Saints Nazarius and Celsus, Saint Victor I, and Saint Innocent I
Introit
Psalm 78:11-12, 10
Let the sighing of the prisoners come in before Thee, O Lord; render to our neighbours sevenfold in their bosom; revenge the blood of Thy saints, which hath been shed. Ps. O God, the heathens are come into Thy inheritance: they have defiled Thy holy temple: they have made Jerusalem as a place to keep fruit. Glory be to the Father.
Collect
May the confession of Thy saints, Nazarius, Celsus, Victor, and Innocent, fortify us, O Lord, and may it, for the sake of their merits, obtain help for our frailty. Through our Lord.
Epistle
Wisdom 10:17-20
God rendered to the just the wages of their labours, and conducted them in a wonderful way; and He was to them for a covert by day, and for the light of stars by night; and He brought them through the Red Sea, and carried them over through a great water. But their enemies He drowned in the sea, and from the depth of hell He brought them out. Therefore the just took the spoils of the wicked. And they sung to Thy holy name, O Lord, and they praised with one accord Thy victorious hand, O Lord, our God.
Gradual
Exodus 15:11, 6
God is glorious in His Saints, wonderful in majesty, doing wonders. Thy right hand, O Lord, is glorified in strength; Thy right hand hath broken the enemies.
Alleluia
Ecclesiasticus 44:14
Alleluia, alleluia. Thy bodies of Thy Saints are buried in peace, and their name liveth unto generation and generation. Alleluia.
Gospel
Luke 21:9-19
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: When you shall hear of wars and seditions, be not terrified: these things must first come to pass, but the end is not yet presently. Then He said to them: Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there shall be great earthquakes in divers places, and pestilences, and famines and terrors from Heaven, and there shall be great signs. But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and into prisons, dragging you before kings and governors for My name’s sake; and it shall happen unto you for a testimony. Lay it up therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before how you shall answer. For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to resist and gainsay. And you shall be betrayed by your parents and brethren and kinsmen and friends, and some of you they will put to death: and you shall be hated by all men for My name’s sake; but a hair of your head shall not perish. In your patience you shall possess your souls.
Offertory
Psalm 67:36
God is wonderful in His saints: the God of Israel is He Who will give power and strength to His people: blessed be God.
Secret
Grant us, O almighty God, that we may both please Thee with the offering and be vivified by the receiving of these gifts which we bring in honour of Thy saints, Nazarius, Celsus, Victor, and Innocent. Through our Lord.
Communion
Wisdom 3:4-6
And though in the sight of men they suffered torments, God hath tried them: as gold in the furnace He hath proved them, and as a victim of a holocaust He hath received them.
Postcommunion
Being appeased by the intercession of Sts. Nazarius, Celsus, Victor, and Innocent, grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that what we celebrate by a temporal service we may receive for our eternal salvation. Through the Lord.