**This service is to be offered immediately following the Divine Liturgy on Pentecost,or on that evening.**
Priest: Blessed is our God, always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
Choir: Amen.
Come, let us worship and fall down before God our King.
Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King and our God.
Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ Himself, our King and our God.
THE PSALM OF INTRODUCTION—PSALM 103
Reader: Bless the Lord, O my soul; O Lord my God, Thou hast been magnified exceedingly.
Confession and majesty hast Thou put on, Who coverest Thyself with light as with a garment,
Who stretchest out the heaven as it were a curtain; Who supporteth His chambers in the waters,
Who appointeth the clouds for His ascent, Who walketh upon the wings of the winds, Who
maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire.
Who establisheth the earth in the sureness thereof; it shall not be turned back forever and ever.
The abyss like a garment is His mantle; upon the mountains shall the waters stand. At Thy
rebuke they will flee, at the voice of Thy thunder shall they be afraid.
The mountains rise up and the plains sink down, unto the place where Thou hast established
them. Thou appointedst a bound that they shall not pass, neither return to cover the earth. He
sendeth forth springs in the valleys; between the mountains will the waters run. They shall give
drink to all the beasts of the field; the wild asses will wait to quench their thirst. Beside them will
the birds of the heaven lodge, from the midst of the rocks will they give voice.
He watereth the mountains from His chambers; the earth shall be satisfied with the fruit of Thy
works. He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and green herb for the service of men, to bring
forth bread out of the earth; and wine maketh glad the heart of man. To make his face cheerful
with oil; and bread strengtheneth man’s heart.
The trees of the plain shall be satisfied, the cedars of Lebanon, which Thou hast planted. There
will the sparrows make their nests; the house of the heron is chief among them. The high
mountains are a refuge for the harts, and so is the rock for the hares.
He hath made the moon for seasons; the sun knoweth his going down. Thou appointedst the
darkness, and there was the night, wherein all the beasts of the forest will go abroad; young lions
roaring after their prey, and seeking their food from God. The sun ariseth, and they are gathered
together, and they lay them down in their dens. Man shall go forth unto his work, and to his labor
until the evening. How magnified are Thy works, O Lord! In wisdom hast Thou made them all.
The earth is filled with Thy creation. So is this great and spacious sea, wherein are things
creeping innumerable, small living creatures with the great. There go the ships; there this
leviathan, whom Thou hast made to play therein. All things wait on Thee, to give them their food
in due season; when Thou givest it them, they will gather it. When Thou openest Thy hand, all
things shall be filled with goodness; when Thou turnest away Thy face, they shall be troubled.
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 2 with the Kneeling Prayers
Thou wilt take their spirit, and they shall cease; and unto their dust shall they return. Thou wilt
send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created; and Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Let the glory of the Lord be unto the ages; the Lord will rejoice in His works. Who looketh on
the earth and maketh it tremble, Who toucheth the mountains and they smoke. I will sing unto
the Lord throughout my life, I will chant to my God for as long as I have my being.
May my words be sweet unto Him; I will rejoice in the Lord. O that sinners would cease from
the earth, and they that work iniquity, that they should be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul.
The sun knoweth his going down. Thou appointedst the darkness, and there was the night. How
magnified are Thy works, O Lord! In wisdom hast Thou made them all.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto ages of
ages. Amen.
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. Glory to Thee, O God. (THRICE)
O our God and our Hope, glory to Thee!
THE AUGMENTED GREAT LITANY
Deacon: In peace, let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For the peace from above, and for the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the
Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For the peace of the whole world, for the good estate of the Holy Churches of
God, and for the union of all men, let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For this Holy House, and for those who with faith, reverence, and fear of God,
enter therein, let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For our father and Metropolitan PHILIP, for our Archbishop JOSEPH, for the
venerable Priesthood, the Deaconate in Christ, for all the clergy and the people,
let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: (In the United States) For the President of the United States, for all civil
authorities, and for our Armed Forces everywhere, let us pray to the Lord.
(In Canada) For Her Majesty, the Queen, for the Prime Minister of Canada, for all
civil authorities, and for our Armed Forces everywhere, let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: That He will aid them and grant them victory over every enemy and adversary, let
us pray to the Lord.
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 3 with the Kneeling Prayers
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For this city, and for every city and land, and for the faithful who dwell therein,
let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For healthful seasons, for abundance of the fruits of the earth, and for peaceful
times, let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For travelers by sea, by land, and by air; for the sick and the suffering; for
captives and their salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For the people here present who await the grace of the Holy Spirit, let us pray to
the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For those that bow their hearts and their knees before the Lord, let us pray to the
Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: That He may strengthen us so that we may bring to perfection those things that
are well-pleasing unto Him, let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: That He may send down His rich mercies upon us, let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: That He may accept the bending of our knees as incense before Him, let us pray
to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For those that are in need of His help, let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For our deliverance from all tribulation, wrath, danger, and necessity, let us pray
to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Help us; save us; have mercy on us; and keep us, O God, by Thy grace.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Calling to remembrance our all-holy, immaculate, most blessed and glorious Lady
Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary, with all the Saints: let us commend ourselves
and each other, and all our life unto Christ our God.
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 4 with the Kneeling Prayers
Choir: To Thee, O Lord.
Priest: For unto Thee are due all glory, honor, and worship: to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever and unto ages of ages.
Choir: Amen.
“O LORD, I HAVE CRIED” IN TONE FOUR
Choir: O Lord, I have cried out unto Thee, hear Thou me; hear Thou me, O Lord. O
Lord, I have cried out unto Thee, hear Thou me. Give ear to the voice of my
supplication when I cry out unto Thee: hear Thou me, O Lord.
Choir: Let my prayer be set forth before Thee as the incense, and the lifting up of my
hands as the evening sacrifice; hear Thou me, O Lord.
+ Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, and a protecting door round about my lips.
+ Incline not my heart to evil words, to make excuses in sins.
+ With men that work iniquity; and I will not communicate with the choicest of them.
+ The just man shall correct me in mercy and shall reprove me; but let not the oil of the sinner
anoint my head.
+ For my prayer also shall still be against the things with which they are well pleased; their
judges falling upon the rock have been swallowed up.
+ They shall hear my words, for they are sweet; as when the thickness of the earth is broken
upon the ground, their bones are scattered by the side of hell.
+ But to Thee, O Lord, Lord, are mine eyes; in Thee have I put my trust, take not away my soul.
+ Keep me from the snare which they have laid for me, and the traps of the workers of iniquity.
+ Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst I alone escape.
+ I cried unto the Lord with my voice, with my voice unto the Lord, did I make my supplication.
+ I poured out my supplication before Him; I showed before Him my trouble.
+ When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then Thou knewest my path.
+ In the way wherein I walked have they secretly laid a snare for me.
+ I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me.
+ Refuge failed me; no one cared for my soul.
+ I cried unto Thee, O Lord; I said: Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.
+ Attend unto my cry, for I am brought very low.
+ Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are stronger than I.
Verse 10. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Thy Name.
Verse 9. The righteous shall wait for me until Thou recompense me.
Verse 8. Out of the depths have I cried to Thee, O Lord, Lord hear my voice.
Verse 7. Let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
For Pentecost in Tone Four
Verse 6. If Thou, O Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? For with Thee
there is forgiveness.
Today all the nations in the city of David beheld wonders, when the Holy Spirit descended in
fiery tongues, as the God-inspired Luke spake; for he said: The Disciples of Christ being
gathered together, there was a sound as of a mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 5 with the Kneeling Prayers
they were sitting. And they began to speak strange doctrines and strange teachings with diverse
tongues, to the Holy Trinity.
Verse 5. Because of Thy Name have I waited for Thee, O Lord; my soul hath waited upon Thy
word, my soul hath hoped in the Lord.
Today all the nations in the city of David … (repeat above)
Verse 4. From the morning watch until night, from the morning watch let Israel trust in the Lord.
The Holy Spirit hath ever been, is and ever shall be; for He is wholly without beginning and
without end. Yet He is in covenant with the Father and the Son, counted as Life and Life-giver,
Light and Light-giver, good by nature and a Fountain of goodness, through whom the Father is
known and the Son glorified. And by all it is understood that one power, one rank, one worship
are of the Holy Trinity.
Verse 3. For with the Lord there is mercy and with Him is abundant redemption, and He will
deliver Israel from all his iniquities.
The Holy Spirit hath ever been … (repeat above)
Verse 2. Praise the Lord, all ye nations; praise Him, all ye people.
Light, Life, and a living noetic Fountain is the Holy Spirit, good, upright, noetic Spirit of
understanding, and purifying offenses, God understanding, presiding, and purifying offenses,
God and deifying, Fire projecting from Fire, speaking, active, Distributor of gifts, through whom
all the Prophets, the Apostles of God, and the Martyrs are crowned, a strange Report, a strange
sight, a Fire divided for the distribution of gifts.
