Holy Week Service Schedule 2024http://www.saintjonah.org/services/holyweek_index_rs.htm
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Monday 4/29
6:30pm-7:45 Bridegroom Matins
Tuesday 4/30
6:30pm-7:45 Bridegroom Matins
Wednesday 5/1
6:30pm-8:00 Vigil for Holy Thursday
Thursday 5/2 Commemoration of the Mystical Supper
8:30am Vespers and Liturgy of St.Basil the Great
6:30pm Service of the 12 Gospels - Readings of the Lord's Passion
Holy Friday 5/3
8:30 Royal Hours
4:30 pm The Unnailing : Service of the Holy Shroud/Epitaphion/Plaschinitsa
6:30pm The Lamentations: Vigil for Holy Saturday
Holy Saturday 5/4
8:30am - 11:00am Vesperal Liturgy of St.Basil
the Readings ...
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9:30pm Reading of the Acts of the Apostles
* Midnight Office
Pascha / Easter Sunday 5/5
11:15 Midnight Office; Paschal Procession followed by Paschal Matins & Divine Liturgy of Pascha
1:00 pm Agape/Paschal Vespers
Bright Monday 9:30am Divine Liturgy
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Confessions before Pascha: there will be opportunities for confession at various times throughout Holy Week Services, Monday thru Friday. Please make your intention known. Please also keep in mind that having one priest serving does not allow for lengthy periods for confession amidst any service, you may need to arrive early or remain after the service is ended. All confessions should be made prior to the Saturday night service.
Bright Week Prayers and the CanonPrayers during Bright Week & the Canon
Through the prayers of our holy fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.
Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life. (Thrice)
Having beheld the Resurrection of Christ, let us worship the holy Lord Jesus, the only Sinless One. We worship Thy Cross, O Christ, and Thy holy Resurrection we hymn and glorify; for Thou art our God, and we know none other beside Thee, we call upon Thy name. O come, all ye faithful, let us worship Christ's holy Resurrection, for behold, through the Cross joy hath come to all the world. Ever blessing the Lord, we hymn His Resurrection; for, having endured crucifixion, He hath destroyed death by death. (Thrice)
The Hypakoe, Eighth Tone, once:
Forestalling the dawn, the women came with Mary, and found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre, and heard from the angel: Why seek ye among the dead, as though He were mortal, Him Who liveth in everlasting light? Behold the grave-clothes. Go quickly and proclaim to the world that the Lord is risen and hath slain death. For He is the Son of God Who saveth mankind.
Kontakion, Eighth Tone, once:
Though Thou didst descend into the grave, O Immortal One, yet didst Thou destroy the power of hades. And didst arise as victor, O Christ God, calling to the myrrh-bearing women: Rejoice! and giving peace unto Thine apostles: Thou Who dost grant resurrection to the fallen.
Troparia, Eighth Tone, once:
In the grave bodily, but in hades with Thy soul as God; in Paradise with the thief, and on the throne with the Father and the Spirit wast Thou Who fillest all things, O Christ the Inexpressible.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
How life-giving, how much more beautiful than Paradise, and truly more resplendent than any royal palace was Thy tomb shown to be, O Christ, the source of our resurrection.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O sanctified and divine tabernacle of the Most High, rejoice! For through thee, O Theotokos, joy is given to them that cry: Blessed art thou among women, O all-spotless Lady.
Lord, have mercy. (Forty times)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
More honorable than the Cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim, who without corruption gavest birth to God the Word, the very Theotokos, thee do we magnify.
Through the prayers of our holy fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.
Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and on those in the tombs bestowing life. (Thrice)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Lord, have mercy. (Thrice)
O Lord, bless
Thou that didst rise from the dead, O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, for the sake of the prayers of Thy most pure Mother, of our holy and God-bearing fathers, and all the saints, have mercy on us and save us, for Thou art good and the Lover of mankind. Amen
Christ is Risen!
THE CANON
Ode I
Canon of the Pascha, in Tone I
Irmos: It is the Day of Resurrection, * let us be radiant, O ye people; * Pascha, the Lord's Pascha: * for from death to life, * and from earth to heaven, * Christ God hath brought us, * as we sing the hymn of victory.
Refrain: Christ is risen from the dead.
Let us purify our senses, * and we shall behold Christ, * radiant with the unapproachable light * of the Resurrection, * and we shall clearly hear Him say, Rejoice! * as we sing the hymn of victory.
Refrain: Christ is risen from the dead.
Let the heavens be glad as is meet, * and let the earth rejoice, * and let the whole world, both visible and invisible, keep the feast[1]: * for Christ is risen, * O gladness eternal.
