Why does the Latin Mass always start with a prayer in Greek (Kyrie Eleison)?
• THE “LATIN MASS” used to be all in Greek at one time, when Greek was the lingua franca of the ancient world. When Latin grew to greater prominence (about the Third Century,) it became the new vernacular language. Many people opposed the change to Latin, because Greek was the traditional language of both religion and scholarship – the same arguments used centuries later to oppose the move from Latin to the local language. The ‘Kyrie’ stayed around as a remnant of what had once been all in Greek. Jim Hynes, St. Mary’s College (james.hynes@virgin.net) • THE KYRIE is all that remains of a litany which once invariably preceded the Eucharistic Liturgy (and still does in some rites). It first appeared in the Greek Orient in the fourth century. Before the Bishop recites a prayer, a series of biddings is announced by the deacon to which all respond “Kyrie Eleison”. The practice was probably introduced to the West by pilgrims returning from the Holy Land. In some liturgies the reponse was tran
