The 18th Day Of The Month Of October

Commemoration Of The Holy Apostle & Evangelist Luke

(for this day we provide also the service in honor of our father among the saints Peter, Metropolitan of Montenegro)

At Great Vespers

After the Introductory Psalm, we chant “Blessed is the man…”, the first antiphon.

On “Lord, I have cried…”, 8 stichera, in Tone VIII: Spec. Mel.: “What shall we call you…” —

What now shall we call thee, O apostle? Heaven, for thou hast proclaimed the glory of God; radiance, for thou dost illumine the world with light; cloud which droppeth divine water as rain; most divine cup of wisdom, which poureth forth upon us the wine which gladdeneth men’s hearts. Pray thou that our souls be saved. Twice

What now shall I call thee, O thou who art pleasing unto God? Golden ark of the law, which Christ hath fashioned; river which floweth forth unto us out of paradise; lamp shining forth a noetic light; beacon illumining the whole Church; living Bread of the divine table; cup of spiritual drink. Pray thou that our souls be saved. Twice

What now shall we call thee, O thou who didst behold God? Most active servant of the mysteries of Christ; wise chief artisan who doth engrave the tablets of grace; one who hath set down a newer law surpassing that of Sion, which was preached by thee. Pray thou that our souls be saved.

What now shall we call thee, O glorious one? Strong treasury of heavenly gifts; renowned physician of bodies and souls; fellow laborer of Paul, and his companion, who settest forth the acts of the apostles. Many are the names, O Luke, which virtue hath devised for thee. Pray thou that our souls be saved.

What now shall I proclaim thee, O divinely eloquent one? Disciple, in that thou hast announced to us the glad tidings of Christ; physician, in that thou healest the passions of the soul; luminary who hast shone forth the noetic light upon us; foundation and ground of the Faith: for thou hast written for us the most precious Gospel. Pray thou that our souls be saved.

What now shall I call thee, O wondrous one? True beholder of the wisdom of doctrine; recorder of the acts and teachings of the apostles; unshakable pillar of piety; impregnable bulwark of the Church. Many are thy names, O Luke, and greater yet thy gifts. Pray thou that our souls be saved.

Glory…: the composition of Anatolius, in Tone VI —

O apostle of Christ and recorder of divine dogmas, foundation of the Church: with divine proclamations thou hast truly healed the hearts of men in the gloom of ignorance, which had entered into the abyss of despair; and thou hast saved them from the raging of threefold waves, as a follower and disciple of Paul, the chosen vessel. Wherefore, we entreat thee: Beseech our Savior and God in behalf of those who ever celebrate thine honored memory with faith.

Now & ever…: Dogmatic theotokion, in the same tone —

Who doth not call thee blessed, O all-holy Virgin? Who will not hymn thine all-pure birthgiving? For the only-begotten Son Who shone forth timelessly from the Father, came forth, ineffably incarnate, from thee, the pure one; and being God by nature, He became man for our sake, not divided into two Persons, but known in two natures without confusion. Him do thou beseech, O pure and most blessed one, that our souls find mercy.

Entrance. Prokimenon of the day. Three readings:

A Reading from the First General Epistle of John (1:1-7)

hat which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you: that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: but if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.

A Reading from the General Epistle of James (1:1-12)

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, Who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he who wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: but the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways. Blessed is the man who endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to those who love Him.

A Reading from the General Epistle of Jude

Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the Faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who believed not. And the angels who kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said: “The Lord rebuke thee.” But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying: “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage. But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; how that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be those who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Now unto Him Who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

On the aposticha, these stichera, in Tone V: Spec. Mel.: “Rejoice, boast of fasters…: —

Grace was poured forth in a tongue of fire upon thy lips, O Apostle Luke, and thou wast shown to be a tongue of fire, emitting words of light like flaming arrows against those who desire darkness, writing and teaching the precious Gospel with preaching worthy of the Light; and thou wast shown to be a living fragrance unto those who truly desire life, as said Paul, whom thou didst have as thy teacher, but the smell of death for those who loved not life. Yet grant unto us peace, life, light and great mercy.

