3rd Sunday of Great Lent: Veneration of the Cross
Troparion — Tone 4
O Lord, save Your people, / and bless Your inheritance. / Grant victories to the Orthodox Christians, / over their adversaries. / And by virtue of Your Cross / preserve Your habitation!
Kontakion — Tone 7
Now the flaming sword no longer guards the gates of Eden; / it has mysteriously been quenched by the wood of the Cross! / The sting of death and the victory of hell have been vanquished; / for You, O my Savior, have come and cried to those in hell: / “Enter again into paradise.”
Martyr Terence and 40 others beheaded at Carthage
Troparion — Tone 4
A chosen army of athletes from Africa contested nobly for the faith. / They were of one mind and heart / and of one accord in their struggles. / Now they intercede that we all may be saved.
Kontakion — Tone 1
Let us celebrate the memory of Terence and his companions / and draw near to receive healing. / For with grace and power of the Spirit / they heal the sicknesses of our souls.
Martyrs James (Jacob) the Presbyter, and Azadanes and Abdicius, Deacons, of Persia
Troparion — Tone 4
O God of our Fathers, / always act with kindness towards us; / take not Your mercy from us, / but guide our lives in peace / through the prayers of Saints James, Azadanes, and Abdikius.
Martyrs of the Kvabtakhevi Monastery in Georgia
Troparion — Tone 4
Your holy martyrs O Lord, / through their sufferings have received incorruptible crowns from You, our God. / For having Your strength, they laid low their adversaries, / and shattered the powerless boldness of demons. / Through their intercessions, save our souls!
Hieromartyr Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople
Troparion — Tone 1
(Podoben: “O citizen of the desert...”)
Let us the faithful honor the offspring of Dēmētsána and leader of Byzantium, / as an all-glorious Martyr of Christ, / that we may receive forgiveness for our faults, crying aloud to God: / “Glory to Him Who strengthened you. / Glory to Him Who crowned you. / Glory to Him Who glorified you in Heaven, O Saint.”
Kontakion — Tone 4
(Podoben: “You appeared today...”)
Gathering together today in the city of Athens, / all you true sons of Greece, / let us celebrate Patriarch Gregory joyously, with divine songs.