Programme

We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth, for surely there is no such splendour or beauty anywhere upon earth. We cannot describe it to you: only this we know, that God dwells there among men, and that their service surpasses the worship of all other places. For we cannot forget that beauty.

So wrote the envoys of Vladimir I, experiencing for the first time the divine liturgy at the church of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople in 987. It was this visit that led directly to the establishment of the Russian Orthodox Church the following year. Yet the origins of this branch of Christianity go back far further than this: indeed, it can lay claim to being the oldest manifestation of the church of Peter.

The story begins in Greece. Greek was the medium of international communication in the early centuries; the Hebrew scriptures were transmitted to the rest of the world via Hellenistic Alexandria; Paul wrote in Greek to the early churches and until the third century the liturgy of the church was in Greek. However, the early formation of what we now recognise as the Orthodox Church dates from 320 when Emperor Constantine shifted the seat of imperialism from Rome to Constantinople. In the following eight centuries the region witnessed major advances in social, intellectual and cultural life. Eight ecumenical councils met in Constantinople between 325 and 787 to determine the structure and doctrine of modern Christianity, including the concepts of the trinity and divine incarnation. Of particular significance for the Orthodox Church were the veneration of Mary as mother of God and the adoption of icons as visible symbols of God’s taking human form in Christ.

At the same time, Byzantine liturgy was taking shape. To an extent, it was the formulation of the liturgy that precipitated the schism with Rome. When the Roman pope refused to recognise Photius as Patriarch of Constantinople in the 9th century, Photius responded by challenging the pope’s authority over the inclusion of the ‘filioque’ clause in the creed. Missionaries from Constantinople converted the Slavs and many parts of Eastern Europe to Christianity – amongst them Bulgaria in 864, Russia in 988 – and part of this process involved the translation of the Greek rite into the vernacular. Thus the old church Slavonic texts set by Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and others are directly linked to this early expansion.

Further schism with Rome in 1054 and the sacking of Constantinople in the first Crusade (1204) led to an irrevocable separation between the two major branches of Christianity. Whilst Western forms of Christianity continued to evolve – and splinter into different factions – the Orthodox tradition has been preserved largely intact. It remains the established religion in Greece; the largest populations of Orthodox Christians are in Russia and Romania, and this despite the church’s persecution under an intolerant Communist regime – which only lifted in the Gorbachev era.

The music of the Orthodox Church is exclusively vocal; no instruments of any kind are permitted. The oldest chant of the Russian tradition is known as znamenny – the word derives from the Slavonic znamia (sign) which is cognate with the Western neume. The chant’s earliest forms in the pre-Mongol period are well documented in approximately twenty-five manuscript sources, yet these are all but indecipherable now, dependent as they are on a subtle and sophisticated understanding of complex rules of melodic invention. Later interpretations (from the mid-15th to the late-17th centuries) are however well preserved, thanks in part to the annotations found in manuscripts – the so-called ‘cinnabar’ annotations, which are written in red above the melodic signs, and indicate the starting pitches of the melodic units.

The melody of znamenny chant is extremely simple. It started as a purely monodic style, usually unornamented, moving almost exclusively by step following and speech intonation. Although this allows maximum clarity of the sung text, the chant could be decorated with a variety of celebratory patterns for festive occasions. By the 17th century the melodic line, in the tenor, might be harmonised by other voices. In the 19th century there developed a kind of complex vocal ‘orchestration’, of which the most significant exponents were from the Moscow Synodal School – Katalsky and Chesnokov. This involved highly developed vocal technique, exploiting a wide tessitura for all voices, but especially parts for strong low basses and altos, combined with high tenor and (to a lesser extent) soprano lines. This kind of textural variety was the only way in which composers could add expressive colour to the music. Glinka and Tchaikovsky to some extent step outside the rigid confines of traditional chant, adding characteristic harmonic effects and greater metrical regularity, but Rachmaninoff consciously preserves the modal purity of the originals he uses. Rachmaninoff creates variety in his rather more ‘orthodox’ Orthodox settings by relying instead on divisi voice parts and dynamic contrasts.

The All-Night Vigil

St Basil the Great, 4th century

The all-night vigil is celebrated on the eve of the main feasts of the Orthodox Church. Originally it lasted all night from 6 pm on Saturday night through to 9 am on Sunday morning, and it consists of three separate services: Great Vespers, Matins (at midnight) and the First Hour or Prime (in the morning). By the end of the 19th century this had been reduced to a service lasting a mere three hours.