Stichos: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaimeth the work of His hands.

Through thy words, as thou didst say, have we come to recognize the confirmation of the words which thou didst utter in godly manner, O initiate of the mysteries, for thou didst begin to write for us concerning matters which thou didst know, and as those who originally witnessed them transmitted them to thee, whose peer thou wast as a servant of the incarnation of the Word, Whom thou didst behold in Emmaus after His resurrection, and Whose bread thou didst eat with Cleopas with burning heart. Fill thou the souls of us who honor thee with His divine warmth.

Stichos: Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.

Rejoice, thou who alone, rejoicing, hast ­recorded for us the archangel’s greeting to the pure one: Rejoice!, and the Baptist calling her, from his mother’s womb, the bearer of the Lord, and his conception and the incarnation of the Word, His temptations and miracles, words and sufferings, His Cross, death and arising, and His resurrected body, which thou didst behold; and the descent of the Spirit, the account of the acts, especially those of Paul, whose companion thou wast, as well as a physician and initiate of the mysteries and a luminary of the Church, which do thou preserve forever.

Glory…, in Tone VI —

O most wise fisherman, holy disciple, husbandman of the Savior and preacher of His sufferings: Transcending creation with faith and drawing the nations forth from deception and leading them to the good fragrance, thou didst attain the heavens. Wherefore, standing before the Judge of all, pray thou that He deliver us from our iniquities, and that we be freed from torment on the day of judgment.

Now & ever…: Theotokion, in the same tone —

Christ the Lord, my Creator and Deliverer, Who came forth from thy womb, O all-pure one, and robed Himself in me, hath freed Adam from the curse. Wherefore, like the angel do we unceasingly cry out to thee, O most pure one, who art truly the Mother of God and Virgin: Rejoice! Rejoice, O Mistress, thou intercession, protection and salvation for our souls!

Troparion, in Tone III —

O holy apostle and evangelist Luke, entreat the merciful God, that He grant to our souls remission of transgressions.

Or this troparion, in Tone V —

The holy apostle, the all-hymned Luke, who is acknowledged by the Church of Christ as the recorder of the acts of the apostles and the splendid author of the Gospel of Christ, let us praise with sacred hymns, as a physician who healeth the infirmities of man and the ailments of nature, who cleanseth spiritual wounds and prayeth unceasingly for our souls.

Glory…, Now & ever…: The resurrectional theotokion.

At Matins

At “God is the Lord…”, the troparion, twice; Glory…, Now & ever…, the theotokion.

After the first chanting of the Psalter, this sessional hymn, in Tone III —

Come ye all, let us praise the apostle Luke as our helmsman; for he hath abolished the deception of idolatry and hath guided men to the light of life and taught them to believe in the Trinity. Wherefore, honoring him piously today, O ye faithful, let us glorify Christ our God. Twice

Glory…, Now & ever…: Theotokion —

Rejoice, O Mary, Virgin Mother, holy mountain, paradise of Eden, from whom Christ God, the Word seedlessly conceived, was born, through Whom life hath sprung forth for the world.

After the second chanting of the Psalter, this sessional hymn, in Tone III: Spec. Mel.: “Awed by the beauty of thy virginity…” —

When thou didst journey with Cleopas to the town of Emmaus after the resurrection, O most sacred Luke, the Lord appeared before thee in veiled manner when thou wast downcast; and, receiving the bread He gave thee, thou didst straightway recognize the Savior. Him do thou entreat, that He grant us great mercy. Twice

Glory…, Now & ever…: Theotokion —

As a vine grown without cultivation, O Virgin, thou didst cause the most comely Cluster to spring forth, Who poureth forth upon us the wine of salvation, gladdening the souls and bodies of all. Wherefore, ever blessing thee as the cause of good things, we cry out to thee with the angel: Rejoice, O joyous one!

Polyeleos, and this magnification —

We magnify thee, O holy apostle of Christ and evangelist Luke, and we honor thy pangs and labors whereby thou didst struggle in the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ.