Katavasia of Pascha, Tone 1: It is the Day of Resurrection, * let us be radiant, O ye people; * Pascha, the Lord's Pascha: * for from death to life, * and from earth to heaven, * Christ God hath brought us, as we sing the hymn of victory.
Christ is risen from the dead, * trampling down death by death, * and on those in the tombs * bestowing life. Thrice.
Ode III
Canon of the Pascha, in Tone I
Irmos: Come, let us drink a new drink, * not one miraculously brought forth from a barren rock * but the Fountain of Incorruption, * springing forth from the tomb of Christ, * in Whom we are strengthened.
Refrain: Christ is risen from the dead.
Now all things are filled with light; * heaven and earth, * and the nethermost parts of the earth; * therefore, let all creation[2] * celebrate the arising of Christ * whereby it is strengthened.
Refrain: Christ is risen from the dead.
Yesterday I was buried with Thee, O Christ; * today I rise * with Thine arising. * Yesterday I was crucified with Thee; * do Thou Thyself glorify me with Thee, * O Saviour, in Thy kingdom.
Katavasia of Pascha, Tone 1: Come, let us drink a new drink, * not one miraculously brought forth from a barren rock * but the Fountain of Incorruption, * springing forth from the tomb of Christ, * in Whom we are strengthened.
Christ is risen from the dead, * trampling down death by death, * and on those in the tombs * bestowing life. Thrice.
Hypakoë
Hypakoë of Pascha, in Tone VIII —
Forestalling the dawn, the women came with Mary, * and found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre, and heard from the angel: * Why seek ye among the dead, as though He were mortal, Him Who liveth in everlasting light? * Behold the grave-clothes. Go quickly and proclaim to the world that the Lord is risen and hath slain death. * For He is the Son of God Who saveth mankind.
Ode IV
Canon of the Pascha, in Tone I
Irmos: On divine watch * let the God-inspired Abbachum[3] * stand with us, and show forth the light-bearing angel * clearly saying: Today salvation is come to the world, * for Christ is risen as Almighty.
Refrain: Christ is risen from the dead.
As a man-child * did Christ appear when He came forth * from the Virgin's womb, * and as a mortal * was He called the Lamb. * Without blemish also, * for He tasted no defilement, * is our Pascha; * and as true God, * perfect was He proclaimed.
Refrain: Christ is risen from the dead.
Like unto a yearling lamb, Christ, * our blessed Crown, * of His own will was sacrificed for all, * a Pascha of purification; * and from the tomb the beautiful Sun of Righteousness * shone forth again upon us.
Refrain: Christ is risen from the dead.
David, the ancestor of God, * danced with leaping before the symbolical Ark; * let us also, the holy people of God, * beholding the fulfillment of the symbols,* be divinely glad; * for Christ is risen * as Almighty.
Katavasia of Pascha, Tone 1: On divine watch let the God-inspired Abbachum[4] * stand with us, and show forth the light-bearing angel * clearly saying: Today salvation is come to the world, * for Christ is risen as Almighty.
Christ is risen from the dead, * trampling down death by death, * and on those in the tombs * bestowing life. Thrice.
Ode V
Canon of the Pascha, in Tone I
Irmos: Let us awake in the deep dawn, * and instead of myrrh offer a hymn to the Master, * and we shall see Christ, * the Sun of Righteousness, * Who causeth life to dawn for all.
Refrain: Christ is risen from the dead.
Seeing Thy boundless compassion, * they who were held in the bonds of hades * hastened to the light, O Christ, * with gladsome feet, * praising the Pascha eternal.
Refrain: Christ is risen from the dead.
Bearing lights, let us approach Christ, * Who cometh forth from the tomb like a bridegroom, * and with the feast-loving ranks of angels, * let us celebrate the saving Pascha of God.
Katavasia of Pascha, Tone 1: Let us awake in the deep dawn, * and instead of myrrh offer a hymn to the Master, * and we shall see Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, * Who causeth life to dawn for all.
Christ is risen from the dead, * trampling down death by death, * and on those in the tombs * bestowing life. Thrice.
Ode VI
Canon of the Pascha, in Tone I
Irmos: Thou didst descend into the nethermost parts of the earth, * and didst shatter the eternal bars that held the fettered, O Christ, * and on the third day, like Jonah from the whale, * Thou didst arise from the tomb.
Refrain: Christ is risen from the dead.
Having kept the seals intact, O Christ, * Thou didst arise[5] from the tomb, * O Thou Who didst not break the seal of the Virgin by Thy birth, * and Thou hast opened for us * the doors of Paradise.
Refrain: Christ is risen from the dead.
O my Saviour, the living and unslain Sacrifice, * when, as God, Thou, of Thine Own will, * hadst offered up Thyself unto the Father, * Thou didst raise up with Thyself the whole race of Adam, * when Thou didst arise[6] from the tomb.
