Kyrie Eleison

Lord, have mercy — the most repeated prayer in Orthodox worship; theologically complete, never redundant.

Kyrie Eleison (Lord, have mercy) is the fundamental litanic response of the Orthodox Church, repeated throughout every service. The prayer is theologically complete: it acknowledges the lordship of Christ (Kyrios) and the dependence of the creature on divine mercy (eleos). The creature's need for mercy never ends, which is why the prayer never becomes redundant.