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Kyrie, a
transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or L ...
of
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
,
vocative case In grammar, the vocative case ( abbreviated ) is a grammatical case which is used for a noun that identifies a person (animal, object, etc.) being addressed, or occasionally for the noun modifiers (determiners, adjectives, participles, and nume ...
of (''
Kyrios ''Kyrios'' or ''kurios'' ( grc, κύριος, kū́rios) is a Greek word which is usually translated as "lord" or "master". It is used in the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew scriptures about 7000 times, in particular translating the nam ...
''), is a common name of an important
prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified ...
of Christian liturgy, also called the Kyrie eleison ( ; ).


In the Bible

The prayer, "Kyrie, eleison," "Lord, have mercy" derives from a Biblical phrase. Greek "have mercy on me,
Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...
" is the
Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...
translation of the phrase found often in
Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
( 6:2, 9:13, 31:9, 86:3, 123:3) In the New Testament, the Greek phrase occurs three times in
Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...
: * Matthew 15:22: the
Canaanite woman The Exorcism of the Syrophoenician woman's daughter is one of the miracles of Jesus in the Gospels and is recounted in the Gospel of Mark in Chapter 7 () and in the Gospel of Matthew in Chapter 15 (). In Matthew, the story is recounted as the h ...
cries out to Jesus, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David." () *Matthew 17:15: "Lord, have mercy on my son" () *Matthew 20:30f, two unnamed blind men call out to Jesus, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David." () In the Parable of the
Publican and the Pharisee The parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (or the ''Pharisee and the Tax Collector'') is a parable of Jesus that appears in the Gospel of Luke. In Luke 18:9–14, a self-righteous Pharisee, obsessed by his own virtue, is contrasted with a tax ...
(Luke 18:9-14) the despised tax collector who cries out "Lord have mercy on me, a sinner" is contrasted with the smug Pharisee who believes he has no need for forgiveness. Luke 17:13 has ''epistates'' "master" instead of ''kyrios'' "lord" (), being less suggestive of the ''kyrios'' "lord" used as euphemism for
YHWH The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...
in the Septuagint. There are other examples in the text of the gospels without the ''kyrie'' "lord", e.g. Mark 10:46, where blind Bartimaeus cries out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." In the biblical text, the phrase is always personalized by an explicit object (such as, "on me", "on us", "on my son"), while in the Eucharistic celebration it can be seen more as a general expression of confidence in God's love.


In Eastern Christianity

The phrase ''Kýrie, eléison'' (Greek: ), whether in Greek or in other languages, is one of the most oft-repeated phrases in Eastern Christianity, including the
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
, Oriental Orthodox, and
Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of t ...
. The Greek phrase, ''Kýrie, eléison'', is for instance extensively used in the
Coptic Coptic may refer to: Afro-Asia * Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya * Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century * Coptic alphabet ...
(Egyptian) Christian liturgy, which uses both the Coptic and the Greek languages. The various
litanies Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Judaic worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin '' litania'' from Ancient Greek λιτανεία (''li ...
, frequent in Eastern Orthodox rites, generally have ''Lord, have mercy'' as their response, either singly or triply. Some petitions in these litanies will have twelve or even forty repetitions of the phrase as a response. The phrase is also the origin of the
Jesus Prayer The Jesus Prayer,; syr, ܨܠܘܬܐ ܕܝܫܘܥ, translit=slotho d-yeshu'; syr, label= Amharic, Geez and Tigrinya, እግዚኦ መሐረነ ክርስቶስ, translit=igizi'o meḥarene kirisitosi. "Note: We are still searching the Fathers for ...
, beloved by eastern Christians as a foundation of personal prayer, and is increasingly popular among some Western Christians. The prayer is simultaneously a petition and a prayer of thanksgiving; an acknowledgement of what God has done, what God is doing, and what God will continue to do. It is refined in the Parable of The Publican (), "God, have mercy on me, a sinner", which shows more clearly its connection with the Jesus Prayer.


