The Polychronion (

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 ...

: Πολυχρόνιον, "many years"; ka, მრავალჟამიერი, ; cu, мъногаꙗ лѣта ''mŭnogaja lěta'') is a solemn

encomium ''Encomium'' is a Latin word deriving from the Ancient Greek ''enkomion'' (), meaning "the praise of a person or thing." Another Latin equivalent is ''laudatio'', a speech in praise of someone or something. Originally was the song sung by the c ...

chanted in the

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

of 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") ...

and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

churches. In the

Roman rite The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while dist ...

, it is the equivalent of the liturgical acclamation ''

Ad multos annos ''Ad multos annos'' (English: ''For many more years'') is a Latin acclamation for celebrations, and also a hymn used in the rites of the Orthodox and Catholic churches. Origin A Greco-Roman form of congratulation ''Ad multos annos'' was a form o ...

''. The Polychronion is chanted for the secular authorities (Orthodox

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

s are mentioned by name, non-orthodox leaders are mentioned by title), the church authorities (the

Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

or diocesan

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

), individuals on specific occasions, and the whole community of Orthodox Christians.

Forms

There are two forms of the Polychronion in the Slavic usage: *The more formal, which usually takes place at the end of the

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of C ...

in which 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 churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

(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 deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

, if there is no deacon) recites the names of the individuals to be commemorated, and the choir responds by chanting "Εἰς πολλὰ ἔτη", "''Eis polla etē''" ("Many years!") three times. A version of this type may also be used to commemorate individuals on important days such as the day of their

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

, their

name day In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, among other parts of Christendom. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively that of a ...

or the anniversary of a clergyman's

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...

. *In the less formal Polychronion the choir alone sings the commemorations, ending simply with "...may the Lord God preserve unto many years!", with no repetitions. This form is used at the end of

Matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning. The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which was originally celebrated by ...

and

Vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern), Lutheranism, Lutheran, and Anglican ...

For an Orthodox sovereign

The Polychronion as chanted for a sovereign is derived from the traditional

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

acclamation "''Ad multos annos''" accorded by the populace to Roman Emperors. The acclamation was continued in

times in partially

hellenized Hellenization (other British spelling Hellenisation) or Hellenism is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonization often led to the Hellenization of indigenous peoples; in the ...

form: "''Immultos annos''", before it was completely translated into the Greek form "''Εἰς πολλὰ ἔτη''": ::''Πολυχρόνιον ποιῆσαι, Κύριος ὁ Θεός'' ::''τὸν εὐσεβέστατον Βασιλέα ἡμῶν egnal name'' ::''Κύριε, φύλαττε αὐτὸν'' ::''εἰς πολλὰ ἔτη''. (three times) ::''Polychronion poiēsai Kyrios o Theos'' ::''ton eusebestaton

basilea , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS), ...

ēmōn egnal name'' ::''Kyrie phylatte auton'' ::''eis polla etē''. (three times) ::''Grant long life, O Lord God,'' ::''to our most pious

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

egnal name'' ::''O Lord, preserve him,'' ::''unto many years.'' (three times) Depending on circumstance, the names of other members of the reigning family can be added between the second and third lines, in the same form ("''and to our most pious Queen X''", "''and to their most pious heir the Crown Prince Y''" etc.). Since there remain no Orthodox monarchies nowadays, the Polychronion is only chanted for ecclesiastical authorities, namely the Patriarch or diocesan bishop, in which case it is usually called the "''Phēmē''" (Φήμη; "Fame").

Forms

For an Orthodox sovereign

See also