The Polyeleos is a festive portion of the Matins or

All-Night Vigil The All-night vigil is a service of the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches consisting of an aggregation of the canonical hours of Compline (in Greek usage only), Vespers (or, on a few occasions, Great Compline), Matins, and the ...

service as observed on higher-ranking feast days in the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

, Eastern Lutheran, and Byzantine Rite Catholic Churches. The Polyeleos is considered to be the high point of the service, and contains the reading of the Matins Gospel. Because of its liturgical importance, settings for the Polyeleos have been composed by

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...

and others. The name derives from Greek Πολυέλεος (pl. Πολυέλεοι), meaning "of much mercy", because of the repetition in one of the Polyeleoi of the phrase "ὅτι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ" (''hoti eis ton aiōna to eleos autou''), meaning "because forever astsHis mercy"),

Psalms

Specifically, the Polyeleos consists of Psalms 134 and 135 (

Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

numbering;

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English Bible translations, Early Modern English translation of the Christianity, Christian Bible for the Church of England, wh ...

: Psalms and ), which are solemnly chanted in a festive melody, with

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeated in poetry or in music">poetry.html" ;"title="Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeat ...

s Alleluia chanted between each verse. The refrain for Psalm 134 is "Alleluia". The refrain for Psalm 135 is "Alleluia, alleluia. For His mercy endureth forever. Alleluia." This repeated chanting of the word "mercy" is another reason for the chanting of these psalms to be called Polyeleos. In its fullest musical setting, it can last up t
over an hour
Nowadays, the psalms are usually shortened to only a few select verses each, except in certain monasteries. During the chanting, Holy Doors are opened, and the clergy come out of the sanctuary to stand in front of the

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

of the feast, which lies on an analogion in the center of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

. The

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

(or

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

, if there is no deacon) censes the icon of the feast being celebrated. However, if it is a Sunday service, the Holy Doors are opened, the clergy remain in the sanctuary and the priest censes the front of the Holy Table (altar). On feast days, the Polyeleos is followed by selected verses of other psalms which are relevant to the feast. In the Greek Orthodox tradition, these verses are referred to as the '' eklogarion''; in the

Russian Orthodox The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

usage a hymn called the ''

megalynarion The Megalynarion (Greek language, Greek , "magnification", "that which magnifies";In the archaic sense of the word; see also called ''Velichaniye'' in Church Slavonic) is a special hymn used in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catho ...

'' (magnification) is chanted between these selected verses, while the clergy perform a full censing of the church. On Sundays, in place of the ''eklogarion'', a hymn called the '' Evlogitaria'' is chanted in honor of the Resurrection, commemorating the journey of the Myrrhbearers on their way to the Tomb of Christ and the announcement of the

Resurrection of Jesus The resurrection of Jesus () is Christianity, Christian belief that God in Christianity, God Resurrection, raised Jesus in Christianity, Jesus from the dead on the third day after Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion, starting—or Preexis ...

. If a feast day with megalynarion falls on a Sunday, only the refrain of the megalynarion is chanted, once, after which the evlogitaria are chanted. (If, however, a Great Feast of the Lord falls on a Sunday, nothing of the ordinary Sunday service is chanted, but everything is chanted for the Great Feast, and the order follows that of weekdays.) On the three Sundays before the beginning of Great Lent, Psalm 136 (KJV: ), "By the waters of Babylon", is added to the Polyeleos. This psalm recounts the sorrow of the Jews during the

Babylonian captivity The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile was the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were forcibly relocated to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The deportations occurred ...

, and their yearning for

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

; and is prescribed by the Church at this time to bring forth in the faithful sorrow over their captivity to sin and yearning for the Heavenly Jerusalem. In the Greek usage, Psalm 44 (KJV: ) replaces Psalms 134 and 135 on feasts of the Theotokos ( Mother of God).

Portion of the service

In a wider sense, the term Polyeleos refers to an entire section of the Matins service which falls after the readings from the psalter and before the chanting of the canon. Services below the rank of Polyeleos are missing this section entirely (with the exception of Psalm 50, which is read every day except during Bright Week). The specific outline of the Polyeleos differs depending upon the day of the week:

Sundays

''(On Sundays, the Polyeleos takes place in the sanctuary, with the clergy standing around the Holy Table, which represents the Tomb of Christ. Almost all of the hymns are chanted in the Tone of the Week)'' :''Polyeleos'' (Psalms 134 and 135) :(''Megalynarion'', if any) :''Evlogitaria'' of the Resurrection—hymns based on Psalm 118 : Little Ektenia ( Litany) :'' Ypakoë''—hymn reflecting the obedience of those sent to proclaim the Resurrection : Sessional Hymns—a type of hymn which follows readings from the Psalter :'' Anavathmoi''—hymns based on the Psalms of Degrees : Prokeimenon in the Tone of the Week :"Let every breath praise the Lord" in the same tone as the Prokeimenon :Matins

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

-one of the 11 lessons recounting the Resurrection Appearances of Jesus :"Having Beheld the Resurrection of Christ"—a Resurrectional hymn : Psalm 50 (KJV: Psalm 51) : Troparia following Psalm 50— paschal hymns in honour of the Resurrection (these differ during Great Lent but are the same for the rest of the year) :The "Great Intercession"—an extended petition, to which the choir respond, '' Kyrie Eleison'' 12 times During certain seasons of the year, if there is no feast day of Polyeleos or higher rank occurring on a Sunday, Psalms 134 and 135 are replaced by Psalm 118 (KJV: ).

Weekdays

''(On weekdays, the Polyeleos takes place in the center of the church with the clergy standing around the icon of the feast. The hymns are set in various Tones, depending upon the taste of the hymnographers)'' :''Polyeleos'' (Psalms 134 and 135; or Psalm 44, if it is a Great Feast of the Theotokos) :''Megalynarion'' of the feast :Little Ektenia :''Sessional Hymn'' (or ''Ypakoë'' if it is a Great Feast of the Lord) :''Anavathmoi''—almost always the first antiphon in Tone 4 : Prokeimenon in the Tone of the Week :"Let every breath praise the Lord" in the same tone as the Prokeimenon :Matins

—a lesson which is specific to the feast day : Psalm 50 : Troparia following Psalm 50—speicific to the feast :The "Great Intercession"—an extended petition, to which the choir respond, '' Kyrie Eleison'' 40 times

Rank of feast

In the Orthodox ranking of feasts, a day of "Polyeleos" rank is a "Middle feast", ranking above a Great Doxology, and below an

. In

liturgical calendar The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year, ecclesiastical calendar, or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical days and seasons that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be obs ...

s it is symbolized by a

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Jesus, Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

printed in red ().

Chandelier

It is in the form of a very large circle (also called a ''corona'' or ''horos'') with many candles on it, and is often adorned with

s of numerous

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

s. The chandelier, or "polyelaios" ("having much oil", a pun on ''polyeleos'') is suspended by a chain from the ceiling. During the chanting of the Polyeleos psalms (134 and 135), all of the candles are lit and it is pushed with a rod so that it turns back and forth during the singing to symbolize the presence of the angels which will only add to the joy of the service. This practice is still seen in the monasteries of

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...

and in other traditional Orthodox monasteries throughout the world.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Explanation of the All-night Vigil Service by Fr. Victor Potapov
Ranks of Feasts
Genres of Byzantine music Eastern Orthodox liturgical days Liturgy of the Hours Eastern Christian hymns Byzantine Rite