DECEMBER 19
Martyr Boniface at Tarsus in Cilicia
Saturday before the Nativity
"Lord I Call..." Tone 4
Lord, I call upon You, hear me!
Hearme, O Lord!
Lord, I call upon You, hear me!
Receive the voice of my prayer,
when I call upon You!//
Hearme, O Lord!
Let my prayer arise
in Your sight as incense,
and let the lifting up of my hands
be an evening sacrifice!//
Hearme, O Lord!
v. (6) If You, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You.
Tone 4 (for Martyr Boniface)(You have given us a sign)
You desired the godly name given to martyrs,
O greatly suffering passion-bearer.
You endured torments with steadfast courage, O most blessed one,
expecting translation to the rest where there is no pain.
You sought the honors of heaven and a dwelling in Paradise,//
the light that never fades and eternal life.
v. (5) For Your name's sake I have waited for You, O Lord, my soul has waited for Your word; my soul has hoped on the Lord.
(Repeat: “You desired the godly name …”)
v. (4) From the morning watch until night, from the morning watch let Israel hope on the Lord.
You endured the most savage trials:
your nails were torn and you were cruelly pierced.
Whenyou were beheaded, you rejoiced, O greatly-suffering one,
and joined the choir of athletes.
Therefore we celebrate your annual memorial, //
O Boniface, the conversor with the Angels.
v. (3) For with the Lord there is mercy and with Him is plenteous redemption, and He will deliver Israel from all his iniquities.
(Repeat: “You endured the most savage …”)
v. (2) Praise the Lord, all nations! Praise Him, all peoples!
Aglais acquired a divine master, O Boniface,
sending you, her manservant before her.
You tamed the passions and gained mastery over tyrants.
You cast down the enemy and were crowned with victory.
Therefore she built you a holy temple all-adorned.
She enshrined your relics there,//
praising you in holiness.
v. (1) For His mercy is abundant towards us; and the truth of the Lord endures forever.
(Repeat: “Aglais acquired a divine master …”)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Tone 3(Theotokion – Dogmatikon)
How can we not wonder
at your mystical childbearing, O exalted Mother?
For without receiving the touch of man,
you gave birth to a Son in the flesh, immaculate Virgin.
The Son born of the Father before eternity
was born of you at the fullness of time, O honored Lady.
He underwent no mingling, no change, no division,
but preserved the fullness of each nature.
Entreat Him, O Lady and Virgin, and Mother,
to save the souls of those who, in the Orthodox manner, confess you//
to be the Theotokos.
Martyr Boniface at Tarsus in Cilicia
Saturday before the Navitity
Aposticha
Tone 3(from the Octoechos, for the Martyrs)
Great is the power of Your Cross, O Lord,
for it was fixed in one place, yet acts throughout the world.
It made fishermen into Apostles and Gentiles into martyrs,//
so that they might pray for our souls.
v: I lift up my eyes to You, enthroned in the heavens. Behold, as the eyes of
servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till He have mercy upon us.(Ps. 122/123:1-2)
Great is the power of Your martyrs, O Christ,
for, though they lie in their tombs, they drive outdemons.
Theyfight in defense of true piety,//
subduing the Enemy’s dominion by faith in the Trinity.
v: Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt! Too long our soul has been sated with the scorn of those who are at ease, the contempt of the proud. (Ps. 122/123:3-4)
The Prophets, Apostles, and martyrs of Christ
have taught mankind to praise the consubstantial Trinity.
They have given light to the nations that had gone astray
and have made the sons of men companions of the Angels.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Tone 3(Theotokion)
You are holy among women, O unwedded Mother.
Entreat the King and God Whom you bore//
to save our souls, O Theotokos!
Martyr Boniface at Tarsus in Cilicia
Saturday before the Navitity
(at Vespers)
Tone 4Troparion(for Martyr Boniface)
Your holy martyr Boniface, O Lord,
through his suffering has received an incorruptible crown from You, our God.
For having Your strength, he laid low his adversaries,
and shattered the powerless boldness of demons.//
Through his intercessions save our souls!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Tone 4Resurrectional Dismissal Theotokion
The mystery of all eternity,
unknown even by Angels,
through you, Theotokos, is revealed to those on earth:
God incarnate by union without confusion.
He voluntarily accepted the Cross for us,
by which He resurrected the first-created man,//
saving our souls from death.
------
( atthe Divine Liturgy)
Tone 2Troparion(for the day)
O Apostles, Martyrs, and Prophets,
Hierarchs, Holy Monks, and Righteous Ones:
who completed well the fight and kept the faith,
you have boldness before the Savior.
We pray: “Intercede for us with Him, as He is good,//
that He may save our souls!”
Tone 4Troparion(for Martyr Boniface)
Your holy martyr Boniface, O Lord,
through his suffering has received an incorruptible crown from You, our God.
For having Your strength, he laid low his adversaries,
and shattered the powerless boldness of demons.//
Through his intercessions save our souls!
Tone 4Kontakion(for Martyr Boniface)
Willingly you offered yourself as a blameless sacrifice
to the One about to be born of the Virgin for our sake,//
holy crown-bearer, all-wise Boniface.
Tone 8Kontakion
With the saints give rest, O Christ,
to the souls of Your servants,
where there is neither sickness nor sorrow, and no more sighing,//
but life everlasting.
Tone 8Kontakion (for the day)
The universe offers You the God-bearing martyrs
as the first-fruits of creation, O Lord and Creator. //
Through the Theotokos and their prayers, establish Your Church in peace!
Tone 8Prokeimenon
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous! (Ps 31/32:11)
v: Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. (Ps 31/32:1)
Epistle
Galatians 3:8-12 (Saturday before the Nativity)
Ephesians 2:11-13
Tone 4
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
v: The righteous cried and the Lord heard them, and delivered them out of all their troubles. (Ps 33/34:18)
v: Many are the afflictions of the righteous; the Lord will deliver them out of them all. (Ps 33/34:20)
Gospel
Luke 13:18-29 (Saturday before the Nativity)
Luke 14:1-11
Communion Hymn
Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous; praise befits the just! (Ps 32/33:1)
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Liturgical texts for this service represent modified versions of translations provided by Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery, Otego, New York and St. Tikhon’s Monastery, South Canaan, Pa. The Department of Liturgical Music and Translations of the Orthodox Church in America expresses its gratitude to Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery and St. Tikhon’s Monastery and to those translators whose work has been consulted at times in the course of reviewing and modifying these texts to their present form:Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware), Archimandrite Ephrem (Lash), Archimandrite Juvenaly, Father Benedict Churchill, Isaac Lambertson, St. Vladimir’s Seminary, and Holy Transfiguration Monastery, among others.
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