The purpose of the vigil is to show a sense of beauty in the setting sun and give the congregation a chance to consider the spiritual light of Christ, the new light of the coming day and the eternal light of the heavenly kingdom. Great Vespers begins in silence, with a cruciform censing of the altar – one of the most profound moments of Orthodox liturgy, representing eternal rest and the silence before Creation. There follows a sequence of hymns, readings, chants and prayers, providing an analogy of the way in which paradise was returned to mankind by the redeeming sacrifice of Christ. Music of course plays a part in this liturgy, as a vehicle for the sacred texts – the words are always paramount and the austerity of the music reflects this.

Rachmaninoff’s setting of the All-Night Vigil (Vsenoshchnoye bdeniye op. 37) was written in January and February 1915, in the middle of the first world war, when Rachmaninoff was 41. During this period Rachmaninoff was travelling throughout Russia with Serge Koussevitsky, giving concerts in aid of the war against Germany. He had already completed one choral work in this vein (the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom of 1910 following Tchaikovsky’s example of 1879) but the Vigil is more elaborately worked out and more intense in its expression. He used authentic znamenny chant in seven movements; two movements employ Greek chants; and in the remaining movements he constructed what he described as a ‘conscious counterfeit of the original’. The piece is dedicated to the scholar Stephan Vasilevitch Smolensky (1849–1909) who had introduced the composer to the repertoire of the church when he was at the Moscow conservatoire. Yet Rachmaninoff’s inspiration was as much politically motivated as anything else – the composition was a powerful affirmation of nationalism during the war.

The first performance on 10 March 1915 was given not liturgically but in a fund-raising concert by the Moscow Synodal Choir, directed by Nicolai Danilin. It was extremely well received and had to be repeated four times during the concert season.

‘Even in my dreams I could not have imagined that I would  write such a work,’ Rachmaninoff told the singers at the first performance. Hearing this extraordinary piece of music, not a frozen edifice of austere musical architecture but a vibrant and powerfully emotional manifestation of religious experience, it is surely possible to understand precisely how he felt.

Vestchernya – Vespers

1 The work begins with the word Amin (amen), responding to the Great Litany, which would have been chanted by the priest. Then there is a fourfold call to prayer, in six and then eight parts.

2 This movement consists of a truncated version of Psalm 103 (104), in which an alto solo sings a melody based on Greek chant against a background of tenor and bass, alternating with soft passages for soprano and alto. During this psalm the whole church is censed.

3 The text of this movement comes from Psalm 1, the verses alternating with Alliluya (alleluia). The verses are mainly sung by middle voices (alto and tenor) and the refrain by the full choir.

4 This is the Evening Hymn of Light (phos hilaron), which is one of the most ancient hymns of the Orthodox Church. The text is from Psalm 140 (141). During the singing of this psalm all the lights of the church are gradually illuminated and the priest and deacon enter the Holy of Holies. Here, the melody is a Kiev chant using only four notes, sung by the tenors.

5 Perhaps the most famous and certainly the most extraordinary of the Vigil movements, this setting of the Song of Simeon (Luke 2: 29–32) is the high point of Vespers. The text is said by the priest whenever a child is received into the church. Rachmaninoff was particularly fond of this movement and wanted it at his funeral, but this wish was not granted because no place could be found for it in the funeral service. Against a gently rocking background, the tenor solo sings a Kiev chant. At the end of the movement the basses descend step by step to a low B flat in what is one of the most impressive passages in the whole work.

6 The last movement of Vespers is a Hymn to the Mother of God: it occurs in many places in Orthodox worship and here the threefold setting is very solemn but full of rejoicing and gladness. After this all the lights are dimmed and the doors to the Holy of Holies are closed.

Utrenya – Matins

7 The start of Matins is a chorus in praise of God, which precedes the reading of the Six Psalms expressing man’s sense of loss and separation from God. This setting is full of the sound of bells as the word Slava (‘praise’) is reiterated. The silence that follows this chorus in the service is deeply moving.

8 This section, ‘Praise ye the name of the Lord’, with words from Psalm 135 (136), is called Polyeleos. This term means both ‘much mercy’ and ‘much oil’ – the latter because the lamps are lit once again. This is a moment of reconciliation with God and the priest again censes the whole church. Rachmaninoff uses a znamenny chant in octaves for altos and basses, marking the music spiritoso.

9 The Evlogitaria is a series of stanzas in praise of the Resurrection and one of the longest sections of the Vigil (around 7 minutes). The refrain (Slava otsu i sinu – ‘Blessed art thou O Lord’) was used by Rachmaninoff at the end of his life in his Symphonic Dances.

