Christe Eleison

Kyrie, a transliteration of Greek , vocative case of ('' Kyrios''), is a common name of an important prayer 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" is the Septuagint translation of the
phrase found often in Psalms (
6:2,
9:13,
31:9,
86:3,
123:3)

In the New Testament, the Greek phrase occurs three times in Matthew:
*Matthew 15:22: the Canaanite woman 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 (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 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, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. The Greek phrase, ''Kýrie, eléison'', is for instance extensively used in the Coptic (Egyptian) Christian liturgy, which uses both the Coptic and the Greek languages.

The various litanies, 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, 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 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 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 have normally sung or said the ''Kyrie'' in English. In the 1552 '' Book of Common Prayer'', the ''Kyrie'' was inserted into a recitation of the Ten Commandments. Modern revisions of the Prayer Book have restored the option of using the ''Kyrie'' without the Commandments. Other denominations, such as Lutheranism, also use ''"Kyrie, eléison"'' in their liturgies.

''Kyrie'' as section of the Mass ordinary

In the Tridentine Mass 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 (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 or is incorporated in that rite as one of the three alternative forms provided in the Roman Missal. 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 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 ''Kyrie'' is the first sung prayer of the Mass ordinary. It is usually (but not always) part of any musical setting of the Mass. ''Kyrie'' movements often have a ternary (ABA) musical structure that reflects the symmetrical structure of the text. Musical settings exist in styles ranging from Gregorian chant to folk music.

Use in litanies

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

Pronunciations

The original pronunciation in Medieval Greek was , just when the Byzantine Rite was in force. The transliteration of as ''eléison'' shows that the post-classical itacist pronunciation of the Greek letter eta (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, 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 attests that "Ký-ri-e-léi-son" (five syllables) was the most common setting until perhaps the mid-16th century. William Byrd's Mass for Four Voices 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 '' Leise'' .

Modern Catholic thought

The terms '' aggiornamento'' (bringing up to date) and '' ressourcement'' (light of the Gospel) figure significantly into the documents of Vatican II: “The Church carries the responsibility of scrutinizing the signs of the times and interpreting them in the light of the Gospel” ('' Gaudium et spes'', 4). Louis Bouyer, a theologian at Vatican II, wrote of the distortion of the Eucharistic spirit of the Mass 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'' (''GIRM'') notes that at the Council of Trent "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 ... 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 in Chicago, 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 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
*List of Greek phrases
*Kyriacos

References

Citations

Sources

* Hoppin, Richard. ''Medieval Music''. New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 1978. . Pages 133–134 (Gregorian chants), 150 (tropes).

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Christian prayer
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New Testament Greek words and phrases
Order of Mass
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