Feast Day: September 7th
and Holy Tuesday Evening (The Bridegroom Matins for Holy Wednesday morning)
The Life of Saint Kassiani: The young emperor approached her and said: “Through a woman came forth the baser things,” referring to the sin and suffering coming as a result of Eve’s transgression. Kassiani promptly responded by saying: “And through a woman came forth the better things,” referring to the hope of salvation resulting from the Incarnation through the Most Holy Theotokos…
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The Hymn of Saint Kassiani
The Hymn of Kassiani is also known as the Hymn of the fallen woman, and is a Hymn of repentance based on the Gospel reading for the Matins of Holy Wednesday. This Gospel reading is Matthew 26:6-16, and is about the sinful woman who anointed the feet of Jesus with costly ointment. This Hymn is chanted only once a year on Holy Tuesday evening for the Matins of Holy Wednesday.
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“O Lord God, the woman who had fallen into many sins, having perceived Thy Divinity received the rank of ointment-bearer, offering Thee spices before Thy burial wailing and crying: “Woe is me, for the love of adultery and sin hath given me a dark and lightless night;
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accept the fountains of my tears O Thou Who drawest the waters of the sea by the clouds
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incline Thou to the sigh of my heart O Thou Who didst bend the Heavens by Thine inapprehensible condescension;
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I will kiss Thy pure feet and I will wipe them with my tresses. I will kiss Thy feet Whose tread when it fell on the ears of Eve in Paradise dismayed her so that she did hide herself because of fear. Who then shall examine the multitude of my sin and the depth of Thy judgment?
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Wherefore, O my Saviour and the Deliverer of my Soul turn not away from Thy handmaiden O Thou of boundless mercy.”
Below is a photo of the Tomb of Saint Kassiani
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Icons
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