought all things out of nothing into being. You have created man and woman in Your image and likeness and adorned them with all the gifts of Your grace. You give wisdom and understanding to the supplicant and do not overlook the sinner, but have established repentance as the way of salvation. You have enabled us, Your lowly and unworthy servants, to stand at this hour before the glory of Your holy altar and to offer to You due worship and praise. Master, accept the thrice; holy hymn also from the lips of us sinners and visit us in Your goodness. Forgive our voluntary and involuntary transgressions, sanctify our souls and bodies, and grant that we may worship and serve You in holiness all the days of our lives, by the intercessions of the holy Theotokos and of all the saints who have pleased You throughout the ages. Priest: For You are holy, our God, and to You we give glory, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever... Deacon: and to the ages of ages. People: Amen. Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (3). Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen. Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. Deacon: Again, fervently. Priest: Turning towards the Prothesis, the Priest says in a low voice: Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Then turning towards the holy Table, he says: Blessed are You on the throne of glory of Your kingdom, seated upon the Cherubim, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen. People: Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. The Readings The Epistle Deacon: Let us be attentive. The Reader reads the verses from the Psalms. Deacon: Wisdom. Reader: The reading is from (the name of the book of the New Testament from which the Apostolic reading is taken). Deacon: Let us be attentive. The Reader reads the designated Apostolic pericope. Priest: Peace be with you. People: Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia. Priest (in a low voice): Shine within our hearts, loving Master, the pure light of Your divine knowledge and open the eyes of our minds that we may comprehend the message of Your Gospel. Instill in us, also, reverence for Your blessed commandments, so that having conquered sinful desires, we may pursue a spiritual life, thinking and doing all those things that are pleasing to You. For You, Christ our God, are the light of our souls and bodies, and to You we give glory together with Your Father who is without beginning and Your all holy, good, and life giving Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen. The Holy Gospel Deacon: Wisdom. Arise. Let us hear the holy Gospel. Priest: Peace be with all. People: And with your spirit. Priest: The reading is from the holy Gospel according to (Name). Let us be attentive. People: Glory to You, O Lord, glory to You. The Deacon reads the designated pericope of the holy Gospel. Priest: Peace be with You who proclaim the Holy Gospel. People: Glory to You, O Lord, glory to You. The Homily Following the readings, it is customary for the Priest to proclaim the Gospel. Priest (in a low voice): O God, You have visited our lowliness in mercy and compassion. You have set us, Your lowly, sinful, and unworthy servants, to serve at Your holy altar before Your holy glory. Strengthen us for this service with the power of Your Holy Spirit, and grant speech to our lips that we may invoke the grace of Your Holy Spirit upon the gifts that are about to be offered. Priest: And grant that always guarded by Your power we may give glory to You, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. People: Amen. The Great Entrance People: We who mystically represent the Cherubim sing the thrice holy hymn to the life giving Trinity. Let us set aside all the cares of life that we may receive the King of all... While the Cherubic Hymn is sung, the Priest prays in a low voice: No one bound by worldly desires and pleasures is worthy to approach, draw near or minister to You, the King of glory. To serve You is great and awesome even for the heavenly powers. But because of Your ineffable and immeasurable love for us, You became man without alteration or change. You have served as our High Priest, and as Lord of all, and have entrusted to us the celebration of this liturgical sacrifice without the shedding of blood. For You alone, Lord our God, rule over all things in heaven and on earth. You are seated on the throne of the Cherubim, the Lord of the Seraphim and the King of Israel. You alone are holy and dwell among Your saints. You alone are good and ready to hear. Therefore, I implore you, look upon me, Your sinful and unworthy servant, and cleanse my soul and heart from evil consciousness. Enable me by the power of Your Holy Spirit so that, vested with the grace of priesthood, I may stand before Your holy Table and celebrate the mystery of Your holy and pure Body and Your precious Blood. To you I come with bowed head and pray: do not turn Your face away from me or reject me from among Your children, but make me, Your sinful and unworthy servant, worthy to offer to You these gifts. For You, Christ our God, are the Offerer and the Offered, the One who receives and is distributed, and to You we give glory, together with Your eternal Father and Your holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen. Priest: We who mystically represent the Cherubim sing the thriceholy