The Meaning of our Divine Services, part five: Divine Liturgy, “The Little Litany”
The two small litanies divide the three antiphons into a three-part structure honoring the Holy Trinity. These litanies are a condensed summation of the petitions from the Great Litany: the second and third of these petitions are the last two petitions from the Great Litany and the first repeats the Great Litany’s first petition, “in peace let us pray to the Lord,” with the addition, “again and again.” The meaning of “again and again” is usually misunderstood to only refer to the frequency with which the petition is said. However, this understanding comes from an imperfect translation of the Greek eti kai eti, which should more accurately be translated “to an even greater extent” (Hatzidakis, The Heavenly Banquet, 113). The result is that the call is less for a superficial repetition of prayer, but that we plumb deeper into our continued prayer. We are called to pray without ceasing, but our prayer is to increasingly delve spiritually to “an even greater extent.” The other two petitions ask the Lord for help, salvation (“That thy beloved may be delivered: save with thy right hand, and answer me,” Ps. 107 [108]:6), mercy, and protection before concluding by calling to mind the Theotokos and all the saints so that we may attach the entirety of our life to Christ through His Holy Church just as they have done.
Next: Part Six, “The Second Antiphon”