Ectenia

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An ektenia (from Greek ἐκτένεια (ekténia), from Greek ἐκτενής (ektenés) 'diligence'), often called by the better known English word litany, consists of a series of petitions occurring in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic liturgies. In Greek, συναπτή, synaptê is the prevalent ecclesiastical word for this kind of litany, while in Church Slavonic, ектенїѧ, yekteniya is the preferred word. A litany is normally intoned by a deacon, with the choir or people chanting the responses. As he concludes each petition, the deacon raises the end of his orarion and crosses himself; if there is no deacon serving, the petitions are intoned by a priest. During many litanies the priest says a prayer silently; after the last petition of the litany, the priest says an ecphonesis which, when a silent prayer is said during the litany, is the final phrase of that prayer. When there is no priest present during the canonical hours, the litanies are not said; rather, the reader replaces them by saying "Lord, have mercy," three, twelve, or forty times, depending on which litany is being replaced.