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Audio Text
| The choir sings the Prokeimenon from the Psalms of David. After the Prokeimenon, the deacon announces: Wisdom! The lector, clothed in the sticharion and standing before the soleas in the center of the church, sings the title of the Epistle: A reading from and again the deacon: Let us be attentive! The chanters Following the reading of the Epistle, the priest says: Peace be with you. The deacon: Wisdom! Be attentive! The choir: Alleluia, with the psalm verses for the day. While the Alleluia is sung, the deacon takes the censer, sets incense into it and approaches the priest saying: Master, bless the incense. The priest says: Blessed is our God …; having received the blessing, the deacon censes around the Holy Table, the entire Altar, the priest, the icons of the iconostasis, both choirs, and the people. The deacon returns the censer to its customary place and comes to the priest. Bowing his head, the deacon holds his orarion with the tips of his fingers and, pointing towards the Holy Gospel, says in a raised voice: Master, bless the reader of the Gospel etc… The priest, blessing him, says: May God, through the prayers etc., and gives him the Holy Gospel. The deacon responds: Amen, shows reverence to the Holy Gospel and takes it through the holy doors to the ambo or the place from which the Gospel lesson is to be read. Candle bearers leave the altar by the side doors and precede the deacon. At the ambo the deacon sets the Gospel Book on an analogion, so that he may read the Gospel facing the people. The deacon Standing before the Holy Table and looking towards the west, the priest exclaims: Wisdom! Let us stand and listen to the holy gospel, then, blessing, Peace be with all. The choir: And with your spirit. The deacon: A reading from the holy Gospel according to etc. The choir: Glory to You, 0 Lord, glory to You. The priest: Let us be attentive! When the deacon has finished the Gospel reading, the priest says to the deacon: Peace be with you who have announced the holy Gospel. The choir: Glory to You, 0 Lord, glory to You. After proceeding to the holy doors, the deacon returns the closed Holy Gospel to the priest, who kisses and places it in the center of the Holy Table in front of the artophorion, or he lays it on the right side of the Holy Table. The homily now takes place. Following the homily, the holy doors are closed again. |
Notes
It is customary to have the candle bears venerate the Gospel when the reading is finished.
Local custom may encourage the faithful to gather around and in front of the place where the Gospel is read. If such is the case, present the Gospel for veneration to the faithful after the candle bearers.