The Great Ectenia is followed by the singing or reading of
the kathismáta (singular, kathísma). This name is
given to sections of the Psalter, that book of the Old Testament in which are
collected the Psalms, or sacred songs of the ancient Hebrews.* Each kathisma
is subdivided into three stáses, and each stasis is
separated from the next by the thrice repeated singing of “Alleluia,” with the
addition of the words “Glory to Thee, O God”; whence the stases are also called
“Glories.” In ancient times all the kathismata were sung alternately by
two choirs; hence the separate parts of them have also been called Antiphons,
i.e., hymns sung “antiphonally,” in alternate, responding parts.† The
word “kathisma” is derived from a Greek word which means “to sit.”
The sections of the Psalter are so called, because, in ancient times, they were
followed by homilies, during which the congregation was permitted to sit. At
the present time, though the homilies have been suppressed, the name is
preserved, because it is permitted to sit during the reading of the Psalms. At
Sunday and feast-day Vespers, the Antiphon of the first kathisma is
sung, containing regrets over the happy estate forfeited through sin, together
with hopes of salvation The verses of the Psalms are separated by the singing
of “Alleluia.”: “Blessed is the man that hath not walked in the counsel of the
ungodly” (Alleluia!) “Serve ye the Lord with fear, and rejoice in Him with
trembling” (Alleluia!) “Blessed are all that have put their trust in Him”
(Alleluia!) “Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God” (Alleluia!) “Salvation is of the
Lord, and Thy blessing is upon Thy people,” (Alleluia).
The
Small Ectenia. — After the kathisma follows the Small Ectenia, which
is an abridgment of the Great Ectenia. It begins with an invitation to
prayer: “Again and again in peace let us pray to the Lord”; it consists of only
one petition: “Help us, save us, have mercy on us, and keep us, O God, by Thy
grace,” and ends with the commendation to God’s will and the doxology. The
Small Ectenia serves to divide one portion of the service from the next.