PASCHA
Processional
Hymn:
The Angels in
Heaven, O Christ our Saviour, sing of Thy Resurrection; enable also us on earth
with pure hearts to glorify Thee.
Troparion:
Christ is risen from
the dead, trampling on death by death, and on those in the tombs bestowing
life.
Canon, tone 1:
Song 1.
Eirmos: It is the Day of Resurrection! Let us be
radiant, O people! It is the Passover, the Passover of the Lord! From death to
life, and from earth to heaven Christ our God has passed us who 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 inaccessible light of the
Resurrection, and shall hear Him saying clearly, Rejoice! as we sing the hymn
of victory! R.
Let the heavens
rejoice in a worthy manner and let the earth be glad, and let the whole world,
visible and invisible, keep festival. For Christ our eternal joy is risen!
Katabasia: It is the Day of Resurrection ! . . .
Song 3.
Eirmos: Conie, let us driiik a new beverage, not miraculously
drawn from a barren rock, but the Fountain of Incorruption springing from the
tonib of Christ, in Whom wo are strengthened.
Refrain: Christ is risen from the dead.
Now all things are
filled with light: heaven and earth, and the nether regions. So let all
creation then celebrate the Resurrection of Christ, by which it is
strengthened. R.
Yesterday, O Christ,
I was buried with Thee, and today I rise with Thy arising. Yesterday I was
crucified with Thee. Glorify me, O Saviour, with Thee in Thy Kingdom.
Katabasia: Come, let us drink . . .
Hypakoe, tone 4: Forestalling the dawn, the women with Mary came and
found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre, and heard from the Angel: Why
seek among the dead, as if He were a man, Him Who lives in everlasting light?
Behold the grave-clothes. Run and tell the world that the Lord is risen, and
has slain death. For He is the Son of God Who saves mankind.
Song 4.
Eirmos: May divinely speaking Habakkuk now stand with us on
divine watch, and bring to light a shining Angel saying thrillingly: Today
salvation has come to the world; for Christ is risen as Almighty.
Refrain: Christ is risen from the dead.
Christ was seen to
be of the male sex when He opened the Virgin's womb, and as man He is called
the Lamb. Without blemish, also, is our Passover, for He tasted no defilement;
and as true God He is called perfect. R.
Christ, our blessed
Crown, like a yearling Lamb, of His own will was sacrificed for all, as a
Passover of purification; and as the glorious Sun of Righteousness, He has
shone upon us again from the grave. R.
David, the father of
our Divine Lord, leapt and danced before the symbolical Ark. Let us also, the
holy people of God, beholding the fulfilment of the symbols, be divinely glad;
for Christ has risen, as Almighty.
Kalabasia: May divinely speaking Habakkuk . . .
Song 5.
Eirmos: Let us arise in the deep dawn and, instead of myrrh,
offer a hymn to the Lord, and we shall behold Christ, the Sun of Righteousness,
Who causes life to dawn on all.
Refrain: Christ is risen from the dead.
When they who were
held by the chains of hell beheld Thy boundless compassion, O Christ, they
hastened to the light with joyful feet, clapping the eternal Passover. R.
Carrying lamps, let
us approach Christ, Who comes forth from the tomb like a bridegroom. And with
the feast-loving orders of Angels, let us celebrate the redeeming Passover of
God.
Katabasia: Let us arise . . .
Song 6.
Eirmos: Thou didst descend into the nether regions of the
earth, O Christ, and didst shatter the eternal bars which held the prisoners
captive; and like Jonah from the sea-monster, after three days Thou didst rise
from the grave.
Refrain: Christ is risen from the dead.
Having kept the
seals intact, Thou didst rise from the grave, O Christ, Who didst not violate
the Virgin's womb by Thy birth, and Thou hast opened to us the gates of
Paradise. R.
O my Saviour, while
as God Thou didst voluntarily offer Thyself to the Father as an unslain and
living sacrifice, Thou didst raise up Adam, the father of our race, when Thou
didst rise from the grave.
Katabasia: Thou didst descend . . .
Kontakion, tone
8: Though Thou didst descend into the
grave, O Immortal One, yet didst Thou destroy the power of hell, and didst rise
again as Conqueror, O Christ our God, saying to the myrrhbearing women,
Rejoice! and giving peace to Thine Apostles, and offering to the fallen
resurrection.
Oikos: The myrrhbearing maidens anticipated the dawn and
sought, as those who seek the day, their Sun, Who was before the sun and Who
had once set in the grave. And they cried to each other: Friends, come, let us
anoint with spices His life-giving and buried body - the Flesh Which raised up
fallen Adam, and Which now lies in the tomb. Let us go, let us hasten, and like
the Magi, let us worship; and let us bring myrrh as a gift to Him, Who is
wrapped, not now in swaddling clothes, but in a shroud. And let us weep and
cry: Arise, O Lord, Who offers to the fallen resurrection.
Having beheld the
Resurrection of Christ, let us adore the Holy Lord Jesus, the only sinless One.
