Ektenia
Encyclopedia
Ektenia often called simply Litany, is a prayerful petition in the Eastern Orthodox/Eastern Catholic liturgy. The prevalent ecclesiastical word for this kind of litany in Greek is Συναπτή Synaptê, Ektenia being the Greek word preferred in Church Slavonic (ектенїѧ ekteniya).
For the use of litanies in the Western Churches, see Litany
Litany
A litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Jewish worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions...

.


A Litany is normally intoned by a deacon, with the choir chanting the responses. As he concludes each petition, the deacon will raise the end of his orarion
Orarion
The Orarion is the distinguishing vestment of the deacon and subdeacon in the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches. It is a narrow stole, usually four to five inches wide and of various lengths, made of brocade, often decorated with crosses embroidered or appliquéd along its...

 as a signal to the faithful to raise their hearts and voices in prayer. If there is no deacon serving, the petitions may be intoned by a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

. Often, during the litany, the priest will be saying a silent prayer as he stands in front of the Holy Table. The last petition of a litany often praises the Theotokos
Theotokos
Theotokos is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its literal English translations include God-bearer and the one who gives birth to God. Less literal translations include Mother of God...

. After the last petition of the litany, the priest will say an ecphonesis
Ecphonesis
An ecphonesis is an emotional, exclamatory phrase used in poetry, drama, or song. It is a rhetorical device that originated in ancient literature...

, summing up the petitions of the faithful, which concludes with a doxology giving glory to the Holy Trinity.

When there is no priest present during the service, the litanies are not said; rather, the reader replaces them by saying "Lord, have mercy," three, twelve, or forty times, depending on which litany is being replaced.

The main forms of the Litany are:
  • Great Litany (Greek: Συναπτή μεγάλη/Synaptê Megalê; Slavonic: Ектенїѧ Великаѧ/Ekteniya Velikaya) --so called not only because of its length, but because of its importance, coming near the beginning of major services such as the Divine Liturgy
    Divine Liturgy
    Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term...

    , Matins
    Matins
    Matins is the early morning or night prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. The term is also used in some Protestant denominations to describe morning services.The name "Matins" originally referred to the morning office also...

    , Vespers
    Vespers
    Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Western Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran liturgies of the canonical hours...

    , Baptism, Great Blessing of Waters, etc. This ektenia is also called the Litany of Peace (Greek: Εἰρηνικά/Eirênika; Slavonic: Мирнаѧ Ектенїѧ/Mirnaya Ekteniya) because of the opening petition: "In peace, let us pray to the Lord."
  • Litany of Supplication--so called because most of the petitions end with the deacon saying, "...let us ask of the Lord," to which the choir responds, "Grant this, O Lord."
  • Litany of Fervent Supplication (Slavonic: Ектенїѧ Сугубаѧ/Ekteniya Sugubaya) also sometimes Impetratory Litany, Augmented Litany, Fervent Litany-- this litany is remarkable because of its fervency (its fervid fervidity), indicated by the threefold response of the choir, "Lord, have mercy" (thrice). At the Divine Liturgy, this litany may also be augmented with special petitions, according to need as the pastor sees fit.
  • Little Litany (Greek: Αἴτησις/Aitêsis or Μικρὴ Συναπτή/Mikrê Synaptê; Slavonic: Ектенїѧ Малаѧ/Ektenia Malaya) --so called because of its brevity, being only three petitions long. The Little Litany
    Little Litany
    The Little Litany or Little Ektenia or Little Synapte is a brief ektenia which is recited at various times during the liturgical worship of the Byzantine Rite, as observed by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Greek Catholic Churches....

     has elements of the other ektenias in it: the fervency of the Litany of Supplication, and the prayer for peace of the Great Litany. The Little Litany is a brief statement of the faith and hope of the church. The Little Litany will often serve as a bridge between parts of the services.
  • Litany of the Catechumens (Slavonic: Ектенїѧ о Оглашенныхъ/Ekteniya o Oglashennuikh) --at the Divine Liturgy, this litany traditionally ended the part of the service which the catechumens were permitted to attend. This litany is composed of several petitions for the catechumens as they prepare for baptism, and concludes with a dismissal of the catechumens, and (in older times) the closing of the doors of the temple
    Temple
    A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...

     to all but baptized members in good standing.
  • Litany of the Faithful--at the Divine Liturgy there are two Litanies of the Faithful. The first dismisses the catechumens, and the second begins the Liturgy of the Faithful, as all prepare for the Mystery of Holy Communion. When there is no deacon serving, this second litany is normally abbreviated. The Litanes of the Faithful are unique in that the deacon exclaims, "Wisdom!" before the priest says the ecphonesis.
  • Special Litanies--litanies that occur only in particular services. These will usually be in the form of special petitions that are added to the Great Litany (such as at Baptism, or the special Kneeling Vespers at Pentecost
    Pentecost
    Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...

    ), or unique litanies that occur in only one service (such as those at Requiem
    Requiem
    A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...

     services or Holy Unction).

At the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts
Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts
The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, informally Presanctified Liturgy, is an Eastern Christian liturgical service for the distribution of communion on the weekdays of Great Lent....

 many of the same litanies occur as during the Divine Liturgy, some of them being altered to conform to the needs of the Presanctified. One unique litany during this service is the Ektenia for Those Preparing for Illumination (i.e., for those catechumens in the final stages of preparation for baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...

 on Pascha
Pascha
Pascha may refer to:*Easter, central religious feast in the Christian liturgical year*Paskha , an Easter dish served in several Slavic countries*Paska , an Easter bread served in Ukraine...

).

There is also a special form of litany called a Litiy
Litiy
The Litiy or Litiyá is a procession, followed by intercessions, which takes place during the All-Night Vigil in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite. Whenever there is a Litiy there is also an Artoklasia...

(Greek: Λιτή/Litê; Slavonic: Литїѧ, Litiya) which is chanted at All-Night Vigil
All-Night Vigil
The All-Night Vigil , Opus 37, is an a cappella choral composition by Sergei Rachmaninoff,written and premiered in 1915. It consists of settings of texts taken from the Russian Orthodox All-night vigil ceremony. It has been praised as Rachmaninoff's finest achievement and "the greatest musical...

s, consisting of several long petitions, mentioning the names of numerous saints, to which the choir responds with "Lord, have mercy," many times.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK