Vespers begins the liturgical day, since in the Scriptures the day begins in the evening (Gen 1:5). This is the order for a reader or for prayer at home, without a priest. The variable hymns (stichera, prokeimenon and troparia) come from the Octoechos and the Menaion of the day. When a priest serves, he begins with “Blessed is our God,” and the litanies take the place of the repeated “Lord, have mercy.”
Beginning
Reader: Through the prayers of our holy fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.
When a priest is present, he begins: Blessed is our God, always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Otherwise, we begin as follows.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Glory to TheeYou, our God, glory to TheeYou.
O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of truth, who artare everywhere present and fillestfill all things, Treasury of blessings and Giver of life: come and dwell in us, cleanse us from every stain, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.
Three times.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
O most holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O Lord, cleanse us from our sins. O Master, pardon our transgressions. O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for ThyYour name's sake.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
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 artare in heaven, hallowed be ThyYour name. ThyYour kingdom come, ThyYour 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 the evil one.
When a priest is present, he says: For ThineYours 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. Otherwise, we continue:
Through the prayers of our holy fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.
Lord, have mercy.
Twelve times.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. 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 Christ himself, our King and our God.
The Psalm of Creation
Psalm 103
(104) A Psalm of David.
1Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great; you have clothed yourself with praise and honor:
2who do robe yourself with light as with a garment; spreading out the heaven as a curtain.
3Who covers his chambers with waters; who makes the clouds his chariot; who walks on the wings of the wind.
4Who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flaming fire.
5Who establishes the earth on her sure foundation: it shall not be moved for ever.
6The deep, as it were a garment, is his covering: the waters shall stand 1 on the hills.
7At your rebuke they shall flee; at the voice of your thunder they shall be alarmed.
8They go up to the mountains, and down to the plains, to the place which you have founded for them.
9You have set a bound which they shall not pass, neither shall they turn again to cover the earth.
10He sends forth his fountains among the valleys: the waters shall run between the mountains.
11They shall give drink to all the wild beasts of the field: the wild asses shall take of them to quench their thirst.
12By them shall the birds of the sky lodge: they shall utter a voice out of the midst of the rocks.
13He waters the mountains from his chambers: the earth shall be satisfied with the fruit of your works.
14He makes grass to grow for the cattle, and green herb for the service of men, to bring bread out of the earth;
15and wine makes glad the heart of man, to make his face cheerful with oil: and bread strengthens man's heart.
16The trees of the plain shall be full of sap; even the cedars of Libanus which he has planted.
17There the sparrows will build their nests; and the house of the heron takes the lead among them.
18The high mountains are a refuge for the stags, and the rock for the rabbits.
19He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knows his going down.
20You did make darkness, and it was night; in it all the wild beasts of the forest will be abroad:
21even young lions roaring for prey, and to seek meat for themselves from God.
22The sun arises, and they shall be gathered together, and shall lie down in their dens.
23Man shall go forth to his work, and to his labor till evening.
24How great are your works, O Lord! in wisdom have you wrought them all: the earth is filled with your creation.
25So is this great and wide sea: there are things creeping innumerable, small animals and great.
26There go the ships; and this dragon whom you have made to play in it.
27All wait upon you, to give them their food in due season.
28When you have given it them, they will gather it; and when you have opened your hand, they shall all be filled with good.
29But when you have turned away your face, they shall be troubled: you will take away their breath, and they shall fail, and return to their dust.
30You shall send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created; and you shall renew the face of the earth.
31Let the glory of the Lord be for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works;
32who looks upon the earth, and makes it tremble; who touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33I will sing to the Lord while I live; I will sing praise to my God while I exist.
34Let my meditation be sweet to him: and I will rejoice in the Lord.
35Let the sinners fail from off the earth, and transgressors, so that they shall be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul.
- Or, above.
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 TheeYou, O God.
Three times.
Lord, have mercy.
Twelve times.
Lord, I Have Cried
The appointed kathisma of the Psalter may be read here. Then Psalms 140, 141, 129 and 116 are sung or read, with the stichera of the day inserted between the last verses.
Psalm 140
(141) A Psalm of David.
1O Lord, I have cried to you; hear me: attend to the voice of my supplication, when I cry to you.
2Let my prayer be set forth before you as incense; the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.
3Set a watch, O Lord, on my mouth, and a 1 strong door about by lips.
4Incline not my heart to evil things, to 2 employ pretexts 3 for sins, with those who work iniquity. Let me not unite with their choice ones.
5The righteous shall chasten me with mercy, and reprove me: but let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head: for yet shall my prayer also be in their 4 pleasures.
6Their mighty ones have been swallowed up near the rock: they shall hear my words, for they are sweet.
7As a lump of earth is crushed upon the ground, our bones have been scattered by the mouth of the grave.