We worship Thy Cross, O Christ, and Thy holy Resurrection we praise and
glorify; for Thou art our God, and we know no other than Tliee; we call on Thy
Name. O come all you faithful, let us worship Christ's holy Resurrection. For
behold, through the Cross joy has come to all the world. Ever blessing the
Lord, let us praise His Resurrection. By enduring the Cross for us He destroyed
death by death. (Thrice)
Jesus, having risen
from the grave as He foretold, has given us eternal life and great
mercy. (Thrice)
Song 7.
Eirmos: He Who delivered the Children from the furnace, and
became man and suffers as mortal, and through suffering clothes mortality with
the beauty of incorruption, is the only blessed and most glorious God of our
fathers.
Refrain: Christ is risen from the dead.
The godly-minded
women ran after Thee with myrrh. But Him Whom they sought with tears as mortal,
they joyfully adored as the living God. And they told to Thy disciples, O
Christ, the glad tidings of the mystical Passover. R.
We celebrate the
death of death, the destruction of hell, the beginning of another eternal life.
And leaping for joy, we hymn the Cause, the only blessed and most glorious God
of our fathers. R.
For truly holy and
worthy of all triumphant celebration is this redeeming and radiant night, the
harbinger of the bright day of Resurrection, on which the Eternal Light shone
bodily from the grave upon all.
Katabasia: He Who delivered . . .
Song 8.
Eirmos: This is the chosen and holy Day, the first of
Sabbaths, the Sovereign and Queen, the Feast of Feasts, and Triumph of
Triumphs, on which let us bless Christ for ever.
Refrain: Christ is risen from the dead.
O come, let us
partake of the fruit of the new vine of divine joy on the auspicious Day of the
Resurrection and Kingdom of Christ, praising Him as God for ever. R.
Lift up thine eyes
about thee, O Zion, and see! For lo! Thy children come to thee from the West
and from the North and from the Sea and from the East, as to a beacon lighted
by God, blessing Christ in thee for ever.
Refrain: O Most Holy
Trinity, our God, glory to Thee.
Father,
All-Sovereign, and Word, and Spirit, united Nature in three Persons,
transcendent and supremely divine! Into Thee we have been baptized, and Thee we
shall bless throughout all ages.
Katabasia: This is the chosen . . .
Song 9.
Refrain 1: Magnify, O my soul, Christ the Lifegiver, Who rose
from the grave on the third day.
Eirmos: Shine, shine, O New Jerusalem, for the glory of the
Lord has risen upon thee. Now dance for joy and be glad, O
Zion! And thou, pure Mother of God, rejoice in the rising of thy Child.
Refrain 2: Magnify, O my soul, Christ the Lifegiver, Who willingly
suffered and was buried, and rose from the grave on the third day.
Again: Shine, shine
. . .
Refrain 3: Christ is the New Passover, the living Sacrifice, the
Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.
Troparion: O divine, O dear, O sweetest Voice! For Thou, O
Christ, hast faithfully promised to be with us to the end of the world. And
holding fast this promise as an anchor of hope, we faithful rejoice.
Refrain 4: The Angel cried to her who is full of grace: Rejoice,
pure Virgin! and again I say, Rejoice! Thy Son has risen on the third day from
the grave, and has raised the dead. Rejoice, you people!
Again: O divine, O
dear, . . .
Refrain 5: Roaring royally, as the Lion of Judah, Thou hast
slept, and Thou hast awakened the dead of all ages.
Again: O divine, O
dear, . . .
Refrain 6: Mary Magdalene ran to the sepulchre, and she saw the
Christ, and spoke to Him as to the gardener.
Troparion: O great and holiest Passover, Christ! O Wisdom, Word
and Power of God! Grant that we may more perfectly
partake of Thee in the unending Day of Thy Kingdom.
Refrain 7: The radiant Angel cried to the women: Stop your
tears, for Christ has risen.
Refrain 8: You people, rejoice, for Christ has risen, trampling
down death and raising the dead.
Refrain 9: Today all creation is glad and rejoices, for Christ
has risen and hell has been spoiled.
Refrain 10: Today the Master spoiled hell and raised the
prisoners from all the ages whom it had held in bitter bondage.
Refrain 11: Magnify, O my soul, the might of the Tripersonal and
Undivided Godhead.
Refrain 12: Rejoice, O Virgin, rejoice! Rejoice, O blessed one!
Rejoice, O glorious one! For thy Son has risen from the grave on the third day.
Katabasia: Shine, shine . . .
Exaposieilarion: Having slept in the flesh as a mortal, O King and
Lord, Thou didst rise on the third day. Thou didst raise up Adam from
corruption and abolish death, O Passover of incorruption, Salvation of
the world!
The Praises of the Resurrection, tone 1:
Let every breath
praise the Lord.
Verse: Praise Him for His mighty acts, praise Him for the
greatness of His majesty.
We praise, O Christ,
Thy saving Passion, and glorify Thy Resurrection.
Verse: Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet, praise Him
with psaltery and harp.
O Thou Who didst
endure the Cross, abolish death, and rise from the dead, give us peace in our
life, O Lord, for Thou alone art all-powerful.