Selected Psalm verses —

A The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaimeth the work of His hands. [Ps. 18: 2]

B The heavens shall confess Thy wonders, O Lord. [Ps. 88: 6]

A In the stead of thy fathers, sons are born to thee. [Ps. 44: 17]

B The God of gods, the Lord, hath spoken, and He hath called the earth. [Ps. 49: 1]

A From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the name of the Lord is to be praised. [Ps. 112: 3]

B Thy lightnings have shone forth throughout the world. [Ps. 96: 4]

A The heavens declared His righteousness. [Ps. 96: 6]

B And all the peoples saw His glory. [Ps. 96: 6]

A The princes of Judah are their rulers. [Ps. 67: 28]

B God is King over the nations. [Ps. 46: 9]

A God is glorified in the council of the saints. [Ps. 88: 8]

B Great and terrible is He toward all who are round about Him. [Ps. 88: 8]

A Say among the nations that the Lord is King. [Ps. 95: 10]

B Declare among the heathen His glory, and among all peoples His wonders. [Ps. 95: 3]

A Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth. [Ps. 18: 5]

B Their words unto the ends of the world. [Ps. 18: 5]

A He hath subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet. [Ps. 46: 4]

B Great is our God, and great is His strength, and of His understanding there is no measure. [Ps. 146: 5]

A He will give power and strength unto His people. Blessed be God. [Ps. 67: 36]

Glory…, Now & ever…

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Glory to Thee, O God! Thrice

After the Polyeleos, this sessional hymn, in Tone IV —

Plying the depths of the noetic sea with the fisher’s rod of wisdom, O most blessed Luke, thou didst draw forth the souls of the faithful from the abyss of death. Wherefore, instructed by Paul, thou didst purify thy heart with the radiance of the Spirit, didst enlighten the nations with thy dogmas, and didst heal the infirmities of the passions with miracles, ever praying to Christ God for us, that our souls be saved. Twice

Glory…, Now & ever…: Theotokion —

Having thee as our hope and intercession, O Theotokos, we fear not the assault of the foe, for thou savest our souls.

Song of Ascents, the first antiphon of Tone IV.

Prokimenon, in Tone IV —

Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.

Stichos: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaimeth the work of His hands.

Let every breath praise the Lord.

Gospel according to John, §67 [21:15-25]

At that time, Jesus showed Himself to His disciples, after He had risen from the dead, and said to Simon Peter: “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me more than these?” He said unto Him: “Yea, Lord; Thou knowest that I love Thee.” He said unto him: “Feed My lambs.” He said to him again the second time: “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me?” He said unto Him: “Yea, Lord; Thou knowest that I love Thee.” He said unto him: “Feed My sheep.” He said unto him the third time: “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me?” Peter was grieved because He said unto him the third time, Lovest thou Me? And he said unto Him: “Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest that I love Thee.” Jesus said unto him: “Feed my sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto thee: When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.” This spake He, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said unto him: “Follow Me.” Then Peter, turning about, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following; who had also leaned on His breast at supper, and said: “Lord, which is he who betrayeth Thee?” Peter seeing him said to Jesus: “Lord, and what shall this man do?” Jesus said unto him: “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou Me.” Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?” This is the disciple who testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

After Psalm 50, this sticheron, in Tone III —

When thou didst journey with Cleopas to the town of Emmaus after the resurrection, O most sacred Luke, the Lord appeared before thee in veiled manner when thou wast downcast; and, receiving the bread He gave thee, thou didst straightway recognize the Savior. Him do thou entreat, that He grant us great mercy.

Canon of Supplication to the Theotokos [the Paraclysis], with 6 troparia; and the canon of the apostle, with 8 troparia, in Tone VIII —

Ode I

Irmos: O ye people, let us send up a hymn unto our wondrous God, Who freed Israel from bondage, singing and crying out a hymn of victory unto Thee Who alone art Master.