Verse 1. For His mercy is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord endureth forever.
Light, Life, and a living noetic Fountain … (repeat above)
DOXASTICON FOR PENTECOST IN TONE SIX
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto ages of
ages. 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 dwell in us, and cleanse us from every
stain; and save our souls, O good One.
THE HOLY ENTRANCE
(While the first Doxasticon is chanted, the following dialogue occurs QUIETLY as the clergy make the entrance.)
Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord. Lord, have mercy.
Priest: In the evening and in the morning and at noonday we praise Thee, we bless Thee, we give thanks unto Thee,
and we pray unto Thee, O Master of all, Lord Who lovest mankind: Direct our prayer as incense before Thee, and
incline not our hearts unto words or thoughts of evil, but deliver us from all who seek after our souls. For unto Thee,
O Lord, Lord, are our eyes, and in Thee have we hoped. Put us not to shame, O our God. For unto Thee are due all
glory, honor, and worship: to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
Deacon: Amen.
(When the clergy reach the center of the soleia, the first part of the great censing begins. After the first part of the
great censing is completed, this next dialogue occurs QUIETLY.)
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 6 with the Kneeling Prayers
Deacon: Bless, father, the Holy Entrance.
Priest: Blessed is the entrance to Thy Holy Place, always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
(After the choir has finished, the following is said ALOUD.)
Deacon: Wisdom! Let us attend!
O GLADSOME LIGHT
Choir: O gladsome Light of the holy glory of the immortal, heavenly, holy and blessed Father: O
Jesus Christ. Lo now that we have come to the setting of the sun, as we behold the evening light,
we hymn Thee: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God. Meet it is for Thee at all times to be
magnified by joyous voices, O Son of God and Giver of life. Wherefore the whole world doth
glorify Thee.
THE GREAT PROKEIMENON IN TONE SEVEN
Deacon: The Evening Prokeimenon!
Choir: Who is so great a god as our God? Thou art the God Who worketh wonders.
(TWICE)
Verse 1. Thou hast made Thy power known among the peoples; with Thine arm hast Thou
redeemed Thy people. (Refrain)
Verse 2. And I said: Now have I made a beginning; this change hath been wrought by the
right hand of the Most High. (Refrain)
Verse 3. I remembered the works of the Lord; for I will remember Thy wonders from the
beginning. (Refrain)
THE FIRST KNEELING PRAYER
Deacon: Again and again, let us, on bended knees, pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
• The clergy and faithful kneel.
Priest: O pure and blameless Lord, Who art without beginning, invisible and incomprehensible,
unsearchable, unchangeable, immeasurable, and unbounded, Who art without evil and alone
immortal, who dwellest in the unapproachable light, Maker of Heaven and earth and the seas and
all that was created therein, Who grantest to all their petitions before asking, to Thee we pray and
of Thee we ask, O philanthropic Master, the Father of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ,
Who for us men and for our salvation came down from Heaven and was incarnate of the Holy
Spirit and of the ever-virgin Mary, the noble Theotokos; Who first didst teach by word, and then
gave testimony in deed while bearing the saving Passion, teaching us Thine unworthy, sinful,
and miserable servants, to offer Thee our supplications with bent heads and knees, for our sins
and human ignorance.
Wherefore, O most merciful and philanthropic Lord, hear us on whatever day we call
upon Thee, and especially on this day of Pentecost, whereon, after our Lord Jesus Christ had
ascended into Heaven and sat at Thy right hand, O God and Father, He sent down the Holy Spirit
to his Disciples, the holy Apostles, Who alighted on each of them and filled them all with His
inexhaustible and divine grace; and they did speak in strange tongues, prophesying Thy great
deeds. Hear us who beseech Thee, and remember us, wretched and condemned. Deliver us from
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 7 with the Kneeling Prayers
the sinful captivity of our souls by Thy loving intercession. Accept us, who kneel down before
Thee and cry out: we have sinned, and we have cleaved unto Thee from our birth, even from our
mother’s womb. Thou art our God, but as our life passes in vanity, we have therefore been
stripped of Thine aid, and have been deprived of every defense. Yet do we trust in Thy
compassion and cry unto Thee: Remember not the sins of our youth and ignorance; cleanse us of
our secret sins. Reject us not in our old age, and forsake us not when our strength fails. Before
we return to the earth, prepare us to return to Thee, and attend to us in favor and grace. Measure
our transgressions according to Thy compassion, and set the depth of Thy compassions against
the multitude of our offenses.
Look down from the height of Thy holiness upon Thy people who stand and await
abundant mercy from Thee. Visit us with Thy goodness and deliver us from the possession of
Satan and preserve our life with Thy holy and solemn laws. Commit Thy people unto a faithful
guardian angel. Gather us all unto Thy kingdom. Grant forgiveness to those who put their trust in
Thee, relinquish us and them from sin. Purify us by the operation of Thy Holy Spirit and remove
from us the wiles of the adversary.
Blessed art Thou, O Lord, Almighty Master, Who hast illumined the day with the light of
the sun and the night with the glow of fire, Who hast made us worthy to pass the course of the
day and draw near to the onset of the night; hear our petitions and those of all Thy people.
Forgive us all our sins, both voluntary and involuntary, and accept our evening supplications.
Send down the multitude of Thy mercies and compassions upon Thine inheritance. Encompass
us with Thy holy angels. Arm us with the weapons of Thy justice. Envelop us with Thy
righteousness. Protect us by Thy power, and deliver us from every oppression and from every
conspiracy of the adversary. Grant us that this evening and the approaching night and all the days
of our life may be perfect, holy, peaceful, sinless, without doubt and vain imaginings, by the
intercessions of the holy Theotokos and all the saints who have done Thy will from the
beginning of time.
• The clergy and faithful stand.
Deacon: Help us; save us; have mercy on us; raise us up; and keep us, O God, by Thy
grace.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Calling to remembrance our all-holy, immaculate, most blessed and glorious Lady
Theotokos 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.
Priest: For Thine it is to show mercy on us and to save us, O our God, 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.
THE LITANY OF FERVENT SUPPLICATION
Deacon: Let us say with our whole soul, and with our whole mind, let us say.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 8 with the Kneeling Prayers
Deacon: O Lord Almighty, the God of our Fathers, we pray Thee, hearken and have mercy.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Have mercy on us, O God, according to Thy great mercy, we pray Thee, hearken
and have mercy.
Choir: Lord, have mercy. (THRICE)
Deacon: Again we pray for all pious and Orthodox Christians.
Choir: Lord, have mercy. (THRICE)
Deacon: Again we pray for our father and Metropolitan PHILIP, and for our Archbishop
JOSEPH.
Choir: Lord, have mercy. (THRICE)
Deacon: Again we pray for our brethren: the priests, hieromonks, deacons, hierodeacons
and monastics and all our brotherhood in Christ.
Choir: Lord, have mercy. (THRICE)
Deacon: Again we pray for mercy, life, peace, health, salvation and visitation and pardon
and remission of sins for (the servants of God, [Names], and) all Orthodox
Christians of true worship, who live and dwell in this community.
Choir: Lord, have mercy. (THRICE)
Deacon: Again we pray for the blessed and ever-memorable founders of this holy church
and for (the departed servants of God, [Names], and) all our fathers and brethren,
the Orthodox departed this life before us, who here and in all the world lie asleep
in the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy. (THRICE)
Deacon: Again we pray for those who bear fruit and do good works in this holy and allvenerable
temple, those who serve and those who sing, and for all the people here
present, who await Thy great and rich mercy.
Choir: Lord, have mercy. (THRICE)
Priest: For Thou art a merciful God and 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.
THE SECOND KNEELING PRAYER
Deacon: Again and again, let us, on bended knees, pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
• The clergy and faithful kneel.
Priest: O Lord Jesus Christ our God, Who hast given Thy peace to mankind and, being present
still in this life, doth ever grant the gift of the All-holy Spirit to the faithful, as an inheritance that
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 9 with the Kneeling Prayers
can never be taken away, Thou hast sent down today in a manner most clear, this grace upon Thy
holy Disciples and Apostles, and didst place into their mouths and on their lips the tongues of
fire. Through them all mankind, through the hearing of the ear, hath received knowledge of God
in their own languages. We have been enlightened by the light of the Spirit, being emancipated
from delusion as from darkness, and through the distribution of the perceptible tongues of fire
and the wondrous action of the same, we have been taught the faith that is in Thee, and we have
been illumined so as to praise Thee with the Father and the Holy Spirit, in one Godhead, Power
and Authority.
