Repentance for sins committed calls forth in the human soul entreaty
for mercy. Therefore, after the kathisma, selected verses from the
Psalms are read (“Lord, I have cried unto Thee, hearken unto me”), in which are
expressed: in the first place, supplication from the bottom of the heart, that
the Lord may hearken to our unworthy prayers, help us to keep away from evil
and from evil men, and receive us among his elect; In the second place, the
assurance that the Lord will hear our prayer. The last verses of the Psalms, in
which is expressed the hope of salvation, are sung alternately with hymns
composed in honor of the person or event to whom the service is consecrated,
and assuring us that the Lord accepts the prayer of those who love Him. These
hymns are called the Sticheræ (a Greek word, meaning, “verses”) on
“Lord, I have cried.” The last of them glorifies the Mother of God and contains
the dogma of the Incarnation, whence it has the name of “the Dogmatic Theotokion,”
or, simply, “Dogmaticon.”
“Lord, I have cried unto Thee; hearken unto me; attend to the voice
of my supplication when I cry unto Thee; hearken unto me, O Lord. Let my prayer
be set forth, as incense before Thee; the lifting of my hands as an evening
sacrifice. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may confess Thy name. (Here
follows a stichera). The righteous shall wait patiently for me until
Thou shalt reward me. (Stichera). From the
morning watch until night, from the morning watch let Israel
hope in the Lord. (Stichera). For with the Lord
there is mercy; and with Him is plenteous redemption, and He shall redeem Israel
(His chosen people) out of all his iniquities. (Stichera).
O Praise the Lord all ye nations, praise Him, all ye peoples (Stichera).
For He hath made His mercy to prevail over us, and the truth
of the Lord abideth for ever. (The Dogmaticon.).