_Then_, Have mercy upon us, O God, according to thy great mercy, we pray
thee, hear and have mercy.
Lord, have mercy, _thrice_.
Furthermore let us pray for mercy, life, peace, health, salvation,
visitation, and forgiveness of sins for the servant of God, _name_.
Lord, have mercy, _thrice_.
That to him may be remitted every iniquity, voluntary and involuntary,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy, _thrice_.
_And the exclamation._
For a merciful and man-loving God thou art, and to thee we ascribe glory,
to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, now and ever, and
to ages of ages. Amen.
_Deacon._ Let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
_Priest, the prayer._
O thou that art unbeginning, eternal, and in the holy of holies, who
didst send down thine only-begotten Son, who healeth every infirmity and
every wound of our souls and bodies; do thou send down thy Holy Ghost,
and sanctify this oil, and let it be unto thine anointed servant, _name_,
for a perfect deliverance from his sins, and for the inheritance of the
kingdom of heaven.
_Be it known that some say this prayer only thus far, with the
exclamation,_
For it is thine to have mercy.....
_But others say even unto the end,_
For thou art God great and wonderful, who keepest thy testament and thy
mercy unto them that love thee, granting deliverance from sins through
thy holy child, Jesus Christ, who regenerateth us from sin, enlighteneth
the blind, setteth up them that are cast down, loveth the righteous,
and is merciful to sinners, who hath called us out of darkness and the
shadow of death, saying unto them that are in bonds, Come forth, and to
them that are in darkness, Be ye unveiled. For he hath shined in our
hearts the light of the knowledge of his countenance, in that for our
sake he was made manifest upon earth, and dwelt among men; and to them
that accepted thee gave he power to become the children of God; and hath
bestowed upon us a sonship through the laver of regeneration, and made
us to have no participation in the domination of the devil. For thou
wast not pleased that we should be cleansed through blood, but hast
given, through holy oil, an image of his cross, that we may be a flock
of Christ, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, cleansing us by water,
and sanctifying us by thy holy spirit. Do thou thyself, O Master Lord,
give grace unto us in this thy service, as thou didst give unto Moses,
thine accepted, and unto Samuel, thy beloved, and unto John, thine
elect, and unto all who in every generation have been acceptable unto
thee. And so make us to be ministers of thy new testament upon this oil,
which thou hast made thine own through the precious blood of thy Christ,
that, putting away worldly lusts, we may die unto sin and live unto
righteousness, so that we may be led of the proposed oil to be invested
in him with the anointing of sanctification. May this oil, O Lord, be an
oil of gladness, an oil of sanctification, a royal investiture, a cuirass
of power, an averting of every diabolical operation, an inviolable seal,
a rejoicing of the heart, an eternal joy, that they that are anointed
with this oil of regeneration may be terrible to adversaries, and may
shine in the brightness of thy saints, having no spot or wrinkle; and
may they attain unto thine eternal rest, and gain the prize of the
calling from on high.
For it is thine to have mercy, and to save us, O our God, and to thee we
ascribe glory, with thine only-begotten Son, and with thy most holy, and
good, and life-creating Spirit, now and ever, and to ages of ages, Amen.
_And after the prayer; the priest taketh a twig, and, dipping it in
the holy oil, anointeth the sick person in the form of a cross, on the
forehead, on the nostrils, on the cheeks, on the lips, on the breast, on
the hands on both sides, saying this prayer._
Holy Father, physician of souls and bodies, who didst send thine
only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who healeth every infirmity,
and delivereth from death; do thou heal thy servant, _name_, from the
bodily and spiritual weakness that presseth upon him, and quicken him
by the grace of thy Christ; through the prayers of our most holy Lady,
the God-bearing and ever-virgin Mary; through the intercession of the
honourable, heavenly bodiless powers; through the power of the precious
and life-effecting cross; of the honourable glorious prophet, Forerunner,
and Baptist John; of the holy, glorious, and all-praised apostles; of the
holy glorious, and excellently victorious martyrs; of our venerable and
god-bearing fathers; of the holy and unmercenary physicians, Cosmas and
Damian, Cyrus and John, Pantelimon and Hermolaus, Sampson and Diomed,
Photius and Anicetas; of the holy and righteous god-progenitors, Joakim
and Anna, and of all the Saints.
For thou art the fount of healing, O our God, and to thee we ascribe
glory, with thine only-begotten Son, and with thy consubstantial Spirit,
now and ever, and to ages of ages. Amen.
_This prayer is said by each priest after he hath said his gospel and
prayer, while he anointeth the sick person with oil._
_Deacon._ Let us attend.
_The second priest._ Peace to all.
_Prokimenon, tone ii._
The Lord is my strength and song, and is become for salvation unto me.
_Verse._ When thou chastenest, thou hast chastened me, O Lord; but thou
hast not given me up unto death.
_The epistle to the Romans, section cxvi._
Brethren, we that are strong ought.... _ending_, received us to the glory
of God.[17]
_The second priest._ Peace to thee.
_Alleluia, tone v._
_Verse._ I will sing of thy mercy, O Lord, for ever.
_The second priest._
_The gospel from Luke, section xciv._
At that time, Jesus passed through.... _ending_, to save that which was
lost.[18]
_And the deacon._