Kyrie eleison

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kyrie eleison , VIII. Choral Mass ( De angelis ) in the Graduale Novum
Kyrie eleison in the church hours (Gregorian chant)

Kyrie eleison ( Middle Greek κύριε ἐλέησον kýrie eléēson or later kírië eléison “Lord, have mercy!”) Is the beginning of a short, usually tripartite litany , which is sung on various occasions in the Christian liturgy . The Kyrie eleison is best known as part of the opening of the service . Litanies such as the All Saints Litany or the Lauretan Litany begin with the Kyrie call.

The term is made up of the vocative of the Greek κύριος "Lord" and the imperative aorist ἐλέησον from ἐλεέω "have mercy".

Origin and theological meaning

The call comes from the Greek liturgy of the Eastern Church  - there the congregation interjected in the great litanies ( intercessions ) - and was adopted around 500 without translation into the Roman and then into other Western liturgies.

“Kyrie eleison” was a common call of homage for gods and rulers in pre-Christian times. In late antique court ceremonies, the emperor was greeted with this cry when he entered the room. The Jews of the Greek-speaking diaspora had related the Kyrios title to the God of Israel (as a translation for Adonai "Lord", compare YHWH ). Kyrios became the central denomination of Jesus Christ in early Christianity (cf. PhilEU , Rom 20,9  EU ). In the public acclamation and the confession of the Kyrie at the beginning of the Eucharistic celebration , the Christians clearly set themselves apart from the imperial cult and the cult of other gods.

The alternative form Christe eleison ( Χριστὲ ἐλέησον Christ, have mercy! ) Originated in Rome. An up to nine Kyrie litany developed , which for centuries was also interpreted in a Trinitarian way as an invocation of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (cf. Kyrielieder der Reformation ).

Kyrie eleison in the service

Holy mass and evangelical worship

The Kyrie eleison is counted among the constant parts of the Holy Mass ( Ordinarium Missae ). In the opening part of the Holy Mass or of the Protestant service, the Kyrie can follow the general confession of guilt or be connected with it. In this case, the call of homage becomes a call for mercy. Greek or German can be spoken.

“Kyrie, eleison! - Lord, have mercy (us)!
Christe, eleison! - Christ, have mercy (us)!
Kyrie, eleison! - Lord, have mercy on (us)! "

It is often sung, if necessary alternating between choir or cantor and congregation. Depending on the occasion of the service and the time in the church year , short text inserts ( tropics ) can be used. These invocations are not intercessions , but praise . Jesus Christ is praised for his saving acts. At the same time, the Kyrie represents a request for God's mercy.

After the Kyrie, on Sundays outside of Advent and Lent, as well as on festivals, the Gloria ( Latin for "Honor be God") follows .

Examples of text insets

There are numerous variations of the Kyrie that are used depending on the occasion and church year, for example:

  • Lord Jesus, you word of life! Kyrie eleison!
  • Lord Jesus, you light of people! Christe eleison!
  • Lord Jesus, you are our way to the Father! Kyrie eleison!

or

  • Lord Jesus, Son of the Living God: Kyrie eleison!
  • Mediator of the New Covenant: Kyrie eleison!
  • Lord Christ, you bore the cross and sufferings for us. Christe eleison!
  • You rose from the dead for us. Christe eleison!
  • Lord Jesus, Lord of your Church: Kyrie eleison!
  • You hope of all the earth: Kyrie eleison!

The origin of such Kyrie litanies can be found in the deprecatio Gelasii .

orthodoxy

In the liturgy of the Orthodox Churches, there are Kyrie litanies, some of which are divided into several parts. With a twelve-fold Kyrie eleison each hearing of the Byzantine time of day liturgy is opened, the small hours close with a forty-fold Kyrie eleison . In the Divine Liturgy the threefold Kyrie eleison appears in response to the individual invocations of the Ektenieen . However, the Christe eleison is a western extension and not in use in the Byzantine liturgy.

Kyrie eleison and pater noster as an introduction or conclusion to prayer

In the medieval liturgy, the three or nine times Kyrie / Christe eleison occurred several times, namely as the end of prayer after a psalm in the following structure:

  • psalm
  • Kyrie eleison (3–9 ×)
  • Our father
  • Versicle (for example: V: Lord, hear my prayer! R: And let my calls come to you! )
  • final oration .

Such prayer sequences existed, for example, as part of the preparation of the priest for the celebration of mass and when putting on the vestments , during the gradual prayer between Psalm 42 Iudica me , ( Create right me, God ) and the Confiteor , and when the priest left the church. This was not always the case, however, but varied greatly from one region to another. At the latest with the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council, such forms were no longer applicable.

In the Liturgy of the Hours , the same sequence of prayers has also been attested since the 8th century ( Amalarius ): " that the Kyrie eleison stands before prayer in order to reconcile God in answering the prayer " (IV, 2), and Amalarius testifies (III, 6 ), " That in omnibus peractis officiis sequitur Kyrie eleison ante orationem dominicam, ut est in matutinis et vespertinali synaxi " ( that after each performance of the Liturgy of the Hours, the Kyrie eleison follows before the Lord's prayer, as happens in Matins and Vespers ) . Later this was limited to weekdays ( preces feriales ), then to the working days of Advent and Lent, since 1955 only for Wednesdays and Fridays in Advent and Lent. With the reorganization of the Liturgy of the Hours after the Second Vatican Council, the prayer sequence is again planned for Laudes and Vespers on every day: after the Benedictus or Magnificat , the intercessions follow , then the Kyrie eleison (or another transition), the Our Father and the Oration .

Some Lutheran orders of prayer for morning and evening prayers also have a similar form: three times Kyrie eleison, pater noster, requests, oration.

Kyrie eleison in music

Trivia

  • The family name Kyrieleis goes back to the call.

literature

  • Josef Andreas Jungmann : Missarum Sollemnia. A genetic explanation of the Roman mass. Volume 1, Herder Verlag, Vienna - Freiburg - Basel, 1948, 5th edition 1962, pp. 429-446.

Web links

Wiktionary: Kyrie eleison  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. "falsified as a call to penance", says Rupert Berger : Small liturgical dictionary. Herder-Verlag Freiburg-Basel-Vienna 1987, ISBN 3-451-20354-5 , p. 91f
  2. ^ Josef Andreas Jungmann SJ: Missarum Sollemnia. A genetic explanation of the Roman mass. Herder Verlag, Vienna - Freiburg - Basel, 1948, 5th edition 1962, Vol. I p. 438.
  3. ^ Josef Andreas Jungmann SJ : Missarum Sollemnia. A genetic explanation of the Roman mass. Herder Verlag, Vienna - Freiburg - Basel, 1948, 5th edition 1962, vol. I pp. 356f, 361 note 9, 385f; Vol. II p. 571f.
  4. August Gerstmeier: Kyrie. II. Church music . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 6 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1997, Sp. 553 .