In Western Christianity

In Rome, the Liturgy was first celebrated in Greek. Josef Jungmann suggests the ''Kyrie'' in the Roman Mass is best seen as a vestige of a
litany Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Judaic worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin '' litania'' from Ancient Greek λιτανεία (''lit ...
at the beginning of the Mass, like that of some Eastern churches, retained after Latin became normative. As early as the sixth century,
Pope Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregoria ...
noted that there were differences in the way in which eastern and western churches sang ''Kyrie''. In the eastern churches all sing it at the same time, whereas in the western church the clergy sing it and the people respond. Also the western church sang ''Christe eléison'' as many times as ''Kyrie eléison''. In the Roman Rite liturgy, this variant, ''Christe, eléison'', is a transliteration of Greek . ''"Kyrie, eléison"'' ("Lord, have mercy") may also be used as a response of the people to intentions mentioned in the Prayer of the Faithful. Since 1549,
Anglicans Anglicanism is a Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia ...
have normally sung or said the ''Kyrie'' in English. In the 1552 ''
Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...
'', the ''Kyrie'' was inserted into a recitation of the
Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
. Modern revisions of the Prayer Book have restored the option of using the ''Kyrie'' without the Commandments. Other denominations, such as
Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
, also use ''"Kyrie, eléison"'' in their liturgies.


''Kyrie'' as section of the Mass ordinary

In the
Tridentine Mass The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Traditional Rite, is the liturgy of Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church that appears in typical editions of the Roman Missal published from 1570 to 1962. Celebrated almo ...
form of the Roman Rite, ''Kýrie, eléison'' is sung or said three times, followed by a threefold ''Christe, eléison'' and by another threefold ''Kýrie, eléison''. Collectively the nine invocations are said to unite the petitions of the faithful to those of the nine choirs of angels in heaven. In the Paul VI Mass form, in the interests of brevity, each invocation is made only once by the celebrating priest, a deacon if present, or else by a cantor, with a single repetition, each time, by the
congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...
(though the Roman Missal allows for the ''Kyrie'' to be sung with more than six invocations, thus allowing the traditional use). Even if Mass is celebrated in the vernacular, the ''Kyrie'' may be in Greek. This prayer occurs directly following the
Penitential Rite The Penitential Act (capitalized in the Roman Missal) is a form of general confession of sinfulness that normally takes place at the beginning of the celebration of Mass in the Roman Rite. The term used in the original text of the Roman Missal ( ...
or is incorporated in that rite as one of the three alternative forms provided in the
Roman Missal The Roman Missal ( la, Missale Romanum) is the title of several missals used in the celebration of the Roman Rite. Along with other liturgical books of the Roman Rite, the Roman Missal contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of th ...
. The Penitential Rite and ''Kyrie'' may be replaced by the Rite of Sprinkling. In modern Anglican churches, it is common to say (or sing) ''either'' the ''Kyrie'' or the '' Gloria in Excelsis Deo'', but not both. In this case, the ''Kyrie'' may be said in penitential seasons like
Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...
and Advent, while the ''Gloria'' is said the rest of the year. Anglo-Catholics, however, usually follow Roman norms in this as in most other liturgical matters.


Text

:''Kyrie eléison'' () ::Lord, have mercy :''Christe eléison'' () ::Christ, have mercy


Musical settings

In the
Tridentine Mass The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Traditional Rite, is the liturgy of Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church that appears in typical editions of the Roman Missal published from 1570 to 1962. Celebrated almo ...
, the ''Kyrie'' is the first sung prayer of the
Mass ordinary The ordinary, in Roman Catholic and other Western Christian liturgies, refers to the part of the Mass or of the canonical hours that is reasonably constant without regard to the date on which the service is performed. It is contrasted to the '' ...
. It is usually (but not always) part of any musical setting of the Mass. ''Kyrie'' movements often have a
ternary Ternary (from Latin ''ternarius'') or trinary is an adjective meaning "composed of three items". It can refer to: Mathematics and logic * Ternary numeral system, a base-3 counting system ** Balanced ternary, a positional numeral system, useful ...
(ABA) musical structure that reflects the symmetrical structure of the text. Musical settings exist in styles ranging from
Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainsong, plainchant, a form of monophony, monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek (language), Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed ma ...
to
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
.


