The Polychronion is a solemn encomium

Encomium

Encomium is a Latin word deriving from the Classical Greek ἐγκώμιον meaning the praise of a person or thing. "Encomium" also refers to several distinct aspects of rhetoric:* A general category of oratory* A method within rhetorical pedagogy...

 chanted in the liturgy

Liturgy

Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...

 of 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...

.

The Polychronion is chanted for the secular authorities (Orthodox monarch

Monarch

A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...

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

Patriarch

Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...

 or diocesan 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...

), 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
  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...
  
   in which 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...
  
   (or 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...
  
  , if there is no deacon) recites the names of the individuals to be commemorated, and the choir responds by chanting "Εις πολλά έτη", "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
  In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
  
  , their name day
  Name day
  A name day is a tradition in many countries in Europe and Latin America that consists of celebrating the day of the year associated with one's given name....
  
   or the anniversary of a clergyman's ordination
  Ordination
  In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
  
  .

• 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
  Matins is the early morning or night prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. The term is also used in some Protestant denominations to describe morning services.The name "Matins" originally referred to the morning office also...
  
   and 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...
  
  .

For an Orthodox sovereign

The Polychronion as chanted for a sovereign is derived from the traditional Latin acclamation "In multos annos" accorded by the populace to Roman Emperor

Roman Emperor

The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...

s. The acclamation was continued in Byzantine

Byzantine

Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...

 times in partially hellenized

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;...

 form: "Immultos annos", before it was completely translated into the Greek form "Eis polla etē":

Polychronion poiēsai Kyrios o Theos

ton eusebestaton basilea

Basileus

Basileus is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. It is perhaps best known in English as a title used by the Byzantine Emperors, but also has a longer history of use for persons of authority and sovereigns in ancient Greece, as well as for the kings of...

 ēmōn [regnal name].

Kyrie phylatte auton

eis polla etē. (three times)

Grant long life, O Lord God,

to our most pious king

Basileus

Basileus is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. It is perhaps best known in English as a title used by the Byzantine Emperors, but also has a longer history of use for persons of authority and sovereigns in ancient Greece, as well as for the kings of...

[regnal name].

O Lord, preserve him,

unto many years. (three times)

Depending on circumstance, the names of other members of the reigning family could 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" (Fame).