Litiy
Encyclopedia
- For the brief memorial service, see Lity.
The Litiy or Litiyá (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;...
: (Liti), from litomai, "a fervent prayer") is a procession
Crucession
A Crucession, or Cross Procession , is a procession that takes place in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic liturgical traditions. The name derives from the fact that the procession is headed by a cross....
, followed by intercession
Intercession
Intercession is the act of interceding between two parties. In both Christian and Islamic religious usage, it is a prayer to God on behalf of others....
s, which takes place during the All-Night Vigil
All-Night Vigil
The All-Night Vigil , Opus 37, is an a cappella choral composition by Sergei Rachmaninoff,written and premiered in 1915. It consists of settings of texts taken from the Russian Orthodox All-night vigil ceremony. It has been praised as Rachmaninoff's finest achievement and "the greatest musical...
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,...
and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite
Byzantine Rite
The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite is the liturgical rite used currently by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches, by the Greek Catholic Churches , and by the Protestant Ukrainian Lutheran Church...
. Whenever there is a Litiy there is also an Artoklasia
Artoklasia
The Artoklasia is a service held near the end of Vespers in the Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic churches. Five round loaves of leavened bread are blessed, together with wheat, wine and oil. In East Slavic usage, wheat is not used. The items are arranged on a special artoklasia tray, which is...
("breaking of bread"). Either of these terms may be used to describe both liturgical actions collectively.
The procession and the artoklasia are two segments that are added to the service on Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church
Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church
The feast of the Resurrection of Jesus, called Pascha , is the greatest of the feasts of the Eastern Orthodox Church. In addition, there are other days of great importance in the life of the Church - the Twelve Great Feasts ....
and on important feast days. In some monasteries and parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
es it is customary to serve an All-Night Vigil with Litiy every Saturday night.
Before the service begins, a tetrapod (table), covered with a cloth of linen or brocaid is prepared. On the table is set a tray with five leavened loaves of bread, known as artoklasia loaves (see Artos
Artos
The term Artos refers to a loaf of leavened bread that is blessed during services in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches...
for details). Also placed on the table is a dish containing wheat kernals, a vessel of pure olive oil, and a vessel of red wine. All of these will be blessed at the end of Vespers.
Procession
The procession takes place after the two litaniesEktenia
Ektenia , often called simply Litany, is a prayerful petition in the Eastern Orthodox/Eastern Catholic liturgy...
and the Prayer at the Bowing of Heads. A crucession
Crucession
A Crucession, or Cross Procession , is a procession that takes place in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic liturgical traditions. The name derives from the fact that the procession is headed by a cross....
forms, headed by the cross and liturgical banners, followed by the chanter
Chanter
The chanter is the part of the bagpipe upon which the player creates the melody. It consists of a number of finger-holes, and in its simpler forms looks similar to a recorder...
s, the deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
with the censer and the priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
. The procession moves from the sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
to the narthex
Narthex
The narthex of a church is the entrance or lobby area, located at the end of the nave, at the far end from the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex was a part of the church building, but was not considered part of the church proper...
of the church. The reason it takes place in the narthex is so that the catechumen
Catechumen
In ecclesiology, a catechumen , “‘down’” + ἠχή , “‘sound’”) is one receiving instruction from a catechist in the principles of the Christian religion with a view to baptism...
s and penitents, who in ancient times were not allowed to enter the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
(the main body of the church) could participate in the joy and blessings of the feast. In those days the faithful would follow the clergy into the narthex to show their humility and brotherly love towards the catechumens and penitents. Sometimes, especially on major feast days, the procession will go outside in front of the church, or even in a processio through the streets of the town.
During the procession, the singers chant the sticheron
Sticheron
A sticheron is a particular kind of hymn used in the Divine Liturgy, acolouthia or other services of the Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite....
(hymn) of the temple (i.e., the patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
or Feast day to which the church or monastery is dedicated), followed by stichera of the feast being celebrated. If it is an ordinary Sunday with no higher-ranking saint being celebrated, the chanters sing only the stichera of the temple. On major feasts, the stichera of the temple are omitted and only the stichera of the feast are chanted.
Once the procession reaches the narthex and all of the appointed stichera have been chanted, the deacon begins a series of extended petitions (these are the "Litiy" proper), asking for the intercession of many of the saints, and praying for the church and the world:
...For the salvation of the people; for the [governmental authorities]; for the clergy; for all afflicted Christian souls desirous of aid; for this city, the country and all Christians living therein; for our deceased fathers and brethren; for deliverance from famine, epidemics, earthquake, flood, fire, the sword, hostile invasion and civil strife....".
After each petition, the chanters respond with Kyrie eleison ("Lord, have mercy") multiple times. After the last petition, everyone bows their heads, and the chief celebrant (the highest-ranking priest who is vested and serving, or the bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
, if he is present) removes his klobuk
Klobuk
thumbA klobuk is an item of clerical clothing worn by Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic monastics and bishops, especially in the Russian tradition...
(if he wears one) and reads a prayer, summarizing the petitions of the Litiy.
Then the singers chant the Aposticha
Aposticha
The Aposticha are a set of hymns accompanied by psalm verses that are chanted towards the end of Vespers and Matins in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches that follow the Byzantine Rite....
and the procession returns to the center of the church, where the artoklasia table has been set up. After the Aposticha, the reader says the Trisagion
Trisagion
The Trisagion , sometimes called by its opening line Agios O Theos or by the Latin Tersanctus, is a standard hymn of the Divine Liturgy in most of the Eastern Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Churches and Catholic Churches.In those Churches which use the Byzantine Rite, the Trisagion is chanted...
.
