Canon of Holy Saturday

• published: 07 May 2014
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This is the "Canon of Holy Saturday" sung by St. Mary's choir led by Dn. Gregory Ealy. St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. 4/18/14, Holy Friday Matins and Lamentations. TEXT: Ode 1 - Of old Thou didst bury the pursuing tyrant beneath the waves of the sea. Now the children of those who were saved bury Thee beneath the earth. But like the maidens, let us sing to the Lord, for gloriously has He been glorified. Ode 3 - Thou didst suspend the earth immovably upon the waters. Now creation beholds Thee suspended on Calvary. It quakes with great amazement and cries: "None is holy but Thee, O Lord." Ode 4 - Foreseeing Thy divine humiliation on the cross, Habakkuk cried out trembling: "Thou didst shatter the dominion of the mighty by joining those in Hell as the Almighty Lord." Ode 5 - Isaiah saw the never-setting light of Thy compassionate manifestation to us as God, O Christ. Rising early from the night he cried out: " The dead shall arise. Those in the tombs shall awake. All those on earth shall greatly rejoice." Ode 6 - Jonah was caught but not held fast in the bely of the whale. He was a sign of Thee Who hast suffered and accepted burial. Coming forth from the beast as from a bridal chamber, He called out to the guard: "By observing vanities and lies you have forsaken your own mercy." Kontakion - He who shut in the depths is beheld dead, wrapped in fine linen and spices. The Immortal One is laid in a tomb as a mortal man. The women have come to anoint Him with myrrh, weeping bitterly and crying: "This is the most blessed sabbath, on which Christ has fallen asleep to rise on the third day." Ode 7 - Inexpressible wonder! In the furnace Thou didst save the holy youths from the flame. Now Thou art placed in the grave as a lifeless corpse, for the salvation of us who sing: Blessed art Thou, O God our Redeemer. Ode 8 - Be amazed, O heavens! Be shaken, O foundations of the earth! Behold, He that dwells in the highest is numbered among the dead and sheltered in a lowly tomb. Bless Him, O youths! Praise Him, O priests! O people, exalt Him above all forever! Ode 9 - Do not lament me, O Mother, seeing me in the tomb, the Son conceived in the womb without seed, for I shall arise and be glorified with eternal glory as God. I shall exalt all who magnify you in faith and in love.