Behold, the Bridegroom comes at midnight,
And blessed is that servant whom He shall find watching,
And again, unworthy is the servant whom He shall find heedless.
Beware, therefore, O my soul, do not be weighed down with sleep,
Lest you be given up to death, and lest you be shut out of the Kingdom.
But rouse yourself crying: Holy, Holy, Holy, art Thou, O our God,
Through the Theotokos have mercy on us.
Troparion of Bridegroom Matins
Glory to God for All Things 
April 20, 2008 at 5:41 pm
I don’t know why, but from the very first Lent I spent in the Orthodox Church, this has been one of my *favorite* Troparia. The Byzantine melody (I am in a Greek parish) is haunting.
April 20, 2008 at 7:09 pm
This Byzantine melody even fills my dreams as we get deeper into Holy Week. I am not in a Greek parish, but we still use the Byzantine melody. Perhaps it is the words as much as the melody, but something about it gets deep into the soul.
April 21, 2008 at 1:24 am
This week is the week I look forward to all year. The beauty of the Bridegroom services is beyond my ability to truly comprehend. This year, for some reason Great Lent flew by fast (pardon the pun) and now we are on the threshold of Holy Week! Glory to God, soon we will be shouting Christ has Risen!
April 21, 2008 at 8:32 am
[…] Holy week for us Orthodox. For Holy Monday, a few links … here and here plus a Palm Sunday link […]
April 21, 2008 at 8:33 am
[…] Holy week for us Orthodox. For Holy Monday, a few links … here and here plus a Palm Sunday link […]
April 21, 2008 at 11:51 am
I attended the Bridegroom service last evening………it was beautiful!
I love Holy Week…….
and I had Confession after the Liturgy……..I’ll try and capture the experience in words at some point.
God Bless
April 21, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Stephen: “This week is the week I look forward to all year.”
How is it that this time period (Great Lent and Holy Week), which non-Orthodox would think must be the worst for us because we “can’t” eat what we want or do all the fun things we usually do, is actually the most anticipated time of year?
How can going to long services every night of the week be something that we look forward to? And the longest services are our family favorites: Twelve Gospels and Pascha!
I guess the answer is: The beauty of the Lenten services is indescribable, and then Holy Week services top those.
April 21, 2008 at 4:22 pm
prayers continue for your health Father! š Blessed Holy week and Pasca!
April 21, 2008 at 10:04 pm
I am really finding your blog to be pretty interesting. Especially the topic on the reality of hell. I couldn’t comment on that on because it was full. I will looking for more of your post-Richard
Christian Myspace Layouts
April 21, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Father bless! This is my second Orthodox Holy Week, and Holy Saturday will be the one year anniversary of my chrismation. This time I am singing in the choir–what an indescribable joy to sing these profound and moving texts! The Bridegroom icon also struck me to the heart the first time I saw it–it speaks so beautifully of Christ’s humiliation (and also His profound humility and love) for our sakes. Thank you for this blog site. It never fails to nurture my faith. Blessed Pascha to you!
April 21, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Connie, I always feel such a letdown after Pascha, because I’m used to being in church all the time! I transferred into my OCA parish four months ago from an Antiochian parish – more services (the Sunday evening deanery Vespers, plus Friday Vespers), and different music (I’m in choir). It’s much different going through Lent and Holy Week being in choir rather than just attending all the services!
I mentioned the letdown part to my priest last week, and he said others have said the same thing to him!
I LOVE Lent, Holy Week, and Pascha, My coworkers think I’m nuts for spending so much time in church. I have Thursday and Friday off to attend services – and then Monday to recover, as well as to attend Bright Monday Liturgy at the cathedral here.
April 6, 2009 at 4:27 pm
It is not mere coincidence that so many people find this hymn particularly moving and solemn and beautiful. It introduces us, literally, into the Holy and Great Week, after the long preparation of Lent. To me it reminds priceless personal moments. I always remember the Bridegroom Matins, late on the evening of Palm Sunday, when all the church lights are turned off, and there, in the flickering light of the candles I hear the soft clinging of the censer’s bells and out of the darkness emerges the icon of the Bridegroom held by the priest, accompanied by that haunting chant. Always makes my knees feel shaky. Below I post 2 links of the chant, one in greek style, the other in russian:
Wish to everyone a blessed Holy and Great Week for 2009!