Liturgy > Elements > Psalms

The Kathismata of the Psalter

In the Byzantine Rite, the 150 psalms are divided up into twenty sections of roughly equal length, to be chanted at the various liturgical services of the daily cycle.

Originally, those present stood for the chanting of the psalms(s), and then sat afterwards to listen to the hymns that accompanied them. So each section of the psalm came to be called a "sitting" (in Greek, kathisma). This article describes the kathismata of the psalter and their liturgical use.

The Kathismata

According to the custom of our church, we use the numbering of the Psalms found in the Greek Bible; see Psalms for more about the numbering of the psalms.

Kathisma 1

Psalms 1-8
Kathisma 2 Psalms 9-16
Kathisma 3 Psalms 17-23
Kathisma 4 Psalms 24-31
Kathisma 5 Psalms 32-36
Kathisma 6 Psalms 37-45
Kathisma 7 Psalms 46-54
Kathisma 8 Psalms 55-63
Kathisma 9 Psalms 64-69
Kathisma 10 Psalms 70-76
Kathisma 11 Psalms 77-84
Kathisma 12 Psalms 85-90
Kathisma 13 Psalms 91-100
Kathisma 14 Psalms 101-104
Kathisma 15 Psalms 105-108
Kathisma 16 Psalms 109-117
Kathisma 17 Psalm 118
Kathisma 18 Psalms 119-133
Kathisma 19 Psalms 134-142
Kathisma 20 Psalms 143-150

Each kathisma ("sitting") is further divided into three "standings" (stations or stases), but these divisions are not shown here.

In the Psalter, each kathisma is also followed by troparia and prayers for use in private recitation.

How the kathismata are used in the liturgy

The kathismata of the psalter may be chanted at the beginning of Vespers and Matins, according to a fixed weekly system in which the entire book of psalms is heard in the course of the week (twice during the Great Fast).

During the summer (defined liturgically as from Thomas Sunday through September 21), one kathisma is chanted at Vespers, and two at Matins:

  Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Matins 2, 3 4, 5 7, 8 10, 11 13, 14 19, 20 16, 17
Vespers   6 9 12 15 18 1

If you start with Vespers on Saturday evening (lower right corner of the table) and examine each day in turn, you can see that the kathismata are chanted in order from one day to the next, skipping the kathisma on Sunday evening (the Vespers that ends Sunday or a feast of the Lord is relatively short). Two kathismata, 16 and 17, form an extended meditation on God's law, which is moved to Saturday.

This system is also used from December 20 to January 14 (the liturgical days of the Christmas/Theophany season), and during Meatfare and Cheesefare Weeks.

During the winter (September 22 to the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, except for the Christmas season), the "gradual psalms" of Kathisma 18 are chanted every evening at Vespers, and more kathismata are chanted at Matins to compensate:

  Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Matins 2, 3, 17 4, 5, 6 7, 8, 9 10, 11, 12 13, 14, 15 19, 20 16, 17
Vespers   18 18 18 18 18 1

During the Great Fast, the psalter is also chanted twice in the course of the week, by adding kathismata to the daytime Hours:

  Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Matins 2, 3, 17 4, 5, 6 10, 11, 12 19, 20, 1 6, 7, 8 13, 14, 15 16, 17
1st Hour     13 2 9    
3rd Hour   7 14 3 10 19  
6th Hour   8 15 4 11 20  
9th Hour   9 16 5 12    
Vespers   18 18 18 18 18 1

There are special rules for the kathismata during the 5th week of the Great Fast (when the Great Canon of Repentence is sung), and for Holy Week.

Kathismata are not chanted on Pascha or during the week that follows (Bright Week).


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