Portal:Litany
Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Judaic worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a series of petitions, usually in call-and-response form.
Christian litanies
editCatholic Church
editIn the Catholic Church, six 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 St. Joseph
- The Litany of the Saints
Other litanies are used in private devotion, including:
Catholics who follow the Byzantine Rite or the Anglican Use may also use litanies listed under #Eastern Orthodox Church or #Anglican Communion as well.
Eastern Orthodox Church
editIn the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite, a litany is referred to as an ektenia. The main forms of the litany are:
- The Great Litany
- The Litany of Supplication
- The Litany of Fervent Supplication
- The Little Litany
- The Litany of the Catechumens
- The Litany of the Faithful
Anglican Communion
edit- The Great Litany by Thomas Cranmer (1544).
- The Litany for Ordinations
Methodist Church
editThe Methodist Book of Worship for Church and Home (1965) contains the following litanies:
Jewish litanies
editAlthough used to a much lesser extent in Jewish worship, litanies do appear in Jewish liturgy. The most famous of these "supplicatory" prayers is Avinu Malkeinu, which is recited during the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur liturgies. Certain Selichot prayers also take the form of a litany during the month of Elul.
Literary works
editLiterary works inspired by or in the form of a litany include:
Hymns
edit- Litany of the Birth of Jesus by Cecilia Mary Caddell
- Litany of the Childhood of Jesus by Cecilia Mary Caddell
- Litany of the Passion of Jesus by Cecilia Mary Caddell
- Litany of the Resurrection of Jesus by Cecilia Mary Caddell
Poetry
editReference works
edit- "Litany," in Catholic Encyclopedia, (ed.) by Charles G. Herbermann and others, New York: The Encyclopaedia Press (1913)
- "Kyrie Eleison," in Catholic Encyclopedia, (ed.) by Charles G. Herbermann and others, New York: The Encyclopaedia Press (1913)
- "Litany of the Holy Name," in Catholic Encyclopedia, (ed.) by Charles G. Herbermann and others, New York: The Encyclopaedia Press (1913)
- "Litany of Loreto," in Catholic Encyclopedia, (ed.) by Charles G. Herbermann and others, New York: The Encyclopaedia Press (1913)
- "Litany of the Saints," in Catholic Encyclopedia, (ed.) by Charles G. Herbermann and others, New York: The Encyclopaedia Press (1913)
- "Litany," in A Dictionary of Music and Musicians, (ed.) by George Grove, London: MacMillan & Co., Ltd. (1900)
- "Litaniæ Lauretanæ," in A Dictionary of Music and Musicians, (ed.) by George Grove, London: MacMillan & Co., Ltd. (1900)
- "Litany," in Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed., 1911)
- "On the Greater Litany" by Ælfric