Thou wast the most splendid chariot of God, bearing a most holy and all-honored name before men, O Luke, mightily drowning the chariots and mounted captains of delusion.

Receiving a torrent of life, with showers of divine knowledge which fell from within thee thou didst irrigate a world made arid by the burning heat of ungodliness, O most blessed Luke.

Made bright as lightning by the shining of the Spirit and the purity of thy life, O thrice-blessed one, thou didst shine like a gift from God upon the whole world, illumining the hearts of the faithful.

Theotokion: Rejoice, O most holy temple, fleece bedewed by God, sealed wellspring of the stream of immortality! O Mistress, preserve thy flock unharmed by all enemies.

Ode III

Irmos: None is as holy as the Lord, and none is as righteous as our God, Whom all creation doth hymn, singing: None is righteous save Thee, O Lord!

Shining forth like the sun in thy preaching, O most blessed Luke, thou didst adorn the foundation of the Church, causing the gloom of delusion to vanish with the fervor of faith.

Possessing a mason’s hammer in thy godly tongue and divinely inspired mouth, thou didst cut divinely beauteous tablets from the stone of the incarnation of God, O thou who art most rich.

Entering into the most luminous cloud, and being covered thereby, O all-wise one, thou didst receive the new law inscribed upon thy heart by the finger of the Spirit.

Theotokion: There is none as blameless as thee, O Mistress, and none more pure than thee, O most immaculate one; for thou didst hold God the Word, Who alone is greatly merciful, in thy womb.

Sessional hymn, in Tone VIII: Spec. Mel.: “Of the Wisdom…” —

As the companion of Paul thou didst patiently endure divers misfortunes, O most lauded apostle of the Lord, and didst finish the course of faith in martyrdom. And thou dwellest with him in the highest, O blessed one. Wherefore, having preached the Gospel of Christ to the world, thou hast illumined the whole earth, O most honored Luke. Entreat Christ God, that He grant remission of sins unto those who celebrate thy holy memory with love. Twice

Glory…, Now & ever…: Theotokion —

O cloud of the noetic Sun, golden candlestick of the divine Light, unblemished, unsullied, most immaculate Mistress: With the radiance of dispassion illumine my soul which hath become dark through the blindness of the passions, I pray; wash my defiled heart with torrents of compunction and tears of repentance; and cleanse me of the filth of my deeds, that I may cry out to thee with love: O Ever-virgin Theotokos, entreat Christ God, that He grant me forgiveness of my transgressions; for thee do I, thy servant, have as my hope.

Ode IV

Irmos: O Word, with divine vision the prophet perceived Thee Who wast to become incarnate of the Theotokos alone, the mountain overshadowed; and with fear he glorified Thy power.

As a steed of the King of all, O divinely wise one, thou didst roil the sea of the nations, sweetening brackish unbelief with the salt of God, O ever-glorious one.

Drawing His bow, Christ loosed thee splendidly like a well-honed arrow, bright with beams of piety which illumine our souls.

With mystic skill, O most blessed one, heal the passions of soul and body of those who hymn thee, excising the putridity of sin, O thou who art most wise.

Theotokion: O Bride of God, Mary Theotokos, deliver me from cruel transgressions and misfortunes, and guide me to the haven of tranquility and salvation by thy supplications.

Ode V

Irmos: Waking at dawn, we cry to Thee: Save us, O Lord! For Thou art our God, and we know none other than Thee.

Thou wast shown to be like dew falling from the heavens, dissipating the burning heat of deception by thy discourse.

Conceiving the fear of God within thee, O apostle, thou gavest birth unto salvation for those astray.

Ascending the mountain of the virtues, O most blessed one, thou didst preach the Gospel of the kingdom unto all.

Theotokion: O Mary Theotokos, who knewest not wedlock, render the hopes of the enemy in vain, and gladden those who hymn thee.

Ode VI

Irmos: Grant me a robe of light, O Thou Who coverest Thyself with light as with a garment, O most merciful Christ our God.

Having drained the cup of wisdom, with the knowledge of Christ God thou gavest drink unto all, O Luke most wise.

