Litany

{lit'-uh-nee}

The litany is a Christian prayer form consisting of a series of petitions sung or said by a deacon, priest, or cantor, to which the congregation repeats a fixed response. The form originated at Antioch in the 4th century and spread from there throughout the Eastern churches and then to the West.

It has remained more important in the East, where litanies led by a deacon are the major form of participation by the congregation in the Liturgy. In the West, the Litany of the Saints is the only liturgical litany for Roman Catholics; the Book of Common Prayer contains a litany for Anglican churches. Nonliturgical litanies include the Litany of Loretto (or of the Blessed Virgin Mary).

Litany

Litany, in Christian liturgy, form of prayer consisting of a series of invocations and supplications pronounced by the clergy, alternating with responses by the choir or congregation. The litany may form part of the liturgy of certain feasts or may be regarded as a separate service, used especially in religious processions.

In the Roman Catholic church the principal litany is the Litany of the Saints. Originating in medieval times, it consists of the Kyrie Eleison, that is, the invocation of Christ and the Trinity; a series of supplications for the intercession of specific saints; a series of supplications for deliverance from particular evils; and a series of prayers for the preservation of the church. The Litany of the Saints forms part of the liturgy for the Feast of Saint Mark on April 25, called the Greater Litany. It also forms part of the ritual on such occasions as the ordination of priests and the consecration of churches.

The litany is in the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England and in the service books of other Anglican churches and some Protestant churches. It is similar to the Roman Catholic form, but contains no invocations for the intercession of the saints. The litany is prescribed for Anglican morning and evening prayer services.