Katavasia of Pascha, Tone 1: Thou didst descend into the nethermost parts of the earth, * and didst shatter the eternal bars * that held the fettered, O Christ, * and on the third day, like Jonah from the whale, * Thou didst arise from the tomb.
Christ is risen from the dead, * trampling down death by death, * and on those in the tombs * bestowing life. Thrice.
Kontakion
Kontakion of Pascha, in Tone VIII —
Though Thou didst descend into the grave, O Immortal One, * yet didst Thou destroy the power of hades. * And didst arise as victor, O Christ God, * calling to the myrrh-bearing women: Rejoice! * and giving peace unto Thine apostles: * Thou Who dost grant resurrection to the fallen.
Ikos: The myrrh-bearing maidens forestalled the dawn, seeking, as it were day, * the Sun that was before the sun and Who had once set in the tomb, * and they cried out one to another: * O friends! come, let us anoint with spices the life-bringing and buried Body, * the Flesh that raised up fallen Adam, that now lieth in the tomb. * Let us go, let us hasten, like the Magi, and let us worship and offer myrrh as a gift * to Him Who is wrapped now not in swaddling clothes but in a shroud. * And let us weep and cry aloud: O Master, arise, * Thou Who dost grant resurrection to the fallen.
Having Beheld the Resurrection of Christ
Chanters: Having beheld the Resurrection of Christ, * let us worship the holy Lord Jesus, * the only sinless One. * We worship Thy Cross, O Christ, * and Thy holy Resurrection we hymn and glorify. * For Thou art our God, * and we know none other beside Thee; * we call upon Thy name. * O come, all ye faithful, * let us worship Christ’s holy Resurrection, * for, behold, through the Cross joy hath come to all the world. * Ever blessing the Lord, * we hymn His Resurrection; * for, having endured crucifixion, * He hath destroyed death by death. Thrice.
Jesus Having Risen from the Grave
Chanters: Jesus having risen from the grave * as He foretold, * hath given us life eternal, * and great mercy. Thrice.
Ode VII
Canon of the Pascha, in Tone I
Irmos: He Who delivered the Children from the furnace, * became man, * suffereth as a mortal, * and through His Passion doth clothe mortality with the beauty of incorruption, * He is the only blessed * and most glorious God of our fathers.
Refrain: Christ is risen from the dead.
The godly-wise women with myrrh * followed after Thee in haste; * but Him Whom they sought with tears as dead, * they worshipped joyfully as the living God, * and they brought unto Thy disciples, O Christ, * the good tidings of the mystical Pascha.
Refrain: Christ is risen from the dead.
We celebrate the death of death, * the destruction of hades, * the beginning of another life eternal, * and leaping for joy, we hymn the Cause, * the only blessed * and most glorious God of our fathers.
Refrain: Christ is risen from the dead.
For truly sacred and all-festive is this saving night, * and this shining, light-bearing day, * the harbinger of the Resurrection, * whereon the Timeless Light * bodily from the tomb upon all hath shined.
Katavasia of Pascha, Tone 1: He Who delivered the Children from the furnace, became man, * suffereth as a mortal, * and through His Passion doth clothe mortality * with the beauty of incorruption, * He is the only blessed and most glorious * God of our fathers.
Christ is risen from the dead, * trampling down death by death, * and on those in the tombs * bestowing life. Thrice.
Ode VIII
Canon of the Pascha, in Tone I
Irmos: This is the chosen and holy day, * the one king and lord of the sabbaths, * the feast of feasts, * and the triumph of triumphs, * on which we bless Christ * unto the ages.
Refrain: Christ is risen from the dead.
Come, on this auspicious day * of the Resurrection, * let us partake of the fruit of the new vine * of divine gladness * of the kingdom of Christ, * praising Him as God * unto the ages.
Refrain: Christ is risen from the dead.
Lift up thine eyes about thee, O Sion, and see, * for behold, there cometh unto thee * like God-illumined beacons, * from the west, and from the north, and from the sea, * and from the east, thy children, * in thee blessing Christ unto the ages.
Refrain: O Most Holy Trinity, our God, glory to Thee.
Triadicon: O Father Almighty, and Word, and Spirit, * one Nature united in three Persons, * transcendent and most divine! * Into Thee have we been baptised, * and Thee will we bless unto all ages.
Chanters: We praise, we bless, we worship the Lord, * praising and supremely exalting Him * unto all ages.
Katavasia of Pascha, Tone 1: This is the chosen and holy day, * the one king and lord of the sabbaths, * the feast of feasts, * and the triumph of triumphs, * on which we bless Christ * unto the ages.
