Kathisma
Part of a series on the |
Eastern Orthodox Church |
---|
Overview |
A kathisma (Greek: κάθισμα; Slavonic: каѳисма, kai-isma), literally, "seat", is a division of the
Psalms
According to ancient practice, monastics recite all 150
To facilitate this, the 150 psalms were divided into 20 sections, called kathismata (
Each kathisma is further subdivided into three staseis (
The Orthodox Church uses as its official version of the
Septuagint (Greek) | Masoretic (Hebrew) |
---|---|
1-8 | 1-8 |
9 | 9-10 |
10-112 | Add 1 to the number of each psalm |
113 | 114-115 |
114 | 116:1-9 |
115 | 116:10-19 |
116-145 | Add 1 to the number of each psalm |
146 | 147:1-11 |
147 | 147:12-20 |
148-150 | 148-150 |
The divisions of the psalms into kathismata is as follows (using the Septuagint numbering):
Kathisma | Stasis 1 | Stasis 2 | Stasis 3 |
---|---|---|---|
I | 1-3 | 4-6 | 7-8 |
II | 9-10 | 11-13 | 14-16 |
III | 17 | 18-20 | 21-23 |
IV | 24-26 | 27-29 | 30-31 |
V | 32-33 | 34-35 | 36 |
VI | 37-39 | 40-42 | 43-45 |
VII | 46-48 | 49-50 | 51-54 |
VIII | 55-57 | 58-60 | 61-63 |
IX | 64-66 | 67 | 68-69 |
X | 70-71 | 72-73 | 74-76 |
XI | 77 | 78-80 | 81-84 |
XII | 85-87 | 88 | 89-90 |
XIII | 91-93 | 94-96 | 97-100 |
XIV | 101-102 | 103 | 104 |
XV | 105 | 106 | 107-108 |
XVI | 109-111 | 112-114 | 115-117 |
XVII | 118:1-72 | 118:73-131 | 118:132-176 |
XVIII | 119-123 | 124-128 | 129-133 |
XIX | 134-136 | 137-139 | 140-142 |
XX | 143-144 | 145-147 | 148-150 |
The kathismata are divided up between
Besides the 150 Psalms, the Psalter also contains the nine biblical Canticles which are chanted at matins alongside the canon which evolved from them.
Kathisma XVII, which is composed entirely of
Some monasteries have a tradition of a "Cell Rule" whereby each monastic will pray several kathismata a day in addition to the ones that are said publicly during the services. Some Psalters have special hymns and prayers printed between the kathismata to be read as devotions when reciting the Cell Rule. In the 20th century, some lay Christians have adopted a continuous reading of the psalms on weekdays, praying the whole book in four weeks, three times a day, one kathisma a day.
In the East Syriac Rite, the Psalter is divided into similar sections called hulali.
Hymns
The word kathisma can also refer to a set of
Seating
The third meaning of kathisma is its original sense: a seat, stall or box in the sense of a theatre box. (It is related to the word 'cathedral', meaning where a bishop sits, and the phrase 'ex cathedra', which literally means 'from the chair'.) The term was used for the Imperial box at the
The bishop has a special kathisma which is more ornate than the ordinary monk's. It is normally located on the right kliros (choir), at the westernmost end, and is often elevated above the others and may have a canopy above it (see cathedra).
Monastic cell
At Mount Athos, each monastic establishment, large or small, belongs to one of twenty "Sovereign Monasteries." The smallest type of these monastic establishments is called a kathisma: it is a simple abode for one solitary monk.
Notes
- ISBN 978-0-571-11137-4.
External links
- "Psalter" at Orthodox Wiki
- Greek Bishop standing at his episcopal kathisma (Church of the Holy Sepulchre)
- Jonathan Lipnick, The First Church Dedicated Entirely To Mary, in Biblical Hebrew & Greek, 20 July 2016 Archived 21 November 2016 at the Church of the Seat of Mary (Kathisma)on the Jerusalem-Bethlehem road