hymn to the life; giving Trinity. Let us set aside all the cares of life that we may receive the King of all... The Priest censes and says in a low voice: (On Sundays) Having beheld the resurrection of Christ, let us worship the holy Lord Jesus, the only Sinless One. We venerate Your cross, O Christ, and we praise and glorify Your holy resurrection. You are our God. We know no other than You, and we call upon Your name. Come, all faithful let us venerate the holy resurrection of Christ. For behold, through the cross joy has come to all the world. Blessing the Lord always, let us praise His resurrection. For enduring the cross for us, He destroyed death by death. Psalm 50 Priest: Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your great mercy; and according to the multitude of Your compassion, blot out my transgression. Wash me thoroughly from my inquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my inquity, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done evil in Your sight, that You may be found just when You speak, and victorious when You are judged. For behold, I was conceived in iniquity, and in sin my mother bore me. For behold, You have loved truth; You have made known to me the secret and hidden things of Your wisdom. You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be made clean; You shall wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the afflicted bones may rejoice. Turn Your face away from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and establish me with Your governing Spirit. I shall teach transgressors Your ways, and the ungodly shall turn back to You. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall joyfully declare Your righteousness. Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim Your praise. For if You had desired sacrifice, I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offerings. A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God will not despise a broken and a humbled heart. Do good in Your good pleasure to Sion; and let the walls of Jerusalem be built. Then You shall be pleased with a sacrifice of righteousness, with oblation and whole burnt offerings. Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar. The Great Entrance then takes place. Deacon: May the Lord God remember all of you in His kingdom, now and forever and to the ages of ages. People: Amen. The Priest and the Deacon enter the sanctuary, while the people sing the end of the Cherubic Hymn. People: ... invisibly escorted by the angelic hosts. Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia. After placing the holy gifts on the holy Table, the Priest censes them: The Petitions Deacon: Let us complete our prayer to the Lord. People: Lord, have mercy. Deacon: For the precious gifts here presented, let us pray to the Lord. People: Lord, have mercy. Deacon: For this holy house and for those who enter it with faith, reverence, and the fear of God, let us pray to the Lord. People: Lord, have mercy. Deacon: For our deliverance from all affliction, wrath, danger, and distress, let us pray to the Lord. People: Lord, have mercy. Deacon: Help us, save us, have mercy upon us, and protect us, O God, by Your grace. People: Lord, have mercy. Deacon: For a perfect, holy, peaceful, and sinless day, let us ask the Lord. People: Grant this, O Lord. Deacon: For an angel of peace, a faithful guide, a guardian of our souls and bodies, let us ask the Lord. People: Grant this, O Lord. Deacon: For forgiveness and remission of our sins and transgressions, let us ask the Lord. People: Grant this, O Lord. Deacon: For all that is good and beneficial to our souls, and for peace in the world, let us ask the Lord. People: Grant this, O Lord. Deacon: For the completion of our lives in peace and repentance, let us ask the Lord. People: Grant this, O Lord. Deacon: For a Christian end to our lives, peaceful, without shame and suffering, and for a good account before the awesome judgment seat of Christ, let us ask the Lord. People: Grant this, O Lord. Deacon: Remembering our most holy, pure, blessed, and glorious Lady, the Theotokos and ever virgin Mary, with all the saints, let us commit ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God. People: To You, O Lord. Priest: Lord, our God, You created us and brought us into this life. You have shown us the way to salvation and have bestowed upon us the revelation of heavenly mysteries. You have appointed us to this service by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Grant, therefore, O Lord that we may be accepted as servants of Your new Covenant and ministers of Your holy mysteries. Accept us as we draw near to Your holy altar, according to the multitude of Your mercy, that we may be worthy to offer You this spiritual sacrifice without the shedding of blood, for our sins and for the transgressions of Your people. Grant that, having accepted this sacrifice upon Your holy, heavenly, and spiritual altar as an offering of spiritual fragrance, You may in return send down upon us the grace of Your Holy Spirit. Look upon us, O God, and consider our worship; and accept it as You accepted the gifts of Abel, the sacrifices of Noah, the burnt offerings of Abraham, the priestly offices of Moses and Aaron, and the peace offerings of Samuel. As You accepted this true worship from Your holy apostles, accept also in Your goodness, O