KYRIE ELEISON

KYRIE ELEISON. This refrain, “Lord, have mercy,” is the phrase repeated most often during the course of Orthodox services. It is sung following each petition of the many litanies characteristic of the main offices of daily and Sunday worship (Eucharist [q.v.]) and repeated frequently by the readers or cantors between selections from the Psalter during the lesser offices (Prime, Terce, etc.). The omnipresence of the Kyrie eleison provides a constant reminder for Orthodox faithful of their dependence on God’s (q.v.) mercy, his philanthropy, and of their own lack of worthiness before the Righteous Judge. The prayer (q.v.) is therefore a capsule summary of Orthodox theology (q.v.) and spirituality. Its frequent repetitions recall the prayer of the Publican in Lk 18 as well as the discipline of the “Jesus prayer” so prominent in Orthodox asceticism (q.v.).