A WESTERN ORTHODOX PRAYER SERVICE FOR THE QUENCHING OF FIRES AND THE COMMEMORATION OF THE DEPARTED

Prayers for the Quenching of the California Fires and the Rest and Commemoration of the Souls of the Faithfully Departed by the Ancient Church of the West  

Opening Blessing

Priest: Blessed is our God, always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.

People: Amen.

Psalm 83 (84)

How beloved are Thy dwellings, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God. Yea, the sparrow hath found herself a house, and the turtledove a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even Thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house; unto ages of ages shall they praise Thee. Blessed is the man whose help is from Thee; he hath made ascents in his heart, in the vale of weeping, in the place which he hath appointed. For the lawgiver shall give blessings; they shall go from strength to strength; the God of gods shall be seen in Zion. O Lord of hosts, hearken unto my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob. O God, our defender, behold, and look upon the face of Thine anointed. For better is one day in Thy courts than thousands elsewhere. I have chosen rather to be an outcast in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of sinners. For the Lord loveth mercy and truth; God will give grace and glory. The Lord will not withhold good things from them that walk in innocence. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that hopeth in Thee.

The Great Litany

Priest: In peace, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Priest: For the peace of the whole world, the welfare of the holy churches of God, and the union of all, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Priest: For this land and its people, for those who labor to extinguish the fires, and for the swift end of this disaster, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Priest: For those who have lost their homes, for those in distress and peril, for the healing of the wounded, and the protection of all in danger, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Priest: For the souls of the departed, who have perished in these fires, that the Lord our God may grant them rest in the land of the living, where all the righteous dwell, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Grant it, O Lord.

Priest: That He may deliver us from all tribulation, wrath, danger, and necessity, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Priest: Help us, save us, have mercy on us, and keep us, O God, by Thy grace.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Priest: Calling to remembrance our most holy, most pure, most blessed, and glorious Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, with all the saints, let us commend ourselves and one another, and all our life unto Christ our God.

People: To Thee, O Lord.

Troparion (Tone Eight)

O Lord, who didst calm the storm and rebuke the raging seas, hear our prayer. Quench the fires, preserve Thy people, and show forth Thy mercy upon this land. For Thou art our refuge and deliverance, and unto Thee do we give glory: to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Epistle Reading

Reader: The reading is from the First Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians.

Brethren, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like others who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

Alleluia (Tone Six)

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. Blessed are they whom Thou hast chosen and taken, O Lord. Their memory is from generation to generation. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.

Gospel Reading

Priest: The reading is from the Holy Gospel according to John.

People: Glory to Thee, O Lord, glory to Thee.

Priest: Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)

People: Glory to Thee, O Lord, glory to Thee.

The Western Orthodox Requiem Sequence (Dies Ires)

Reader: Day of wrath and doom impending, David's word with Sibyl's blending, Heaven and earth in ashes ending.

Oh, what fear man's bosom rendeth, When from heaven the Judge descendeth, On whose sentence all dependeth!

Wondrous sound the trumpet flingeth; Through earth's sepulchers it ringeth; All before the throne it bringeth.

Death is struck, and nature quaking, All creation is awaking, To its Judge an answer making.

Lo! the book, exactly worded, Wherein all hath been recorded: Thence shall judgment be awarded.

When the Judge His seat attaineth, And each hidden deed arraigneth, Nothing unavenged remaineth.

What shall I, frail man, be pleading? Who for me be interceding, When the just are mercy needing?

Righteous Judge, for sin's pollution Grant Thy gift of absolution, Ere that day of retribution.

Hymn for the Departed

People: Memory eternal, memory eternal, memory eternal!

Priest: May their souls dwell with the righteous; may perpetual light shine upon them; and may they rest in peace, O Lord.

People: Amen.

Litany for the Departed

Priest: Have mercy, O Lord, on the souls of Thy servants who have departed in the flames, forgive their every transgression, voluntary and involuntary, and grant them rest in a place of brightness, a place of verdure, a place of repose, where all sickness, sorrow, and sighing have fled away. Let us pray to the Lord.

People: Grant it, O Lord.

Priest: That Thou wouldst forgive their sins and grant them eternal memory, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Grant it, O Lord.

Priest: That the Lord will grant strength and comfort to the families of the departed, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Canon for the Departed

Ode One: I shall open my mouth, and it shall be filled with the Spirit; and I shall utter a word unto the Queen and Mother: I shall be seen radiantly keeping feast, and joyfully praising her wonders.

Refrain: Grant rest, O Lord, to the souls of Thy servants.

Ode Three: O Thou who alone hast stretched out the heavens, and established the earth upon the waters: confirm me in Thy law, O Christ; for there is none holy save Thee, O Lord.

Refrain: Grant rest, O Lord, to the souls of Thy servants.

Kontakion (Tone Eight): With the saints give rest, O Christ, to the souls of Thy servants, where there is neither sickness, nor sorrow, nor sighing, but life everlasting.

Ikos: Thou only art immortal, who hast created and fashioned man. For out of the earth were we mortals made, and unto the same earth shall we return, as Thou didst command when Thou madest me, saying unto me: For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. Whither we mortals all shall go, making our funeral dirge the song: Alleluia.

Final Prayer

Priest: O God of spirits and of all flesh, who hast trampled down death and made powerless the devil, granting life to Thy world, do Thou, the same Lord, give rest to the souls of Thy servants who have fallen asleep in the fires, in a place of brightness, a place of refreshment, a place of repose, whence all sickness, sorrow, and sighing have fled away. For Thou art the Resurrection and the Life, and to Thee to we ascribe glory through Christ Jesus Our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.