Lord, these gifts from the hands of us sinners, that being deemed worthy to serve at Your holy altar without blame., we may obtain the reward of the faithful stewards on the fearful day of Your just judgment. Priest: Through the mercies of Your only begotten Son with whom You are blessed, together with Your all holy, good, and lifegiving Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. People: Amen. Priest: Peace be with all. People: And with your spirit. Deacon: Let us love one another that with one mind we may confess: The Priest kisses the holy Gifts saying: I love You, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer. At this time it is customary for the kiss of peace to be exchanged. People: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Trinity one in essence and inseparable. Deacon: Guard the doors. Wisdom. Let us be attentive. The Creed People: I believe in one God, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages. Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten not created, of one essence with the Father through Whom all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried. And He rose on the third day, according to the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. And He will come again with glory to judge the living and dead. His kingdom shall have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Creator of life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who together with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, Who spoke through the prophets. In one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come. Amen. The Holy Anaphora Deacon: Let us stand well. Let us stand in awe. Let us be attentive, that we may present the holy offering in peace. People: Mercy and peace, a sacrifice of praise. Priest: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you. People: And with your spirit. Priest: Let us lift up our hearts. People: We lift them up to the Lord. Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord. People: It is proper and right. Priest: Master, Lord, God, worshipful Father almighty, it is truly just and right to the majesty of Your holiness to praise You, to hymn You, to bless You, to worship You, to give thanks to You, to glorify You, the only true God, and to offer to You this our spiritual worship with a contrite heart and a humble spirit. For You have given us to know Your truth. Who is worthy to praise Your mighty acts? Or to make known all Your praises? Or tell of all Your wonderful deeds at all times? Master of all things, Lord of heaven and earth, and of every creature visible and invisible, You are seated upon the throne of glory and behold the depths. You are without beginning, invisible, incomprehensible, beyond words, unchangeable. You are the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the great God and Savior of our hope, the image of Your goodness, the true seal of revealing in Himself You, the Father. He is the living Word, the true God, eternal wisdom, life, sanctification, power, and the true light. Through Him the Holy Spirit was manifested, the spirit of truth the gift of Sonship, the pledge of our future inheritance, the first fruits of eternal blessings, the life giving power, the source of sanctification through whom every rational and spiritual creature is made capable of worshiping You and giving You eternal glorification, for all things are subject to You. For You are praised by the angels, archangels, thrones, dominions, principalities, authorities, powers, and the many eyed Cherubim. Round about You stand the Seraphim, one with six wings and the other with six wings; with two they cover their faces; with two they cover their feet; with two they fly, crying out to one another with unceasing voices and everresounding praises: Priest: Singing the victory hymn, proclaiming, crying out, and saying: People: Holy, holy, holy, Lord Sabaoth, heaven and earth are filled with Your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna to God in the highest. Priest: Together with these blessed powers, loving Master we sinners also cry out and say: Truly You are holy and most holy, and there are no bounds to the majesty of Your holiness. You are holy in all Your works, for with righteousness and true judgment You have ordered all things for us. For having made man by taking dust from the earth, and having honored him with Your own image, O God, You placed him in a garden of delight, promising him eternal life and the enjoyment of everlasting blessings in the observance of Your commandments. But when he disobeyed You, the true God who had created him, and was led astray by the deception of the serpent becoming subject to death through his own transgressions, You, O God, in Your righteous judgment, expelled him from paradise into this world, returning him to the earth from which he was taken, yet providing for him the salvation of regeneration in Your Christ. For You did not forever reject Your creature whom You made, O Good One, nor did You forget the work of Your hands, but because of Your tender compassion, You visited him in various ways: You sent forth prophets; You performed mighty works by Your saints who in every generation have pleased You. You spoke to us by the mouth of Your servants the prophets, announcing to us the salvation which was to come; You gave us the law to help us; You