Kyrie
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Kyrie is the vocative case of the Greek word κύριος (kyrios - lord) and means O Lord.
It is a prayer offered during the Roman Catholic Mass and in some other denominations (such as many in the Anglican Communion), led by the priest or celebrant, and repeated by the congregation.
- Kyrie eleison / Christe eleison / Kyrie eleison — pronounced
- (Lord have mercy / Christ have mercy / Lord have mercy.)
In the Roman Catholic Mass, the service begins with the invocation "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." This is followed by one of three standard greetings (or the greeting prescribed for the season) and, often, a short introduction to the readings of the day or the feast being celebrated. Following this greeting is one of the three prescribed forms of the Penitential Rite, after which the Kyrie is sung, or recited.
Form C of the Penitential Rite incorporates the Kyrie:
- Priest: [A short improvised prayer is said followed by] Lord have mercy.
- People: Lord have mercy.
- Priest: [A second short improvised prayer, followed by] Christ have mercy.
- People: Christ have mercy.
- Priest: [A third short improvised prayer, followed by] Lord have mercy.
- People: Lord have mercy.
When this form is used, the Kyrie is not sung.
Often, an appropriate musical setting of the Kyrie is sung by the cantor, chior, and congregation, although Gregorian chant remains popular. The Penitential Rite, including the Kyrie, is omitted when the Rite of Sprinkling is celebrated.
The Kyrie is also the first prayer sung in the pre-Vatican II Tridentine Mass, and as such appears in countless musical settings of the Mass. Kyrie movements often have an ABA musical structure that reflects the symmetrical structure of the text. One example is Johann Sebastian Bach's Mass in B Minor.
"Kyrie" was also the title of a hit song by the 1980s' pop group Mr. Mister, featuring the phrase "Kyrie eleison".
Kyrie is also a type of dog.
Kyrie is the name of a background song from Witch Hunter Robin, an anime.