In Eastern Christianity
Τhe phrase Kýrie, eléison (Greek: Κύριε ἐλέησον) or one of its equivalents in other languages is one of the most oft-repeated phrases in Byzantine-Rite Eastern Christianity.
The various litanies, frequent in that rite, generally have Lord, have mercy as their response, either singly or triply. Some petitions in these litanies will have twelve or even forty repetitions of the phrase as a response.
The phrase is the origin of the Jesus Prayer, beloved by Christians of that rite and increasingly popular amongst Western Christians.
The biblical roots of this prayer first appear in 1 Chronicles 16:34:
...give thanks to the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endures for ever...
The prayer is simultaneously a petition and a prayer of thanksgiving; an acknowledgment of what God has done, what God is doing, and what God will continue to do. It is refined in the Parable of The Publican (Luke 18:9-14), "God, have mercy on me, a sinner", which shows more clearly its connection with the Jesus Prayer.
Since the early centuries of Christianity, the Greek phrase, Kýrie, eléison, is also extensively used in the Coptic (Egyptian) Christian liturgy, which uses both the Coptic and the Greek language.
In the cultures of East Slavs its adaptation also gave rise to the word of gratitude (Russian: Спасибо, Spasibo) through a rough interpretation Save, God.
Read more about this topic: Kyrie
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