appointed angels as guardians. And when the fullness of time had come, You spoke to us through Your Son Himself, through whom You created the ages. He, being the splendor of Your glory and the image of Your being, upholding all things by the word of His power, thought it not robbery to be equal with You, God and Father. But, being God before all ages, He appeared on earth and lived with humankind. Becoming incarnate from a holy Virgin, He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, conforming to the body of our lowliness, that He might change us in the likeness of the image of His glory. For, since through man sin came into the world and through sin death, it pleased Your only begotten Son, who is in Your bosom, God and Father, born of a woman, the holy Theotokos and ever virgin Mary; born under the law, to condemn sin in His flesh, so that those who died in Adam may be brought to life in Him, Your Christ. He lived in this world, and gave us precepts of salvation. Releasing us from the delusions of idolatry, He guided us to the sure knowledge of You, the true God and Father. He acquired us for Himself, as His chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. Having cleansed us by water and sanctified us with the Holy Spirit, He gave Himself as ransom to death in which we were held captive, sold under sin. Descending into Hades through the cross, that He might fill all things with Himself, He loosed the bonds of death. He rose on the third day, having opened a path for all flesh to the resurrection from the dead, since it was not possible that the Author of life would be dominated by corruption. So He became the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep, the first born of the dead, that He might be Himself the first in all things. Ascending into heaven, He sat at the right hand of Your majesty on high and He will come to render to each according to His works. As memorials of His saving passion, He has left us these gifts which we have set forth before You according to His commands. For when He was about to go forth to His voluntary, ever memorable, and life-giving death, on the night on which He was delivered up for the life of the world, He took bread in His holy and pure hands, and presenting it to You, God and Father, and offering thanks, blessing, sanctifying, and breaking it: Priest: He gave it to His holy disciples and apostles saying: Take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you and for the forgiveness of sins. People: Amen. Priest: Likewise, He took the cup of the fruit of vine, and having mingled it, offering thanks, blessing, and sanctifying it. Priest: He gave it to His holy disciples and apostles saying: Drink of this all of you. This is my blood of the new Covenant, shed for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins. People: Amen. Priest: Do this in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this Bread and drink this Cup, you proclaim my death, and you confess my resurrection. Therefore, Master, we also, remembering His saving passion and life giving cross, His three; day burial and resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, and enthronement at Your right hand, God and Father, and His glorious and awesome second coming. Priest: We offer to You these gifts from Your own gifts in all and for all. People: We praise You, we bless You, we give thanks to You, and we pray to You, Lord our God. Priest: Therefore, most holy Master, we also, Your sinful and unworthy servants, whom You have made worthy to serve at Your holy altar, not because of our own righteousness (for we have not done anything good upon the earth), but because of Your mercy and compassion, which You have so richly poured upon us, we dare to approach Your holy altar, and bring forth the symbols of the holy Body and Blood of Your Christ. We pray to You and call upon You, O Holy of Holies, that by the favor of Your goodness, Your Holy Spirit may come upon us and upon the gifts here presented, to bless, sanctify, and make this bread to be the precious Body of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ. He blesses the holy Bread. Deacon: Amen. Priest: And this cup to be the precious Blood of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ. He blesses the holy Cup. Deacon: Amen. He blesses them both. Priest: Shed for the life and salvation of the world. Deacon: Amen. Amen. Amen. Priest: And unite us all to one another who become partakers of the one Bread and the Cup in the communion of the one Holy Spirit. Grant that none of us may partake of the holy Body and Blood of Your Christ to judgment or condemnation; but, that we may find mercy and grace with all the saints who through the ages have pleased You: forefathers, fathers, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, preachers, evangelists, martyrs, confessors, teachers, and every righteous spirit made perfect in faith. Priest: Especially for our most holy, pure, blessed, and glorious Lady, the Theotokos and ever virgin Mary. People: All of creation rejoices in you, O full of grace: the assembly of angels and the human race. You are a sanctified temple and a spiritual paradise, the glory from whom God was incarnate and became a child; our God, existing before all ages. He made your womb a throne, and your body more spacious than the heavens. All of creation rejoices in you, O full