SIMS

Great Vespers for
Holy, Glorious, All-Praiseworthy and Chief Apostles,
Peter and Paul

At Psalm 140

In Tone 2

What crowns of praise shall we weave for Peter and Paul?

They were separated in the body but united in spirit,

and outstanding as the preachers of God.

The one indeed led the apostles,

while the other laboured more than all the rest.

Christ our God, showing great mercy,

fittingly crowns them with immortal glory.

What crowns of praise shall we weave for Peter and Paul?

They were separated in the body but united in spirit,

and outstanding as the preachers of God.

The one indeed led the apostles,

while the other laboured more than all the rest.

Christ our God, showing great mercy,

fittingly crowns them with immortal glory.

With what beautiful hymns shall we praise Peter and Paul?

They are wings of divine knowledge,

spreading out to the far ends of the earth

and soaring aloft to heaven.

They are two heads of the Gospel of grace,

two feet of the preaching of the truth,

two rivers of wisdom and two arms of the Cross,

through which the merciful Christ casts down the pride of demons.

With what beautiful hymns shall we praise Peter and Paul?

They are wings of divine knowledge,

spreading out to the far ends of the earth

and soaring aloft to heaven.

They are two heads of the Gospel of grace,

two feet of the preaching of the truth,

two rivers of wisdom and two arms of the Cross,

through which the merciful Christ casts down the pride of demons.

With what spiritual songs shall we praise Peter and Paul?

They slew the godless tongues of idolaters.

They are fearful swords of the Spirit and notable ornaments of Rome,

nourishers of the whole world

and the God-inspired tablets of the new covenant.

Christ, in His great mercy, has proclaimed their honou in Zion.

Come today, O assemblies of the faithful,

O choirs full of praise, O beautiful gathering,

O chosen craftsmen of grace,

we are crowning Peter and Paul with worthy praises.

They sowed the Word in its fullness;

through them the grace of the Spirit was poured out abundantly.

And being the vine of the true vineyard,

they divided up for us a ripe cluster, making our hearts joyful.

Let us sing to them with clear expression,

and with a clean conscience let us say:

Rejoice, O destroyers of the unwise

and the servants of the spiritual ones.

Rejoice, O intermediaries for the good who banish evil.

Let us beseech them to always pray to the Creator and Teacher

to grant an enduring peace to the world

and great mercy to our souls.

Let us praise as intercessors for the world,

the teachers and foundations of the Church of Christ,

its true pillars and walls,

trumpets of the divine teachings and sufferings of Christ,

the prime apostles Peter and Paul.

They traveled throughout the earth,

as though with a plow, sowing the faith,

and planted a knowledge of God in all,

revealing the Word of the Trinity.

O Peter, rock of foundation, and Paul, O chosen vessel,

you were harnessed together to the will of Christ.

You raised up all creation to a knowledge of God:

the nations, the cities, and the islands.

Indeed, you lifted up anew the Hebrews into the Church,

and now you pray that our souls be saved.

O Peter, the first of the glorious apostles and rock of faith!

wondrous Paul, orator and lamp stand of the holy churches,

standing before the divine throne,

pray to Christ for us.

In Tone 4

Glory…

Christ asked three times: Peter, do you love Me?

Thereby He satisfied the three-fold denial;

and Simon, understanding the mystery, cried to the Lord:

You know all things; You know that I love You.

After this, Christ said to him:

Feed my sheep, feed my lambs;

feed those sheep which I have fashioned for salvation with my own blood.

Therefore, O blessed Apostle of God,

beseech Him to grant us great mercy.

Now…

O Mother of God, David the prophet and forefather of Christ foretold in song

the great things that would happen to you.

He revealed that you would be a queen,

standing at the right hand of God,

and that you would be the Mother of Life and Intercessor for the world.

He prophesied that God, in his good will toward mankind,

would become incarnate of you without a human father.

Thus He would restore His image within us,

which had become disfigured by our passions.

He would seek out the lost sheep that was trapped in the hills;

He would lift it upon His shoulder and carry it to His Father

who would place it in the midst of His heavenly hosts.