Use in litanies

The ''Kyrie'' serves as the beginning of litanies in the Roman Rite.


Pronunciations

The original pronunciation in
Medieval Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the Ottoman co ...
was , just when the
Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople. Th ...
was in force. The transliteration of as ''eléison'' shows that the post-classical itacist pronunciation of the Greek letter
eta Eta (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἦτα ''ē̂ta'' or ell, ήτα ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative in most dialects, ...
(η) is used. Although the Greek words have seven syllables (Ký-ri-e, e-lé-i-son), pronunciations as six syllables (Ký-ri-e, e-léi-son) or five (Ký-rie, e-léi-son) have been used. In
Ecclesiastical Latin Latin, also called Church Latin or Liturgical Latin, is a form of Latin developed to discuss Christian thought in Late Antiquity and used in Christian liturgy, theology, and church administration down to the present day, especially in the Cathol ...
, a variety of pronunciations have been used. Within the Catholic Church and in some Protestant ones, the italianate has become common since the 20th century. Text underlay in mediaeval and
Renaissance music Renaissance music is traditionally understood to cover European music of the 15th and 16th centuries, later than the Renaissance era as it is understood in other disciplines. Rather than starting from the early 14th-century '' ars nova'', the Tr ...
attests that "Ký-ri-e-léi-son" (five syllables) was the most common setting until perhaps the mid-16th century.
William Byrd William Byrd (; 4 July 1623) was an English composer of late Renaissance music. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native England and those on the continent. He ...
's
Mass for Four Voices The Mass for Four Voices is a choir, choral Mass (music), Mass setting by the English composer William Byrd (''c.''1540–1623). It was written around 1592–1593 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and is one of three settings of the Ordinary ...
is a notable example of a musical setting originally written with five syllables in mind, later altered for six syllables. The Mediaeval poetic form Kyrielle sometimes uses ''Kýrieléis'', an even more drastic four-syllable form, which is reduced to three syllables or even to ''kyrleis'' in the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
''
Leise __NOTOC__ The Leise or Leis (plural ''Leisen''; from the Greek ''kyrie eleison'') is a genre of vernacular medieval church song. They appear to have originated in the German-speaking regions, but are also found in Scandinavia, and are a precursor ...
'' .


