Rank of feast
In the Orthodox ranking of feasts, a day of "Polyeleos" rank is a "Middle feast", ranking above a Great Doxology, and below an All-Night Vigil. In liturgical calendars it is symbolized by a Greek cross printed in red ( 
).
The Polyeleos is a festive portion of the Matins or All-Night Vigil service as observed on higher-ranking feast days in the Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Lutheran, and Byzantine Rite Catholic Churches. The Polyeleos is considered to be the high point of the service, and contains the reading of the Matins Gospel. Because of its liturgical importance, settings for the Polyeleos have been composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff and others.
The name derives from Greek Πολυέλεος (pl. Πολυέλεοι), meaning "of much mercy", because of the repetition in one of the Polyeleoi of the phrase "ὅτι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ" (hoti eis ton aiōna to eleos autou), meaning "because forever [lasts] His mercy"),
Specifically, the Polyeleos consists of Psalms 134 and 135 (Septuagint numbering; King James Version: Psalms 135 and 136), which are solemnly chanted in a festive melody, with refrains Alleluia chanted between each verse. The refrain for Psalm 134 is "Alleluia". The refrain for Psalm 135 is "Alleluia, alleluia. For His mercy endureth forever. Alleluia." This repeated chanting of the word "mercy" is another reason for the chanting of these psalms to be called Polyeleos.
In its fullest musical setting, it can last up to over an hour. Nowadays, the psalms are usually shortened to only a few select verses each, except in certain monasteries. [1]
During the chanting, Holy Doors are opened, and the clergy come out of the sanctuary to stand in front of the icon of the feast, which lies on an analogion in the center of the nave. The deacon (or priest, if there is no deacon) censes the icon of the feast being celebrated. However, if it is a Sunday service, the Holy Doors are opened, the clergy remain in the sanctuary and the priest censes the front of the Holy Table (altar).
On feast days, the Polyeleos is followed by selected verses of other psalms which are relevant to the feast. In the Greek Orthodox tradition, these verses are referred to as the eklogarion ; in the Russian Orthodox usage a hymn called the megalynarion (magnification) is chanted between these selected verses, while the clergy perform a full censing of the church.
On Sundays, in place of the eklogarion, a hymn called the Evlogitaria is chanted in honor of the Resurrection, commemorating the journey of the Myrrhbearers on their way to the Tomb of Christ and the announcement of the Resurrection of Jesus. If a feast day with megalynarion falls on a Sunday, only the refrain of the megalynarion is chanted, once, after which the evlogitaria are chanted. (If, however, a Great Feast of the Lord falls on a Sunday, nothing of the ordinary Sunday service is chanted, but everything is chanted for the Great Feast, and the order follows that of weekdays.)
On the three Sundays before the beginning of Great Lent, Psalm 136 (KJV: Psalm 137), "By the waters of Babylon", is added to the Polyeleos. This psalm recounts the sorrow of the Jews during the Babylonian captivity, and their yearning for Jerusalem; and is prescribed by the Church at this time to bring forth in the faithful sorrow over their captivity to sin and yearning for the Heavenly Jerusalem.
In the Greek usage, Psalm 44 (KJV: Psalm 45) replaces Psalms 134 and 135 on feasts of the Theotokos (Mother of God). [2]
In a wider sense, the term Polyeleos refers to an entire section of the Matins service which falls after the readings from the psalter and before the chanting of the canon. Services below the rank of Polyeleos are missing this section entirely (with the exception of Psalm 50, which is read every day except during Bright Week). The specific outline of the Polyeleos differs depending upon the day of the week: [3]
(On Sundays, the Polyeleos takes place in the sanctuary, with the clergy standing around the Holy Table, which represents the Tomb of Christ. Almost all of the hymns are chanted in the Tone of the Week)
During certain seasons of the year, if there is no feast day of Polyeleos or higher rank occurring on a Sunday, Psalms 134 and 135 are replaced by Psalm 118 (KJV: Psalm 119). [4]
(On weekdays, the Polyeleos takes place in the center of the church with the clergy standing around the icon of the feast. The hymns are set in various Tones, depending upon the taste of the hymnographers)
In the Orthodox ranking of feasts, a day of "Polyeleos" rank is a "Middle feast", ranking above a Great Doxology, and below an All-Night Vigil. In liturgical calendars it is symbolized by a Greek cross printed in red ( ).
It is in the form of a very large circle (also called a corona or horos) with many candles on it, and is often adorned with icons of numerous saints. The chandelier, or "polyelaios" ("having much oil", a pun on polyeleos) is suspended by a chain from the ceiling. During the chanting of the Polyeleos psalms (134 and 135), all of the candles are lit and it is pushed with a rod so that it turns back and forth during the singing to symbolize the presence of the angels which will only add to the joy of the service. This practice is still seen in the monasteries of Mount Athos and in other traditional Orthodox monasteries throughout the world.
Great Lent, or the Great Fast, is the most important fasting season of the church year within many denominations of Eastern Christianity. It is intended to prepare Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Pascha (Easter).
Song of Ascents is a title given to fifteen of the Psalms, 120–134, each starting with the superscription Shir Hama'aloth, or, in the case of Psalm 121, Shir Lama'aloth. They are also variously called Gradual Psalms, Fifteen Psalms, Songs of Degrees, Songs of Steps, songs for going up to worship or Pilgrim Songs.