of grace. Glory to you. The Priest censes. Priest: For Saint John the prophet, forerunner, and baptist; for the holy, glorious, and most honorable apostles; for Saint (s) Name(s), whose memory we commemorate today; and for all Your saints, through whose supplications, O God, visit us. Remember also all who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection to eternal life (here the priest commemorates the names of the deceased). And grant them rest, our God, where the light of Your countenance shines. Again, we pray to You, be mindful of Your holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, which is from one end of the inhabited earth to the other. Grant peace to her which You have obtained with the precious blood of Your Christ. Strengthen also this holy house to the end of the ages. Remember, Lord, those who have brought You these gifts, and for whom and through whom and the intentions for which they were offered. Remember, Lord, those who bear fruit and do good works in Your holy churches, and those who remember the poor. Reward them with Your rich and heavenly gifts. Grant them in return for earthly things, heavenly gifts; for temporal, eternal; for corruptible, incorruptible. Remember, Lord, those who are in the deserts, on mountains, in caverns, and in the chambers of the earth. Remember, Lord, those living in chastity and godliness, in asceticism and holiness of life. Remember, Lord, this country and all those in public service whom you have allowed to govern on earth. Grant them profound and lasting peace. Speak to their hearts good things concerning your Church and all your people that through the faithful conduct of their duties we may live peaceful and serene lives in all piety and holiness. Sustain the good in their goodness; make the wicked good through Your goodness. Remember, Lord, the people here presented and those who are absent with good cause. Have mercy on them and on us according to the multitude of Your mercy. Fill their treasuries with every good thing; preserve their marriages in peace and harmony; nurture the infants; instruct the youth; strengthen the aged; give courage to the faint hearted; reunite those separated; bring back those in error and unite them to Your holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. Free those who are held captive by unclean spirits; sail with those who sail; travel with those who travel; defend the widows; protect the orphans; liberate the captives; heal the sick. Remember, Lord, those who are in mines, in exile, in harsh labor, and those in every kind of affliction, necessity, or distress; those who entreat your loving kindness; those who love us and those who hate us; those who have asked us to pray for them, unworthy though we may be. Remember, Lord our God, all Your people, and pour out Your rich mercy upon them, granting them their petitions for salvation. Remember, O God, all those whom we have not remembered through ignorance, forgetfulness or because of their multitude since You know the name and age of each, even from their mother's womb. For You, Lord, are the helper of the helpless, the hope of the hopeless, the savior of the afflicted, the haven of the voyager, and the physician of the sick. Be all things to all, You who know each person, his requests, his household, and his need. Deliver this community and city, O Lord, and every city and town, from famine, plague, earthquake, flood, fire, sword, invasion of foreign enemies, and civil war. Priest: Above all, remember, Lord, our Archbishop Name and our Bishop Name): Grant that they may serve Your holy churches in peace. Keep them safe, honorable, and healthy for many years, rightly teaching the word of Your truth. Deacon: Remember also, Lord, those whom each of us calls to mind and all your people. People: And all Your people. Priest (in a low voice): Remember, Lord, all Orthodox bishops who rightly teach the word of Your truth. Remember Lord, my unworthiness according to the multitude of Your mercies; forgive my every transgression, both voluntary and involuntary. Do not take away the grace of Your Holy Spirit from these gifts presented because of my sins. Remember, Lord, the presbyters, the diaconate in Christ, and every order of the clergy, and do not confound any of us who stand about Your holy altar. Visit us with Your goodness, Lord; manifest Yourself to us through Your rich compassion. Grant us seasonable weather and fruitful seasons; send gentle showers upon the earth so that it may bear fruit; bless the crown of the year of Your goodness. Prevent schism in the Church; pacify the raging of the heathen. Quickly stop the uprisings of heresies by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Receive us all into Your kingdom. Declare us to be sons and daughters of the light and of the day. Grant us Your peace and love, Lord our God, for You have given all things to us. Priest: And grant that with one voice and one heart we may glorify and praise Your most honored and majestic name, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. People: Amen. Priest: The mercy of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ be with all of you. People: And with your spirit. Deacon: Having remembered all the saints, let us again in peace pray to the Lord. People: Lord, have mercy. Deacon: For the precious Gifts offered and consecrated, let us pray to the