Two possible explanations have been suggested for the origins of this procession. The fourth century pilgrim Egeria
Egeria
The name Egeria may refer to:*Egeria , a mythological water nymph and the wife of Numa Pompilius, second king of Rome*Egeria , also called Aetheria, a fourth century Christian woman who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and wrote a letter about her travels*HMS Egeria, three Royal Navy ships*USS...
states that after Vespers
Vespers
Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Western Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran liturgies of the canonical hours...
at the Tomb of Christ a procession would go to the site of Calvary where further prayers were said after which the congregation were dismissed. At the monastery of Mar Sabbas in the Judaean wilderness at the end of Vespers the monks would go to the tomb of St. Sabbas where the litia prayers would be said. In fact, the latter tradition may have been a monastic adaptation of the Jerusalem practice and since the liturgical traditions of the monastic community of Mar Sabbas became of central importance in the development of the Byzantine liturgical traditions, especially after the thirteenth century, the litia would have spread to the rest of the Byzantine world from there. One should also note that the processions at the end of Vespers are also found in the Ambrosian Rite
Ambrosian Rite
Ambrosian Rite, also called the Milanese Rite, is a Catholic liturgical Western Rite. The rite is named after Saint Ambrose, a bishop of Milan in the fourth century...
and formerly during the Easter Octure in the Norbertine Rite
Norbertine Rite
The Premonstratensian Rite or Norbertine Rite is the liturgical rite, distinct from the Roman Rite, specific to the Premonstratensian Order of the Roman Catholic Church-History:...
.
Artoklasia
After the Lord's PrayerLord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer is a central prayer in Christianity. In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, it appears in two forms: in the Gospel of Matthew as part of the discourse on ostentation in the Sermon on the Mount, and in the Gospel of Luke, which records Jesus being approached by "one of his...
which concludes the Trisagion, the chanters sing the Apolytikion
Apolytikion
The Apolytikion or Dismissal Hymn is a troparion said or sung at Orthodox Christian worship services. The apolytikion summarizes the feast being celebrated that day. It is chanted at Vespers, Matins and the Divine Liturgy; and it is read at each of the Little Hours...
(troparion
Troparion
A troparion in Byzantine music and in the religious music of Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a short hymn of one stanza, or one of a series of stanzas. The word probably derives from a diminutive of the Greek tropos...
of the day) three times. During each chanting of the troparion
the deacon walks around the artoklasia table, censing the offerings thereon, three times.
At the end of the chanting, the priest removes his klobuk
Klobuk
thumbA klobuk is an item of clerical clothing worn by Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic monastics and bishops, especially in the Russian tradition...
and takes up one of the five loaves in his right hand, while he says the prayer:
O Lord Jesus Christ our God, Who didst bless the five loaves and didst therewith feed the five thousand: Do Thou, the same Lord, bless these loaves, wheat, wine and oil; and multiply them in this holy habitation, and in all the world; and sanctify all the faithful who shall partake of them. For it is Thou, O Christ our God, Who dost bless and sanctify all things; and unto Thee we ascribe glory: with the Father Who hath no beginning, and Thine all-holy, good, and life-crating Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.
During the words "loaves, wheat, wine and oil" above, he points with the loaf he holds in his right hand to each item as he names it, making thereby the sign of the cross
Sign of the cross
The Sign of the Cross , or crossing oneself, is a ritual hand motion made by members of many branches of Christianity, often accompanied by spoken or mental recitation of a trinitarian formula....
. Then he breaks the loaf he holds in his hand.
The choir then chants, "Blessed be the name of the Lord!" three times, followed by Psalm 33, "I will bless the Lord at all times..." (in the KJV this is Psalm 34).
During the Canon
Canon (hymnography)
A canon is a structured hymn used in a number of Eastern Orthodox services. It consists of nine odes, sometimes called canticles or songs depending on the translation, based on the Biblical canticles. Most of these are found in the Old Testament, but the final ode is taken from the Magnificat and...
the clegy and faithful come forward to venerate the Gospel Book
Gospel Book
The Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament...
(if it is Sunday) or the icon
Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
of the feast (if it is a weekday) and are anointed
Anointing
To anoint is to pour or smear with perfumed oil, milk, water, melted butter or other substances, a process employed ritually by many religions. People and things are anointed to symbolize the introduction of a sacramental or divine influence, a holy emanation, spirit, power or God...
by the chief celebrant using the oil that was blessed during the Artoklasia.
After being anointed, each person receives a piece of the blessed bread, which has been dipped in the wine. This is done as a blessing and to provide them with nourishment to sustain them through the rest of the Vigil. (In ancient times, immediately after the blessing of the loaves a selection from the New Testament (Book of Acts or Epistle
Epistle
An epistle is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as part of the scribal-school writing curriculum. The letters in the New Testament from Apostles to Christians...
s) was read and a sermon given. During this time all sat and the deacons distributed a piece of the blessed bread and a cup of the blessed wine to each.) This custom is still observed in some monasteries, notably on Mount Athos
Mount Athos
Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. A World Heritage Site, it is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries and forms a self-governed monastic state within the sovereignty of the Hellenic Republic. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the...
.
The wheat that was blessed is reserved until the time of sowing, when it is planted. The wheat which is grown will be used to bake prosphora
Prosphora
A prosphoron is a small loaf of leavened bread used in Orthodox Christian and Greek Catholic liturgies. The plural form is prosphora...
for the Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term...
.
Holy Saturday
An Artoklasia (but no Litiy) also takes place at the end of the Divine LiturgyDivine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term...
on Holy and Great Saturday, except that only bread and wine are blessed, and the priest omits the words "wheat" and "oil" from the prayer. The reason for this Artoklasia is that the faithful used to not leave the church after the Liturgy on Holy Saturday, but would remain there until the beginning of the Paschal Vigil. They would be given bread, a glass of wine, and some dried fruit to help sustain them through the Vigil.