Wherefore, O Splendor of the Father, the Likeness of his Essence, His immutable and
unchangeable Nature, Thou art the fountain of salvation and grace. Open my lips, sinner that I
am, and teach me how and for what I must pray; for Thou dost know the multitude of my sins,
but Thine unbounded compassion doth overcome the enormity thereof. Behold, I come and stand
before Thee in fear and dismay, casting my soul’s despair into the depth of Thy mercy. Govern
my life, O Thou Who rulest the whole creation with Thy word and with the unutterable power of
Thy wisdom. O tranquil Haven of the storm-tossed, make known to me the way in which I
should walk. Grant to my thoughts the spirit of Thy wisdom, and bestow upon mine ignorance
the spirit of Thine understanding. Overshadow mine acts with the spirit of Thy fear; a right spirit
renew Thou within me, and by Thy Sovereign Spirit strengthen Thou mine unstable mind, that I
may be worthy each day to do Thy commandments, being guided by Thy righteous Spirit into
that which is profitable, ever mindful of Thy glorified second Coming, which will search out our
life’s deeds. Let me not be led astray by the corrupting pleasures of this world, but strengthen me
to delight in the treasures to come. For Thou, O Master, didst say, “Whatever ye ask in My Name
ye shall receive” from God the Father, co-eternal with Thee.
Therefore, I, a sinner, implore Thy goodness at the descent of Thy Holy Spirit: grant
Thou my request for salvation. Yea, good Lord, Who grantest all riches and benevolence, Thou
art He, the merciful and pitying, Who givest us more than we ask, Who hast become a Partaker
with us in the flesh without sin. Thou art He Who, for His love for mankind, dost have
compassion for those who bend the knee to Thee, having become an offering for our sins. Grant,
O Lord, Thy compassion to Thy people, and incline Thine ear to us from Thy Holy Heaven;
sanctify us by the saving might of Thy right hand. Cover us with the shelter of Thy wings and
turn not away from the work of Thy hands. Against Thee only do we sin, yet Thee only do we
worship. We know not how to bow to a strange god, nor to stretch forth our hands to a different
god. Pardon our iniquities, O Master, and accepting our requests on bended knee, extend to us all
a helping hand, and accept the prayers of all as fragrant incense acceptable to Thy most righteous
Kingdom.
O Lord, Lord, Thou Who hast delivered us from every arrow that comes by day, save us
from everything that walketh in darkness, and accept the lifting up of our hands as an evening
sacrifice. Consider us worthy to pass the night blamelessly and experience no evil. Deliver us
from Satan. Grant our souls contrition, and our thoughts concern over our accountability at Thy
just and terrible judgment. Nail our flesh to the fear of Thee, and mortify our earthly members,
that in the tranquility of sleep we may be enlightened by the contemplation of Thy precepts.
Drive from us every unseemly fantasy and injurious desire. Raise us up at the time of prayer
confirmed in the faith and progressing in Thy commandments.
• The clergy and faithful stand.
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 10 with the Kneeling Prayers
Deacon: Help us; save us; have mercy on us; raise us up; and keep us, O God, by Thy
grace.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Calling to remembrance our all-holy, immaculate, most blessed and glorious Lady
Theotokos 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.
Priest: Through the favor and grace of Thine only-begotten Son, with Whom Thou art
blessed, together with Thine All-holy, Good and Life-giving Spirit; now and ever
and unto ages of ages.
Choir: Amen.
THE EVENING PRAYER
People: Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this evening without sin. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the
God of our fathers, and praised and glorified is Thy Name forever. Amen.
Let Thy mercy be upon us, O Lord, even as we have set our hope on Thee. Blessed art Thou, O
Lord; teach me Thy statutes. Blessed art Thou, O Master; make me to understand Thy statutes.
Blessed art Thou, O Holy One; enlighten me with Thy statutes.
Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth forever. O despise not the works of Thy hands. To Thee belongeth
worship, to Thee belongeth praise, to Thee belongeth glory: to the Father, and to the Son, and to
the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
THE THIRD KNEELING PRAYER
Deacon: Again and again, let us, on bended knees, pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
• The clergy and faithful kneel.
Priest: O Christ our God, the ever-flowing Spring, life-giving, illuminating, creative Power, coeternal
with the Father, Who hast most excellently fulfilled the whole dispensation of the
salvation of mankind, and didst tear apart the indestructible bonds of death, break asunder the
bolts of Hades, and tread down the multitude of evil spirits, offering Thyself as a blameless
Sacrifice and offering us Thy pure, spotless and sinless body, Who, by this fearsome, inscrutable
divine service didst grant us life everlasting; O Thou Who didst descend into Hades, and
demolish the eternal bars, revealing an ascent to those who were in the lower abode; Who with
the lure of divine wisdom didst entice the dragon, the head of subtle evil, and with Thy
boundless power bound him in abysmal hell, in inextinguishable fire, and extreme darkness.
O Wisdom of the Father, Thou great of Name Who dost manifest Thyself a great Helper
to those who are in distress; a luminous Light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of
death; Thou art the Lord of everlasting glory, the beloved Son of the Most High Father, eternal
Light from eternal Light, Thou Sun of justice! Hear Thou us who beseech Thee, and give rest the
souls of our parents, brethren, and the rest of our kinsmen in the flesh, and those who are of the
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 11 with the Kneeling Prayers
fold of faith who have fallen asleep, and for whom we celebrate this memorial; for Thou hast
power over all, and in Thy hands Thou holdest all the boundaries of the earth.
O Almighty Master, God of our fathers, Lord of mercy and Creator of all the races of
mankind, the mortals and the immortals, and of all nature, animate and inanimate, of life and of
the end of life, of sojourning here and translation there, Who dost measure the years of life and
set the times of death, Who bringest down to Hades and raisest up, binding in infirmity and
releasing unto power, dispensing present things according to need and ordering those to come as
is expedient, quickening with the hope of Resurrection those that are smitten with the sting of
death. Thyself, O Master of all, God our Savior, the Hope of all the ends of the earth and of those
who are far off upon the sea, Who, on this last and great and saving day of Pentecost, didst show
forth to us the mystery of the Holy Trinity, consubstantial and co-eternal, undivided and
unmingled, and didst pour out the descent and presence of Thy holy and life-giving Spirit in the
form of tongues of fire upon Thy holy Apostles, appointing them to be the evangelists of our
pious faith and showing them to be confessors and preachers of the true theology; Who also, on
this all-perfect and saving feast, dost deign to receive oblations and supplications for those bound
in Hades, and grantest unto us the great hope that rest and comfort will be sent down from Thee
to the departed from the grief that binds them.
Hear us, Thy humble and piteous ones who pray, and give rest to the souls of Thy
servants who have fallen asleep before us, in a place of brightness, a place of verdure, a place of
repose, whence all sickness, sorrow and sighing have fled away; and do thou place their souls in
the tabernacles of the righteous; and make them worthy of peace and repose. For the dead praise
Thee not, O Lord, neither do those in Hades dare to offer Thee confession, but we, the living,
bless Thee and supplicate Thee and offer favorable prayers and sacrifices for their souls.
O great and eternal God, holy and loving toward mankind, Who dost make us worthy to
stand at this hour before Thine unapproachable glory, praising and glorifying Thy wonders: be
gracious to us, Thine unworthy servants, and grant us grace that from a humble and contrite heart
we may offer Thee the thrice-holy glorification and gratitude for Thy great gifts which Thou
didst grant and dost still grant unto us. Remember, O Lord, our weakness and destroy us not in
our iniquities; but be merciful to our humility that, fleeing from the darkness of sin, we may walk
in the day of righteousness and, clothed with the armor of light, may persevere unassailed from
every attack of the evil one, so that with boldness we may glorify Thee in all things, the only true
God and Lover of mankind.
For in truth, O Master and Creator of all, Thine is the great and original Mystery; the
temporary death of Thy creatures, and their restoration thereafter unto eternal repose. In all
things we confess Thy grace, at our entrance into this world and at our going out therefrom, O
Thou Who by Thy unfailing promises didst hold out to us the hope of everlasting life,
resurrection, and incorruptible life, which shall be ours hereafter at Thy Second Coming. For
Thou art the Author of our resurrection, the impartial Judge of those that have lived, the Lover of
mankind and the Master and Lord of recompense, Who didst partake with us, on equal terms, of
flesh and blood, through Thine extreme condescension, and of our irreproachable passions,
wherein Thou didst willingly submit to temptation, since Thou dost possess tenderness and
compassion, and Thyself, having suffered temptation, art become for us, who are tempted, the
Helper which Thou Thyself hadst promised to be; and therefore Thou hast led us to Thy
passionlessness.