Modern Catholic thought

The terms ''
aggiornamento ''Aggiornamento'' () is an Italian word meaning "bringing up to date", "updating". It was made famous by pope John XXIII, and was one of the key words at the Second Vatican Council, used by both bishops and the media. John XXIII In his speech o ...
'' (bringing up to date) and '' ressourcement'' (light of the Gospel) figure significantly into the documents of
Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and 1 ...
: “The Church carries the responsibility of scrutinizing the signs of the times and interpreting them in the light of the Gospel” (''
Gaudium et spes ''Gaudium et spes'' (, "Joy and Hope"), the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, is one of the four constitutions resulting from the Second Vatican Council in 1965. It was the last and longest published document from the coun ...
'', 4).
Louis Bouyer Louis Bouyer, CO (17 February 1913 – 22 October 2004), was a French Catholic priest and former Lutheran minister who was received into the Catholic Church in 1939. During his religious career he was an influential theological thinker, especia ...
, a theologian at Vatican II, wrote of the distortion of the
Eucharistic The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...
spirit of the
Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
over the centuries, so that "one could find merely traces of the original sense of the Eucharist as a thanksgiving for the wonders God has wrought.” The ''
General Instruction of the Roman Missal The ''General Instruction of the Roman Missal'' (GIRM)—in the Latin original, ''Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani'' (IGMR)—is the detailed document governing the celebration of Mass of the Roman Rite in what since 1969 is its normal form. ...
'' (''GIRM'') notes that at the
Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento, Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italian Peninsula, Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation ...
"manuscripts in the Vatican ... by no means made it possible to inquire into 'ancient and approved authors' farther back than the liturgical commentaries of the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
 ... uttraditions dating back to the first centuries, before the formation of the rites of East and West, are better known today because of the discovery of so many liturgical documents" (7f.). Consonant with these modern studies, theologians have suggested that there be a continuity in praise of God between the opening song and the praise of the ''Gloria''. This is explained by Mark R. Francis of
Catholic Theological Union Catholic Theological Union (CTU) is a private Roman Catholic graduate school of theology in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the largest Catholic graduate schools of theology in the English speaking world and trains men and women for lay and ordai ...
in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, speaking of the Kyrie:
Its emphasis is not on us (our sinfulness) but on God’s mercy and salvific action in Jesus Christ. It could just as accurately be translated "O Lord, you are merciful!" Note that the sample tropes all mention what Christ has done for us, not how we have sinned. For example, “you were sent to heal the contrite,” “you have shown us the way to the Father,” or “you come in word and sacrament to strengthen us in holiness,” leading to further acclamation of God’s praises in the Gloria.
In this same line,
Hans Urs von Balthasar Hans Urs von Balthasar (12 August 1905 – 26 June 1988) was a Swiss theologian and Catholic priest who is considered an important Catholic theologian of the 20th century. He was announced as his choice to become a cardinal by Pope John Paul II, b ...
calls for a renewal of the focus at the Eucharist:
We must make every effort to arouse the sense of community within the liturgy, to restore liturgy to the ecclesial plane, where individuals can take their proper place in it…. Liturgical piety involves a total turning from concern with one’s inner state to the attitude and feeling of the Church. It means enlarging the scope of prayer, so often narrow and selfish, to embrace the concerns of the whole Church and, indeed – as in the Our Father – of God.”
In the ''New Dictionary of Sacramental Worship,'' the need to establish communion is reinforced as it quotes the GIRM to the effect that the purpose of the introductory rites is “to ensure that the faithful who come together as one ''establish communion'' and dispose themselves to listen properly to God's word and to celebrate the Eucharist worthily” (''GIRM'', 46, emphasis added).


In various languages

In addition to the original Greek and the local vernacular, many Christian communities use other languages, especially where the prayer is repeated often.


See also

*
Jesus Prayer The Jesus Prayer,; syr, ܨܠܘܬܐ ܕܝܫܘܥ, translit=slotho d-yeshu'; syr, label= Amharic, Geez and Tigrinya, እግዚኦ መሐረነ ክርስቶስ, translit=igizi'o meḥarene kirisitosi. "Note: We are still searching the Fathers for ...
*
List of Greek phrases Αα ''(h)a'' ; :''Ageōmétrētos mēdeìs eisítō.'' :"Let no one untrained in geometry enter." :Motto over the entrance to Plato's Academy (quoted in Elias' commentary on Aristotle's '' Categories'': ''Eliae in Porphyrii Isagogen et Aristote ...
*
Kyriacos Kyriacos is a Greek male given name, which means "of the lord" (derived from Greeκύριος(kyrios) "lord"). Examples of people with this name include: *Kyriacos Costa Nicolaou (born 1946), Cypriot-American chemist known for synthesizing Taxol * ...


References


Citations


Sources

* Hoppin, Richard. ''Medieval Music''. New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 1978. . Pages 133–134 (Gregorian chants), 150 (tropes). {{Authority control Christian prayer Christian terminology New Testament Greek words and phrases Order of Mass Religious formulas