Chosen as the companion of Paul, O most blessed and divinely eloquent Luke, thou didst fish for the nations with the net of thy dogmas.

Thou wast shown to be a cloud which raineth down upon us a shower of life, O apostle, and which floweth forth from springs of salvation.

Theotokion: Thine Offspring, the Destroyer of idols, O Mary Bride of God, is worshipped with the Father and the Spirit.

Kontakion, in Tone II: Spec. Mel.: “The steadfast…” —

Let us praise the godly Luke: the true preacher of piety, the speaker of ineffable mysteries, the star of the Church; for the Word Who alone knoweth men’s hearts chose him to be, with the wise Paul, a teacher of the gentiles.

Ikos: Enriched with heavenly knowledge by the hand of the Master, thou wast entrusted with the portion of the gentiles, O most lauded one. Wherefore, setting thy life afire with discourse, O Luke, thou wast shown to be a transmitter of the law to the nations, greater than Moses. Through the Spirit thou didst explain the divine Faith, likening thyself to the divine tablets graven by the finger of God. Wherefore, Christ, Who alone knoweth the hearts of men, hath glorified thee.

Ode VII

Irmos: In Babylon, the pious youths did not worship the golden image, but, bedewed in the midst of the fiery furnace, they chanted a hymn, saying: O supremely exalted God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!

As a faithful disciple of the ineffable mysteries of Christ God, O most wise one, thou didst preach His divine Gospel to the faithful who said: O supremely exalted God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!

Thou wast shown to be adorned with the embellishment of the virtues, O most blessed Luke, illumined by the rays of divine majesty and crying out unceasingly to thy Creator: O supremely exalted God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!

Emitting radiant beams, thou wast shown to be like a torch in the midst of night, piously driving away the darkness of delusion with the radiance of thy words, and crying aloud: O supremely exalted God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!

Theotokion: Possessed of a life illumined with wise discourse, O Luke who didst behold God, thou didst manifestly describe the birthgiving of the Virgin and didst lovingly depict her in icons. To her do we faithfully offer veneration, glorifying Christ.

Ode VIII

Irmos: The Lord Who was glorified on the holy mountain, and by the fire in the bush revealed to Moses the mystery of the Ever-virgin, hymn ye and exalt Him supremely for all ages!

With the dew-bearing wisdom of thy words and showers of divine grace didst thou extinguish the furnace of deception, as a preacher and sacred proclaimer of the Lord, O divinely wise one.

Beautiful were the feet of thee, O most blessed one, who preached the Gospel of the Peace which most excellently passeth all understanding. Him do we supremely exalt and glorify for all ages.

Christ, the Light of the world, the Lord of glory, the Effulgence of the essence of the Father, revealed thee to enlighten those who sit in darkness. Him do we exalt supremely forever.

Theotokion: We hymn and glorify forever the Lord Who made His abode in the Virgin’s womb and, through her, hath renewed ancient Adam in manner strange and past description.

Ode IX

Irmos: With unceasing glorification we magnify thee, the Mother of the Most High, who knewest not wedlock, who didst truly give birth unto God the Word in manner past understanding, and art more highly exalted than the all-pure hosts.

In the preaching of the Gospel thou wast a proclaimer of the salvation of the world; and, breathing the inspiration of the Spirit, thou didst show thyself a sacred and greatly renowned trumpet, O most honored one of sacred eloquence.

Adorned with the acts of the Savior’s apostles, moved by God thou didst record them for the faithful, ever setting them forth as a lasting and inspired model, O most glorious sacred preacher.

Thou didst stand, O godly Luke, attaining thine ultimate desire; for thou didst stand forth before Christ, delighting in the divine vision bestowed by Him. Wherefore, we all call thee blessed.

Theotokion: We magnify thee, O Mother of God, who bore in thine arms the unapproachable God Who is hymned in the heavens by all the hosts, and Who ever granteth salvation to us through thee.