Wherefore, O Master, accept our prayers and supplications, and grant repose to our
fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, children, relatives, and kinsfolk, and all those who have gone
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 12 with the Kneeling Prayers
to their final rest with the hope of resurrection and life everlasting. Set their names and souls in
the Book of Life; in the bosoms of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; in the land of the living, the
Kingdom of Heaven, in the paradise of delight, leading all into Thy Holy dwelling place by Thy
radiant angels, and raise our bodies with Thee on the day that Thou hast appointed, according to
Thine unfailing promise. There is no death, O Lord, to Thy departing servants who cast off our
bodies and come unto Thee, O God, but a transition from sorrowful things to things pleasant and
sweet, to rest and joy. And though we have sinned against Thee, be Thou compassionate unto
them and us; for there is none without stain before Thee, even though his life be but a day,
except Thou alone, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, through Whom we all trust to attain mercy and
the remission of sins.
Therefore, O God, through Thy grace and love of mankind, pardon, remit and forgive our
sins and theirs, both voluntary and involuntary offenses, which we have committed either
willfully or through ignorance, openly or in secret whether by word, deed, or thought and all our
acts and movements. As for those who have preceded us, grant them emancipation and repose.
To those of us who are here, bless us, and give us and all Thy people a blessed and peaceful end
to life. At Thy fearsome and dreadful coming open to us Thy fathomless love of mankind,
making us worthy of Thy Kingdom.
O great and most exalted God, Who alone hast immortality and dwellest in the
unapproachable light, Who in wisdom didst bring into being all creation, Who hast divided the
light and the darkness, setting the sun to rule the day, and the moon and stars to rule the night,
Who on this day didst vouchsafe unto us sinners as worthy through confession to present
ourselves before Thy presence and to offer to Thee our evening praise: O philanthropic God, set
our prayers like incense before Thee, and receive them as a sweet fragrance. Grant that this
evening and the approaching night may be peaceful and serene for us. Clothe us with the armor
of light, and deliver us from nightly terrors and from everything that walketh in darkness.
Vouchsafe that the slumber which Thou didst grant us for rest from our weakness be also free
from every satanic imagination. Yea, O Master, Bestower of all good things, may we, being
moved to compunction upon our beds, call to remembrance Thy Name in the night that,
enlightened by meditation on Thy commandments, we may rise up in joyfulness of soul to
glorify Thy goodness, offering up prayers and supplications unto Thy tender love, for our sins
and for those of all Thy people, whom do Thou visit in mercy, through the intercessions of the
Holy Theotokos.
• The clergy and faithful stand.
Deacon: Help us; save us; have mercy on us; raise us up; and keep us, O God, by Thy grace.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Calling to remembrance our all-holy, immaculate, most blessed and glorious Lady
Theotokos 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.
Priest: For Thou art the Repose of our souls and bodies, 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.
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 13 with the Kneeling Prayers
THE LITANY OF SUPPLICATION
Deacon: Let us complete our evening prayer unto the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Help us; save us; have mercy on us; and keep us, O God, by Thy grace.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: That the whole evening may be perfect, holy, peaceful and sinless, let us ask of
the Lord.
Choir: Grant this, O Lord.
Deacon: An angel of peace, a faithful guide, a guardian of our souls and bodies, let us ask
of the Lord.
Choir: Grant this, O Lord.
Deacon: Pardon and remission of our sins and transgressions, let us ask of the Lord.
Choir: Grant this, O Lord.
Deacon: All things good and profitable for our souls and peace for the world, let us ask of
the Lord.
Choir: Grant this, O Lord.
Deacon: That we may complete the remaining time of our life in peace and repentance, let
us ask of the Lord.
Choir: Grant this, O Lord.
Deacon: A Christian ending to our life, painless, blameless, peaceful, and a good defense
before the fearful judgment seat of Christ, let us ask of the Lord.
Choir: Grant this, O Lord.
Deacon: Calling to remembrance our all-holy, immaculate, most blessed and glorious Lady
Theotokos 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.
Priest: For Thou art a good God and 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.
THE PEACE
Priest: Peace be to all.
Choir: And to thy spirit.
Deacon: Let us bow our heads unto the Lord.
Choir: To Thee, O Lord.
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 14 with the Kneeling Prayers
• All bow their heads as the priest says the following prayer:
Priest: O Lord our God, Who didst bow the heavens and come down for the salvation of
mankind: Look upon Thy servants and Thine inheritance; for unto Thee, the
fearful Judge Who yet lovest mankind, have Thy servants bowed their heads and
submissively inclined their necks, awaiting not help from men but entreating Thy
mercy and looking confidently for Thy salvation. Guard them at all times, both
during this present evening and in the approaching night, from every foe, from all
adverse powers of the devil, and from vain thoughts and from evil imaginations.
Blessed and glorified be the might of Thy kingdom: of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
Choir: Amen.
THE APOSTICHA FOR HOLY SPIRIT MONDAY IN TONE THREE
Now, the tongues have become manifest wonders to all; for the Jews, of whom cometh Christ
after the flesh, were divided by lack of faith. They fell from the divine grace and the divine light
which we, the Gentiles, have attained, who are established by the sayings of the Disciples, giving
utterance to the glory of God, the All-beneficent, with whom we bend our hearts as well as our
knees, and worship the Holy Spirit in faith, being strengthened by the Savior of our souls.
Verse 1. Create in me a new heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Now, the comforting Spirit hath been poured on all flesh; for, starting with the rank of the
Apostles, He extended grace through the communion of believers, certifying His effective
presence by the distribution of tongues to the Disciples in fiery likeness for the praise and glory
of God. Wherefore, being noetically illumined with them and confirmed in the steadfast Faith,
we beseech the Holy Spirit to save our souls.
Verse 2. Cast me not away from Thy face, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.
Now, the Apostles of Christ have put on might and power from above; for the Comforter hath
renewed them, and in them renewed the knowledge of the new mysteries which they proclaimed
to us in tones and resounding words, teaching us to worship the all-bountiful God of the eternal,
simple Nature of three Persons. Wherefore, being illumined by their teachings, let us worship the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, beseeching them to save our souls.
DOXASTICON FOR PENTECOST IN TONE EIGHT
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto ages of
ages. Amen.
Come ye nations, let us worship the three-personed Godhead, a Son in the Father, with a Holy
Spirit; for the Father timelessly hath begotten the Son, equal to Him in eternity and the throne;
and the Holy Spirit was in the Father, glorified with the Son, one Might, one Substance, one
Godhead, which we all worship, saying, Holy God Who created everything through the Son with
the help of the Holy Spirit; Holy Mighty, in Whom we knew the Father, and through Whom the
Holy Spirit came to the world; Holy Immortal One, the comforting Spirit, proceeding from the
Father and resting in the Son; O Holy Trinity, glory to Thee.
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 15 with the Kneeling Prayers
THE HYMN OF ST. SIMEON THE GOD-RECEIVER
Choir: Lord, now lettest thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; for mine eyes
have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to
lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel.
THE TRISAGION PRAYERS
People: Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal: have mercy on us. (THRICE)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever,
and unto ages of ages. Amen.
All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse us from our sins. Master, pardon
our iniquities. Holy God, visit and heal our infirmities for Thy Name’s sake.
Lord, have mercy. (THRICE)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever,
and unto ages of ages. Amen.
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 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.
Choir: Amen.
APOLYTIKION OF PENTECOST IN TONE EIGHT
Blessed art Thou, O Christ our God, Who hast revealed the fishermen as most wise, having sent
upon them the Holy Spirit, and through them Thou hast fished the universe, O Lover of mankind,
glory to Thee. (THRICE)
THE DISMISSAL
Deacon: Wisdom!
Choir: Father, bless!
Priest: Christ our God, the Existing One, is blessed, always, now and ever, and unto ages
of ages.
Choir: Amen. Preserve, O God, the holy Orthodox faith and all Orthodox Christians,
unto ages of ages. Amen.
Priest: Most holy Theotokos, save us.
Choir: More honorable than the Cherubim, and more glorious beyond compare than the
Seraphim, thou who without corruption bearest God the Word and art truly
Theotokos: we magnify thee.
Priest: Glory to Thee, O Christ our God and our hope, glory to Thee.
Choir: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and
unto ages of ages. Amen. Lord, have mercy (thrice). Father, bless.
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 16 with the Kneeling Prayers
Priest: May He Who emptied Himself from the divine bosom of the Father, and came down from
Heaven to earth, and took upon Himself all of our nature, and deified it; and afterwards ascended
again into Heaven and sat at the right hand of God the Father, and sent down upon His Holy
Disciples and Apostles the Divine and Holy Spirit, one in essence, equal in power, equal in
glory, and co-everlasting with Him, and through Him enlightened them, and through them the
whole world, Christ our true God: through the intercessions of His all-immaculate and allblameless
holy Mother; of the holy, glorious, all-laudable, God-proclaiming and Spirit-bearing
apostles, and of all the saints: have mercy on us and save us, forasmuch as He is good and loveth
mankind.
Priest: Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy
upon us and save us.
