''Ton Despotin'' is an acclamation chanted by the

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

in honour of a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

when he gives a

blessing In religion, a blessing (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the impartation of something with doctrines of grace, grace, Sacred, holiness, spiritual Redemption (theology), redemption, or Will of God, divine will. Etymology and Germani ...

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 ...

and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

churches. While the

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy () or Holy Liturgy is the usual name used in most Eastern Christian rites for the Eucharistic service. The Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Lutheranism, Eastern Lutheran Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe the Divi ...

may be chanted in any language, ''Ton Despotin'' is almost always chanted in the original

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

. The words in Greek are: *"Τόν Δεσπότην καὶ Ἀρχιερέα ἡμῶν, Κύριε φύλαττε· εἰς πολλὰ ἔτη, Δέσποτα." *''Ton Despotin ke Arkhierea imon, Kirie filate, is polla eti, Despota.'' An English translation would read: *Protect, O Lord, our Master and High Priest. Many years to you, Master. The final phrase ''Eis pollá étē, Déspota'' is chanted three times, each with progressively more elaborate embellishment. There are many musical settings for the hymn, which can be roughly divided into simple and elaborate, each being used at different points during the services. Often, ''Ton Despótēn'' is chanted while the bishop, vested in full, stands on an

eagle rug An Eagle rug (Greek αετός, aëtos; Church-Slavonic орлецъ, orlets) is a small rug, usually round, upon which Byzantine Rite bishops stand during divine liturgy and other services. The Orlets ("Eaglet") is a small round or oval rug, ...

and blesses his flock with

dikirion and trikirion Dikirion () and trikirion (τρικήριον or τρίκηρον) are liturgical candlesticks, used by a bishop of the Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic Churches to bless the clergy and faithful. The words mean "dual candle" and "triple ...

. An abbreviated form, consisting only of plain chanting ''Is pollá eti, Déspota'' three times, is used at less solemn blessings.

External links

*{{Cite web, url = http://analogion.com/site/html/TonDespotin.html , title = Τον Δεσπότην και Αρχιερέα chanted when the Bishop venerates the icons , publisher = Analogion
Ton Despotin
musical setting (western notation)
Ton Despotin
Greek and English text. Eastern Christian liturgy Christian chants Greek language