Exapostilarion: Spec. Mel.: “With the disciples…” —

O Luke, apostle of Christ, initiate of ineffable mysteries and teacher of the gentiles: with the godly Paul and the all-pure Theotokos, whose divine icon thou didst lovingly depict, pray thou, O thou who beheldest God, for us who bless thee and celebrate thy sacred repose, O most wise proclaimer of the mysteries.

Glory…: Another exapostilarion: Spec. Mel.: “By the Spirit in the holy place…” —

We praise thee, the most excellent recorder of the divine Gospel, as the disciple of grace and follower of Paul; for thou didst proclaim that the Word was incarnate, and became man, and suffered, O blessed one. Wherefore, assembling with faith, O Luke, we honor thee as is meet.

Now & ever…: Theotokion —

Ineffable was the birthgiving of the all-immaculate Bride, for, as thou wast a most pure temple, O Theotokos, thou gavest birth unto God the Word, Who by preëternal counsel made His abode within thee. Wherefore, hymning thy birthgiving, we magnify thee as is meet, O all-immaculate one.

On the Praises, 4 stichera, in Tone I: Spec. Mel.: “Thee, the cloud of the Light…” —

O ye faithful, in hymns let us honor the Apostle Luke, the disciple of Christ, the most wise recorder of the Gospel, the beautiful chosen vessel, the animate image, the boast of all the Churches; for he preached the all-glorious miracles of God, enlightening those on earth with the rays of theology for the sake of goodness.

Mastering the healing of souls more than the skill of healing bodies, O wise one, inspired by the wisdom of God, thou wast shown to be excellent at both. And healing souls and bodies thereby, O most blessed Luke, thou dost call men to knowledge, dost soar aloft to the desire of God, and ever leadest men into heaven; and thou prayest for all who praise thee.

With the hook of the word hast thou drawn forth like fish unto the knowledge of God those who entered into the abyss of ignorance. And thou didst offer to Christ goodly food, O all-blessed and most sacred Luke: fitting honor and an incorrupt life. Wherefore, thou wast an apostle of Christ, a wise herald and a recounter of the active workings of grace.

In Tone VIII, the composition of Leo the Magistrate: Come, all creation, and with hymns let us praise the true physician of souls, the ever-memorable Luke, the disciple of the Savior; for with the anointing of the font of Christ he hath healed the sickness of ungodliness, and with the rivers of divinely flowing waters which proceed from his mouth he hath irrigated animate gardens. Wherefore, his proclamation hath gone forth like prophecy into all the world, and he prayeth that our souls be saved.

Glory…, in the same tone —

Assembling, O ye faithful, like David let us cry out in hymns to Luke, the mystic speaker of the Word: thy tongue hath been shown to be the pen of a scribe, adorning the visage of Christ, the Chief-scribe, that the nations may understand the knowledge of God. Therein he preached the Gospel, recording also the actions of the apostles. Wherefore, standing before God in Trinity, he prayeth for our souls.

Now & ever…: Theotokion, in the same tone —

O Mistress, accept the supplications of thy servants, and deliver us from all want and grief.

At Liturgy

On the Beatitudes, 8 troparia: 4 from Ode III and 4 from Ode VI of the canon of the evangelist.

Prokimenon, in Tone VIII —

Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.

Stichos: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaimeth the work of His hands.

Epistle to the Colossians,

§260 from the midpoint [4:5-9, 14, 18]

Brethren: Walk in wisdom toward those who are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord: whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts; with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here. Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you. The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen.

Alleluia, in Tone I —

Stichos: The heavens shall confess Thy wonders, O Lord, and Thy truth in the congregation of saints.

Stichos: God is glorified in the council of the saints.

Gospel according to Luke, §51 [10:16-21]

The Lord said to His disciples: “He who heareth you heareth Me; and he who despiseth you despiseth Me; and he who despiseth Me despiseth Him Who sent Me.” And the seventy returned again with joy, saying: “Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through Thy name.” And He said unto them: “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said: “I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes; even so, Father; for so it seemed good in Thy sight.”

Communion Verse —

Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.