Choir: Amen.
Priest: Blessed is our God, always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
Choir: Amen.
Come, let us worship and fall down before God our King.
Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King and our God.
Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ Himself, our King and our God.
THE PSALM OF INTRODUCTION—PSALM 103
Reader: Bless the Lord, O my soul; O Lord my God, Thou hast been magnified exceedingly.
Confession and majesty hast Thou put on, Who coverest Thyself with light as with a garment,
Who stretchest out the heaven as it were a curtain; Who supporteth His chambers in the waters,
Who appointeth the clouds for His ascent, Who walketh upon the wings of the winds, Who
maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire.
Who establisheth the earth in the sureness thereof; it shall not be turned back forever and ever.
The abyss like a garment is His mantle; upon the mountains shall the waters stand. At Thy
rebuke they will flee, at the voice of Thy thunder shall they be afraid.
The mountains rise up and the plains sink down, unto the place where Thou hast established
them. Thou appointedst a bound that they shall not pass, neither return to cover the earth. He
sendeth forth springs in the valleys; between the mountains will the waters run. They shall give
drink to all the beasts of the field; the wild asses will wait to quench their thirst. Beside them will
the birds of the heaven lodge, from the midst of the rocks will they give voice.
He watereth the mountains from His chambers; the earth shall be satisfied with the fruit of Thy
works. He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and green herb for the service of men, to bring
forth bread out of the earth; and wine maketh glad the heart of man. To make his face cheerful
with oil; and bread strengtheneth man’s heart.
The trees of the plain shall be satisfied, the cedars of Lebanon, which Thou hast planted. There
will the sparrows make their nests; the house of the heron is chief among them. The high
mountains are a refuge for the harts, and so is the rock for the hares.
He hath made the moon for seasons; the sun knoweth his going down. Thou appointedst the
darkness, and there was the night, wherein all the beasts of the forest will go abroad; young lions
roaring after their prey, and seeking their food from God. The sun ariseth, and they are gathered
together, and they lay them down in their dens. Man shall go forth unto his work, and to his labor
until the evening. How magnified are Thy works, O Lord! In wisdom hast Thou made them all.
The earth is filled with Thy creation. So is this great and spacious sea, wherein are things
creeping innumerable, small living creatures with the great. There go the ships; there this
leviathan, whom Thou hast made to play therein. All things wait on Thee, to give them their food
in due season; when Thou givest it them, they will gather it. When Thou openest Thy hand, all
things shall be filled with goodness; when Thou turnest away Thy face, they shall be troubled.
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 2 with the Kneeling Prayers
Thou wilt take their spirit, and they shall cease; and unto their dust shall they return. Thou wilt
send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created; and Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Let the glory of the Lord be unto the ages; the Lord will rejoice in His works. Who looketh on
the earth and maketh it tremble, Who toucheth the mountains and they smoke. I will sing unto
the Lord throughout my life, I will chant to my God for as long as I have my being.
May my words be sweet unto Him; I will rejoice in the Lord. O that sinners would cease from
the earth, and they that work iniquity, that they should be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul.
The sun knoweth his going down. Thou appointedst the darkness, and there was the night. How
magnified are Thy works, O Lord! In wisdom hast Thou made them all.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto ages of
ages. Amen.
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. Glory to Thee, O God. (THRICE)
O our God and our Hope, glory to Thee!
THE AUGMENTED GREAT LITANY
Deacon: In peace, let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For the peace from above, and for the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the
Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For the peace of the whole world, for the good estate of the Holy Churches of
God, and for the union of all men, let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For this Holy House, and for those who with faith, reverence, and fear of God,
enter therein, let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For our father and Metropolitan PHILIP, for our Archbishop JOSEPH, for the
venerable Priesthood, the Deaconate in Christ, for all the clergy and the people,
let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: (In the United States) For the President of the United States, for all civil
authorities, and for our Armed Forces everywhere, let us pray to the Lord.
(In Canada) For Her Majesty, the Queen, for the Prime Minister of Canada, for all
civil authorities, and for our Armed Forces everywhere, let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: That He will aid them and grant them victory over every enemy and adversary, let
us pray to the Lord.
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 3 with the Kneeling Prayers
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For this city, and for every city and land, and for the faithful who dwell therein,
let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For healthful seasons, for abundance of the fruits of the earth, and for peaceful
times, let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For travelers by sea, by land, and by air; for the sick and the suffering; for
captives and their salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For the people here present who await the grace of the Holy Spirit, let us pray to
the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For those that bow their hearts and their knees before the Lord, let us pray to the
Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: That He may strengthen us so that we may bring to perfection those things that
are well-pleasing unto Him, let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: That He may send down His rich mercies upon us, let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: That He may accept the bending of our knees as incense before Him, let us pray
to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For those that are in need of His help, let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For our deliverance from all tribulation, wrath, danger, and necessity, let us pray
to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Help us; save us; have mercy on us; and keep us, O God, by Thy grace.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Calling to remembrance our all-holy, immaculate, most blessed and glorious Lady
Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary, with all the Saints: let us commend ourselves
and each other, and all our life unto Christ our God.
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 4 with the Kneeling Prayers
Choir: To Thee, O Lord.
Priest: For unto Thee are due all glory, honor, and worship: to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever and unto ages of ages.
Choir: Amen.
“O LORD, I HAVE CRIED” IN TONE FOUR
Choir: O Lord, I have cried out unto Thee, hear Thou me; hear Thou me, O Lord. O
Lord, I have cried out unto Thee, hear Thou me. Give ear to the voice of my
supplication when I cry out unto Thee: hear Thou me, O Lord.
Choir: Let my prayer be set forth before Thee as the incense, and the lifting up of my
hands as the evening sacrifice; hear Thou me, O Lord.
+ Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, and a protecting door round about my lips.
+ Incline not my heart to evil words, to make excuses in sins.
+ With men that work iniquity; and I will not communicate with the choicest of them.
+ The just man shall correct me in mercy and shall reprove me; but let not the oil of the sinner
anoint my head.
+ For my prayer also shall still be against the things with which they are well pleased; their
judges falling upon the rock have been swallowed up.
+ They shall hear my words, for they are sweet; as when the thickness of the earth is broken
upon the ground, their bones are scattered by the side of hell.
+ But to Thee, O Lord, Lord, are mine eyes; in Thee have I put my trust, take not away my soul.
+ Keep me from the snare which they have laid for me, and the traps of the workers of iniquity.
+ Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst I alone escape.
+ I cried unto the Lord with my voice, with my voice unto the Lord, did I make my supplication.
+ I poured out my supplication before Him; I showed before Him my trouble.
+ When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then Thou knewest my path.
+ In the way wherein I walked have they secretly laid a snare for me.
+ I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me.
+ Refuge failed me; no one cared for my soul.
+ I cried unto Thee, O Lord; I said: Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.
+ Attend unto my cry, for I am brought very low.
+ Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are stronger than I.
Verse 10. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Thy Name.
Verse 9. The righteous shall wait for me until Thou recompense me.
Verse 8. Out of the depths have I cried to Thee, O Lord, Lord hear my voice.
Verse 7. Let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
For Pentecost in Tone Four
Verse 6. If Thou, O Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? For with Thee
there is forgiveness.
Today all the nations in the city of David beheld wonders, when the Holy Spirit descended in
fiery tongues, as the God-inspired Luke spake; for he said: The Disciples of Christ being
gathered together, there was a sound as of a mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 5 with the Kneeling Prayers
they were sitting. And they began to speak strange doctrines and strange teachings with diverse
tongues, to the Holy Trinity.
Verse 5. Because of Thy Name have I waited for Thee, O Lord; my soul hath waited upon Thy
word, my soul hath hoped in the Lord.
Today all the nations in the city of David … (repeat above)
Verse 4. From the morning watch until night, from the morning watch let Israel trust in the Lord.
The Holy Spirit hath ever been, is and ever shall be; for He is wholly without beginning and
without end. Yet He is in covenant with the Father and the Son, counted as Life and Life-giver,
Light and Light-giver, good by nature and a Fountain of goodness, through whom the Father is
known and the Son glorified. And by all it is understood that one power, one rank, one worship
are of the Holy Trinity.
Verse 3. For with the Lord there is mercy and with Him is abundant redemption, and He will
deliver Israel from all his iniquities.
The Holy Spirit hath ever been … (repeat above)
Verse 2. Praise the Lord, all ye nations; praise Him, all ye people.
Light, Life, and a living noetic Fountain is the Holy Spirit, good, upright, noetic Spirit of
understanding, and purifying offenses, God understanding, presiding, and purifying offenses,
God and deifying, Fire projecting from Fire, speaking, active, Distributor of gifts, through whom
all the Prophets, the Apostles of God, and the Martyrs are crowned, a strange Report, a strange
sight, a Fire divided for the distribution of gifts.
