Kyrie eleison / Credo

Kyrie and Credo

Level 1

A Greek prayer and the first words of the Creed.

How It Works

LatinEnglish
Kyrie, eleison.Lord, have mercy.
Christe, eleison.Christ, have mercy.
Credo in unum Deum,I believe in one God,
Patrem omnipotentem.the Father almighty.

The Kyrie is the only Greek prayer among the regular parts of the Latin Mass. Kyrie sounds like KEE-ree-eh in Church Latin, and eleison like eh-LEH-ee-sohn.

Credo is the first person of credere. The ending -o means I. After in with the accusative (in unum Deum), the phrase means in one God. The words Patrem omnipotentem are accusative too.

Credo sounds like KREH-doh in both pronunciations.

Examples (5)

  1. Kyrie, eleison.

    Lord, have mercy.

    Greek words in Latin letters. Kyrie calls to the Lord.

  2. Christe, eleison.

    Christ, have mercy.

    Christe calls to Christ. Eleison is the same Greek request.

  3. Credo.

    I believe.

    The ending -o shows the speaker: I.

  4. Credo in unum Deum.

    I believe in one God.

    In unum Deum is in plus the accusative.

  5. Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem.

    I believe in one God, the Father almighty.

    Patrem omnipotentem is also accusative and describes Deum.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting the one believed in after in in the nominative.

    Credo in unus Deus.
    Credo in unum Deum.

    The Creed says in plus the accusative: unum Deum. The nominative unus Deus is the form for a subject.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Kyrie eleison / CredoLevel 1Kyrie and Credo

Learn This First

The Kyrie and the Creed are sung in Church Latin, so the Church sounds come first.

Words in This Pattern

KyrieeleisoncredoKyrie eleisonKyrie eleisonChristus