Ps 26:14
Wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord.
Ps 26:1
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?
Wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord.

May our fasting be acceptable to You, we beseech You, O Lord; may it be atonement for our sins, make us worthy of Your grace, and lead us to the everlasting remedy of the life to come.
Through our Lord…

Commemoration Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebaste
Grant, we beseech You, almighty God, that we who know how courageously Your holy Martyrs have confessed the faith, may experience their goodness as they intercede for us with You.
Through our Lord…

Lesson from the Prophecy of Daniel
Dan 14:27-42
In those days, the Babylonians went to the king and demanded: Hand over to us Daniel, who has destroyed Bel and killed the dragon, or we will kill you and your family. When he saw himself threatened with violence, the king was forced to hand Daniel over to them. They threw Daniel into a lions’ den, where he remained six days. In the den were seven lions, and two carcasses and two sheep had been given to them daily. But now they were given nothing, so that they would devour Daniel. In Judea there was a prophet, Habacuc; he mixed some bread in a bowl with the stew he had boiled, and was going to bring it to the reapers in the field, when an Angel of the Lord told him, Take the lunch you have to Daniel in the lions’ den at Babylon. But Habacuc answered, Babylon, sir, I have never seen, and I do not know the den! The Angel of the Lord seized him by the crown of his head and carried him by the hair; with the speed of the wind, he set him down in Babylon above the den. Daniel, servant of God, cried Habacuc, take the lunch God has sent you. You have remembered me, O God, said Daniel; You have not forsaken those who love You. While Daniel began to eat, the Angel of the Lord at once brought Habacuc back to his own place. On the seventh day the king came to mourn for Daniel. As he came to the den and looked in, there was Daniel, sitting in the midst of the lions! The king cried aloud, You are great, O Lord, the God of Daniel! Daniel he took out of the lions’ den, but those who had tried to destroy him he threw into the den, and they were devoured in a moment before his eyes. Then the king said: Let all the inhabitants of the whole earth fear the God of Daniel; for He is the Saviour, working signs and wonders in the earth, Who has delivered Daniel out of the lions’ den.

Ps 42:1, 3
Fight my fight, O Lord; from the deceitful and impious man rescue me.
℣. Send forth Your light and Your fidelity; they shall lead me on and bring me to Your holy mountain.

Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to John
John 7:1-13
At that time, Jesus went about in Galilee, for He did not wish to go about in Judea because the Jews were seeking to put Him to death. Now the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was at hand. His brethren therefore said to Him, Leave here and go into Judea that Your disciples also may see the works that You do; for no one does a thing in secret if he wants to be publicly known. If You do these things, manifest yourself to the world. For not even His brethren believed in Him. Jesus therefore said to them, My time has not yet come, but your time is always at hand. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I bear witness concerning it, that its works are evil. As for you, go up to the feast, but I do not go up to this feast, for My time is not yet fulfilled. When He had said these things He stayed on in Galilee. But as soon as His brethren had gone up to the feast, then He also went up, not publicly, but as it were privately. The Jews therefore were looking for Him at the feast, and were saying, Where is He? And there was much whispered comment among the crowd concerning Him. For some were saying, He is a good man. But others were saying, No, rather He seduces the crowd. Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of Him.

Ps 9:11-13
They trust in You who cherish your Name, O Lord, for You forsake not those who seek You. Sing praise to the Lord enthroned in Sion, for He has not forgotten the cry of the afflicted.

O Lord, we bring You the gifts for sacrifice, as tokens of consolation in this life, so that we may not despair of Your eternal promises.
Through our Lord…

Commemoration Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebaste
Look with favor, O Lord, upon the prayers and offerings of Your faithful, that they may be pleasing to You for the feast of Your saints and may bring us the help of Your mercy.
Through our Lord…

Holy Cross
It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God; Who didst establish the salvation of mankind on the tree of the Cross; that whence death came, thence also life might arise again, and that he, who overcame by the tree, by the tree also might be overcome: Through Christ our Lord. Through whom the Angels praise Thy Majesty, the Dominations worship it, the Powers stand in awe. The Heavens and the heavenly hosts together with the blessed Seraphim in triumphant chorus unite to celebrate it. Together with these we entreat Thee that Thou mayest bid our voices also to be admitted while we say with lowly praise:

Ps 24:22
Redeem me, O God of Israel, from all my distress.

Grant us, we beseech You, almighty God that by constantly performing these holy acts, we may be worthy to come closer to the gifts of heaven.
Through our Lord…

Commemoration Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebaste
Be appeased by the prayers of Your Saints, O Lord, and grant, we beseech You, that the rites we perform in this lifetime may avail for our eternal salvation.
Through our Lord…

Prayer over the people
Let us pray.
Bow your heads to God.
O Lord, we beseech You, make us always obedient servants of Your will, so that in our days Your faithful people may increase both in merit and in number.
Through our Lord…