Alleluia

Alleluia (hallelu-Yah, 'praise Yah') is one of the most ancient liturgical acclamations, carried from the Jewish psalmodic tradition into Christian worship. In the Orthodox Liturgy it appears throughout: as a response to the prokeimenon, before the Gospel reading, at multiple points in the Orthros. During Great Lent the Alleluia replaces the more joyful antiphons. In eschatological vision (Revelation 19:1-6) the heavenly host sings Alleluia — it is the native language of heaven.