In like manner, Christ will save the world because of His great and abundant mercy.

Readings

1 Peter 1: 3-9

1 Peter 1: 13 - 19

1 Peter 2: 11-24

Lytia

In Tone 2

O Paul, spokesman of the Lord and foundation of doctrine!

Once you were a persecutor of Jesus the Saviour,

and then indeed you were among the first of the apostles, O blessed one.

You saw the ineffable One, O wise Apostle.

You were transported up to the third heaven, and you exclaimed:

Come with me and do not be deprived of the good things.

In Tone 3

O citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem,

behold the rock of faith and the orator of the Church of Christ,

the two men of the Trinity and fishers of the world,

today are departing from the earth.

Suffering the passion, they ascend to God,

and they pray to Him with confidence to save our souls.

In Tone 5

Glory…

The wisdom of God and the Word who is co-eternal with the Father

has truly foretold in the Gospel, O all-praiseworthy Apostles,

that you are the two most fruitful vines;

for you bore in your branches the ripe and beautiful cluster

from which we believers are now nourished

and whose taste brings us both sweetness and delight.

Therefore, O Peter, rock of faith, and Paul, pride of the universe,

strengthen the flock that became yours through your teachings.

Now…

We bless you, O Theotokos and Virgin;

and we faithful ones glorify you always.

You are the ineffable city, the mighty wall,

the powerful mediatrix, and the haven of our souls.

Aposticha

In Tone 1

O glorious apostle Paul,

who can describe your bondage and sorrow in the cities,

your tribulations and hardships,

your vigils and sufferings?

You have suffered hunger, thirst, and cold,

nakedness and scourging with rods,

the crossing of wilderness, shipwreck and stonings.

You have both angelic and human character,

bearing all with the help of Christ who strengthened you,

so that you might gain the world for Christ, your Lord.

We, who celebrate your memory in faith,

beseech you to intercede for the salvation of our souls.

Through all the world their voice resounds; their message reaches to the ends of the earth.

O glorious apostle Paul,

who can describe your bondage and tribulations in the cities?

Who can tell the hardships and struggles you went through in the preaching of Christ

that you might win all people and present the Church to Christ?

O apostle Paul, teacher of the Churches,

pray that the Church may be strengthened by your teachings

until the end of time.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God, and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.

Let us extol Peter and Paul,

the two great luminaries of the Church;

for they have shone forth with the firmness of faith,

transcending the sun in brilliance.

By the rays of their preaching

they led the Gentiles from ignorance to divine knowledge.

Therefore, one of them was nailed upon the cross,

thus making his way into heaven

where he received the Kingdom from Christ himself.

The other was beheaded with the sword and carried to the Saviour,

where he received the blessing that he deserved.

Both declared that the unjust ones laid hands against the Lord.

By their powers, therefore, O Christ our God,

take your anger away from us and make firm our faith,

for You are the Lover of Mankind.

In Tone 6

Glory…

Today a delightful feast has shone forth to the ends of the earth,

the all-solemn memorial of the most wise and first apostles, Peter and Paul.

Therefore, let Rome receive the glad tidings, rejoicing;

and let us feast on this solemn day, crying out to them:

Rejoice, O Peter, apostle and special friend of the Teacher, Christ our God.

Rejoice, O truly beloved Paul,

preacher of the faith and teacher of the universe.

Because of your privilege, O holy ones,

beseech Christ our God to save our souls.

Now…

Christ the Lord, our Creator and Redeemer,

came forth from your womb, O most pure Virgin.

He clothed himself in our human flesh

to set us free from the original curse of Adam.

Therefore, O Mary, we praise you, without ceasing,

as the true Virgin Mother of God,

and we sing with the angels:

Rejoice, O Lady, advocate, protector, and salvation of our souls.

Troparia

In Tone 4

You are chief apostles and teachers of the world. * Beseech the Lord of all * to grant peace to the world * and abundant mercy to our souls. (Repeat)

In Tone 1

Rejoice, Virgin Mary, Mother of God, full of grace,* The Lord is with you.* Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.* For you have given birth to Christ, the Saviour and Deliverer of our souls.