Vespers is a liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Lutheran liturgies. The word for this fixed prayer time comes from the Latin vesper, meaning "evening".
In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark the divisions of the day in terms of fixed times of prayer at regular intervals. A book of hours, chiefly a breviary, normally contains a version of, or selection from, such prayers.
A canticle is a hymn, psalm or other Christian song of praise with lyrics usually taken from biblical or holy texts. Canticles are used in Christian liturgy.
Alleluia is a phrase in Christianity used to give praise to God. In Christian worship, Alleluia is used as a liturgical chant in which that word is combined with verses of scripture, usually from the Psalms. This chant is commonly used before the proclamation of the Gospel. In Western Christianity, congregations commonly cease using the word Alleluia during the period of Lent but restore it into their services at Easter. The form of praise "Alleluia" is used by Christians to thank and glorify God; it finds itself present in many prayers and hymns, especially those related to Eastertide, such as "Christ the Lord is Risen Today".
Psalm 119 is the 119th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in the English of the King James Version: "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord". The Book of Psalms is in the third section of the Hebrew Bible, the Khetuvim, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. The psalm, which is anonymous, is referred to in Hebrew by its opening words, "Ashrei temimei derech". In Latin, it is known as "Beati inmaculati in via qui ambulant in lege Domini".
Orthros or Útrenya, in the Byzantine Rite of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches, is the last of the four night offices, the other three being vespers, compline, and midnight office. Traditionally, in monasteries it is held daily so as to end immediately following sunrise, in contrast to parishes where it is held only on Sundays and feast days. It is often called matins after the office it most nearly corresponds to in Western Christian churches.
In the liturgical practice of the Orthodox Church and Byzantine Rite, a prokeimenon is a psalm or canticle refrain sung responsorially at certain specified points of the Divine Liturgy or the Divine Office, usually to introduce a scripture reading. It corresponds to the Gradual of the Roman Mass.
A troparion in Byzantine music and in the religious music of Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a short hymn of one stanza, or organised in more complex forms as series of stanzas.
Prime, or the First Hour, is one of the canonical hours of the Divine Office, said at the first hour of daylight, between the dawn hour of Lauds and the 9 a.m. hour of Terce. It remains part of the Christian liturgies of Eastern Christianity, but suppressed within the Latin liturgical rites by the Second Vatican Council. In the Coptic Church, a denomination of Oriental Orthodox Christianity, the office of Prime is prayed at 6 am in eastward direction of prayer by all members in this denomination, both clergy and laity, being one of the seven fixed prayer times. Latin Catholic clergy under obligation to celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours may still fulfil their obligation by using the edition of the Roman Breviary promulgated by Pope John XXIII in 1962, which contains Prime. Like all the liturgical hours, except the Office of Readings, it consists mainly of Psalms. It is one of the Little Hours.
Acolouthia in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches, signifies the arrangement of the Divine Services, perhaps because the parts are closely connected and follow in order. In a more restricted sense, the term "acolouth" refers to the fixed portion of the Office. The portions of the Office that are variable are called the Sequences. While the structure and history of the various forms of the Divine Office in the numerous ancient Christian rites is exceedingly rich, the following article will restrict itself to the practice as it evolved in the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.
The All-night vigil is a service of the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches consisting of an aggregation of the canonical hours of Compline, Vespers, Matins, and the First Hour. This service may be performed on any Sunday or major feast, any feast for which a Litia is prescribed; these feasts are marked in the Typikon and in liturgical calendars by a Greek cross printed in red in a properly shaped semicircle [open at the top].
Eastern Orthodox worship in this article is distinguished from Eastern Orthodox prayer in that 'worship' refers to the activity of the Christian Church as a body offering up prayers to God while 'prayer' refers to the individual devotional traditions of the Orthodox.
A kathisma, literally, "seat", is a division of the Psalter, used in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite Catholic churches. The word may also describe a hymn sung at Matins, a seat used in monastic churches, or a type of monastic establishment.
The Matins Gospel is the solemn chanting of a lection from one of the Four Gospels during Matins in the Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic churches which follow the Byzantine Rite.
Theos Kyrios is a psalm response chanted near the beginning of the Matins service in the Rite of Constantinople, observed by the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches. It is based principally on Psalm 117, the refrain composed of verses v. 27a and 26a.
The Megalynarion is a special hymn used in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches that follow the Byzantine Rite. Depending on the local liturgical tradition, this hymn can be one of several.
Psalm 136 is the 136th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. ". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 135. In Latin, it is known by the incipit, "Confitemini Domino quoniam bonus". It is sometimes referred to as "The Great Hallel". The Jerusalem Bible calls it a "Litany of Thanksgiving". It is notable for the refrain which forms the second half of each verse, translated as "For His mercy endures forever" in the New King James Version, or "for his steadfast love endures for ever" in the Revised Standard Version.
Psalm 135 is the 135th psalm from the Book of Psalms, a part of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Praise ye the LORD". In the slightly different numbering system of the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate versions of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 134. Its Latin title is "Laudate nomen Domini".