Ektenia (from ; literally, "diligence"), often called simply Litany,'s a prayerful petition in the Eastern Orthodox/Eastern Catholic liturgy. The prevalent ecclesiastical word for this kind of litany in Greek's Συναπτή Synaptê, Ektenia being the Greek word preferred in Church Slavonic (ектенїѧ ekteniya). » For the use of litanies in the Western Churches, see Litany. A Litany's normally intoned by a deacon, with the… (More on Ektenia)