10 There follows a Gospel reading and this movement is sung immediately afterwards as the book is brought out for the people to kiss. This is Rachmaninoff’s own chant, using wide contrasts of register and dynamics.

11 This is the Magnificat, the text from Luke 1 46–55. Mary’s words (strangely enough given to the bass at first) alternate with an antiphon ‘More honourable than the cherubim …’, which begins in various different keys but always cadences in B flat.

12 The climax of Matins, and in a true all-night Vigil this would coincide with the sunrise – the priest starts with the exclamation, ‘Glory to Thee who has shown us the light’. Rachmaninoff’s setting of the words of the Gloria begins with znamenny chant. There is then a sequence of contrasted sections containing some of the most rhythmically and harmonically complex music of the Vigil.

13 and 14 These two Resurrection hymns are not both sung in one service: they alternate according to the prevailing tone of the chant for that week. Both are based on znamenny chants, the second slightly longer and richer harmonically.

Pervy tchas – First Hour

15 The Vigil ends with another hymn to the Virgin, called the Akathist Hymn because the people stand throughout (akathistos means ‘without sitting’). This is part of Prime (the ‘first hour’). The priest chants the liturgy on one note and the choir joins with the kontakion – in Rachmaninoff’s setting a brilliantly scored and lively movement which ends the All-Night Vigil in a suitably splendid fashion.

Texts

[1]

Amin.
PRIIDITE, POKLONIMSYA Tsarevi nashemu Bogu.
Priidite, poklonimsya i pripadem Khristu Tsarevi nashemu Bogu.
Priidite, poklonimsya i pripadem Samomu Khristu Tsarevi i Bogu nashemu.
Priidite, poklonimsya i pripadem Emu.

Amen.
COME, LET US WORSHIP 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 the very Christ,
our King and our God.
Come, let us worship and fall down before him.

[2]

BLAGOSLOVI, DUSHE MOYA, GOSPODA, blagosloven esi, Gospodi.
Gospodi Bozhe moy, vozvelichilsya esi zelo.
Blagosloven esi, Gospodi.
Vo ispovedaniye i v velelepotu obleklsya esi.
Blagosloven esi, Gospodi.
Na gorakh stanut vody. Divna dela Tvoya, Gospodi.
Posrede gor proydut vody. Divna dela Tvoya, Gospodi
Vsya premudristiyu sotvoril esi.
Slava Ti, Gospodi, sotvorivshemu vsya.

BLESS THE LORD, O MY SOUL, blessed art thou, O Lord.
O Lord my God, thou art very great.
Thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
Blessed art thou, O Lord.
The waters stand upon the mountains.
Marvellous are thy works, O Lord.
In wisdom hast thou made all things.
Glory to thee, O Lord, who hast created all.

[3]

BLAZHEN MUZH, izhe ne ide na sovet nechestivykh. Alliluya.
Yako vest Gospod put pravednykh, i put nechestivykh pogibnet. Alliluya.
Rabotaite Gospodevi so strakhom i raduitesya Emu s trepetom. Alliluya.
Blazheni vsi nadeysushchisya Nan. Alliluya.
Voskresni, Gospodi, spasi mya, Bozhe moy. Alliluya.
Gospodene est spaseniye, i na lyudekh Tvoikh blagosloveniye Tvoye. Alliluya.
Slava Otsu, i Synu, i Svyatomu Dukhu, i nyne i prisno i vo veki vekov. Amin.
Alliluya. Slava Tebe, Bozhe.

BLESSED IS THE MAN who walks not in the counsel of the wicked. Alleluia.
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous but the way of the wicked will perish. Alleluia.
Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice in him with trembling. Alleluia.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him. Arise, O Lord! Save me,
O my God! Alleluia.
Salvation is of the Lord; and thy blessing is upon thy people. Alleluia.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Alleluia. Glory to thee, O God.

[4]

(Vechernyaya Pesn)
SVETE TIKHYI svyatyya slavy, Bezsmertnago, Otsa Nebesnago,
Svyatago Blazhennago, Iisuse Khriste!
Prishedshe na zapad solntsa, videvshe svet vechernii, poyem Otsa, Syna i Svyatago Dukha, Boga!
Dostoin esi vo vsya vremena pet byti glasi prepodobnymi,
Syne Bozhii, zhivot dayai, temzhe mir Tya slavit.

