Litany
Litany,inChristian worshipand some forms ofJewish worship,is a form ofprayerused in services andprocessions,and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes throughLatinlitaniafromAncient Greekλιτανεία(litaneía), which in turn comes fromλιτή(litḗ), meaning "prayer,supplication".
Christianity
[edit]Western Christianity
[edit]This form of prayer finds its model in Psalm 136: "Praise the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endures for ever. Praise ye the God of gods... the Lord of lords... Who alone doth great wonders... Who made the heavens", etc., with the concluding words in each verse, "for his mercy endures for ever."[1]
The Litany originated in Antioch in the fourth century and from there was taken to Constantinople and through it to the rest of the East...From Constantinople the Litany was taken to Rome and the West.[2]Josef Andreas Jungmannexplains how theKyriein the Roman Mass is best seen as a vestige of alitanyat the beginning of the Mass, like that of some Eastern churches.[3]
Public Christian devotions became common by the fifth century and processions were frequently held. These processions were called "litanies", and in them pictures and other religious emblems were carried. In Rome, pope and people would go in procession each day, especially inLent,to a different church, to celebrate the Sacred Mysteries. Thus originated the Roman "Stations", and what was called the "Litania Maior", "Major Rogation",was held on 25 April. The wordrogationcomes from theLatinverbrogare,meaning "to ask", which reflects the beseeching of God for the appeasement of his anger and for protection from calamities.[4]
In 590, when anepidemiccaused by an overflow of theTiberwas ravaging Rome,Gregory the Greatcommanded a litany; on the preceding day he exhorted the people to fervent prayer, and arranged the order to be observed in the procession, during which theLitany of the Saintswas prayed.[5]
The "Litania Minor", also calledMinor Rogationsor "Gallicana", theRogation DaysbeforeAscension,[6]was introduced (477) bySt. Mamertus,Bishop of Vienne,on account of the earthquakes and other calamities then prevalent. It was prescribed for the whole ofFrankish Gaul,in 511, by theFirst Council of Orléans.For Rome it was ordered byLeo III,in 799. In theAmbrosian Ritethis litany was celebrated on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday after Ascension. In Spain, a similar litany is prayed from Thursday to Saturday afterPentecost.In England the Litany ofRogation Dayswas known in the earliest periods. In Germany it was ordered by a Synod of Mainz in 813.
Because the Mass Litany became popular through its use in processions, numberless varieties were soon made, especially in the Middle Ages. Litanies appeared in honour of God the Father, of God the Son, of God the Holy Spirit, of the Precious Blood, of the Blessed Virgin, of the Immaculate Conception, of each of the saints honoured in different countries, for the souls in Purgatory, etc. In 1601Baroniuswrote that about eighty forms were in circulation. To prevent abuse,Pope Clement VIII,by decree of 6 September 1601, forbade the publication of any litany, except that of the saints as found in theliturgical booksand that ofLoreto.[1]
Anglican litanies
[edit]
TheAnglican Communionalso has aLitanyin the1662Book of Common Prayer.This is substantially the same asThomas Cranmer'soriginal English vernacular service from 1544,Exhortation and Litany.[7]Cranmer drew on a variety of sources, chiefly two medieval litanies from theSarum rite,but also the German Litany of Martin Luther. He originally retained the invocation of the Saints and the Blessed Virgin Mary in very shortened form, but these were omitted in 1549,[7]and he made a notable change in the style of the service by expanding and grouping together said by the priest and provided but a single response to the whole group.[8]An anti-papal clause was omitted in 1559. The processional aspect was soon eliminated and the service said or sung kneeling in the church.[9]The term "the Lesser Litany" is sometimes used to refer to the versicles and responses, with theLord's Prayer,that follow the Apostles' Creed at Morning Prayer (or Matins) and Evening Prayer (or Evensong).[9]
Many other litanies are used in private prayer. AMarian litanyis one dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary; only one is authorised for public recitation (mentioned above). TheLitany of humilityis another well-known prayer.[citation needed]
Catholic litanies
[edit]In theCatholic Church,seven litanies are approved for public recitation:
- The Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus
- The Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
- The Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus
- The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary(also known as the Litany of Loreto)
- The Litany of Saint Joseph
- The Litany of the Saints
- The Litany (inDivine Worship: The MissalAppendix 8)
For all of them the 2004Enchiridion Indulgentiarumgrants the partialindulgenceto the faithfuls of Christ who piously pray the Litanies.[10]
Several others, including theLitany of the Blessed Sacrament,theLitany of the Passion,and theLitany of humility[11]are approved for private devotion.
Lutheran litanies
[edit]Much of the historic Litany was retained by theLutheran Church.Lutherhailed it as one of the greatest Christian prayers ever. When faced with the Turkish armies at the gates ofViennain 1528/29, Luther exhorted pastors to call their Christian people to repentance and prayer. He recommended the use of the Litany during the Sunday mass or Vespers. In 1529, he, after modifying the traditionalLitany of the Saints(mostly by removing the invocation of saints and prayers for the pope), began using the Litany at Wittenberg in Latin and German.Thomas Cranmerused Luther's revised Litany as one of his main sources in the preparation of the Litany in theBook of Common Prayer.Today, a form of the Litany continues to be used in the variousLutheran Churchesaround the world.[12]
Methodist litanies
[edit]The MethodistThe Book of Worship for Church and Home(1965) contains the following litanies:[13]
- The Litany of Recollection of Jesus[13]
- The Litany on theWill of God[13]
- The Litany of the Divine Will[13]
- The Litany of Self-Examination[13]
- The Litany ofConfession[13]
- The Litany ofSupplication[13]
- The Litany of Remembrance[13]
- The Litany of Commemoration[13]
- The Litany ofIntercession[13]
- The Litany forPeace[13]
Eastern Christianity
[edit]
In theEastern OrthodoxandByzantineCatholicchurches, a litany is referred to as anektenia.There are numerous ektenias during the Byzantine divine services: theDivine Liturgy,Vespers,Matins,the Sacraments, and numerous other services.
