Priest: Let us depart in peace. Let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Priest: (in front of the icon of Christ): Lord, bless those who praise You and sanctify those who trust in You. Save Your people and bless Your inheritance. Protect the whole body of Your Church. Sanctify those who love the beauty of Your house. Glorify them in return by Your divine power, and do not forsake us who hope in You. Grant peace to Your world, to Your churches, to the clergy, to those in public service, to the armed forces, and to all Your people. For every good and perfect gift is from above, coming from You, the Father of lights. To You we give glory, thanksgiving and worship, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages.

People: Amen. Blessed is the name of the Lord, both now and to the ages (3). Priest: (at the Preparation Table, in a low voice) Christ our God, You are the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. You have fulfilled all the dispensation of the Father. Fill our hearts with joy and gladness always, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
(aloud) Let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy (3). Holy Father, give the blessing.

Priest: May the blessing of the Lord and His mercy come upon you through His divine grace and love always, now and forever and to the ages of ages.

People: Amen.

Priest: Glory to You, O God, our hope, glory to You. May Christ our true God (Who rose from the dead), as a good, loving, and merciful God, have mercy upon us and save us, through the intercessions of His most pure and holy Mother, the power of the precious and life-giving Cross, the protection of the honorable, bodiless powers of heaven, the supplications of the honorable, glorious prophet and forerunner John the Baptist, the holy, glorious and praiseworthy apostles, the holy, glorious and triumphant martyrs, the holy and righteous ancestors Joachim and Anna, Saint (of the day) whose memory we commemorate today, and all the saints, have mercy on us and save us, as the Good and the Lover of mankind. People: Amen. Lord, grant long life to him who blesses and sanctifies us. Priest: Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us and save us.

People: Amen.

(The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom - pp 34-37)

Before the eighth century, the words “let us depart in peace” used to be taken literally and marked the end of the liturgy (as it still does today in the Roman Rite). The peace from above that we have been praying for throughout the service is now deeply seated within us, and we carry it into the world.

Liturgical development has expanded this concise dismissal into a whole section, including the majestic prayer said in font of the icon of Christ, the triple exclamation of the people (“Blessed be the name of the Lord…,” which is the second verse of Psalm 113), the last silent prayer said at the Preparation table, the final blessing and the benediction formula.

The prayer in front of the icon of Christ summarizes all that we have prayed for, and addresses God as the “Father of Lights,” the Giver of “every good and perfect gift” in a direct quotation from the universal letter of James (1:17).
The psalm verse reminds us of the best form of prayer: praising the Name of the Lord. We do ask God for beneficial gifts, we are thankful when we receive them, but when we are overwhelmed with love for God we forget about everything else and we simply praise Him.

The silent prayer at the Prothesi (Preparation Table) is a solemn statement and request: the work of Christ is finished; He has fulfilled all that was announced in the Scriptures (the Law, the Prophets and the Wisdom books of the Old Testament) and completed the divine plan of salvation. The Kingdom of God is upon us; all we need to do is open our hearts to it and experience that joy and gladness that never fades.

Having blessed God’s name, we invoke one more time the blessing of the gracious and loving Lord and His mercy. This leads to the long benediction formula, that varies according to the liturgical cycles (remember our discussion of the hymns sung after the Little Entrance). This prayer is always addressed to Christ; on Sundays we celebrate the Resurrection, thus we add, “Who rose from the dead.” The request is simple: “have mercy on us and save us.” The length is given by the long list of intercessors that we have on our behalf, from the Mother of God, to the angels, and various groups of saints, including the saints of the day, as well as the power of the most precious Cross.

Finally, the service ends (this time for good) with the more modern dismissal formula that we find at the end of all services. During the forty days after Pascha, this formula is replaced by Paschal troparion and the exchange of “Christ is Risen - Truly He is Risen.”

May the Holy Trinity protect all of you. Amen.