The Great Litany

This past Sunday, most Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran Churches, along with a smattering of other churches, began the liturgy with The Great Litany. One of my “things” is I like to know why we do something and how it started. Here’s the word on The Great Litany.

Litanies, a kind of call and response prayer, is much older than this particular litany. The form is a petition of some kind, followed by a response. Litany comes from the ancient Greek and means supplication. An early one in the Western Church was the Kyrie (Lord have mercy etc). Typically it was chanted over and over in a liturgical processions and became an “official” practice in 529. In the fifth century processions through towns or villages became a popular pious practice and the Kyrie and other prayers were chanted or sung during them.

The Great Litany first appears in 1544 and was written by Thomas Cranmer during the English Reformation. Since all the liturgy was in Latin, Cranmer’s English treatment of the Litany was the first Latin prayer translated into English to be used in worship. He based it on the Sarum Missal which is a version of the Roman Rite, one of the earliest forms of the Divine Liturgy. Cranmer also borrowed from Martin Luther’s litany and because the Roman Rite is very similar to the Byzantine Rite used in the Orthodox Church, some parts of the litany date from the third century. There are even some parts of the prayer that are similar to Solomon’s prayer in I Kings.

Cranmer was following Henry VIII’s orders when he made this translation and revision. Henry noticed that the people were not joining in when the Litany was chanted in Latin. He thought the reason was the people “understode no parte of suche prayers or sufferages as were used to be songe and sayde.” He ordered Cranmer to translate it so there would be “set forthe certayne godly prayers and sufferages in our natyve Englishe tongue.” It is usually sung to the same chant Cranmer wrote for it.

In 1672, Anthony Sparrow wrote regarding the Great Litany: “In the beginning it directs our prayers to the right object, the Glorious TRINITY. For necessary it is, that we should know whom we worship. Then it proceeds to Deprecations, or prayers against evil; lastly, to Petitions for good.” And if you were paying attention last Sunday, you noticed the supplications touch on everything, every part of life.

Most parishes that use it, do so only on the second Sunday in Lent. Others use it on all but the fourth Sunday, so called “refreshment Sunday.” The Orthodox Church uses it every Sunday! Whenever we use it, it reminds us that we long for God’s intervention and involvement in all aspects of our life--aspects that this ancient prayer enumerates.

Holy Lent, Jerry