The petitions of the ektenias are usually chanted by adeacon(but if there is no deacon thepriestwill say the petitions), to each of which thechoir(chanters) or congregation will respond. The response is usuallyKyrie eleison( "Lord, have mercy" ), but other responses are used at different ektenias. After the final petition, thepriestmakes theekphonesis(exclamation) which summarizes the ektenia, and always involves an invocation of theHoly Trinity.
Judaism
[edit]Although used to a much lesser extent inJewish worship,litanies do appear inJewish liturgy.The most notable examples are theHoshanotrecited in the additional (musaf) service during all seven days of theSukkotfestival. These are mostly alphabetical acrostics to which the refrain at the end of each line is "Hoshanah"!, a contraction of the biblicalHoshi'a na(Psalm118:25), "Save us, please!" These are recited in a procession around the sanctuary, with congregants holding thelulavandetrog(the biblical "Four Species"ofLeviticus23:40). They are essentially prayers for rain.
Litanies are also recited during theTen Days of Repentance.The most famous of these "supplicatory" prayers isAvinu Malkeinu( "Our Father, Our King" ), which is recited duringRosh HashanahandYom Kippurliturgies. CertainSelichotprayers also take the form of a litany during the month ofElul,as do some prayers recited on fast days.
Mandaeism
[edit]Litanies are often recited inMandaeism.The most commonly recited Mandaean litanies are theAsiet MalkiaandTabahatan.[14][15]
Islam
[edit]Musical settings
[edit]- Marc-Antoine Charpentier,Litany of Loreto, 9 settings,H.82 (1680), H.83 (1683–85), H.84 (1690), H.85 (1688–90), H.86 (1690), H.87 (1690), H.88 (1690), H.89 (1690), H.90 (1690).
- Henry Dumont,Litany of Loreto (1652)
- František Ignac Tuma, Lytaniae Lauretanae (18. century)
- Karol Szymanowski,Litany to the Virgin MaryOp.59 (1933)
- Francis Poulenc,Litanies de la Vierge noir.He wrote in 1936Litanies à la Vierge Noire(Litanies to the Black Virgin) after a pilgrimage to the shrine ofRocamadour,setting a French local pilgrimage litany.
- American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producerKanye Westcomposed a litany in his songWaterreleased on October 25, 2019.
- Kolbe Ensemble (hr) releasedSung litanies of St. Anthonyin 2022 inCroatian,inspired by Italian setting of All Saint's Litanies.[16]
See also
[edit]- Exhortation and Litany (1544)
- Litany against fear
- Litany of humility
- Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Lorica
Notes
[edit]
- ^abMershman, Francis. "Litany." The Catholic EncyclopediaVol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 4 February 2021
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
- ^"Litany of Loreto in Context", Marian Library, University of Dayton
- ^Jungmann, Josef.The Mass of the Roman Rite: Its Origins and Development,New York, Benzinger Brothers, 1951, p.335
- ^Mershman, Francis. "Rogation Days." The Catholic EncyclopediaVol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 4 February 2021This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
- ^Mershman, Francis. "Litany of the Saints." The Catholic EncyclopediaVol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 4 February 2021This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
- ^Reff, Daniel T.,Plagues, Priests, and Demons: Sacred Narratives and the Rise of Christianity in the Old World and the New,Cambridge University Press, 2005, p.100ISBN9781139442787
- ^abMacCulloch, Diarmaid.Thomas CranmerYale University Press (1996) pp.328 & 326 respectively
- ^Litany, The (BCP)in Cross, F. L. & Livingstone, E. A. (eds)The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian ChurchOUP (1974)
- ^abProcter, Francis &Frere, Walter Howard.A New History of the Book of Common PrayerMacmillan (1902) pp. 422f & 394 respectively
- ^Enchiridion Indulgentiarum.quarto editur,Concessiones,22 2°
- ^The Litany of Humility w/ Walter Plummer,2024-06-16,retrieved2024-07-02
- ^Cf. J. T. Pless, "Daily Prayer", inLutheran Worship and Practice,ed. F. L. Precht (Concordia Publishing House: St. Louis, 1993), 465–468.
- ^abcdefghijkThe Book of Worship for Church and Home: With Orders of Worship, Services for the Administration of the Sacraments and Other Aids to Worship According to the Usages of the Methodist Church.Methodist Publishing House. 1964. pp. 207–218.Retrieved25 March2017.
- ^Drower, Ethel Stefana. 1937.The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran.Oxford At The Clarendon Press.
- ^Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2010).The great stem of souls: reconstructing Mandaean history.Piscataway, N.J: Gorgias Press.ISBN978-1-59333-621-9.
- ^"Pjevane litanije sv. Ante"[Sung litanies of St. Anthony].svetiste-sibenik.hr(in Croatian). Šibenik: Croatian national shrine Nikola Tavelić. March 14, 2022.RetrievedJanuary 13,2024.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Litany".Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.
