At the Vespers, for "O Lord, I have cried...."
Your evangelical light shines as a bright star
Lit by the burning fervor of your faith in Christ.
Kindled in your youthful heart, it burned brightly.
Seeing it we say, Grant Mercy O Lord,
Through the prayers of our Blessed Father Herman,
To all your people.
With humble joy, O Blessed Herman,
You accepted the labor of a novice in Valaam.
Once having put your hand to the plough,
You furrowed a straight and true path
From Russia to the Aleutian shores.
We who follow in His Way
Together praise Christ our Lord.
Your long and arduous journey
Across the dismal Arctic wilderness
Brought you to the safe harbor on Kodiak,
Your field of holy labor in America.
Here as the least of an apostolic company,
You planted firmly the Cross of Christ
Deep in the hearts of an ancient people;
Together with them, we cry aloud,
O Blessed Herman, pray to Christ,
The King of Glory, that our souls be saved.
Continue with, "Glory..." before chanting the following.
My prayers are but words,
My deeds are but gestures.
What can I do? I am not prepared to meet the eternal Judge.
O Holy Theotokos, supplicate your Beloved Son, Christ our God,
To intercede, that He have mercy and heal me.
Hear my prayer of distres and save me.
Continue with, "Both now and ever..." before chanting the following.
The sorrowing mother saw her Son
Cruelly nailed to the Cross;
She cried out in agony to Him.
"Why, my Beloved Child, did you
Willingly accept this terrible punishment?
Truly, that by your death,
Death itself might be conquered,
And all men might be saved."
Glory to God in His Holy Wisdom!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
The great percepts of the Angelic Way
You learned from a disciple
Of the Blessed Father Seraphim of Sarov.
You labored long to keep pure God's Image in you
Through prayer and fasting;
Ascending to the heights of God's likeness,
That the flesh might indeed serve the spirit.
O Blessed Hermit of Spruce Island,
You have taught your disciples
Most wisely in word and in deed.
Now in the heavenly places
You have the holy vision of the Most Holy Trinity;
Intercede for those who honor you in faith and in love.
Both now and ever and unto the ages of age, Amen.
The Theotokos saw her Son
Hanging between two thieves on His Cross.
She cried out in profound distress,
"What is this great mystery?
Is this my own Beloved Son I see?
Why are You crucified on a tree?
Of a truth, the Giver of Life
Dies on a Tree and reveals the Truth:
Evils plan has been nailed,
And God's Son has won the Victory."
If the services of the day contain the Polyleos, chant the Theotokion of the Resurrection now. "Is it not meet to bless the, O Theotokos?..."
The Entrance, and the Prokimenon of the Day.
The Reading is from the Wisdom of Solomon. (III:1-9)
The Reading is from the Wisdom of Solomon. (V:15-23, VI:1-3)
The Reading is from the Wisdom of Solomon. (IV:7, 16,17, 19-20; V:1-7)
On this day of joy and festival
Let us remember the many good deeds
Of our Spiritual Elder,
The Blessed Father Herman of Alaska:
he brought the evangelical light to our land;
he enlightened those who sat in darkness;
he established the Monasti Way;
he tamed ferocious beasts and repelled the Evil One;
he conversed with angels and manifested the Angelic Way;
he fed the hungry, nursed the sick and defended the oppressed;
he prophesied his coming glorification.
Let us praise and glorify God who has given us so great a gift.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages, Amen.
Come all you inhabitants of this new land,
To which the Blessed Elder Herman
Carried the evangelical light from distant Valaam.
Let us sing songs of praise and glory:
Rejoice, Flower of the Northern Wilderness;
Rejoice, Adornment of the Church in America;
Rejoice, Joyful laborer on Spruce Island;
Rejoice, Founder of the Church of Resurrection;
Rejoice, Defender of the defenseless;
Rejoice, Intercesssor for those in need;
Rejoice, Teacher of the wise;
Rejoice, Wonderworker of the North;
Rejoice, first saint of the Orthodox in America;
Rejoice, Blessed Elder Herman of Alaska.
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