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AGAIN
By the strength of our
worshipful
God we write
THE HALLOWING
OF MAR THEODORE THE
INTERPRETER
of the divine
Scriptures,
bishop of Mopsuestia,
which Mar Aba the
Catholicos
brought out and
translated
from Greek to Syriac
when he went up to the
land of the Romans and brought it out with him,
with the assistance of
Mar Toma of Urhai, Doctor.
And they consecrate by
it
from the first Sunday
of
Annunciation Until the Sunday of Hosannas
*
* *
(First the priest begins
with
everything, completely as it is written, until page 10.)
First Cycle
Glory to you, O Finder of the lost. Glory to you, O
Gatherer
of the dispersed. Glory to you, who bring near the far off. Glory to
you,
who return the erring to the knowledge of the truth. Glory to you, my
Lord,
for you have called me, even feeble me, in your grace, and have brought
me near unto you in your compassion, and have established me as a
designated
member in the great body of your holy catholic church, to offer before
you this living, holy, and acceptable sacrifice, which is the memorial
of the passion, death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ,- through
whom
you were well-pleased and reconciled to forgive the sins of all men.
Kushapa
Yea, our Lord and our God, repeat,
do not look upon the multitude of our sins, and do not let your Lordship
abhor the burden of our wickednesses, but in your ineffable grace accept
this sacrifice from our hands, and through it grant power and authority,
that it may be enabled to pardon our many sins, that when you are
revealed
at the end of times in the humanity which you took from us, we may find
grace and mercies before you, and may be deemed worthy to sing praise
with
the spiritual companies.
Gehantha
The priest recites
softly
this prayer before the Altar.
O Lord of hosts, omnipotent God repeat,
who is alone eternal, and the Cause and Maker of all creatures, glorious
King who does incomprehensibly great deeds and ineffably glorious and
exalted
things, you who, through a marvelous and fearful dispensation, which
your
Only-begotten, our Lord Jesus Christ, fulfilled through our humanity,
provided
for us the beginnings of new life, and gave us the earnest of the Holy
Spirit in our hearts, and moreover deemed us worthy through your grace
of the knowledge of these glorious, holy, (and divine) Mysteries, though
we were not worthy, not only to offer and perfect them, but also to
receive
and have fellowship in them, do not, my Lord, look upon our deficiency
and feebleness, but in your goodness and abundant mercies, fill us with
the grace of the Holy Spirit, that when we stand before you with a clear
conscience and offer you this living, holy, acceptable, and unbloody
sacrifice,-
we may find grace and mercies before you repeat
Qanona
with all those who from of old have pleased you, in
the
grace and mercies of your Only-begotten, for to you, to him, and to the
Holy Spirit we lift up glory, honor, confession, and worship, now,
always,
and for ever and ever. And he signs over
himself,
and they respond: Amen. And the
priest
says: Peace be with you. And the
people
reply, answering: And with you and with your spirit.
And the deacon says:
Give the peace to one another in the love of Christ. And
they give the peace to one another and say: For all
catholicoi,
bishops, presbyters, and deacons, and every member of a religious
profession
who has departed from the assembly of the church, and for the life and
tranquillity of the world, and for the crown of the year, that it may be
blessed and fulfilled in your grace, and for every child of the church
who is worthy of the reception of this oblation before you, and for all
your servants and handmaidens who stand before you at this hour, for all
of them and for all of us may this oblation be accepted for ever. Amen.Then
two deacons read the diptychs, that is, the roll of the living and the
dead.
Then the deacon proclaims:
Let us all in purity and with sighs give thanks and beseech and
supplicate
the Lord. Stand aright and look upon those things which are done in the
fearful Mysteries being hallowed. The priest draws near to pray, that by
his mediation peace may be multiplied for you. Lower your eyes, and
stretch
out your mind to heaven. And immediately the
priest
draws near and inclines before the altar upon his knees and recites this
prayer.
Kushapa
O Lord God of hosts, repeat,
assist my weakness in your mercy, and through the aid of your grace make
me worthy to offer before you this living and holy sacrifice, for the
help
of the whole community, and for the praise of your glorious Trinity, O
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for ever.-
And when the deacon says, Watchfully and earnestly
beseech and supplicate at this hour. Let no one venture to speak.
Whoever
prays, let him pray in his heart. In silence and awe stand and pray.
Peace
be with us. The priest at once arises and lifts
the veil (discreetly) from the Mysteries and winds it round the chalice
and paten, saying: Since by your grace, O my Lord, you have
made me worthy of your body and your blood, so make me worthy of
confidence
before you on the day of judgment. Amen.