(Evening Hymn)
GLADSOME LIGHT of the holy glory of the Immortal One,
the Heavenly Father, holy and blessed, O Jesus Christ.
Now that we have come to the setting of the sun and behold the light of evening, we praise the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, God.
Thou art worthy at every moment to be praised in hymns
by reverent voices.
O Son of God, thou art the giver of life; therefore all the world
glorifies thee.

[5]

NYNE OTPUSHCHAYESHI raba Tvoego, Vladyko,
po glagolu Tvoyemu s mirom:
yako videsta ochi moi spaseniye Tvoye,
ezhe esi ugotoval pred litsem vsekh lyudei,
svet vo otkrovenie yazykov, i slavu lyudei Tvoikh Izrailya.

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.

[6]

(Tropar)
BOGORODITSE DEVO, raduisya, Blagodatnaya Mariye, Gospod s Toboyu.
Blagoslovenna Ty v zhenakh, i blagosloven plod chreva Tvoyego,
yako Spasa rodila esi dush nashikh.

(Troparion)
REJOICE O VIRGIN Theotokos, Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, for thou has borne the Saviour of our souls.

[7]

SHESTOPSALMIYE
Slava v vyshnikh Bogu, i na zemli mir, v chelovetsekh blagovoleniye.
Gospodi, ustne moyi otverzeshi, i usta moya vozvestyat khvalu Tvoyu.

THE SIX PSALMS
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill among men.
O Lord, open thou my lips and my mouth shall proclaim thy praise.

[8]

(Polyeleyinye Stikhi)
KHVALITE IMYA GOSPODNE. Alliluya.
Khvalite, rabi, Gospoda. Alliluya.
Blagosloven Gospod ot Siona, zhivyi vo Iyerusaleme. Alliluya.
Ispovedaitesya Gospodevi, yako blag. Alliluya.
Yako v vek milost Ego. Alliluya.
Ispovedaitesya Bogu nebesnomu. Alliluya.
Yako v vek milost Ego. Alliluya.

(Polyeleos Verses)
PRAISE THE NAME OF THE LORD. Alleluia.
Praise the Lord, O you his servants. Alleluia.
Blessed be the Lord from Zion, he who dwells in Jerusalem. Alleluia.
O give thanks to the Lord for he is good. Alleluia.
For his mercy endureth for ever. Alleluia.
O give thanks unto the God of heaven. Alleluia.
For his mercy endureth for ever. Alleluia.

[9]

(Evlogitaria)
BLAGOSLOVEN ESI, GOSPODI, nauchi mya opravdaniem Tvoim.
Angelskiy sobor udivisya, zrya Tebe v mertvykh vmenivshasya,
smertnuyu zhe, Spase, krepost razorivsha,
i s Soboyu Adama vozdvigsha i ot ada vsya svobozhdsha.
Blagosloven esi, Gospodi ...
Pochta mira s milostivnymi slezami, o uchenitsy, rastvoryayete;
blistayaisya vo grobe angel, mironositsam veshchashe:
‘Vidite vy grob, i urazumeite: Spas bo vozkrese ot groba.’
Blagosloven esi, Gospodi ...
Zelo rano mironositsy techakhu ko grobu Tvoyemu rydayushchiya.
No predsta k nim angel, i reche:
‘Rydaniya vremya presta ne plachite, voskresnye zhe apostolom rtsyte.’
Blagosloven esi, Gospodi ...
Mironositsy zheny, s miry prishedshyya ko grobu Tvoyemu, Spase, rydakhu.
Angel zhe k nim reche, glagolya:
‘Chto s mertvymi zhivago pomyshlyayete?
Yako Bog vo voskrese ot groba.’
Slava Otsu, i Synu, i Svyatomu Dukhu.
Poklonimsya Otsu, i Ego Synovi, i Svyatomu Dukhu,
Svyatei Troitse vo edinom sushchestve, s Serafimy zovushche:
‘Svyat, svyat, svyat esi Gospodi.’
I nyne, i prisno, i vo veki vekov. Amin.
Zhiznodavtsa rozhdshi, grekha, Devo, Adama izbavila esi.
Radost zhe Eve v pechali mesto podala esi: padshiya zhe ot zhizni, k sei napravi,
iz Tebe voplotivyisya Bog i chelovek.
Alliluya. Slava Tebe, Bozhe.

