O Lord our God, who chastenest and again healest, who raisest the poor from the earth, and liftest up the beggar from the dunghill, O Father of the orphans, and haven of the tempest-tost, and physician of them that are sick; who painlessly bearest our weaknesses, and takest away our sicknesses; who shewest mercy with gentleness, overlookest transgressions, and takest away unrighteousness; who art quick to help and slow to anger; who didst breathe upon thy disciples, and say, Receive ye the Holy Ghost, whosoever sins ye remit, they are remittedunto them; who acceptest the repentance of sinners, and hast power to forgive many and grievous sins, and vouchsafest healing unto all that continue in weakness and protracted sickness; who me also, thine humble, sinful, and unworthy servant, involved in many sins, and overwhelmed with lusts of pleasures, hast called to the holy and exceeding great degree of the priesthood, and to enter in within the veil into the holy of holies, where the holy Angels desire to stoop to look, and hear the evangelical voice of the Lord God, and behold as eye-witnesses the presence of the holy oblation, and be enraptured with the divine and sacred liturgy; who hast counted me worthy to minister the sacred rite of thy most heavenly mystery, and to offer unto thee gifts and sacrifices for our sins, and for the ignorances of the people, and to mediate for thy rational flock, that, through thy great and unspeakable love to man, thou mayest cleanse their iniquities; do thou thyself, O most good King, attend unto my prayer at this hour, and on this holy day, and in every time and place, and accept the voice of my prayer, and grant healing unto thy servant,name, who is in weakness of soul and body, vouchsafing unto him remission of sins and forgiveness of voluntary and involuntary iniquities: heal his incurable wounds, and every sickness and every sore, bestowing upon him spiritual healing. It was thou who didst touch the mother-in-lawof Peter, and the fever left her, and she arose and ministered unto thee: do thou thyself, O Master, bestow a remedy upon thy servant,name, and an alleviation of every mortal pain, and remember thine abundant compassions, and thy mercy. Remember that the intention of man inclineth constantly toward evil from his youth up, and that none is to be found sinless upon earth; for thou alone art without sin, who didst come and save the race of men, and deliver us from the servitude of the enemy. For if thou shouldest enter into judgment with thy servants, there is none that would be found pure from defilement, but every mouth would be shut, not having wherewith to answer; for all our righteousness is as filthy rags before thee. For this cause remember not, Lord, the sins of our youth; for thou art the hope of the hopeless, and the rest of them that are weary and heavy-laden with transgressions, and to thee we ascribe glory, with thine unbeginning Father, and with thy most holy, and good, and life-creating Spirit, now and ever, and to ages of ages. Amen.
And after the prayer the fifth priest straightway taketh a fifth twig, and, dipping it in the holy oil, anointeth the sick person, saying the prayer,
Holy Father, physician of souls and bodies....
Vide page101.
Deacon.Let us attend.
And the sixth priest.Peace to all.
Prokimenon, tone vi.
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to great mercy.
Verse.Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
The epistle to the Galatians, section ccxiii.
Brethren, the fruit of the spirit....ending, so fulfil the law of Christ.[25]
The sixth priest.Peace to thee.
Deacon.Wisdom, let us attend.
Alleluia, tone vi.
Verse.Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, in his commandments he rejoiceth exceedingly.
Deacon.Wisdom, standing, let us hear the holy gospel.
The gospel from Matthew, section lxii.
At that time, Jesus went....ending, from that very hour.[26]
And the deacon.
Have mercy upon us, O God....
Furthermore let us pray for mercy, life....
That to him may be remitted....
Exclamation.For a merciful...
Deacon.Let us pray to the Lord.
The priest, this prayer.
