Litany
Litany, in
Christianity
Western Christianity
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.
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 in
In 590, when an
The "Litania Minor", also called
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 1601
Anglican litanies
The
Many other litanies are used in private prayer. A Marian litany is one dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary; only one is authorised for public recitation (mentioned above). The Litany of humility is another well-known prayer.[citation needed]
Catholic litanies
In the
- 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 (in Divine Worship: The Missal Appendix 8)
For all of them the 2004
Several others, including The Litany of the Blessed Sacrament and The Litany of the Passion, are approved for private devotion .
Lutheran litanies
Much of the historic Litany was retained by the
Methodist litanies
The Methodist The Book of Worship for Church and Home (1965) contains the following litanies:[12]
- The Litany of Recollection of Jesus[12]
- The Litany on the Will of God[12]
- The Litany of the Divine Will[12]
- The Litany of Self-Examination[12]
- The Litany of Confession[12]
- The Litany of Supplication[12]
- The Litany of Remembrance[12]
- The Litany of Commemoration[12]
- The Litany of Intercession[12]
- The Litany for Peace[12]
Eastern Christianity
In the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches, a litany is referred to as an ektenia. There are numerous ektenias during the Byzantine divine services: the Divine Liturgy, Vespers, Matins, the Sacraments, and numerous other services.
The petitions of the ektenias are usually chanted by a
Judaism
Although used to a much lesser extent in
Litanies are also recited during the Ten Days of Repentance. The most famous of these "supplicatory" prayers is Avinu Malkeinu ("Our Father, Our King"), which is recited during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur liturgies. Certain Selichot prayers also take the form of a litany during the month of Elul, as do some prayers recited on fast days.
Mandaeism
Litanies are often recited in Mandaeism. The most commonly recited Mandaean litanies are the Asiet Malkia and Tabahatan.[13][14]
Islam
Musical settings
- 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 Mary Op.59 (1933)
- Francis Poulenc, Litanies de la Vierge noir. He wrote in 1936 Litanies à la Vierge Noire (Litanies to the Black Virgin) after a pilgrimage to the shrine of Rocamadour, setting a French local pilgrimage litany.
- American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer Kanye West composed a litany in his song Water released on October 25, 2019.
- Kolbe Ensemble (hr) released Sung litanies of St. Anthony in 2022 in Croatian, inspired by Italian setting of All Saint's Litanies.[15]
See also
- Exhortation and Litany (1544)
- Litany against fear
- Litany of humility
- Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Lorica
Notes
- ^ a b Mershman, Francis. "Litany." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 4 February 2021 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public 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 Encyclopedia Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 4 February 2021 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Mershman, Francis. "Litany of the Saints." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 4 February 2021 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ISBN 9781139442787
- ^ a b MacCulloch, Diarmaid. Thomas Cranmer Yale University Press (1996) pp.328 & 326 respectively
- ^ Litany, The (BCP) in Cross, F. L. & Livingstone, E. A. (eds) The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church OUP (1974)
- ^ a b Procter, Francis & Frere, Walter Howard. A New History of the Book of Common Prayer Macmillan (1902) pp. 422f & 394 respectively
- Enchiridion Indulgentiarum.quarto editur, Concessiones, 22 2°
- ^ Cf. J. T. Pless, "Daily Prayer", in Lutheran Worship and Practice, ed. F. L. Precht (Concordia Publishing House: St. Louis, 1993), 465–468.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k The 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. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
- ^ Drower, Ethel Stefana. 1937. The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran. Oxford At The Clarendon Press.
- ISBN 978-1-59333-621-9.
- ^ "Pjevane litanije sv. Ante" [Sung litanies of St. Anthony]. svetiste-sibenik.hr (in Croatian). Šibenik: Croatian national shrine Nikola Tavelić. March 14, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Litany". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.