The Hours

The First Hour

(6:00 AM — Commemorating the dawn and the journey of Christ to Pilate.)

Reader: O come, let us worship and fall down before God our King! (3x)

(Psalms 5, 89, and 100 are read.)

Reader (Psalm 5): Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation. Hearken to the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for to You will I pray, O Lord; in the morning You shall hear my voice. In the morning I will stand before You, and You will look upon me.

(The Troparion of the First Hour:)

Reader: In the morning hearken to my voice, O my King and my God. (3x)

(The Concluding Prayer of the First Hour:)

Priest: O Christ, the True Light, who enlighten and sanctify every man who comes into the world: Let the light of Your countenance be signed upon us, that in it we may behold the unapproachable Light; and guide our steps aright to the keeping of Your commandments; through the intercessions of Your all-pure Mother and of all Your saints. Amen.

The Third Hour

(9:00 AM — Commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit and the start of the Crucifixion.)

(Psalms 16, 24, and 50 are read.)

Reader (Psalm 50): Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy; and according to the multitude of Your compassions, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

(The Troparion of the Third Hour:)

Priest: O Lord, who at the third hour didst send down Your Most Holy Spirit upon Your Apostles: Take Him not from us, O Good One, but renew Him in us who pray to You.

People: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

People: Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me.

(The Concluding Prayer of the Third Hour:)

Priest: O Lord God, Father Almighty, Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit, one Godhead and one Power: Have mercy on me a sinner; and by the judgments which You know, save me, Your unworthy servant; for You are blessed unto ages of ages. Amen.

The Sixth Hour

(12:00 PM — Commemorating the Crucifixion of Christ.)

(Psalms 53, 54, and 90 are read.)

Reader (Psalm 90): He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord: My helper and my refuge, my God, in Him will I hope.

(The Troparion of the Sixth Hour:)

Priest: O You who on the sixth day and hour didst nail to the Cross the sin which Adam dared to commit in Paradise: Tear asunder also the handwriting of our transgressions, O Christ our God, and save us!

People: Hearken to my prayer, O God, and despise not my supplication.

People: I have cried unto God, and the Lord has heard me.

(The Concluding Prayer of the Sixth Hour:)

Priest: O God and Lord of powers, and Creator of all creation, who through the compassion of Your immeasurable mercy didst send down Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, for the salvation of our race, and by His precious Cross didst tear asunder the handwriting of our sins, and thereby didst triumph over the principalities and powers of darkness: Do You Yourself, O Master, Lover of Mankind, accept also from us sinners these prayers of thanksgiving and entreaty; and deliver us from every destructive and dark transgression, and from all enemies, both visible and invisible, that seek to do us evil. Nail our flesh to the fear of You, and incline not our hearts to words or thoughts of evil, but wound our souls with love for You...

The Ninth Hour

(3:00 PM — Commemorating the Death of Christ and the Thief's Confession.)

(Psalms 83, 84, and 85 are read.)

Reader (Psalm 85): Bow down Your ear, O Lord, and hear me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my soul, for I am holy; O my God, save Your servant who hopes in You.

(The Troparion of the Ninth Hour:)

Priest: O You who at the ninth hour for our sake didst taste of death in the flesh: Mortify the pride of our flesh, O Christ our God, and save us!

People: Let my supplication draw near before You, O Lord; according to Your word give me understanding.

People: Let my prayer come before You, O Lord; according to Your word deliver me.

(The Prayer of the Wise Thief:)

Reader: When the thief beheld the Author of Life hanging upon the Cross, he said: If it were not God who is crucified with us, the sun would not have hidden its rays, nor would the earth have shaken and trembled. But do You who endure all things, remember me, O Lord, in Your Kingdom!

(The Concluding Prayer of the Ninth Hour:)

Priest: O Master and Lord Jesus Christ our God, who are long-suffering toward our sins, and who have brought us even to this present hour, in which, hanging upon the life-creating Tree, You didst make a way into Paradise for the wise thief, and by death didst destroy death: Be gracious to us, Your humble and sinful and unworthy servants. For we have sinned and committed iniquity, and we are not worthy to lift up our eyes and behold the height of heaven, because we have forsaken the path of Your righteousness and have walked according to the desires of our own hearts. But we entreat Your immeasurable goodness: Spare us, O Lord, according to the multitude of Your mercies, and save us for Your holy name's sake...