We give thanks unto thee, O Lord our God, thou good lover of mankind, and physician of our souls and bodies, who painlessly bearest our sicknesses, and by whose stripes we have all been healed; thou good shepherd, who camest to seek the wandering sheep; who givest consolation unto the faint-hearted, and life unto them that are broken down; who didst heal the source of the issue of blood that had lasted twelve years; who didst deliver the daughter of the Chananitish woman from the ruthless demon; who didst forgive the debt unto the two debtors, and give remission unto the sinful woman; who didst bestow healing upon the paralytic, with the remission of his sins; who didst justify the publican by a word, and didst accept the thief in his last confession; who takest away the sins of the world, and wast nailed on the cross; to thee we pray, and thee we beseech, Do thou thyself, O God, in thy goodness, loosen, forgive, and pardon the transgressions and sins of thy servant,name, and his voluntary and involuntary iniquities, those in knowledge and in ignorance, those by trespass and disobedience, those by night and by day; or if he be under the curse of a priest, or of a father or a mother; or if by the glance of the eye, or a movement of the eyelid; or by the contact of adultery, or the tasting ofprodigality, or in any excitement of flesh and spirit he have estranged himself from thy will, and from thy holiness. And if he have sinned, and in like manner we also, as the good God that rememberest not evil and the lover of mankind, do thou pardon, not leaving him and us to fall into a dissolute life, neither to walk in ways of destruction. Yea, O Master Lord, hear me, a sinner, at this hour on behalf of thy servant,name, and overlook, as the God that rememberest not evil, all his iniquities; deliver him from eternal torment; fill his mouth with thy praise; open his lips to the glorification of thy name; extend his hands to the doing of thy commandments; direct his feet in the path of thy gospel, confirming all his members and his intention by thy grace. For thou art our God, who, by thy holy apostles, hast commanded us, saying, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in the heavens, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in the heavens; and again, Unto whomsoever ye remit sins, they are remitted unto them, and, If ye bind them, they are bound. And, as thou didst hearken unto Ezekias in the affliction of his soul in the hour of his death, and didst not despise his prayer, so hearken unto me, thine humble, and sinful, and unworthy servant at this hour. For thou, O Lord Jesus Christ, art he that, in thy goodness and love to man, biddeth to forgive until seventy times seventhem that fall into sins; and thou repentest thee concerning our evils, and rejoicest over the return of the wanderer. For, as is thy greatness, so also is thy mercy, and to thee we ascribe glory, with thine unbeginning Father, and with thy most holy, and good, and life-creating Spirit, now and ever, and to ages of ages. Amen.
And after the prayer the sixth priest straightway taketh a sixth twig, and, dipping it in the holy oil, anointeth the sick person, saying the prayer,
Holy Father, physician of souls and bodies....
Vide page101.
Deacon.Let us attend.
And the seventh priest.Peace to all.
Prokimenon, tone vii.
O Lord, rebuke me not in thy fury, neither chasten me in thine anger.
Verse.Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak.
The epistle to the Thessalonians, section cclxxiii.
Brethren, we exhort you....ending, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.[27]
And the seventh priest.Peace to thee.
Deacon.Wisdom.
Alleluia, tone vii.
Verse.The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble, the name of the God of Jacob defend thee.
The gospel from Matthew, section xxx.
At that time, Jesus, passing by....ending, sinners to repentance.[28]
And the deacon.Have mercy upon us, O God....
Furthermore let us pray for mercy, life....
That to him may be remitted....
And the exclamation.For a merciful....
The deacon saith, Let us pray to the Lord.
The priest, this prayer.
O Master, Lord our God, physician of souls and bodies, who restorest from long-continued sufferings, healest every sickness and every wound among the people, willest that all men should be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth, and desirest not the death of a sinner, but that he should return and live. For, thou, Lord, in the old testament didst appoint repentance unto sinners, to David, and to the Ninevites, and to them that were before these; but during the course of thine incarnate dispensation, didst not call the righteous but sinners to repentance, even accepting the publican, the harlot, the thief, and the blasphemingpersecutor, the great Paul, through repentance. Thou, through repentance, didst accept Peter, the leader and thine apostle, who denied thee thrice, and didst make promise unto him, saying, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church, and the gates of hades shall not prevail against it, and I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Wherefore we also, O good one and the lover of mankind, being bold according to thine undeceiving promises, pray unto thee, and supplicate at this hour. Hearken unto our prayer and accept it as incense offered unto thee, and visit thy servant,name, and if he have sinned by word, or deed, or intention, or in the night, or in the day, if he be under the curse of a priest, or be fallen under his own curse, or be embittered by a curse, and have forsworn himself, we supplicate thee, and to thee we pray, Pardon, forgive, and loosen him, O God, overlooking his transgressions, and the sins which in knowledge and in ignorance have been done by him. And in whatsoever he have transgressed thy commandments, or have sinned, because he beareth flesh and liveth in the world, or because of the operation of the devil, do thou thyself, as the good and man-loving God, loosen him; for there is no man that liveth and sinneth not: thou only art without sin, thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy word is the truth. For thou didst notform man for destruction, but for the keeping of thy commandments, and for the inheritance of life incorruptible, and to thee we ascribe glory, with the Father, and with the Holy Ghost, now and ever, and to ages of ages. Amen.