Christ is risen from the dead, * trampling down death by death, * and on those in the tombs * bestowing life. Thrice.
Ode IX
Canon of the Pascha, in Tone I
Deacon: Magnify, O my soul, Christ the Giver of life, Who rose from the grave on the third day.
Irmos: Shine, shine, O new Jerusalem, * for the glory of the Lord * is risen upon thee; * dance now and be glad, * O Sion, * and do thou exult, * O pure Theotokos, * in the arising of Him Whom thou didst bear.
Refrain: Magnify, O my soul, * Him Who willingly suffered, and was buried, * and rose from the grave on the third day.
Shine, shine, O new Jerusalem...
Refrain: Christ is the new Pascha, * the living Sacrifice, * the Lamb of God that taketh away * the sin of the world.
Shine, shine, O new Jerusalem...
Refrain: The angel cried unto her that is full of grace: * O pure Virgin, rejoice! * and again I say, Rejoice! * for thy Son is risen from the grave on the third day, * and hath raised the dead, * O ye people, be joyful!
Shine, shine, O new Jerusalem, * for the glory of the Lord * is risen upon thee; * dance now and be glad, * O Sion, * and do thou exult, * O pure Theotokos, * in the arising of Him Whom thou didst bear.
Refrain: Having slept, Thou didst awake the dead of the ages, roaring royally as the Lion of Judah.
O how divine, how loving...
Refrain: Mary Magdalene ran to the sepulchre, and having seen Christ, she questioned Him as though were the gardener.
O how divine, how loving...
Refrain: The shining angel to the women cried: Cease from tears, for Christ is risen.
O how divine, how loving...
Refrain: Christ is risen, trampling down death, and raising the dead, O ye people, be joyful.
O how divine, O how loving, * O how sweet is Thy voice![7] * For Thou hast truly promised to be with us * unto the end of the age, O Christ; * having this foundation of hope, * we faithful rejoice.
Refrain: Today all creation is glad and rejoiceth, for Christ is risen, and hades is led in captivity.
O great and most sacred Pascha…
Refrain: Today the Master hath led hades captive, and raised the fettered, whom from ages it had held in bitter bondage.
O great and most sacred Pascha…
Refrain: Magnify, O my soul, the dominion of the Tri-hypostatic and Indivisible Godhead.
O great and most sacred Pascha…
Refrain: Rejoice, O Virgin, rejoice; rejoice, O blessed one; rejoice, O most glorified one: for thy Son is risen on the third day from the grave.
O great and most sacred Pascha, Christ! * O Wisdom and Word of God and Power! * Grant us more perfectly to partake of Thee, * in the unwaning day * of Thy kingdom.
Refrain: Magnify, O my soul, Christ the Giver of life, Who rose from the grave on the third day.
Katavasia of Pascha, Tone 1: Shine, shine, O new Jerusalem, * for the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee; * dance now and be glad, O Sion, * and do thou exult, O pure Theotokos, * in the arising of Him Whom thou didst bear.
Christ is risen from the dead, * trampling down death by death, * and on those in the tombs * bestowing life. Thrice.
A few notes for Bright Week and the Paschal season.
• We greet one another during the entire Paschal season (which lasts 40 days) with the words: “Christ is risen!” and the response to the greeting is: “Indeed or Truly, He is risen!”
• During Bright Week, the Holy Doors and the Deacons’ doors of the iconostasis remain open symbolizing the empty tomb of our Master and Savior: Christ is risen!
• During Bright Week, our prayers in church and at home are sung and not read as we sing all week the feast of the risen Christ: Christ is risen!
• During Bright Week, our morning and evening prayers are replaced by the singing of the short service of the Hours of Pascha (see your prayer books or see below): Christ is risen!
• During Bright Week, we do not read from the psalter at home or in church for the prophecies have been fulfilled: Christ is risen!
• During Bright Week, there is no fasting as we are at feast with the Bridegroom who processes forth from the tomb: Christ is risen!
• During the entire Paschal season there is no prostrating or kneeling permitted in church or at home for we stand with the resurrected Christ: Christ is risen!
• During the Paschal season we begin all of our prayers at home and in church by singing the troparion of Pascha: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!”
• During the Paschal season and extending to Pentecost, we do not pray “O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth…” for the Comforter comes on Pentecost. Christ is risen!
• And most important of all: “A Pascha worthy of all honor has dawned for us. Pascha! Let us embrace each other joyously!…This is the day of resurrection. Let us be illumined by the feast. Let us embrace each other. Let us call ‘Brother’ even those who hate us, and forgive all by the resurrection, and so let us cry: Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!” “And unto us He has given eternal life. Let us worship His resurrection on the third day!”