Verse 1. For His mercy is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord endureth forever.
Light, Life, and a living noetic Fountain … (repeat above)
DOXASTICON FOR PENTECOST IN TONE SIX
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto ages of
ages. 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 dwell in us, and cleanse us from every
stain; and save our souls, O good One.
THE HOLY ENTRANCE
(While the first Doxasticon is chanted, the following dialogue occurs QUIETLY as the clergy make the entrance.)
Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord. Lord, have mercy.
Priest: In the evening and in the morning and at noonday we praise Thee, we bless Thee, we give thanks unto Thee,
and we pray unto Thee, O Master of all, Lord Who lovest mankind: Direct our prayer as incense before Thee, and
incline not our hearts unto words or thoughts of evil, but deliver us from all who seek after our souls. For unto Thee,
O Lord, Lord, are our eyes, and in Thee have we hoped. Put us not to shame, O our God. For unto Thee are due all
glory, honor, and worship: to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
Deacon: Amen.
(When the clergy reach the center of the soleia, the first part of the great censing begins. After the first part of the
great censing is completed, this next dialogue occurs QUIETLY.)
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 6 with the Kneeling Prayers
Deacon: Bless, father, the Holy Entrance.
Priest: Blessed is the entrance to Thy Holy Place, always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
(After the choir has finished, the following is said ALOUD.)
Deacon: Wisdom! Let us attend!
O GLADSOME LIGHT
Choir: O gladsome Light of the holy glory of the immortal, heavenly, holy and blessed Father: O
Jesus Christ. Lo now that we have come to the setting of the sun, as we behold the evening light,
we hymn Thee: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God. Meet it is for Thee at all times to be
magnified by joyous voices, O Son of God and Giver of life. Wherefore the whole world doth
glorify Thee.
THE GREAT PROKEIMENON IN TONE SEVEN
Deacon: The Evening Prokeimenon!
Choir: Who is so great a god as our God? Thou art the God Who worketh wonders.
(TWICE)
Verse 1. Thou hast made Thy power known among the peoples; with Thine arm hast Thou
redeemed Thy people. (Refrain)
Verse 2. And I said: Now have I made a beginning; this change hath been wrought by the
right hand of the Most High. (Refrain)
Verse 3. I remembered the works of the Lord; for I will remember Thy wonders from the
beginning. (Refrain)
THE FIRST KNEELING PRAYER
Deacon: Again and again, let us, on bended knees, pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
• The clergy and faithful kneel.
Priest: O pure and blameless Lord, Who art without beginning, invisible and incomprehensible,
unsearchable, unchangeable, immeasurable, and unbounded, Who art without evil and alone
immortal, who dwellest in the unapproachable light, Maker of Heaven and earth and the seas and
all that was created therein, Who grantest to all their petitions before asking, to Thee we pray and
of Thee we ask, O philanthropic Master, the Father of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ,
Who for us men and for our salvation came down from Heaven and was incarnate of the Holy
Spirit and of the ever-virgin Mary, the noble Theotokos; Who first didst teach by word, and then
gave testimony in deed while bearing the saving Passion, teaching us Thine unworthy, sinful,
and miserable servants, to offer Thee our supplications with bent heads and knees, for our sins
and human ignorance.
Wherefore, O most merciful and philanthropic Lord, hear us on whatever day we call
upon Thee, and especially on this day of Pentecost, whereon, after our Lord Jesus Christ had
ascended into Heaven and sat at Thy right hand, O God and Father, He sent down the Holy Spirit
to his Disciples, the holy Apostles, Who alighted on each of them and filled them all with His
inexhaustible and divine grace; and they did speak in strange tongues, prophesying Thy great
deeds. Hear us who beseech Thee, and remember us, wretched and condemned. Deliver us from
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 7 with the Kneeling Prayers
the sinful captivity of our souls by Thy loving intercession. Accept us, who kneel down before
Thee and cry out: we have sinned, and we have cleaved unto Thee from our birth, even from our
mother’s womb. Thou art our God, but as our life passes in vanity, we have therefore been
stripped of Thine aid, and have been deprived of every defense. Yet do we trust in Thy
compassion and cry unto Thee: Remember not the sins of our youth and ignorance; cleanse us of
our secret sins. Reject us not in our old age, and forsake us not when our strength fails. Before
we return to the earth, prepare us to return to Thee, and attend to us in favor and grace. Measure
our transgressions according to Thy compassion, and set the depth of Thy compassions against
the multitude of our offenses.
Look down from the height of Thy holiness upon Thy people who stand and await
abundant mercy from Thee. Visit us with Thy goodness and deliver us from the possession of
Satan and preserve our life with Thy holy and solemn laws. Commit Thy people unto a faithful
guardian angel. Gather us all unto Thy kingdom. Grant forgiveness to those who put their trust in
Thee, relinquish us and them from sin. Purify us by the operation of Thy Holy Spirit and remove
from us the wiles of the adversary.
Blessed art Thou, O Lord, Almighty Master, Who hast illumined the day with the light of
the sun and the night with the glow of fire, Who hast made us worthy to pass the course of the
day and draw near to the onset of the night; hear our petitions and those of all Thy people.
Forgive us all our sins, both voluntary and involuntary, and accept our evening supplications.
Send down the multitude of Thy mercies and compassions upon Thine inheritance. Encompass
us with Thy holy angels. Arm us with the weapons of Thy justice. Envelop us with Thy
righteousness. Protect us by Thy power, and deliver us from every oppression and from every
conspiracy of the adversary. Grant us that this evening and the approaching night and all the days
of our life may be perfect, holy, peaceful, sinless, without doubt and vain imaginings, by the
intercessions of the holy Theotokos and all the saints who have done Thy will from the
beginning of time.
• The clergy and faithful stand.
Deacon: Help us; save us; have mercy on us; raise us up; and keep us, O God, by Thy
grace.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Calling to remembrance our all-holy, immaculate, most blessed and glorious Lady
Theotokos 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.
Priest: For Thine it is to show mercy on us and to save us, O our God, 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.
THE LITANY OF FERVENT SUPPLICATION
Deacon: Let us say with our whole soul, and with our whole mind, let us say.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 8 with the Kneeling Prayers
Deacon: O Lord Almighty, the God of our Fathers, we pray Thee, hearken and have mercy.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Have mercy on us, O God, according to Thy great mercy, we pray Thee, hearken
and have mercy.
Choir: Lord, have mercy. (THRICE)
Deacon: Again we pray for all pious and Orthodox Christians.
Choir: Lord, have mercy. (THRICE)
Deacon: Again we pray for our father and Metropolitan PHILIP, and for our Archbishop
JOSEPH.
Choir: Lord, have mercy. (THRICE)
Deacon: Again we pray for our brethren: the priests, hieromonks, deacons, hierodeacons
and monastics and all our brotherhood in Christ.
Choir: Lord, have mercy. (THRICE)
Deacon: Again we pray for mercy, life, peace, health, salvation and visitation and pardon
and remission of sins for (the servants of God, [Names], and) all Orthodox
Christians of true worship, who live and dwell in this community.
Choir: Lord, have mercy. (THRICE)
Deacon: Again we pray for the blessed and ever-memorable founders of this holy church
and for (the departed servants of God, [Names], and) all our fathers and brethren,
the Orthodox departed this life before us, who here and in all the world lie asleep
in the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy. (THRICE)
Deacon: Again we pray for those who bear fruit and do good works in this holy and allvenerable
temple, those who serve and those who sing, and for all the people here
present, who await Thy great and rich mercy.
Choir: Lord, have mercy. (THRICE)
Priest: For Thou art a merciful God and 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.
THE SECOND KNEELING PRAYER
Deacon: Again and again, let us, on bended knees, pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
• The clergy and faithful kneel.
Priest: O Lord Jesus Christ our God, Who hast given Thy peace to mankind and, being present
still in this life, doth ever grant the gift of the All-holy Spirit to the faithful, as an inheritance that
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 9 with the Kneeling Prayers
can never be taken away, Thou hast sent down today in a manner most clear, this grace upon Thy
holy Disciples and Apostles, and didst place into their mouths and on their lips the tongues of
fire. Through them all mankind, through the hearing of the ear, hath received knowledge of God
in their own languages. We have been enlightened by the light of the Spirit, being emancipated
from delusion as from darkness, and through the distribution of the perceptible tongues of fire
and the wondrous action of the same, we have been taught the faith that is in Thee, and we have
been illumined so as to praise Thee with the Father and the Holy Spirit, in one Godhead, Power
and Authority.
