The Third Hour
Priest: Blessed be our God always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
Reader: Amen. Glory to You, our God, glory to You.
Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, abiding everywhere and filling everything, Treasury of blessings and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Good One, our souls.
Trisagion
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (three times)
Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now, and always, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer to the Holy Trinity
Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Lord, forgive our iniquities; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Thy name’s sake.
Lord, have mercy. (three times) Glory, and now:
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who is in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; Give us our daily bread today; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Priest: For Thine is the Kingdom: Reader: Amen.
Lord, have mercy. (12 times) Glory, and now:
Come, let us worship our King, God. Come, let us worship and fall before Christ, the King, our God. Come, let us bow and fall before Christ Himself, our King and God.
Psalm 16
Hear, O Lord, my truth, heed my prayer, accept my prayer not from the lips of treacherous ones. May judgment come to me from Your presence, may my eyes see what is right. You tested my heart, visited me at night, tested me in fire - and no untruth was found in me. So that my mouth would not speak about the deeds of men, for the sake of the words of Your mouth I have kept the steadfast ways. Straighten my steps in Your paths, so that my feet may not falter. I cried, for You heard me, O God; incline Your ear to me and hear my words. Show Your mercies wonderfully, O Savior of those who trust in You from those who resist Your right hand. Save me, O Lord, like the apple of your eye, under the shelter of Your wings You will cover me from the face of the wicked who have oppressed me - my enemies have captured my soul; They hid themselves in their fat, their lips spoke arrogantly. Those who were banishing me now surrounded me, and decided to turn their eyes to the ground. They caught me like a lion ready to hunt, and like a lion cub living in hiding. Arise, O Lord, go ahead of them and overthrow them, deliver my soul from the wicked, take Your sword from Your enemies. Lord, separate them from the few on earth during their lifetime. And their bellies are filled with Thy treasures; Quite a few sons were born to them, and they left the remainder to their babies. But I will appear before Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied when Your glory appears to me.
Psalm 24
To You, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul. My God, I trust in You - let me never be ashamed, and let not my enemies laugh at me, for all those who wait for You will not be ashamed: let the wicked be ashamed in vain. Open Your ways, Lord, to me and teach me Your paths. Guide me to Your truth and teach me, for You are God, my Savior, and I have been waiting for You all day. Remember Your compassion, O Lord, and Your mercies, for they have been from everlasting. Do not remember the sins of my youth and my ignorance; by Thy mercy remember me, for Thy goodness’ sake, O Lord. The Lord is good and just, therefore He will give law to those who sin along the way. He will guide the meek in judgment, He will teach the meek His ways. All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth to those who seek His covenant and His testimonies. For the sake of Your name, Lord, You will have mercy on my sin, for it is great. Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will give him the law in the way that he has chosen. His soul will dwell among blessings, and his seed will inherit the earth. The Lord is a stronghold to those who fear Him, and He will show His covenant to them. My eyes are always towards the Lord, for He will pull my feet out of the snare. Look at me and have mercy on me, for I am lonely and poor. The sorrows of my heart have multiplied; bring me out of my troubles. Look at my humility and my exhaustion and forgive all my sins. Look at my enemies - for they have multiplied and hated me with unrighteous hatred. Preserve my soul and deliver me, so that I may not be ashamed that I trust in You. The good-natured and straightforward joined me, for I was waiting for You, Lord. Deliver, O God, Israel from all her sorrows!
Psalm 50
Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy and according to the multitude of Your mercies, blot out my iniquity; completely wash me from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me. I have sinned against You, the One, and done evil before You, so that you may be justified in Your words and win if they enter into court with You. For behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and my mother gave birth to me in sins. For behold, You have loved the truth; You have revealed to me the hidden and secret things of Your wisdom. You will sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be cleansed; wash me, and I will become whiter than snow; let me hear joy and gladness, and my humiliated bones will rejoice. Turn Your face away from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew the Right Spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and strengthen me with the Sovereign Spirit. I will teach the wicked Your ways, and the wicked will turn to You. Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, God of my salvation; my tongue will rejoice in Your righteousness. Lord, You will open my mouth, and my mouth will declare Your praise. For if You had desired sacrifice, I would have given it; you will not be pleased with burnt offerings. A sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit; God will not despise a contrite and humble heart. Bless Zion, O Lord, with Your favor, and may the walls of Jerusalem be erected; then You will graciously accept the sacrifice of righteousness, the offering and burnt offerings, and then they will lay bulls on Your altar.
