The Office of Praise and Thanksgiving

When the Divine Liturgy hath been said, the Clergy come forth from the Sanctuary, and take their stand in the middle of the Temple; and making three reverences, they begin:

Deacon. Bless, Father.

Priest. Glory to the Holy, Consubstantial, Life-giving and Undivided Trinity always, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages. Choir. Amen.

O heavenly King, the Comforter, Spirit of Truth, who art in all places and fillest all things; Treasury of good things and Giver of life: Come, and take up thine abode in us, and cleanse us from every stain; and save our souls, O Good One.

Reader. O Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal One, have mercy upon us. (Thrice, and three reverences.)

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

O all-holy Trinity, have mercy upon us. O Lord, wash away our sins. O Master, pardon our transgressions. O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for thy Name's sake.

Lord, have mercy. (Thrice.)

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 the Evil One:

Priest. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages.

Reader. Amen. Lord, have mercy. (Twelve times.) Glory. now, and ever..

O come, let us worship God our King. O come, let us worship and fall

down before Christ, our King and our God. O come, let us worship and

fall down before the Very Christ, our King and our God. O come, let us

worship and fall down before him. (Three reverences.)

Then the Choir singeth the Prophecy of the holy Prophet Isaiah (viii., ix.):

God is with us: Understand, ye nations, and submit yourselves: For God is with us.

Reader. Hear ye, even unto the uttermost ends of the earth:

Submit yourselves, ye mighty:

If again ye shall rise up in your might, again shall ye be over-thrown:

And if any take counsel together, them shall the Lord destroy:

And the word which ye shall speak shall not abide in you:

For we fear not your terror, neither are we troubled:

But the Lord our God, he it is to whom we will ascribe holiness, and him will we fear:

And if I put my trust in him, he shall be my sanctification: R*

I will set my hope on him, and through him shall I be saved:

Lo, I and the children whom God hath given me:

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light:

And they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, on them hath the light shined:

For unto us a son is born, unto us a child is given:

And the government shall be upon his shoulder:

And of his peace there shall be no end:

And his Name shall be called the great Council of the Angels: ty

Wonderful, Counsellor:

The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace:

The Father of the world to come:

God is with us: Understand, ye nations, and submit yourselves: R1

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:

God is with us: Understand, ye nations, and submit yourselves:

Now, and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Choir. God is with us: Understand, ye nations, and submit yourselves: For God is with us.

Reader. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Glory to thee, O God. (Thrice.)

Deacon. In peace let us pray to the Lord. Choir. Lord, have mercy.

For the peace that is from above, and for the salvation of our souls:

For the peace of the whole world; for the welfare of God's holy churches, and for the union of all:

For this holy Temple, and for those who with faith, devoutness, and in the fear of God have entered therein:

For the Most Holy Synod of Russia, and for our Bishop (or Archbishop), N., of N.; for the honourable Presbytery; for the Diaconate in Christ; and for all the clergy and laity:

For our most God-fearing Ruler, N., for his Council and his Army.

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That he will aid them in all things, and subdue under their feet every foe and adversary:

For this city, and for every city and land; and for those who with faith dwell therein:

For healthful seasons; for abundance of the fruits of the earth, and for peaceful times:

For those who travel by sea or by land; for the sick and the suffering; for those who are in captivity, and for their salvation:

That this our prayer may be set forth as incense before our God and Saviour, and these free will offerings of our hearts and lips may be accepted from us who have rendered thanks, in the day of salvation, unto the Lord who heard us in the day of trouble:

That he will look with benignity and mercy upon our most God-fearing Ruler, and his conquering Empire, who now lay their crowns of victory before the footstool of Him who hath the nations for His inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession, the King of kings and Lord of lords; falling down in worship before whom let us pray.

Choir Lord, have mercy.

That he will give unto us grace, with faith and love, henceforth and forever to proclaim salvation, and the might and the kingdom of our God, and the dominion of his Christ, let us beseech the Lord, who hath granted the power to his kingdom, and requiteth us with the joy of his salvation.

Choir. Lord, have mercy.