Verse: Praise Him with timbrel and dance, praise Him with
strings and pipe.
O Thou Who spoiled
hell and raised up man by Thy Resurrection, O Christ, make us worthy with pure
hearts to praise and glorify Thee.
Verse: Praise Him with tuneful cymbals, praise Him with
cymbals of victory. Let every breath praise the Lord.
We glorify Thy
divine condescension, and praise Thee, O Christ. Thou wast born from the Virgin
and didst remain inseparably with the Father. Thou didst suffer as man, and
didst voluntarily endure the Cross. Thou didst rise from the grave, coming
forth from it as from a bridal chamber, in order to save the world. O Lord,
glory to Thee.
The Paschal Chants, tone 5:
Verse: Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered, and
let those who hate Him flee from His presence.
Stichera: A sacred Passover has today been shown to
us, a new and holy Passover, a mystic Passover, an all-venerable Passover, a
Passover which is Christ the Redeemer, a spotless Passover, a great Passover,
Passover of the faithful, a Passover which has opened to us the gates of
Paradise, a Passover that sanctifies all the faithful.
Verse: As smoke vanishes, let them vanish, as wax melts from
the presence of fire.
Slichera: Come from that scene, O women, bearers of good
tidings, and say to Zion: Receive from us the glad tidings of joy of the
Resurrection of Christ. Exult, rejoice and be glad, O Jerusalem, beholding
Christ the King as a Bridegroom come forth from the tomb.
Verse: So let sinners perish from the presence of God, but
let the righteous rejoice.
Stichera: The myrrhbearing women at deep dawn went
to the tomb of the Lifegiver, and they found an Angel sitting on the stone, and
he spoke to them and said: Why seek the Living among the dead? Why mourn the
Incorruptible amid corruption? Go and tell His disciples.
Verse: This is the day which the Lord has made; let us
rejoice and be glad in it.
Stichera: The Passover of delight, the Passover of the Lord,
the Passover, the all-venerable Passover has dawned upon us, the Passover on
which let us embrace one another with joy! O Passover, ransom from sorrow! For
today Christ shone forth from the tomb as from a bridal chamber and filled the
women with joy, saying: Tell the Apostles.
Glory . . . Now . .
.
It is the Day of
Resurrection, so let us be radiant for the festival, and let us embrace one
another. Let us speak, brothers and sisters, also to those who hate us, and in
the Resurrection let us forgive everything, and so let us cry:
Christ is risen from
the dead, trampling on death by death, and on those in the tomb bestowing life.
(Thrice)
PASCHAL HOURS
The following is
also sung during the entire Easter or Bright Week in place of Compline,
Midnight Prayer Service and Morning and Evening Prayers.
Priest: Blessed is the Kingdom . . . Christ is risen from
the dead, trampling on death by death, and on those in the tombs bestowing
life. (Thrice)
Having beheld the
Resurrection of Christ, let us adore the Holy Lord Jesus, the only
sinless One. We worship Thy Cross, O Christ, and Thy holy Resurrection we
praise and glorify; for Thou art our God, and we know no other than Thee; we
call on Thy Name. O come all you faithful, let us worship Christ's holy
Resurrection. For behold, through the Cross joy has come to all the world. Ever
blessing the Lord, let us praise His Resurrection. By enduring the Cross for us
He destroyed death by death. (Thrice)
Hypakoe: Forestalling the dawn, the women with Mary came and
found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre, and heard from the Angel: Why
seek among the dead, as if He were a man, Him Who lives in everlasting light?
Behold the grave-clothes. Run and tell the world that the Lord is risen, and
has slain death. For He is the Son of God Who saves mankind.
Kontakion:
Though Thou didst descend into the grave, O Immortal One, yet didst Thou
destroy the power of hell, and didst rise again as Conqueror, O Christ our God,
saying to the myrrbearing women, Rejoice! And giving peace to Thine Apostles,
and offering to the fallen resurrection.
Troparia:
In the grave bodily, in hell with the 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 Infinite.
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, proved Thy Tomb, O Christ, the Source of our resurrection.
Now and ever, and to
the ages of ages. Amen.
Rejoice! Sacred and
divine abode of the Most High. For through thee, O Mother of God, joy is given
to those who cry: Blessed art thou among women, O spotless Lady.
Lord, have mercy. (40
times)
Glory to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages.
Amen.
More honourable than
the Cherubim, and incomparably more glorious than the Seraphim; thou who in
virginity didst bear God the Word; thee, true Mother of God, we magnify.
In the Name of the
Lord, bless, father.
Priest: Through the prayers of our holy fathers, O Lord
Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us.
Choir: Amen.
Christ is risen from
the dead . . .
(Thrice)
Glory . . . Now . .
.
Lord, have mercy. (Thrice)
Bless, father.
Priest: May He Who rose from the dead, Christ our true God,
through the prayers of His immaculate Mother, of our holy and God-bearing
fathers, and of all the Saints, have mercy on us and save us, for He is good
and the Lover of men.
Choir: Amen.