Wherefore, O Splendor of the Father, the Likeness of his Essence, His immutable and
unchangeable Nature, Thou art the fountain of salvation and grace. Open my lips, sinner that I
am, and teach me how and for what I must pray; for Thou dost know the multitude of my sins,
but Thine unbounded compassion doth overcome the enormity thereof. Behold, I come and stand
before Thee in fear and dismay, casting my soul’s despair into the depth of Thy mercy. Govern
my life, O Thou Who rulest the whole creation with Thy word and with the unutterable power of
Thy wisdom. O tranquil Haven of the storm-tossed, make known to me the way in which I
should walk. Grant to my thoughts the spirit of Thy wisdom, and bestow upon mine ignorance
the spirit of Thine understanding. Overshadow mine acts with the spirit of Thy fear; a right spirit
renew Thou within me, and by Thy Sovereign Spirit strengthen Thou mine unstable mind, that I
may be worthy each day to do Thy commandments, being guided by Thy righteous Spirit into
that which is profitable, ever mindful of Thy glorified second Coming, which will search out our
life’s deeds. Let me not be led astray by the corrupting pleasures of this world, but strengthen me
to delight in the treasures to come. For Thou, O Master, didst say, “Whatever ye ask in My Name
ye shall receive” from God the Father, co-eternal with Thee.
Therefore, I, a sinner, implore Thy goodness at the descent of Thy Holy Spirit: grant
Thou my request for salvation. Yea, good Lord, Who grantest all riches and benevolence, Thou
art He, the merciful and pitying, Who givest us more than we ask, Who hast become a Partaker
with us in the flesh without sin. Thou art He Who, for His love for mankind, dost have
compassion for those who bend the knee to Thee, having become an offering for our sins. Grant,
O Lord, Thy compassion to Thy people, and incline Thine ear to us from Thy Holy Heaven;
sanctify us by the saving might of Thy right hand. Cover us with the shelter of Thy wings and
turn not away from the work of Thy hands. Against Thee only do we sin, yet Thee only do we
worship. We know not how to bow to a strange god, nor to stretch forth our hands to a different
god. Pardon our iniquities, O Master, and accepting our requests on bended knee, extend to us all
a helping hand, and accept the prayers of all as fragrant incense acceptable to Thy most righteous
Kingdom.
O Lord, Lord, Thou Who hast delivered us from every arrow that comes by day, save us
from everything that walketh in darkness, and accept the lifting up of our hands as an evening
sacrifice. Consider us worthy to pass the night blamelessly and experience no evil. Deliver us
from Satan. Grant our souls contrition, and our thoughts concern over our accountability at Thy
just and terrible judgment. Nail our flesh to the fear of Thee, and mortify our earthly members,
that in the tranquility of sleep we may be enlightened by the contemplation of Thy precepts.
Drive from us every unseemly fantasy and injurious desire. Raise us up at the time of prayer
confirmed in the faith and progressing in Thy commandments.
• The clergy and faithful stand.
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 10 with the Kneeling Prayers
Deacon: Help us; save us; have mercy on us; raise us up; and keep us, O God, by Thy
grace.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Calling to remembrance our all-holy, immaculate, most blessed and glorious Lady
Theotokos 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.
Priest: Through the favor and grace of Thine only-begotten Son, with Whom Thou art
blessed, together with Thine All-holy, Good and Life-giving Spirit; now and ever
and unto ages of ages.
Choir: Amen.
THE EVENING PRAYER
People: Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this evening without sin. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the
God of our fathers, and praised and glorified is Thy Name forever. Amen.
Let Thy mercy be upon us, O Lord, even as we have set our hope on Thee. Blessed art Thou, O
Lord; teach me Thy statutes. Blessed art Thou, O Master; make me to understand Thy statutes.
Blessed art Thou, O Holy One; enlighten me with Thy statutes.
Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth forever. O despise not the works of Thy hands. To Thee belongeth
worship, to Thee belongeth praise, to Thee belongeth glory: to the Father, and to the Son, and to
the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
THE THIRD KNEELING PRAYER
Deacon: Again and again, let us, on bended knees, pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
• The clergy and faithful kneel.
Priest: O Christ our God, the ever-flowing Spring, life-giving, illuminating, creative Power, coeternal
with the Father, Who hast most excellently fulfilled the whole dispensation of the
salvation of mankind, and didst tear apart the indestructible bonds of death, break asunder the
bolts of Hades, and tread down the multitude of evil spirits, offering Thyself as a blameless
Sacrifice and offering us Thy pure, spotless and sinless body, Who, by this fearsome, inscrutable
divine service didst grant us life everlasting; O Thou Who didst descend into Hades, and
demolish the eternal bars, revealing an ascent to those who were in the lower abode; Who with
the lure of divine wisdom didst entice the dragon, the head of subtle evil, and with Thy
boundless power bound him in abysmal hell, in inextinguishable fire, and extreme darkness.
O Wisdom of the Father, Thou great of Name Who dost manifest Thyself a great Helper
to those who are in distress; a luminous Light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of
death; Thou art the Lord of everlasting glory, the beloved Son of the Most High Father, eternal
Light from eternal Light, Thou Sun of justice! Hear Thou us who beseech Thee, and give rest the
souls of our parents, brethren, and the rest of our kinsmen in the flesh, and those who are of the
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 11 with the Kneeling Prayers
fold of faith who have fallen asleep, and for whom we celebrate this memorial; for Thou hast
power over all, and in Thy hands Thou holdest all the boundaries of the earth.
O Almighty Master, God of our fathers, Lord of mercy and Creator of all the races of
mankind, the mortals and the immortals, and of all nature, animate and inanimate, of life and of
the end of life, of sojourning here and translation there, Who dost measure the years of life and
set the times of death, Who bringest down to Hades and raisest up, binding in infirmity and
releasing unto power, dispensing present things according to need and ordering those to come as
is expedient, quickening with the hope of Resurrection those that are smitten with the sting of
death. Thyself, O Master of all, God our Savior, the Hope of all the ends of the earth and of those
who are far off upon the sea, Who, on this last and great and saving day of Pentecost, didst show
forth to us the mystery of the Holy Trinity, consubstantial and co-eternal, undivided and
unmingled, and didst pour out the descent and presence of Thy holy and life-giving Spirit in the
form of tongues of fire upon Thy holy Apostles, appointing them to be the evangelists of our
pious faith and showing them to be confessors and preachers of the true theology; Who also, on
this all-perfect and saving feast, dost deign to receive oblations and supplications for those bound
in Hades, and grantest unto us the great hope that rest and comfort will be sent down from Thee
to the departed from the grief that binds them.
Hear us, Thy humble and piteous ones who pray, and give rest to the souls of Thy
servants who have fallen asleep before us, in a place of brightness, a place of verdure, a place of
repose, whence all sickness, sorrow and sighing have fled away; and do thou place their souls in
the tabernacles of the righteous; and make them worthy of peace and repose. For the dead praise
Thee not, O Lord, neither do those in Hades dare to offer Thee confession, but we, the living,
bless Thee and supplicate Thee and offer favorable prayers and sacrifices for their souls.
O great and eternal God, holy and loving toward mankind, Who dost make us worthy to
stand at this hour before Thine unapproachable glory, praising and glorifying Thy wonders: be
gracious to us, Thine unworthy servants, and grant us grace that from a humble and contrite heart
we may offer Thee the thrice-holy glorification and gratitude for Thy great gifts which Thou
didst grant and dost still grant unto us. Remember, O Lord, our weakness and destroy us not in
our iniquities; but be merciful to our humility that, fleeing from the darkness of sin, we may walk
in the day of righteousness and, clothed with the armor of light, may persevere unassailed from
every attack of the evil one, so that with boldness we may glorify Thee in all things, the only true
God and Lover of mankind.
For in truth, O Master and Creator of all, Thine is the great and original Mystery; the
temporary death of Thy creatures, and their restoration thereafter unto eternal repose. In all
things we confess Thy grace, at our entrance into this world and at our going out therefrom, O
Thou Who by Thy unfailing promises didst hold out to us the hope of everlasting life,
resurrection, and incorruptible life, which shall be ours hereafter at Thy Second Coming. For
Thou art the Author of our resurrection, the impartial Judge of those that have lived, the Lover of
mankind and the Master and Lord of recompense, Who didst partake with us, on equal terms, of
flesh and blood, through Thine extreme condescension, and of our irreproachable passions,
wherein Thou didst willingly submit to temptation, since Thou dost possess tenderness and
compassion, and Thyself, having suffered temptation, art become for us, who are tempted, the
Helper which Thou Thyself hadst promised to be; and therefore Thou hast led us to Thy
passionlessness.