That he will deliver us from all tribulation, wrath and necessity.

Choir. Lord, have mercy.

Succour us, save us, have mercy upon us, and keep us by thy grace.

Choir. Lord, have mercy.

Calling to remembrance our most holy, all-undefiled, most blessed and glorious Lady, the Birth-giver of God, and ever-virgin Mary, with all the Saints, let us commend ourselves, and each other, and all our life unto Christ our God.

Choir. To thee, O Lord.

Exclamation.

Priest. For unto thee are due all glory, honour and worship, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages.

Choir. Amen.

God is the Lord, and hath revealed himself unto us. Blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord.

Verse (Stikh) 1: O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is gracious, because his mercy endureth forever.

Verse 2: All the nations compassed me about, but in the Name of the Lord have I driven them back.

Verse 3: I shall not die but live, and declare the works of the Lord. Verse 4: The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our

eyes.

Then the following shall be sung, in Tone VI.:

Choir I. Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace. To-day doth Bethlehem receive him who sitteth with the Father forever enthroned. To-day Angels majestically magnify the Child who is born. Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Choir II. (Tone II.) Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace. Behold, the Lamb of Bethlehem hath crushed under his feet the lion and the adder for us, and hath given peace unto his world. Wherefore, unto the Child who is the Sovereign Lord of the universe, do we, together with the Angels, offer glorious praise. Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Choir I. (Tone I.) Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

O Lord, save thy people, and bless thine inheritance, granting to our most God-fearing Ruler, N., victory over all adversaries, and by thy Cross preserving thine Estate.

Now, and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Hymn to the Birth-giver of God (Bogoroditcheri). Tone I.

Let us sing the praises of Mary, Virgin, Door of heaven, Glory of all the world, sprung forth from man, who also bare the Lord; the Song of the Bodiless Powers, and the Enriching of the faithful. For she revealed herself as Heaven and the Temple of the Godhead. She destroyed the bulwarks of enmity, and ushered in peace, and threw open the kingdom. Wherefore, in that we possess this confirmation of our faith, we have a Defender, even the Lord who was born of her. Be bold, therefore, ye people of God, be bold, for he, the AU-Powerful, will vanquish your foes.

Deacon. Let us attend.

Priest. Peace be with you all.

Reader. And with thy spirit.

The following Parable (Paremiyd) is then read by the Reader or a Deacon:

Principal Deacon. Wisdom!

Deacon or Reader. The Lesson from the Prophecy of Isaiah.

Principal Deacon. Let us attend.

(Isaiah xiv. 13-18; 24-28.) Thus saith the Lord to the King of Baby-Ion: For thou hast said in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look

upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms: that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof: that opened not the house of his prison-ers? The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders. This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

Deacon. Let us attend.

Priest. Peace be with you.

Reader. And with thy spirit.

Deacon. Wisdom!

Reader. The Gradual (Prokimen), in the Seventh Tone. Who is so great a God as our God? Thou art God, and doest wonders.

Verse (Slikh) 1: Thou hast declared thy power among the nations.

Verse 2: I said: To-day have I begotten thee. These are the rewards of the right hand of the Most High.

Verse 3: I have remembered the works of the Lord; for I recall thy marvels from the beginning.

And again: Who is so great a God as our God? Thou art God, and doest wonders.

Deacon. Wisdom!

Reader. The Lesson irom the Epistle of the holy Apostle Paul to the Hebrews.

Deacon. Let us attend.

Reader. (Heb. xi. 32-35; xii. 1-2.) Brethren: What shall I say more? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae, of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.

Priest. Peace be unto thee.

Reader. And to thy spirit.

Deacon. Wisdom!

Reader. Alleluia. (Tone VII.) The Lord shall give strength unto his people: the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.

Deacon. That he will mercifully vouchsafe unto us to hear his Holy Gospel, let us pray to the Lord God.

Choir. Lord, have mercy. (Thrice.)

Deacon. Wisdom, O believers; let us listen to the Holy Gospel!

Priest. Peace be with you all.

People. And with thy spirit.

Priest. The Lesson from the holy Gospel of Matthew.

