Kyrie Eleison

(Gr. “Lord have mercy!") Prayer in the Ma , between the Introit and Gloria; introduced by Gregory I. (590-604), who also added the phrase, Christe eleison, and ordered that the supplication should be sung by the congregation in response to the priest; also that the Kyrie, the Christe, and again the Kyrie, be sung three times. This tri triple arrangement contains a mystical allusion to the Trinity, y, and is generally observed by composers in their settings of the Ma , though they do not limit themselves to a threefold utterance of each phrase. In the English Ch. the response to the Commandments, "Lord have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law," is called the "Kyrie."