The Lament of the Most Holy Theotokos

The irmos twice, and the troparia on 4. At the end the irmos by both choirs together.

By a severed rod the Red Sea is cleft, and the wave-nurturing depth of the sea is dried up, becoming a path for the unarmed and a tomb for the armed; and a divine song was raised: Gloriously glorified is Christ our living God.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Willing life for Thy creatures, O my Saviour, Thou wast therefore hung upon the Cross and fastened with nails; and Thine incorrupt Mother, mourning and burning in heart, O Master, beheld the streams of Thy blood.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

When Thou didst bow Thy divine head and fall asleep upon the tree in the life-giving sleep of our nature, O my Saviour, all things were shaken, and the angels, the powers of heaven, trembled, seeing Thee suffer in the flesh.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Straightway Thy Mother hastened to Joseph, Thy secret disciple, and in secret besought him with lamentation to ask earnestly for Thine incorrupt body from the judge of falsehood, the all-apostate Pilate.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Grant me this favour, O Joseph, me who am fallen into estrangement and helplessness, persecuted by the unjust, utterly forsaken by acquaintances and friends, and, with one disciple, wounded with mourning.

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Be bold to go in to Pilate, and doubt not to ask for the incorrupt body of Christ the Saviour; take it down from the tree and lay it in the tomb, lest the merciless pierce His side again with the spear.

When creation saw Thee, who didst hang the earth upon the waters, hanging at the place of the skull, it trembled with great amazement and sang to Thee: None is holy but Thee, nor righteous, O Lord, beside Thee.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

No one dareth to ask for the incorrupt body of the Teacher; behold, He hangeth dead upon the tree, naked, forsaken and covered with reproaches, pitied by none, and moreover pierced with a spear.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Peter first denied Him, and all forsook the Teacher; have pity on me, O noble one, and having asked for it, take down the body of our King, that I, His loving Mother, may weep alone over my beloved Son.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Joseph, O Master, seeing Thy Mother weeping and hearing her words with painful compassion, was moved to lament and hastened to ask worthily for Thine all-incorrupt body.

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Pilate, assured of Thy death, granted Thy divine body; and Joseph with Nicodemus took it down from the tree and laid it on the ground; the earth trembled and swiftly gave up the dead from their tombs.

Foreseeing Thy divine self-emptying upon the Cross, Habakkuk cried out in awe: Thou hast cut off the might of the powerful, O Good One, communing with those in hell as the Almighty.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

The Immaculate one embraced Thee and kissed the wounds of Thine incorrupt body, and said to Thee: I will die with Thee, for I cannot bear, my Son, to behold this stream of Thine all-immaculate blood.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Thy Mother fell at Thy knees, O Christ the King, and with lamentation kissed Thy hands and side, and embraced the blood that flowed from Thee, and made it her own anointing, sprinkling it with understanding.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Over Thy voiceless lips Thy Mother opened her lips in weeping, O Christ the Saviour — over Thee who once walked the earth, speaking and living, O my God, as man and as my God.

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

The Persian kings brought Thee gifts, O Master, and with trembling worshipped the Infant as God; but now Nicodemus hath brought the spices of the tomb, as for one dead; how shall I tend Thee, O my God?

I rise early to Thee, O Word of God, who in mercy for the fallen didst empty Thyself and didst come down impassibly even unto the passions: grant me peace, O Lover of mankind.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

I cannot bear Thy silence, O Thou whom I nursed as a babe carried in my bosom; if Thou goest down into hell to Adam, I too will follow Thee down and tell Eve the mysteries.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

How shall I bear the anguish of my womb, my Son, seeing Thine eyes closed in sleep upon the tree, which once I beheld fair in goodness, giving sight to the blind?

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

I will go down with Thee even into hell to behold Thy glory, O my Son, for here I cannot bear to kiss Thy lifeless, motionless limbs and Thy wounds.

Jonah was kept, but not held fast, in the breast of the beast; for as a figure of Thy passion and burial he came forth from the sea monster as from a bridal chamber, and cried to the guards: O ye who keep vain and false things, ye have forsaken your mercy this day.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

“How didst thou deny the Saviour, O Peter, whom thou didst confess as the Christ, the Son of the living God, and so forsake Him crucified upon the tree, lifeless and disfigured, nor hasten even to His burial?” — so cried the immaculate Mother with lamentation.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

The incorrupt Mother of the Word called the myrrh-bearing women: Come, O friends, and weep over the much-wounded body of the Teacher; come, behold the voiceless face, the motionless lips and eyes of Him who holdeth every breath in His hand.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

“Give me a word from Thy sweet lips, O Word,” cried the Immaculate one with weeping; “I cannot bear to see Thee laid lifeless in the tomb, my Son, Thou who raisest the dead; behold, O Sweetest One, how Thy sword hath pierced my burning heart.”

