An ecphonesis is an emotional, exclamatory phrase (exclamation

Exclamation

Exclamation may refer to:* Exclamation mark, the punctuation mark "!"* Exclamation, an emphatic sentence* Exclamation, an emphatic interjection* Exclamation, a statement against penal interest in criminal law* Exclamation, a fragrance by Coty, Inc....

) used in poetry, drama, or song. It is a rhetorical device

Rhetorical device

In rhetoric, a rhetorical device or resource of language is a technique that an author or speaker uses to convey to the listener or reader a meaning with the goal of persuading him or her towards considering a topic from a different perspective. While rhetorical devices may be used to evoke an...

 that originated in ancient literature. The word itself is of Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 origin.

Examples:

• "O tempora! O mores!" ("Oh, the times! Oh, the morals!")
• "Young man!" from the song YMCA
  YMCA (song)
  "Y.M.C.A." is a song recorded by American disco group Village People. It was released in 1978 as the only single from the album Cruisin. The song reached No. 2 on the U.S. charts in early 1979 and reached No.1 in the UK around the same time, becoming the group's biggest hit...
  
   by the Village People
  Village People
  Village People is a concept disco group that formed in the United States in 1977, well known for their on-stage costumes depicting American cultural stereotypes, as well as their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics....
  
  

In the Eastern Orthodox Church

Eastern Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...

 an ecphonesis (ekphony) is a liturgical exclamation chanted aloud by a priest or deacon as part of a litany

Ektenia

Ektenia , often called simply Litany, is a prayerful petition in the Eastern Orthodox/Eastern Catholic liturgy...

or at the end of a prayer. The ekphonesis is distinguished from the portions that are to be said silently.