On Lord, I have cried…, 6 stichera: 3 of the resurrection, in Tone V—

Stichos: If Thou shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, O Lord, who shall stand? For with Thee there is forgiveness.

By Thy precious Cross didst Thou put the devil to shame, O Christ, and by Thy resurrection didst Thou break the sting of sin, and hast saved us from the gates of death. We glorify Thee, O Only-begotten One!

Stichos: For Thy name’s sake have I patiently waited for Thee, O Lord, my soul hath waited patiently for Thy word, my soul hath hoped in the Lord.

He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, bestowing resurrection upon the human race; and the princes of hades were afraid of Him, and the gates of weeping were seized, for Christ, the King of glory, entered in, saying to those in bonds: “Come forth!” and to those in darkness: “Show yourselves!”

Stichos: From the morning watch until night, from the morning watch let Israel hope in the Lord.

Great is the wonder! The immortal Creator of the invisible hosts, suffering in the flesh in His love for mankind, hath risen! Come, ye kindreds of the nations, let us worship Him! For, having been delivered from deception by His compassions, we have learned to hymn the one God in three Hypostases!

And 3 stichera of Anatolius, in the same tone—

Stichos: For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption; and He shall redeem Israel out of all his iniquities.

We offer evening worship at the culmination of the ages unto Thee, the never-waning Light, Who in the flesh shone forth upon the world as in a mirror, Who didst descend even unto hades and destroy the darkness there, and didst show the nations the light of the resurrection. O Lord, Bestower of light, glory be to Thee!

Stichos: O praise the Lord, all ye nations; praise Him all ye peoples.

Let us glorify Christ, the Author of our salvation; for when He rose from the dead, the world was saved from deception, the choir of the angels rejoiced, the beguilement of the demons was banished, fallen Adam arose, and the devil was set at naught.

Stichos: For He hath made His mercy to prevail over us, and the truth of the Lord abideth forever.

The guardsmen were instructed by the iniquitous: “Keep secret the rising of Christ; take the pieces of silver, and say that while we slept the dead man was stolen from the tomb.” Who hath ever seen or heard of a corpse, and moreover one embalmed and naked, stolen, and the grave clothes left behind in the tomb? Be ye not deceived, O Jews! Learn ye the sayings of the prophets, and know that He is truly almighty, the Deliverer of the world!

Glory…: O Lord our Savior, Who madest hades captive, trampled down death, and hast enlightened the world by Thy Cross: Have mercy upon us!

Now & ever…, Dogmatic theotokion: Once, the image of the Bride who knoweth not wedlock was inscribed in the Red Sea. There Moses was the parter of the waters; and here Gabriel is the minister of a miracle. There Israel traversed the deep dryshod; and now the Virgin giveth birth unto Christ without seed. The sea remained impassable after Israel had crossed; and the immaculate one remaineth incorrupt after the birth of Emmanuel. O God Who hast appeared as a man, Who existest and hast existed from the beginning: Have mercy upon us!

Entrance with the censer. O gladsome Light…

Prokimenon, in Tone VII—

Give ear, O God, unto my prayer, and disdain not my supplication.

Stichos: Attend unto me, and hear me.

Stichos: Because they have turned iniquity upon me.

Stichos: Unto God have I cried, and the Lord hearkened unto me, evening, morning and noonday.

And again: Give ear, O God, unto my prayer, and disdain not my supplication.

Priest: Let us all say…, and the rest of the litany. Vouchsafe, O Lord…; Then, the litany: Let us complete our evening prayer…

And after the exclamation, we chant the resurrectional sticheron, in Tone V—

With sounds of hymnody do we magnify Thee, Christ the Savior, Who hast not been separated from the heavens; for Thou didst accept the Cross and death for our race, as the Lord Who loveth mankind, Who hath overthrown the gates of hades, and hath risen on the third day, saving our souls.

Then follow the Paschal stichera, with their stichoi, in Tone V. Christ is risen…, thrice; and the dismissal.

The order of service is the same as indicated above.

On the Praises, we chant 4 stichera, in Tone V—

Stichos: Praise Him for His mighty acts, praise Him according to the multitude of His greatness.

O Lord, when the tomb had been sealed by the iniquitous, Thou didst issue forth from the grave, as Thou hadst been born of the Theotokos. Thine incorporeal angels did not understand how Thou hadst become incarnate, and the soldiers who guarded Thee did not sense when Thou didst arise. For both things were sealed for those who would examine them; but the wonders were revealed to those who worshipped the mystery with faith. Grant Thou joy and great mercy unto us who hymn it!

Stichos: Praise Him with the sound of trumpet, praise Him with the psaltery and harp.

O Lord, Who didst break asunder the everlasting chains and rend apart the bonds of hades, Thou didst rise from the tomb, leaving Thy grave-clothes behind as a witness to Thy true resurrection on the third day; and Thou didst go before Thy disciples into Galilee, O Thou Who wast guarded in the cave. Great is Thy mercy, O unapproachable Savior! Have mercy and save us!

Stichos: Praise Him with timbrel and dance, praise Him with strings and flute.

The women, O Lord, hastened to the tomb to see Thee, O Christ, Who didst suffer for our sake; and when they were come, they found an angel seated upon the stone, which had rolled away in fear; and he cried out to them, saying: “The Lord is risen! Tell ye the disciples that He hath risen from the dead, saving your souls!”

Stichos: Praise Him with tuneful cymbals, praise Him with cymbals of jubilation. Let every breath praise the Lord.

O Lord, as Thou didst come forth from the sealed tomb, so didst Thou enter in unto Thy disciples while the doors were fast shut, showing them the bodily sufferings which Thou didst take upon Thyself, O long-suffering Savior. Thou didst endure wounding as One from the seed of David, and didst free the world as the Son of God. Great is Thy mercy, O unapproachable Savior! Have mercy and save us!

Then follow the Paschal stichera with their stichoi. Christ is risen…, thrice. Litanies and dismissal. First Hour.

The Paschal antiphons.

Prokimenon, in Tone III—

O chant unto our God, chant ye; chant unto our King, chant ye.

Stichos: Clap your hands, all ye nations; shout unto God with a voice of rejoicing.

Reading from the Acts of the Apostles, §6 [2:38-43]

In those days, Peter said unto the people: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all who are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying: “Save yourselves from this untoward generation.” Then those who gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.

Alleluia, in Tone IV—

Stichos: Bend Thy bow, and proceed prosperously, and be king, because of truth and meekness and righteousness.

Stichos: Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity.

Gospel According to John, §8 [3:1-15]

At that time, there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: the same came to Jesus by night, and said unto Him: “Rabbi, we know that Thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that Thou doest, except God be with him.” Jesus answered and said unto him: “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said unto Him: “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” Jesus answered: “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus answered and said unto Him: “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said unto him: “Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak of what We do know, and testify to what We have seen; and ye receive not Our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but He Who came down from heaven, even the Son of man Who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

Communion verse—

Receive ye the Body of Christ. Taste ye of the fountain of immortality.