Wherefore, O Master, accept our prayers and supplications, and grant repose to our
fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, children, relatives, and kinsfolk, and all those who have gone
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 12 with the Kneeling Prayers
to their final rest with the hope of resurrection and life everlasting. Set their names and souls in
the Book of Life; in the bosoms of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; in the land of the living, the
Kingdom of Heaven, in the paradise of delight, leading all into Thy Holy dwelling place by Thy
radiant angels, and raise our bodies with Thee on the day that Thou hast appointed, according to
Thine unfailing promise. There is no death, O Lord, to Thy departing servants who cast off our
bodies and come unto Thee, O God, but a transition from sorrowful things to things pleasant and
sweet, to rest and joy. And though we have sinned against Thee, be Thou compassionate unto
them and us; for there is none without stain before Thee, even though his life be but a day,
except Thou alone, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, through Whom we all trust to attain mercy and
the remission of sins.
Therefore, O God, through Thy grace and love of mankind, pardon, remit and forgive our
sins and theirs, both voluntary and involuntary offenses, which we have committed either
willfully or through ignorance, openly or in secret whether by word, deed, or thought and all our
acts and movements. As for those who have preceded us, grant them emancipation and repose.
To those of us who are here, bless us, and give us and all Thy people a blessed and peaceful end
to life. At Thy fearsome and dreadful coming open to us Thy fathomless love of mankind,
making us worthy of Thy Kingdom.
O great and most exalted God, Who alone hast immortality and dwellest in the
unapproachable light, Who in wisdom didst bring into being all creation, Who hast divided the
light and the darkness, setting the sun to rule the day, and the moon and stars to rule the night,
Who on this day didst vouchsafe unto us sinners as worthy through confession to present
ourselves before Thy presence and to offer to Thee our evening praise: O philanthropic God, set
our prayers like incense before Thee, and receive them as a sweet fragrance. Grant that this
evening and the approaching night may be peaceful and serene for us. Clothe us with the armor
of light, and deliver us from nightly terrors and from everything that walketh in darkness.
Vouchsafe that the slumber which Thou didst grant us for rest from our weakness be also free
from every satanic imagination. Yea, O Master, Bestower of all good things, may we, being
moved to compunction upon our beds, call to remembrance Thy Name in the night that,
enlightened by meditation on Thy commandments, we may rise up in joyfulness of soul to
glorify Thy goodness, offering up prayers and supplications unto Thy tender love, for our sins
and for those of all Thy people, whom do Thou visit in mercy, through the intercessions of the
Holy Theotokos.
• The clergy and faithful stand.
Deacon: Help us; save us; have mercy on us; raise us up; and keep us, O God, by Thy grace.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Calling to remembrance our all-holy, immaculate, most blessed and glorious Lady
Theotokos 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.
Priest: For Thou art the Repose of our souls and bodies, 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.
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 13 with the Kneeling Prayers
THE LITANY OF SUPPLICATION
Deacon: Let us complete our evening prayer unto the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Help us; save us; have mercy on us; and keep us, O God, by Thy grace.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: That the whole evening may be perfect, holy, peaceful and sinless, let us ask of
the Lord.
Choir: Grant this, O Lord.
Deacon: An angel of peace, a faithful guide, a guardian of our souls and bodies, let us ask
of the Lord.
Choir: Grant this, O Lord.
Deacon: Pardon and remission of our sins and transgressions, let us ask of the Lord.
Choir: Grant this, O Lord.
Deacon: All things good and profitable for our souls and peace for the world, let us ask of
the Lord.
Choir: Grant this, O Lord.
Deacon: That we may complete the remaining time of our life in peace and repentance, let
us ask of the Lord.
Choir: Grant this, O Lord.
Deacon: A Christian ending to our life, painless, blameless, peaceful, and a good defense
before the fearful judgment seat of Christ, let us ask of the Lord.
Choir: Grant this, O Lord.
Deacon: Calling to remembrance our all-holy, immaculate, most blessed and glorious Lady
Theotokos 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.
Priest: For Thou art a good God and 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.
THE PEACE
Priest: Peace be to all.
Choir: And to thy spirit.
Deacon: Let us bow our heads unto the Lord.
Choir: To Thee, O Lord.
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 14 with the Kneeling Prayers
• All bow their heads as the priest says the following prayer:
Priest: O Lord our God, Who didst bow the heavens and come down for the salvation of
mankind: Look upon Thy servants and Thine inheritance; for unto Thee, the
fearful Judge Who yet lovest mankind, have Thy servants bowed their heads and
submissively inclined their necks, awaiting not help from men but entreating Thy
mercy and looking confidently for Thy salvation. Guard them at all times, both
during this present evening and in the approaching night, from every foe, from all
adverse powers of the devil, and from vain thoughts and from evil imaginations.
Blessed and glorified be the might of Thy kingdom: of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
Choir: Amen.
THE APOSTICHA FOR HOLY SPIRIT MONDAY IN TONE THREE
Now, the tongues have become manifest wonders to all; for the Jews, of whom cometh Christ
after the flesh, were divided by lack of faith. They fell from the divine grace and the divine light
which we, the Gentiles, have attained, who are established by the sayings of the Disciples, giving
utterance to the glory of God, the All-beneficent, with whom we bend our hearts as well as our
knees, and worship the Holy Spirit in faith, being strengthened by the Savior of our souls.
Verse 1. Create in me a new heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Now, the comforting Spirit hath been poured on all flesh; for, starting with the rank of the
Apostles, He extended grace through the communion of believers, certifying His effective
presence by the distribution of tongues to the Disciples in fiery likeness for the praise and glory
of God. Wherefore, being noetically illumined with them and confirmed in the steadfast Faith,
we beseech the Holy Spirit to save our souls.
Verse 2. Cast me not away from Thy face, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.
Now, the Apostles of Christ have put on might and power from above; for the Comforter hath
renewed them, and in them renewed the knowledge of the new mysteries which they proclaimed
to us in tones and resounding words, teaching us to worship the all-bountiful God of the eternal,
simple Nature of three Persons. Wherefore, being illumined by their teachings, let us worship the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, beseeching them to save our souls.
DOXASTICON FOR PENTECOST IN TONE EIGHT
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto ages of
ages. Amen.
Come ye nations, let us worship the three-personed Godhead, a Son in the Father, with a Holy
Spirit; for the Father timelessly hath begotten the Son, equal to Him in eternity and the throne;
and the Holy Spirit was in the Father, glorified with the Son, one Might, one Substance, one
Godhead, which we all worship, saying, Holy God Who created everything through the Son with
the help of the Holy Spirit; Holy Mighty, in Whom we knew the Father, and through Whom the
Holy Spirit came to the world; Holy Immortal One, the comforting Spirit, proceeding from the
Father and resting in the Son; O Holy Trinity, glory to Thee.
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 15 with the Kneeling Prayers
THE HYMN OF ST. SIMEON THE GOD-RECEIVER
Choir: Lord, now lettest thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; for mine eyes
have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to
lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel.
THE TRISAGION PRAYERS
People: Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal: have mercy on us. (THRICE)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever,
and unto ages of ages. Amen.
All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse us from our sins. Master, pardon
our iniquities. Holy God, visit and heal our infirmities for Thy Name’s sake.
Lord, have mercy. (THRICE)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever,
and unto ages of ages. Amen.
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 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.
Choir: Amen.
APOLYTIKION OF PENTECOST IN TONE EIGHT
Blessed art Thou, O Christ our God, Who hast revealed the fishermen as most wise, having sent
upon them the Holy Spirit, and through them Thou hast fished the universe, O Lover of mankind,
glory to Thee. (THRICE)
THE DISMISSAL
Deacon: Wisdom!
Choir: Father, bless!
Priest: Christ our God, the Existing One, is blessed, always, now and ever, and unto ages
of ages.
Choir: Amen. Preserve, O God, the holy Orthodox faith and all Orthodox Christians,
unto ages of ages. Amen.
Priest: Most holy Theotokos, save us.
Choir: More honorable than the Cherubim, and more glorious beyond compare than the
Seraphim, thou who without corruption bearest God the Word and art truly
Theotokos: we magnify thee.
Priest: Glory to Thee, O Christ our God and our hope, glory to Thee.
Choir: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and
unto ages of ages. Amen. Lord, have mercy (thrice). Father, bless.
Evening of Pentecost Great Vespers 16 with the Kneeling Prayers
Priest: May He Who emptied Himself from the divine bosom of the Father, and came down from
Heaven to earth, and took upon Himself all of our nature, and deified it; and afterwards ascended
again into Heaven and sat at the right hand of God the Father, and sent down upon His Holy
Disciples and Apostles the Divine and Holy Spirit, one in essence, equal in power, equal in
glory, and co-everlasting with Him, and through Him enlightened them, and through them the
whole world, Christ our true God: through the intercessions of His all-immaculate and allblameless
holy Mother; of the holy, glorious, all-laudable, God-proclaiming and Spirit-bearing
apostles, and of all the saints: have mercy on us and save us, forasmuch as He is good and loveth
mankind.
Priest: Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy
upon us and save us.
Choir: Amen.