(Evlogitaria)
BLESSED ART THOU O LORD; teach me thy statutes.
The angelic host was filled with awe when it saw thee among the dead. By destroying the power of death, O Saviour, thou didst raise Adam and save all men from hell.
Blessed art thou …
‘Why do you mingle myrrh with your tears of compassion, O ye women disciples?’ cried the radiant angel in the tomb to the myrrh-bearers.
‘Behold the tomb and understand: the Saviour is risen from the dead.’
Blessed art thou …
Very early in the morning the myrrh-bearers ran with sorrow to thy tomb, but an angel came to them and said: ‘The time for sorrow has come to an end. Do not weep, but announce the resurrection to the apostles.’
Blessed art thou …
The myrrh-bearers were sorrowful as they neared the tomb but the angel said to them:
‘Why do you number the living amongst the dead? Since he is God, He is risen from the tomb.’
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
We worship the Father, and his Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Trinity, one in essence.
We cry with the seraphim: ‘Holy, holy, holy art thou, O Lord.’
Both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Since thou didst give birth to the Giver of Life, O Virgin,
thou didst deliver Adam from his sin.
Thou gavest joy to Eve instead of sadness.
The God-man who was born of thee has restored to life those who had fallen from it.
Alleluia. Glory to thee, O God.

[10]

VOSKRESENIYE KHRISTOVO VIDEVSHE, poklonimsya Svyatomu
Gospodu Iisusu, edinomu bezgeshnomu.
Krestu Tvoyemu poklanyayemsya, Khriste, i svyatoye voskreseniye
Tvoye poyem i slavim:
Ty bo esi Bog nash, razve Tebe inogo ne znayem, imya Tvoye imenuem.
Priidite vsi vernii, poklonimsya svyatomu Khristovu voskreseniyu:
se bo priide krestom radost vsemu miru,
vsegda blagosloyashche Gospoda, poyem voskreseniye Ego;
raspyatiye bo preterpev, smertiyu smert razrushi.

HAVING BEHELD THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST, let us worship the holy Lord Jesus, the only sinless one.
We venerate thy cross, O Christ, and we hymn and glorify thy holy resurrection, for thou art our God and we know none other than Thee. We call on thy name.
Come, all you faithful, let us venerate Christ’s holy resurrection.
For behold, through the cross joy has come into all the world.
Ever blessing the Lord, let us praise his resurrection, for by
enduring the cross for us he has destroyed death by death.

[11]

VELICHIT DUSHA MOYA GOSPODA, i vozvradovasya dukh moy o Bozhe Spase moyem.
Chestneyshuyu Kheruvim i slavneyshuyu bez sravneniya Serafim, bez istleniya Bogo Slova rozhdshuyu, sushchuyu Bogoroditsu Tya velichayem.
Yako prizre na smireniye raby Svoyeya. Se bo otnyne ublazhat mya vsi rodi.
Chestneyshuyu Kheruvim …
Yako sotvori mne velichie silny, i svyato imya Ego, i milost Ego v rody rodov boyashchymsya Ego.
Chestneyshuyu Kheruvim …
Nizlozhi silniya so prestol, i voznese smirennyya.
Alchushchiya ispolni blag, i bogatyashchiyasya otpusti tshchi.
Chestneyshuyu Kheruvim …
Vospriyat Izrailya otroka svoyego, pomyanuti milosti, yakozhe
glagola ko otsem nashym,
Avraamu i semeni ego, dazhe do veka.
Chestneyshuyu Kheruvim …

MY SOUL MAGNIFIES THE LORD and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.
More honourable than the cherubim and more glorious beyond compare than the seraphim, without defilement thou gavest birth to God the Word, true Theotokos, we magnify thee.
For he has regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
More honourable …
For he that is mighty hath done great things for me and holy is his name, and his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
More honourable …
He has put down the mighty from their thrones and has exalted those of low degree; he has filled the hungry with good things and the rich he has sent empty away.
More honourable …
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he promised to our forefathers, to Abraham and his seed for ever.

[12]