And after the prayer the seventh priest taketh a seventh twig, and, dipping it in the holy oil, anointeth the sick person, saying the prayer,
Holy Father, physician of souls and bodies....
Vide page101.
And after this, the sick person that receiveth the sacred unction, if he be able, cometh himself into the midst of the priests, or, held by his own people, standeth, or sitteth. And if he be not able, the priests themselves stand around him lying on the bed. And the president, taking the holy gospel and opening it, layeth the text upon the head of the sick person, the book being held by all the priests. And he that is the leader doth not lay on his hand, but he saith this prayer with a loud voice.
O Holy King, O loving-kind and most merciful Lord Jesus Christ, Son and Word of the living God, who desirest not the death of a sinner, but that he should return and live; I lay not my sinful hand upon the head of him that cometh to thee in sins, and beseecheth of thee through us remission of sins, but thy strong and mighty hand which is in this holy gospel which my fellow-ministers hold upon the head of thy servant,name, and I pray with them andentreat thy merciful love to man, which remembereth not evil, O God, our Saviour, who, through thy prophet Nathan, didst grant remission of his iniquities unto the repentant David, and didst accept the prayer of repentance of Manasse; and do thou thyself, in thy wonted love to man, accept thy servant,name, who bewaileth on account of his own offences, and overlook all his iniquities. For thou art our God, who hast bidden to forgive until seventy times seven them that have fallen into sins; for as is thy greatness, so also is thy mercy, and to thee is due every glory, honour, and worship, now and ever, and to ages of ages. Amen.
And taking the gospel from the head of the sick person, they present it to him to kiss.
And the deacon.Have mercy upon us, O God....
Furthermore let us pray for mercy, life....
And that to him may be remitted....
Exclamation.
For a merciful and man-loving....
Then they sing, Glory, idiomelon, tone iv.
Having a fountain of remedies, O holy unmercenary ones, ye bestow healings unto all that are in need, as being counted worthy of mighty gifts from the ever-flowing fountain of our Saviour. For the Lord hath said unto you,as unto co-emulators of the apostles, Behold, I have given unto you power over unclean spirits, so as to cast them out, and to heal every sickness and every wound. Therefore in his commandments having virtuously liv’d, freely ye receiv’d, freely ye bestow, healing the sufferings of our souls and bodies.
Both now, tone the same.
Attend unto the supplications of thy servants, thou altogether undefiled one, quelling the uprisings of evils against us, and releasing us from every affliction; for thee we have alone a sure and certain confirmation, and we have gain’d thy mediation that we may not be put to shame, O Queen, who call upon thee. Be instant in supplication for them that faithfully exclaim to thee, Hail, Queen, thou aid of all, the joy and safeguard, and salvation of our souls.
Glory. Both now.Lord, have mercy,thrice. Bless.
And the dismissal.
Christ our true God, through the prayers of his most pure Mother, through the power of the honourable and life-effecting cross, of the holy, glorious, and all-praised James, apostle and first highpriest of Jerusalem, the brother of God, and of all the Saints, save us and have mercy upon us, as being good and the lover of mankind.
And he that receiveth the prayer oil maketh reverence, saying,
Bless me, holy fathers, and forgive me, a sinner.
Thrice.
And, having received from them blessing and forgiveness, he departeth, thanking God.