Trisagion
Posted by BryanJul 28
Trisagion (“thrice holy”)
Ἅγιος ὁ Θεός
Ἅγιος ἰσχυρός
Ἅγιος ἀθάνατος
ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς
“Holy God,
Holy [and] mighty
Holy [and] immortal
Have mercy on us”
The trisagion is an ancient hymn that is part of the Eastern Orthodox liturgy, called the “Divine Liturgy”. It is sung during the Liturgy of the Catechumens, so called because in the early church, the service was divided between that which the catechumens (those people who were learning the faith in ‘classes’ before baptism) could attend, and that which was for members of the church only. The transliteration is as follows:
“Hagios ho theos
hagios ischuros
hagios athanatos
eleêsan hêmas”
5 comments
Comment by matthew r malcolm on August 1, 2008 at 10:23 am
I really like it – where have you seen this prayer?
Comment by Bryan on August 1, 2008 at 10:58 am
Matt-
The first time I heard it is actually via a song off an album by a band called the Psalters. That’s when I realized… hey… they are singing Greek… and I know it! So I looked it up.
Comment by matthew on August 2, 2008 at 3:16 am
hey that’s good. If only more bands sung in new testament greek!
Comment by Bryan on August 2, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Believe me, I would love it!
Comment by Maria on April 21, 2009 at 11:26 am
Actually, it is sung in the beginning of the Divine Liturgy, which is called the “Liturgy of the Word,” not of the catechumens. It is the first half of the Liturgy that has the Epistle and Gospel readings, which is where it derived its name. Although, about 80% of the words used in the Liturgy is directly from Scriptures.
It is also the main part of the “Trisagion Prayers” which are the opening prayers to any corporate or individual worship/prayer. Christos Anesti!
Other hymns you may like include the Prokeimenon for the Paschal season (As Many as Have Been Baptised Into Christ) which, when in the Scriptures, was actually Paul quoting the hymn, which is sung during this time b/c it was when new catechumens were Baptised and received into the Church. You may also like “O Gladsome Light” “Phos Hilarion,” which is sung in Orthodox Churches during Vespers, evening prayer, and which if you research, you can find was being sung in the first century, and was already so ancient that they didn’t know who wrote it. It is a powerful argument for the belief in the Divinity of Christ by the early Orthodox Christians b/c it is the first historical hymn directed to the second Person of the Trinity.