Glory, and now: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God. (three times) Lord, have mercy. (three times)
Glory, troparion of the feast.
And now, Theotokos: Mother of God, You are the true Vine:
If fasting and “Alleluia” are sung, the troparion of the hour is sung three times with verses (Ps 50:12, 13) and three prostrations to the ground.
Troparion, tone 6
Lord, Thy Most Holy Spirit / at the third hour sent down to Thy Apostles, / Do not take It away from us, O Good One, / but renew it in us who pray to Thee.
Verse 1: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a Right Spirit within me.
Verse 2: Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Priest: Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit!
Reader: And now, and always, and forever and ever. Amen.
Theotokos
Mother of God, You are the true Vine, / who has increased the Fruit of our lives; / We beg you: intercede, O Lady, / with the Apostles and all the saints / for pardon of our souls.
Blessed is the Lord God, blessed is the Lord every day; the God of our salvation will give us success. Our God is God for salvation. Ps 67:20–21A
| 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, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. |
| O Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse us from our sins. Master, pardon our transgressions. Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Thy name’s sake. |
| Lord, have mercy. (three times) |
| Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, 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 the evil one. |
Priest: For Thine is the kingdom. Reader: Amen.
Kontakion of the feast.
If “Alleluia” was sung, the following kontakia are read:
Blessed are You, Christ our God, / who showed the fishermen to be wise, / who sent down the Holy Spirit to them, / and through them captured the universe. / Lover of humanity, glory to You!
Glory: Give quick and sure consolation to Your servants, O Jesus, / when we become discouraged in our spirit. / Do not separate from our souls in sorrows, / do not move away from our thoughts in adversity, / but always come to our aid. / Come closer to us, come closer, O Omnipresent One, / as you have always been with Your Apostles, / so unite with those who love You, O Merciful One, / so that we, united with You, / sing and glorify Your all-holy Spirit.
And now: Hope, and protection, and refuge for Christians, / an impregnable wall, a quiet refuge for the languishing, / - You, Most Pure Mother of God. / But remember us also, O all-glorified Virgin, / who saves the world through Your unceasing intercession.
Lord, have mercy. (40 times)
At every time and at every hour, Christ God, who accepts worship and glorification in heaven and on earth, long-suffering, abundantly merciful, most merciful, loving the righteous and merciful to sinners, calling everyone to salvation with the promise of future blessings! You, Lord, accept our prayers at this hour and direct our lives to Your commandments: sanctify our souls, cleanse our bodies, correct our thoughts, cleanse our thoughts and deliver us from all sorrow, troubles and torment. Protect us with Your holy Angels, so that, guarded and instructed by them, we may achieve unity in faith and understanding of Your unapproachable glory, for You are blessed forever and ever. Amen.
Lord, have mercy. (three times) Glory, and now:
It is truly meet to bless thee, O Theotokos, ever-blessed and most pure, and the Mother of our God. / More honorable 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.
Bless in the name of the Lord, father.
Priest: Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us.
Reader: Amen.
If fasting and “Alleluia” are sung, the priest says the prayer to St. Ephraim the Syrian with bows:
Lord and Master of my life! Do not betray me to the spirit of idleness, vanity, lust for power and idle talk. (Bow)
Grant the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to me, your servant. (Bow)
Yes, Lord the King, let me see my sins and not condemn my brother, for You are blessed forever and ever. Amen. (Bow)
Also 12 small bows with prayer: God, cleanse me, a sinner.
And again the whole prayer: Lord and Master of my life. And one great bow.
Prayer of Saint Mardarius
Master God, Father Almighty, Lord, Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit! One Divinity, one Power, have mercy on me, a sinner, and in ways known to You, save me, Your unworthy servant, for You are blessed forever and ever. Amen.
End of the third hour.