(Prayer of the incense:
With the worshipful and glorious name of your glorious Trinity may this
incense be blessed which we offer to your honor and for our pardon for
ever. Amen.)
And the priest censes the
paten
with the incense, saying: O our Lord and our God, may the
sweet
incense which we offer you before your holy altar within your glorious
temple please you, and may it be for the gladness of your holy name, and
for the pardon of your servants and your flock, O Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit for ever.-
And the priest says to the
deacon:
May Christ strengthen you to do his will continually. And
he continues (in an audible voice):
Qanona
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of
God
the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now,
always, and for ever and ever. And he signs
over
the Mysteries, and they respond: Amen.
And he continues:
Let your minds be above. And
they respond: With you, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and
of Israel, O glorious King. (For Feasts:
Above in the exalted heights, in the fearful place of praise, in the
place
where the rustling of the wings of cherubim and the pleasant sounds of
the hallowings of seraphim continue without ceasing, there let your
minds
be. And they respond: With you, the
God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Israel, O glorious King.)
And he continues:
The oblation is offered unto God, the Lord of all. And
they respond: It is meet and right.
(For Feasts: The
living
and rational offering of our first-fruits, and the unslain and
acceptable
sacrifice of the Son of our race [addition:
which the prophets depicted in a mystery, and the apostles proclaimed
openly,
and the martyrs purchased with the blood of their necks, and the
teachers
interpreted in the churches, and the priests sacrificed on the altar of
holiness, and the levites bore upon their arms, and the people received
for the pardon of their debts] is offered to God, the Lord of all, for
utterly all creatures. And they respond:
It is meet and right.) And the deacon says:
Peace be with us.
Kushapa
Lord, Lord, grant us confidence before you, that with
the liberty which is from you we may fulfill this living and holy
ministry,
our consciences being clear of all evil and bitterness. Sow among us
love,
tranquillity, and unity with each other and with all men.-
And he rises and kisses the
altar.-
Also, it is necessary to know this, that at the beginning of each
gehantha and at its end he makes a genuflection and kisses the altar.
And
the priest continues, his hands outstretched (from now on) in an orderly
fashion. And he says this gehantha softly.-
It is meet, O my Lord, every day, repeat,
and right at all times, and worthy at every hour, to confess your holy
name and to worship your Lordship in every land and in every place—you,
O God, the Father of truth, the everlasting Being, and your
Only-begotten
Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit for ever, amen.-
For you are the Lord and Maker of all that is seen and all that
is unseen, who through your Only-begotten Son, God the Word, who is the
brightness of your glory, the effulgence from you, and the image of your
Being, created and set in order the heavens and the earth, and all that
is in them; and by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, who is from
you,
Father, all rational natures, visible and invisible, are strengthened,
sanctified, and made worthy to lift up praise to your worshipful
Godhead.
For before you, O God, the Father of truth, and before your
Only-begotten
Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and before the Holy Spirit stand thousands
upon thousands of those on high, and ten thousand times ten thousand
holy
angels, who for the delight of their lives, in constancy of their wills,
hallow your great and holy name with continual praise. Through your
grace,
O my Lord, you have also made worthy the weak race of mortal men to
offer
up praise and honor to your all-ruling Lordship with all the companies
of those on high, with those who at all times cry out before the
greatness
of your holiness, praising your glorious Trinity,-
which is confessed in three equal and inseparable qnome,-
repeat,
Qanona
crying and singing praise ceaselessly, calling to one
another and saying,
And they respond:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts, for heaven and earth are full
of his praises, and of the nature of his Being, and of the excellency of
his glorious splendor. And they continue on
Feasts:
Hosanna in the heights. Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who
came and comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the heights. And
with each cry of “holy” the priest makes a genuflection before the
altar.