8For my eyes are to you, O Lord God: I have hoped in you; take not away my life.
9Keep me from the snare which they have set for me, and from the stumbling blocks of them that work iniquity.
10Sinners shall fall by their own net: I am alone until I shall escape.
- Lit. a door of fortification.
- Gr. pretend pretences.
- Gr. in.
- q.d. lest I be injured by them.
Psalm 141
(142) A Psalm of instruction for David, when he was in the cave, —a Prayer.
1I cried to the Lord with my voice; with my voice I made supplication to the Lord.
2I will pour out before him my supplication: I will declare before him my affliction.
3When my spirit was fainting within me, then you knew my paths; in the very way wherein I was walking, they hid a snare for me.
4I looked on my right hand, and behold, for there was none that noticed me; refuge failed me; and there was none that cared for my soul.
5I cried to you, O Lord, and said, You are my hope, my portion in the land of the living.
6Attend to my supplication, for I am brought very low; deliver me from them that persecute me; for they are stronger than I.
7Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name, O Lord; the righteous shall wait for me, until you recompense me.
Psalm 129
(130) A Song of Degrees.
1Out of the depths have I cried to you, O Lord.
2O Lord, listen to my voice; let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
3If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
4For with you is 1 forgiveness: for your 2 name's sake
5have I waited for you, O Lord, my soul has waited for your word.
6My soul has hoped in the Lord; from the morning watch till night.
7Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.
8And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
- Or, propitiation.
- See Gen 31:53.
Psalm 116
(117) Alleluia.
1Praise the Lord, all you⌃ nations: praise him, all you⌃ peoples.
2For his mercy has been abundant toward us: and the truth of the Lord endures for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
The stichera of the day, ending with the dogmatikon to the Theotokos.
O Gladsome Light
O gladsome Light of the holy glory of the immortal Father, heavenly, holy, blessed Jesus Christ: now that we have come to the setting of the sun, and behold the evening light, we praise the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, God. Meet it is for TheeYou at all times to be praised with voices of praise, O Son of God, Giver of life. Therefore the whole world glorifies TheeYou.
The prokeimenon of the day, for example on Saturday evening: The Lord is King, he is clothed with majesty (Ps 92). On Sunday evening: Behold now, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord (Ps 133). On Monday: The Lord will hear me when I call to him (Ps 4). On Tuesday: Your mercy, O Lord, shall follow me all the days of my life (Ps 22). On Wednesday: Save me, O God, by your name, and judge me by your might (Ps 53). On Thursday: My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth (Ps 120). On Friday: O God, my helper are you, and your mercy shall go before me (Ps 58).
Vouchsafe, O Lord
Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this evening without sin. Blessed artare ThouYou, O Lord, God of our fathers, and praised and glorified is ThyYour name unto the ages. Amen.
Let ThyYour mercy, O Lord, be upon us, as we have set our hope on TheeYou. Blessed artare ThouYou, O Lord: teach me ThyYour statutes. Blessed artare ThouYou, O Master: make me to understand ThyYour statutes. Blessed artare ThouYou, O Holy One: enlighten me with ThyYour statutes.
ThyYour mercy, O Lord, endures forever. Do not despise the works of ThyYour hands. To TheeYou belongs praise, to TheeYou belongs song, to TheeYou belongs glory, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Lord, have mercy.
Twelve times.
The aposticha of the day, with their verses.
The Song of Simeon
Now, O Master, ThouYou lettestlet ThyYour servant depart in peace, according to ThyYour word, for my eyes have seen ThyYour salvation, which ThouYou hasthave prepared before the face of all peoples: a light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of ThyYour people Israel.
When a priest is present, he begins: Blessed is our God, always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Otherwise, we begin as follows.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Glory to TheeYou, our God, glory to TheeYou.
O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of truth, who artare everywhere present and fillestfill all things, Treasury of blessings and Giver of life: come and dwell in us, cleanse us from every stain, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.
Three times.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
O most holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O Lord, cleanse us from our sins. O Master, pardon our transgressions. O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for ThyYour name's sake.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
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 artare in heaven, hallowed be ThyYour name. ThyYour kingdom come, ThyYour 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 the evil one.
When a priest is present, he says: For ThineYours 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. Otherwise, we continue:
Through the prayers of our holy fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.
The apolytikion (troparion) of the day, Glory, and the troparion of the saint or, Both now, the theotokion. On weekdays without a feast, we may sing:
Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos, Mary full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, for you have borne the Savior of our souls.
Lord, have mercy.
Forty times.
Dismissal
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
More honorable than the cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the seraphim, without defilement you gave birth to God the Word. True Theotokos, we magnify you.
In the name of the Lord, bless, father.
Reader: Through the prayers of our holy fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.