Choir. Glory to thee, O Lord; glory to thee.

Deacon. Let us attend.

Priest. (Matt. xxiv. 6-8, 21-23.) Jesus said unto his disciples: Ye shall hear of wars, and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

Choir. Glory to thee, O Lord; glory to thee.

Then straightway the Deacon reciteth this Litany:

Let us all say, with all our soul and with all our mind let us say,

Choir. Lord, have mercy.

O Lord Almighty, the God of our fathers, we beseech thee: hearken, and have mercy.

Choir. Lord, have mercy.

Have mercy upon us, O God, according to thy great mercy, we beseech thee: hearken, and have mercy.

Again we pray for our most God-fearing Ruler, N., for his might, victory, maintenance, peace, health, salvation; and that the Lord our God will abundantly aid and prosper him in all things, and subdue under his feet every foe and adversary.

Again we pray (for the Ruler of the Land, by his title, if it be in a foreign country).

Again we pray for our Most Holy Synod (or Patriarch); for our Bishop (or Archbishop, or Metropolitan), N., of N.; and for all our brethren in Christ.

Furthermore we pray for all their Christ-loving Army and Navy.

Furthermore we pray that our Lord and Saviour will accept the confession and thanksgiving of us, his unworthy servants: for he hath not dealt with us according to our sins, neither rewarded us according to our iniquities. But in the hour of trial also, which came upon all the world, he delivered us; and when our enemies compassed us round about, he revealed unto us his salvation,

O thou who, at the hand of Melchisedec, didst accept the tithe of

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Abraham, after that he had overthrown four kings, and had set free the captives; and when Pharaoh together with his host was engulfed in the Red Sea, didst give heed from the cloudy pillar to the Song of Moses and Miriam, to the trumpets also and dancing; and didst teach David, the king after thine own heart, to write Psalms of triumph unto thee alone: Do thou, the same Lord of Hosts, now, also, in that thou hast overcome him who was an enemy and alien from thee, and hast saved thine Anointed, and glorified the majesty of Russia, and established the Church, as out of the mouths of babes make the praises out of the mouths of all us acceptable unto thee; receive into thy salvation as a burnt-offering our souls which had vanished away. Hearken to the voice of our rejoicing; and, as of old, we fervently beseech thee show mercy upon us in the day of trouble,

Furthermore we pray for our victorious chieftains and warriors, and for all those zealous defenders of the Faith and of righteousness, who have laid down their lives for their brethren in the year of tribulation: that the King of Glory will recompense them, in the day of his just requiting, with life everlasting and the crown which fadeth not away; and that he will confirm us all in their spirit, and in faith and concord.

Hear us, O God our Saviour, the hope of all the ends of the earth, and of those who are far off upon the seas; and show mercy, show mercy, O Master, upon us sinners, and be merciful unto us.

For thou art a merciful God who lovest mankind, and unto thee we ascribe glory, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages.

Choir. Amen.

Deacon. Let us attend, and in lowliness of heart bowing the knees of our souls and bodies, let us pray to the Lord.

Then the Priest, kneeling down (as doth also the whole congregation), shall recite, aloud, with all fervour and emotion, the following Prayer:

O God, great and inscrutable, O Father, who hast no beginning, O Son who likewise hast no beginning, and Spirit who equally existest from everlasting; who bringest into being that which had no being, and savest those who are ready to perish, and givest life to the dead, working after thy will among the heavenly hosts, and in.the dwellings of earth, and by thy marvellous Providence directing all things! Incline thine ear from thy holy place on high, and accept from us, thy humble and unworthy servants, upon whom thou hast manifested thy great salvation from calamity and utter destruction, these prayers of gratitude, praise and thanksgiving which we offer unto thee with our heart, and with our lips. For not according to our transgressions hast thou dealt with us, O Lord, neither re-warded us according to our iniquities. Thou didst say of old unto the