And he kneels and says this kushapa:
Kushapa
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts, for heaven
and earth are full of his praises, and of the nature of his Being, and
of the excellency of his glorious splendor, even as “Heaven and earth
are
filled by me,” says the Lord. You are holy, O God, the Father of truth,
from whom all fatherhood in heaven and on earth is named. You are holy,
O eternal Son, through whom all came about. You are holy, O Holy Spirit,
Being through whom all is hallowed.-
Woe is me! Woe is me! for I am amazed. For I am a man of
unclean lips, and I dwell among a people whose lips are unclean, and my
eyes have seen the King, the mighty Lord. How terrible is this place,
for
today I have seen the Lord face to face, and this is nothing if not the
house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.-
Now let your grace be upon us, O Lord.-
Repeat. Purify our uncleanness, sanctify our lips,
and, O my Lord, join our deficient voices with the hallowing of the
seraphim
and the praises of the angels. Glory to your mercies, for you have given
creatures of dust fellowship with spiritual beings. And
he rises and says: Bless, O my Lord, bless, O my Lord, bless,
O my Lord, my brothers, pray for me. And he
recites
this gehantha softly:
Gehantha
Truly, Lord, repeat,
you are holy, and you are glorious for ever and ever. You are holy, O
God,
the Father of truth, and truly holy as well is your Only-begotten Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ, and indeed, holy in truth is the Holy Spirit,
uncreated
divine nature, Maker of everything, who naturally is holy for ever. Holy
is his name and holy his dwelling-place, and in truth he sanctifies all
who are deemed worthy to receive the gift of his grace, and we lift up
praise, honor, confession, and worship to the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit,
now, always, and for ever and ever. Amen.-
We worship you, O my Lord, repeat,
and we confess you and glorify you for all your kindnesses towards us,
for you created us from nothing, and you deemed us worthy of the great
honor of freedom and of intelligence, who from of old and at every
moment
concern yourself with the condition of our life. Before your great and
fearful name we bow down and worship, and with us all the companies on
high also give glory and confession for your ineffable goodness. For on
behalf of us men and for our salvation the Only-begotten God the Word,
who is the likeness of God, did not consider this, that he was the equal
of God, as something to be forcibly grasped, but emptied himself out and
took the likeness of a servant, when he descended from heaven and
clothed
himself with our humanity, a mortal body and a rational, sentient, and
immortal soul, of the holy Virgin, by the power of the Holy Spirit,
through
which he fulfilled and perfected all this great and marvelous
dispensation,
which was prepared in your foreknowledge before the foundations of the
world. And you have fulfilled it now, in the last times, through your
beloved
Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom dwells all the fullness of the
Godhead
bodily. And he is the Head of the church and the First-born from the
dead,
and he is the Fullness of all, and all is made complete in him, who
through
the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God and sanctified us
with the offering of his body once. And he, by himself, reconciled
through
the blood of his cross whatever is in heaven and whatever is on earth,
for he was delivered for our sins, and rose that he might justify us.
For with his holy apostles, on the night in which he
was
betrayed, he appointed this great, holy, and divine Mystery, taking
bread
in his holy hands, and blessing and breaking it, and giving it to his
disciples,
saying, This is my body which is broken for the life of the world and
for
the forgiveness of sins. In the same way also he gave thanks over the
cup
and gave to them and said, This is my blood of the new testament which
is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins. Take, therefore, all of
you,
and eat of this bread and drink of this cup. You must do the same,
whenever
you gather for my memorial.
And as we have been commanded, so we have gathered,
even
we, your deficient, feeble, and miserable servants, that with the
permission
of your grace we may perform this great, fearful, holy, and divine
Mystery,-
in which is great salvation for the entire race of men, repeat,
Qanona
lifting up praise, honor, confession, and worship to
the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now, always, and for ever and ever. And
he signs over the Mysteries, and they respond: Amen.
And the deacon says:
Pray in your minds. Peace be with us.
Kushapa
O Lord God of hosts, accept this oblation (from my
feeble
hands) for all the holy catholic church, for all the just and righteous
fathers who were well-pleasing before you, for all the prophets and
apostles,
for all the martyrs and confessors, for all mourners and distressed, for
all the needy and harassed, (for all priests, kings, and rulers,) for
all
the sick and afflicted, for all the departed who have departed and gone
from among us, for this people which looks for and awaits your mercies,-
and for my feebleness, misery, and poverty. Repeat.
