Upon your walls, O Jerusalem,
   I have posted sentinels;
all day and all night
   they shall never be silent.
You who remind the Lord,
   take no rest,
and give him no rest
   until he establishes Jerusalem
   and makes it renowned throughout the earth.
The Lord has sworn by his right hand
   and by his mighty arm:
I will not again give your grain
   to be food for your enemies,
and foreigners shall not drink the wine
   for which you have laboured;
but those who garner it shall eat it
   and praise the Lord,
and those who gather it shall drink it
   in my holy courts.

Go through, go through the gates,
   prepare the way for the people;
build up, build up the highway,
   clear it of stones,
   lift up an ensign over the peoples.
The Lord has proclaimed
   to the end of the earth:
Say to daughter Zion,
   ‘See, your salvation comes;
his reward is with him,
   and his recompense before him.’
They shall be called, ‘The Holy People,
   The Redeemed of the Lord’;
and you shall be called, ‘Sought Out,
   A City Not Forsaken.’

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.

 As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

 Do your best to come to me soon, for Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful in my ministry.

God the Father of all light has called us to true faith through the Good News of his Son. Let us pray to him for his holy people:

- Lord, remember your Church.

Father, you led your Son, the great shepherd of your flock, out of the realm of the dead:
  -  may we be his witnesses, to the very ends of the earth. (R.)
Father, you sent your Son into the world to bring the Good News to the poor:
  -  may the Gospel be preached to every created thing.(R.)
Father, you sent your Son to sow the seed of the word:
  -  as we sow the Word with great labour, so may we reap its fruits with joy.(R.)
Father, you sent your Son to reconcile the world to you with his blood:
  -  grant that we may all work together for reconciliation.(R.)
Father, you have seated your Son at your right hand in heaven:
  -  receive the dead into your blessed kingdom.(R.)

Our Father...


COLLECT
O God, who raised up Saint Mark, your Evangelist,
and endowed him with the grace to preach the Gospel,
grant, we pray,
that we may so profit from his teaching
as to follow faithfully in the footsteps of Christ.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.


Troparion - Tone 3
O Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark, intercede to our merciful God, that He may grant our souls forgiveness of sins.