SLAVOSLOVIE VELIKOYE
Slava v vyshnikh Bogu, i na zemli mir, v chelovetsekh blagovoleniye.
Khvalim Tya, blagoslovim Tya, klanyayem Ti sya, slavoslovim Tya,
blagodarim Tya velikiya radi slavi Tvoyeya.
Gospodi, Tsaryu Nebesny, Bozhe Otche, vsederzhitelyu.
Gospodi, Syne edinorodny, Iisuse Khriste i Svyatye Dushe.
Gospodi Bozhe, Agnche Bozhiy, syne Otech, vzemlyai grekh mira, pomiluy nas:
vzemlyai grekhi mira, priimi molitvu nashu.
Sedyai odesnuyu Otsa, pomiluy nas.
Yako Ty esi edin svyat, Ty esi edin Gospod, Iisus Khristos, v slavu
Boga Otsa. Amin.
Na vsyak den blagoslovlyu Tya i voskhalyu imya Tvoe vo veki i v vek veka.
Spodobi, Gospodi, v den sei bez grekha sokhranitisya nam.
Blagosloven esi, Gospodi, Bozhe Otets nashikh, i khvalno i
proslavleno imya Tvoye vo veki. Amin.
Budi, Gospodi, milost Tvoya na nas, yakozhe upovakhom na Tya.
Blagosloven esi, Gospodi, nauchi mya opravdaniem Tvoyim.
Gospodi pribezhishche byl esi nam v rod i rod.
Az rekh: Gospodi, pomiluy mya, istseli dushu moyu, yako sogreshikh Tebe.
Gospodi, k Tebe pribegokh, nauchi mya tvoriti volyu Tvoyu, yako Ty esi Bog moy,
yako u Tebe istochnik zhivota.
Vo svete Tvoem uzrim svet.
Probavi milost Tvoyu vedushchym Tya.
Svyatyi Bozhe, Svyatyi Krepkyi, Svyatyi Bezsmertnyi, pomiluy nas.
Slava Otsu, i Synu, i Svyatomu Dukhu, i nyne i prisno, i vo veki vekov. Amin.
Svyatyi Bozhe, Svyatyi Krepkyi, Svyatyi Bezsmertnyi, pomiluy nas.

THE GREAT DOXOLOGY
Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.
We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, we glorify thee, we give thanks to thee for thy great glory.
O Lord, Heavenly King, God the Father Almighty, O Lord, the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Thou who takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer.
Thou who sittest at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us.
For thou alone art holy, thou alone art the Lord, Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Every day I will bless thee and praise thy name for ever and ever. Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin. Blessed art thou, O Lord, God of our fathers, and praised and glorified is thy name forever. Amen.
Let thy mercy O Lord, be upon us, as we have set our hope on thee.
Blessed art thou, O Lord, teach me thy statutes.
Lord, thou hast been our refuge from generation to generation.
I said: ‘Lord have mercy on me, heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee. Lord I flee to thee, teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God, for with thee is the fountain of life and in thy light we shall see light.
Continue thy mercy on those who know thee.
Holy God, Holy Might, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.

[13]

(Tropar voskresen 1)
DNES SPASENIYE miru byst, poyem voskresshemu iz groba i nachalniku zhizni nasheya:
razrushiv bo smertiyu smert, pobedu dade nam i veliyu milost.

(Resurrection Troparion 1)
TODAY SALVATION HAS COME to the world. Let us sing to him who rose from the dead, the author of our life. Having destroyed death by death he has given us the victory and great mercy.

[14]

(Tropar voskresen 2)
VOSKRES IZ GROBA i uzy rasterzal esi ada, razrushil esi osuzhdeniye smerti, Gospodi,
vsya ot setei vraga izbavivyi, yavivyi zhe Sebe apostolom Tvoim, poslal esi ya na propoved,
i temi mir Tvoi podal esi vselennei, edine mnogomilostive.

(Resurrection Troparion 2)
THOU DIDST RISE FROM THE TOMB and burst the bonds of Hades. Thou didst destroy the condemnation of death, O Lord, releasing all mankind from the snares of the enemy. Thou didst show thyself to thine apostles, and didst send them forth to proclaim thee; and through them thou hast granted thy peace to the world, O thou who art plenteous in mercy.

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(Kontakion)
VZBRANNOY VOYEVODE pobeditelnaya, yako izbavlshesya ot zlykh,
blagodarstvennaya vospisuem Ti rabi Tvoi, Bogoroditse.
No yako imushchaya derzhavu nepobedimuyu, ot vsyakikh nas bed svobodi, da zovyem Ti:
‘Raduisya, nevesto Nenevestnaya.’

(Kontakion)
TO THEE, THE VICTORIOUS LEADER of triumphant hosts, we thy servants, delivered from evil, offer hymns of thanksgiving, O Theotokos. Since thou dost possess invincible might, set us free from all calamities, so that we may cry to thee, ‘Rejoice, O unwedded Bride!’

TEBE POYEM, tebe blagoslovim, tebe blagodarim, Gospodi, yi molim ti sa, bozhe nash.

WE PRAISE THEE, we bless and praise thy name. Humbly, we
thank thee.
Lord our God, hear us, hear our prayer. We praise thee. Hear our prayer, O Lord our God.