Yea, our Lord and our God, according to your mercies and the abundance
of your kindness, act toward your people and toward my misery, not
according
to my sins and offenses, but may we be deemed worthy, I and these, of
the
pardon of debts and the forgiveness of sins, through this holy body
which
we receive in true faith through the grace which is from you. Amen.-
And he rises and says: Bless, O my Lord. Three
times.- And he recites this gehantha
softly:
Gehantha
We worship you, O my Lord, repeat,
and give thanks to you, and glorify you, for though we are not worthy
because
of our sins, you have brought us near to you because of your many
mercies,
and you have renewed us and sanctified us through the grace of the Holy
Spirit. You have made us worthy to minister before you this fearful and
divine ministry for the salvation of our life, while we offer before you
confession with much thanksgiving for the great salvation which is ours
through your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. And we offer before
your
glorious Trinity, with a broken heart and a lowly spirit, this living,
holy, and acceptable sacrifice, the Mystery of the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world, beseeching you, and supplicating you, that
your
worshipful Godhead may be pleased, O my Lord, and in your mercy this
pure
and holy oblation may be accepted, through which you have been satisfied
and appeased for the sins of the world.-
Now too, O my Lord, repeat,
lo, this oblation is offered before your great and fearful name for all
the holy catholic church, that you may make your peace and tranquillity
to dwell within it all the days of the world.-
Yea, our Lord and our God, repeat,
make your tranquillity and peace to dwell within it all the days of the
world, and may persecution, tumults, strife, schisms, and divisions be
put far from it, and may all of us be joined, one to another, in one
unity,
with a pure heart and perfect love.-
And for all our fathers, the bishops, visitors,
presbyters,
and deacons who are in this ministry of truth, that they may be
established
and serve before you purely, circumspectly, and in holiness, and may
please
your will, so that they may be deemed worthy to receive from you good
and
exalted ranks at the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ;-
and for all the children of the holy catholic church, here
and everywhere, that they may grow strong in the worship of your
Lordship,
in true faith and with good and excellent deeds, for the salvation of
their
life; and for your sinful and offending servant, that by your grace, O
my Lord, you may pardon my sins and make my offenses to pass away, those
which knowingly and unknowingly I have committed and done before you;
and
for all those for whom this oblation is offered, that they may find
mercies
and compassion before you, and may be saved; -
and for the fruits of the earth and the temperature of the
air, that the crown of the year may be blessed through your grace. Repeat
three times.- And for the whole
race
of men who are in sin and error, that through your grace, O my Lord, you
will deem them worthy of the knowledge of the truth and of the worship
of your Lordship, that they may know you, that you are God, the only
Father
of truth, the Good One, who desires that all men should live and turn to
the knowledge of the truth and know that you are the Lord from of old
and
for ever, the divine, uncreated nature, the Maker of everything, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. For on behalf of us men and for our salvation, the
Son of God, God the Word, clothed himself with a complete man, our Lord
Jesus Christ, and he was perfected and justified by the power of God and
the Holy Spirit, and became the Mediator between God and men, and the
Giver
of life for ever and ever to all who draw near to God the Father through
him, to whom be praises and blessings for ever and ever, amen.-
Yea, our Lord and our God, repeat,
accept from us in your grace this sacrifice of praise, which is the
rational
fruit of our lips, that there may be a good memorial before you for the
righteous of old, the holy prophets and blessed apostles, the martyrs
and
confessors, the bishops and teachers, the presbyters and deacons, and
all
the children of the holy catholic church who in the true faith have
departed
from this world,- here
he
makes the sign and stretches out upon his face, that in your
loving-kindness, O my Lord, you may pardon for them all the sins and
offenses
which in this world, in a mortal body and a mutable soul, they have
committed
and done before you,- for
there
is no man who does not sin, or does not need mercy and pardon from
you. Repeat.
And we beseech you, O my Lord, and supplicate you,
and
worship you, and petition you, that your worshipful Godhead and your
mercifulness
may be well-pleased, O my Lord,
AND THERE MAY COME
upon us and upon this oblation the grace of the Holy
Spirit.
May he dwell and rest upon this bread and upon this cup, and may he
bless,
consecrate, and seal them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Spirit. By the power of your name may this bread become the
holy body of our Lord Jesus Christ, and this cup the precious blood of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and whoever in true faith eats this bread and
drinks
this cup, may they be to him, O my Lord, for the pardon of debts, the
forgiveness
of sins, the great hope of resurrection from the dead, the salvation of
his body and soul, and for life and glory for ever and ever.
Make us all worthy through the grace of our Lord
Jesus
Christ, that with all those who have been pleasing to your will, and
have
conducted themselves according to your commandments, we may take delight
in the kingdom of heaven in the good things to come which do not pass
away.
Repeat.
And when the priest says
“And
may there come upon us”, the deacon says: In silence and in
awe stand and pray. Peace be with us.
Qanona
And here as well as there may we all together equally
confess, worship, and glorify the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now,
always,
and for ever and ever. And he signs over the
Mysteries,
and they respond: Amen.
And they complete everything
as it is written in the Order of the Blessed Apostles. See page 18.
The hallowing of the
blessed
Mar Theodore,
the Interpreter of the
divine Scriptures—
may his prayer be upon
the community of the faithful—
is ended with the help
of our Lord.
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