Lord. People: Lord, have mercy. Deacon: That our loving God who has received them at His holy, heavenly, and spiritual altar as an offering of spiritual fragrance, may in return send upon us divine grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit, let us pray. People: Lord, have mercy. Deacon: Having prayed for the unity of the faith and for the communion of the Holy Spirit, let us commit ourselves, and one another, and our whole life to Christ our God. People: To You, O Lord. Priest (in a low voice): Our God, the God who saves, You teach us justly to thank You for the good things which You have done and still do for us. You are our God who has accepted these Gifts. Cleanse us from every defilement of flesh and spirit, and teach us how to live in holiness by Your fear, so that receiving the portion of Your holy Gifts with a clear conscience we may be united with the holy Body and Blood of Your Christ. Having received them worthily, may we have Christ dwelling in our hearts, and may we become the temple of Your Holy Spirit. Yes, our God, let none of us be guilty before these, Your awesome and heavenly Mysteries, nor be infirm in body and soul by partaking of them unworthily. But enable us, even up to our last breath, to receive a portion of Your holy Gifts worthily, as provision for eternal life and as an acceptable defense at the awesome judgment seat of Your Christ. So that we also, together with all the saints who through the ages have pleased You, may become partakers of Your eternal good things, which You, Lord, have prepared for those who love You. Priest: And make us worthy, Master, with confidence and without fear of condemnation, to dare call You, the heavenly God, Father, and to say: The Lord's Prayer People: 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 trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Priest: For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. People: Amen. Priest: Peace be with all. People: And with your spirit. Deacon: Let us bow our heads to the Lord. People: To You, O Lord. Priest: (in a low voice) Lord Master, the Father of mercies and God of every consolation, bless sanctify, guard, fortify, and strengthen those who have bowed their heads to You. Distance them from every evil deed. Lead them to every good work and make them worthy to partake without condemnation of these, Your most pure and life-giving Mysteries, for the forgiveness of sins and for the communion of the Holy Spirit. Priest: By the grace, mercy, and love for us of Your only; begotten Son, with whom You are blessed, together with Your all holy, good, and life giving Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. People: Amen. Priest (in a low voice): Lord Jesus Christ, our God, hear us from Your holy dwelling place and from the glorious throne of Your kingdom. You are enthroned on high with the Father and are also invisibly present among us. Come and sanctify us, and let Your pure Body and precious Blood be given to us by Your mighty hand and through us to all Your people. Deacon: Let us be attentive. Priest: The holy Gifts for the holy people of God. People: One is Holy, one is Lord, Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father. Amen. Holy Communion People: Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the highest. Alleluia (3). The Communion hymn changes according to the Feast Day. After the fraction of the sacred Bread, the Priest says in a low voice): The Lamb of God is broken and distributed; broken but not divided. He is forever eaten yet is never consumed, but He sanctifies those who partake of Him. Then the Priest places a portion of the sacred Bread in the holy Cup saying: The fullness of the Holy Spirit. Amen. He then blesses the warm water saying: Blessed is the fervor of Your saints, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen. Pouring the water into the Cup crosswise, he says: The warmth of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The Communion prayers are recited silently by those prepared to receive the holy Mysteries. I believe and confess, Lord, that You are truly the Christ, the Son of the living God, who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first. I also believe that this is truly Your pure Body and that this is truly Your precious Blood. Therefore, I pray to You, have mercy upon me, and forgive my transgressions, voluntary and involuntary, in word and deed, known and unknown. And make me worthy without condemnation to partake of Your pure Mysteries for the forgiveness of sins and for life eternal. Amen. How shall I, who am unworthy, enter into the splendor of Your saints? If I dare to enter into the bridal chamber, my clothing will accuse me, since it is not a wedding garment; and being bound up, I shall be cast out by the angels. In Your love, Lord, cleanse my soul and save me. Loving Master, Lord Jesus Christ, my God, let not these holy Gifts be to my condemnation because of my unworthiness, but for the cleansing and sanctification of soul and body and the pledge of the future life and kingdom. It is good for me to cling to God and to place in Him the hope of my salvation. Receive me today, Son of God, as a partaker of Your mystical Supper. I will not reveal Your mystery to Your adversaries. Nor will I give You a kiss as did Judas. But as the thief I confess to You: Lord, remember me in Your kingdom.