A litany is a form of prayer where the deacon or priest calls out petitions and the congregation responds, usually with “Lord, have mercy.” It’s how we pray together as one body.
If you’ve been to an Orthodox service, you’ve heard them. The deacon stands in front of the iconostasis, raises his voice, and says something like “For the peace of the whole world, for the stability of the holy churches of God, and for the union of all, let us pray to the Lord.” And everyone responds: “Lord, have mercy.” Then another petition. Another response. On and on, weaving our needs and the world’s needs into a single prayer.
The litany is genuinely communal. The deacon voices the petition, but he’s speaking for all of us. We complete the prayer with our response. Without the people’s “Lord, have mercy,” the litany doesn’t work. It takes both parts.
Why We Pray This Way
There’s something about praying in unison. When thirty or fifty or a hundred voices say “Lord, have mercy” together, you feel it. You’re not alone with your private concerns. You’re part of something bigger, a royal priesthood offering prayers for the whole world.
The litany also keeps us from being vague. We don’t just pray “for everyone.” We pray specifically for the sick, for travelers, for those who’ve asked our prayers, for farmers and their crops, for people suffering persecution, for prisoners. The petitions get concrete.
Different Types of Litanies
The Great Litany opens most services. It’s also called the Litany of Peace because it starts with “In peace let us pray to the Lord.” This one’s long, covering everything from world peace to the bishop to people traveling by sea or air. It sets the tone for the whole service.
The Litany of Fervent Supplication is shorter but more intense. It begins “Let us all say with all our soul and with all our mind, Lord, have mercy.” The word “fervent” fits. There’s urgency in it.
You’ll also hear the Small Litany at various transitions in the service. It’s brief, just a few petitions, but it punctuates the liturgy and keeps us oriented toward prayer rather than letting us drift into spectator mode.
Other litanies appear at specific moments. There’s one for the catechumens, which historically ended with their dismissal (at St. Michael catechumens stay for the whole Liturgy). There’s one before Holy Communion. Each serves a purpose in the flow of the service.
The Deacon’s Role
The deacon isn’t just reading a script. He’s directing the prayer of the whole congregation. He stands facing east toward the altar, leading the people in prayer. He gestures with his orarion, the long stole he wears. He modulates his voice to signal when we should stand, when we should bow, when we should focus our attention.
If there’s no deacon, the priest does it. But the role belongs properly to the deacon because he’s the link between the altar and the nave, between the clergy and the laity. He takes our prayers to God and brings God’s grace back to us.
Learning to Pray the Litanies
When you’re new, the litanies can feel repetitive. You might wonder why we need so many “Lord, have mercy” responses. But give it time. After a few weeks, you’ll find yourself anticipating the petitions. You’ll start bringing your own concerns to each one. When the deacon prays for the sick, you’ll think of your aunt with cancer. When he prays for travelers, you’ll remember your son driving back to college.
The repetition becomes a rhythm. The rhythm becomes prayer. And the prayer becomes part of how you see the world, not as isolated individuals but as one body asking God’s mercy on everyone and everything.
You can find the full text of the litanies in most Orthodox service books. The one we use at St. Michael, which you’ll find in the pews, is helpful if you want to follow along at first. But eventually you won’t need it. The words will be in your bones, and your “Lord, have mercy” will come from somewhere deeper than memory.