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Hasten, O powers of heaven, behold the body of Christ, forsaken by friends and acquaintances and by the very disciples; behold, I alone lament my slain Son, pierced in heart, and with me the beloved disciple who leaned upon His breast.

Come, O peoples, let us sing to Him who was crucified for us; Mary beheld Him upon the Cross and said: Though I behold Thee on the Cross, Thou art my Son and my God, Almighty, Lover of mankind and Saviour.

Beholding her own Lamb led to the slaughter, Mary the ewe followed mourning with the other women, crying: Where goest Thou, my Child? Why dost Thou run this swift course? Is there yet another wedding in Cana, and dost Thou hasten there now to make wine from water for them? I will go with Thee, my Child, and stay with Thee; give me a word, O Word, pass me not by in silence, Thou who didst keep me pure, my Son and my God.

O wonder! He who in the furnace delivered the venerable youths from the flame is laid in the grave, dead and without breath, as our Saviour, to whom we cry: O God our Deliverer, blessed art Thou.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

The angels from heaven were astonished, beholding the Son dead in the bosom of His Mother — Him whom they beheld with trembling in the bosom of the Father, the Giver of life to the dead.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

All the ranks of angels ran swiftly to behold the Son held in His Mother’s arms, lying lifeless, and they turned back again, shaken by that sorrowful sight.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

To him who had announced to her the mystery of the birth the Virgin said: O my King! Woe is me, Gabriel: where is “Rejoice”, where is the annunciation, where is “Blessed art thou”? The light of my womb hath been quenched upon the Cross.

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Over what shall I weep: the buffeting with scourges and the spitting with mockery, or Thy crucifixion with gall, O Christ, or the spear? And now how shall I lay Thee in the tomb as one dead, O my Son?

Be amazed with astonishment, O heaven, and let the foundations of the earth be shaken; for He who dwelleth on high is numbered among the dead and is received as a guest in a small tomb. Ye children, bless Him; ye priests, praise Him; ye peoples, supremely exalt Him unto the ages.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

How did the lawless people, my sweet Son, look without mercy upon Thee naked on the tree, and gaze on Thee like beasts in fury, and pierce Thy divine side? How were not all things dissolved and shaken? But Thy hand preserved all things, O Word.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Be astonished, O heaven and earth, and hide thy rays, O sun, for today He hath gone up upon the tree who, as He knoweth, was pleased to come forth from my womb, and willeth to raise up him who fell first; I cannot bear the pains of my grief.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

O my Son and my God, how shall I cover in the darkness of the tomb the flesh that emptieth the tombs? Or how shall I return with empty hands? I cannot bear to be parted from Thee, my Son! Rather I will die with Thee, to go down with Thee into hell.

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

“O that I might hear Thy voice, O sweetest Jesus,” cried the immaculate Mother, “and that Thou wouldst move Thy fair lips and Thy bright eyes, adorned with all goodness! O that I might see Thee risen, my Son, and be filled with joy instead of tears!”

Weep not for Me, O Mother, beholding in the tomb the Son whom thou didst conceive in the womb without seed; for I shall rise and be glorified as God, and shall exalt in glory those who in faith and longing sing to thee unceasingly.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Instead of swaddling bands, shrouds are wrapped about Thee, O my Son; instead of the manger they have laid Thee in a dark tomb, O my Light; instead of milk I sprinkle Thine incorrupt lips with tears, and instead of Thy living words I speak to Thee dead.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Weep not for Me, My Mother, as one dead in the tomb, whom thou didst see, as God, worshipped even in swaddling bands by the Magi of Persia; thou didst hear the angels’ glory in the highest; for, having risen, I shall appear first to thee.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Thou art gone down into hell, my Son, and hast divinely raised up mankind with Adam himself, who were given over to corruption; but I, as a mother, have now resolved to sprinkle the door of the tomb with tears and to weep with lamentation until Thou arise.

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

O blessed Mother, sprinkle no more the doors of the tomb with tears in bitterness and lamentation, for now I shall rise and be glorified, and shall say to thee openly: Rejoice; and, having gladdened thee beyond words, I shall ascend to heaven, to the Father.

Likewise, instead of “It is truly meet”, the irmos:

Weep not for Me, O Mother…

Holy God…,

And after “Our Father”:

Kontakion: Him who was crucified for us…

Lord, have mercy (40 times).

Thou who at all times…

Lord, have mercy (Thrice). Glory…, both now… More honourable than the Cherubim… In the name of the Lord, bless, father.

Priest: Through the prayers of our holy fathers…

And the prayer: O spotless, undefiled…

Dismissal.