Children of Israel, that if they would not hearken unto thy voice to keep and to do all thy commandments, thou wouldest send upon them the heathen shameless of countenance, who should crush them in their cities, until also their walls should be cast down; and we have seen how this terrible word came upon us, and upon our fathers. Yet fearing not thy warning, and despising thy compassion, we departed from the way of thy righteousness, and walked after the lusts of our own hearts, and strove not to have in our hearts thee, the God of minds and of hearts; and heeding not the traditions of our fathers, we angered thee through strangers. For which cause, also, like unto the Children of Israel of old, a fierce host encompassed us round about, and those in whose customs we were zealous, these same turbulent and brutal-natured ones have we had as our enemies. But thou, O Lord God, who art pitiful and merciful, long-suffering and rich in loving-kindness, and faithful, keeping righteousness and showing mercy unto thousands, taking away iniquities and transgressions, after that thou hadst departed from us for a little space, with great mercy hast been merciful unto us: and having visited our wrong-doings with thy rod, like as a father is bountiful unto his children, even so hast thou been bountiful unto us. For thou hast regarded our affliction and the wasting away of the Imperial City, wherein, from ancient days, thy Name hath been invoked, and our supplications which, trusting not in our own righteousness but in thy great bounties, we have laid at thy feet, O Lord. And thou hast given us the ascendency over our ungodly adversaries; thou hast crowned our most God-fearing Emperor, Alexander Pavlovitch, with the panoply of thy favour, that vanishing thine enemies might vanish before the face of thy Christ even as the smoke, and that they who love thee might shine even as the rising sun in his splendour. We have seen, O Lord, we have seen, and all nations have seen in us, that thou art God, and that there is none beside thee. Thou slayest and makest alive; thou smitest and healest, and there is none who shall wrest us out of thy hand. Therefore is our heart fixed upon our Lord, who hath exalted our horn in our God, and we have rejoiced in thy salvation. We thank thee, O Lord, that thou hast chastised us for a little space, but hast not given us over unto death forever. Enable us, O Lord, unceasingly and steadfastly to bear within us the memory of this, thy glorious visitation, unto the establishment in us of filial fear, together with love and faith in thee. And vouchsafe that, compassed about by. thy protection, we may ever henceforth, as this day, praise and magnify thy holy Name. Confirm thy good will upon our most God-fearing Ruler, N., and may thy blessed spirit abide upon him evermore. Grant in his godly dominion: To the Pastors, holiness; to the Rulers, judgment and uprightness; to the People, peace and quietness; to the law, strength; and to the faith, advancement. O most merciful Lord! satisfy with thy mercy those who have known thee; and unto those who are not seeking thee, reveal thou thyself; and turn

thou also the hearts of our enemies unto thee; and be thou known unto all tribes and nations in thine only true Christ. And let all the peoples, from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, cry aloud with praise unto thee, in everv tongue, with the voice of rejoicing. Then he proclaimeth, with a loud voice:

Glory to thee, O God, Saviour of all, unto ages of ages!

Choir. Amen.

Then is sung the Great Hymn of Praise (The Gloria in Excelsis. See page 34), or We praise thee, O God;. (See page 539.)

And the following Benediction is pronounced: May he who, like a lamb, did lie in the manger at Bethlehem, who also, like a lion, doth overthrow the power of the enemy and doth lead his own faithful sheep in the way of righteousness and salvation, and doth guide and feed the world, Christ our true God and Saviour; through the intercessions of his most holy Mother, and of all the Saints, have mercy upon us and save us, in that he is gracious and loveth mankind.

Then the Deacon proclaimeth:

Grant, O Lord, a prosperous and peaceful life, health and safety, and furtherance in all things, as also conquest and victory over his enemies, unto our most God-fearing Ruler, N. (and to the Ruler of the Land, mentioning him by his title, if it be in a foreign country): and preserve them for many years.

Choir. Many years.

Deacon. Unto thy departed servant, our most God-fearing Sovereign, the Emperor Alexander the First, grant repose eternal in the assumption of the blessed, O Lord; and make his memory to be eternal.

Choir. Memory eternal! (Thrice.)

To the victorious, Christ-loving Army of Russia, Many years.

Choir. Many years. (Thrice.)

And when the Many years hath been sung, the bells begin to peal, and so continue. until Vespers.