<p>It's because of Christian liturgy. The &quot;Kyrie eleison&quot; is the name of a prayer,  and one of the most ancient of gregorian chants.</p>
<p>It has its origins in Eastern Christian doctrine, it derives from ἐλέησόν με κύριε (eleison me kyrie), which was the Greek translation of a Biblical phrase often found in the Psalms: חָנֵּנִי יְהוָה, &quot;have mercy on me, Lord&quot;. It's used as part of the litany, which is prayer that consists of petition to God or to a Saint to intercede, as the priest asks the petition, the chorus would answer &quot;Kyrie eleison and &quot;Christe eleison&quot; in alternation.</p>
<p>So it seems fitting that for Fate worlds, where Christian doctrine is also a form of Magecraft, this chant is used as an incantation part of exorcism rituals, as it's asking for God to lend his power.</p>
<p>Sources: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrie" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Kyrie</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litany" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Litany</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-04-08T14:16:24.870Z
2022-04-08T14:16:24.870Z
paulnamida
<p>In Fate/stay night: Heaven's feel III, why does Kirei end the chant against Zouken, with the greek &quot;Κύριε ελέησον&quot; (kyrie eleison)?</p>
<p>It means &quot;O Lord show mercy&quot;</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-04-03T22:18:57.423Z
while i can't say about the langue choice (why Greek instead of Japanese), from the meaning it would be because he would say it because he's still a member of the Church so it makes sense
Memor-X
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-04-04T05:07:32.547Z
I guessed as much as well, I was wondering about the language choice. But thanks for your time
platinoob_
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-04-04T12:26:54.817Z
On that note, why are incantations German in Fate? Who knows.
Ocean
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-04-04T13:44:07.053Z
@Ocean you are correct
platinoob_
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-04-08T13:57:13.383Z
@Ocean Not all incantations are in German, we see plenty of incantations in Japanese like the Servant Summonning, English ones like Archer's UBW. For the Tohsaka family in particular, their magic was derived from Western magic after one of Rin ancestors shagged one of the Edelfelt sisters after the 3rd Holy Grail War. That's how they got Gandr. That raises another question: The Edelfelts are Finnish, so why is their magic in German. Who knows?
paulnamida
<fate-stay-night><fate-series>
Why does Kirei speak greek?
# Why does Kirei speak greek?
Posted by: username_0 on 2022-04-03
In Fate/stay night: Heaven's feel III, why does Kirei end the chant against Zouken, with the greek "Κύριε ελέησον" (kyrie eleison)?

It means "O Lord show mercy"
**Tags:** fate-stay-night fate-series
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: while i can't say about the langue choice (why Greek instead of Japanese), from the meaning it would be because he would say it because he's still a member of the Church so it makes sense  
> **username_0**: I guessed as much as well, I was wondering about the language choice. But thanks for your time  
> **username_2**: On that note, why are incantations German in Fate? Who knows.  
> **username_0**: @Ocean you are correct  
> **username_3**: @Ocean Not all incantations are in German, we see plenty of incantations in Japanese like the Servant Summonning, English ones like Archer's UBW. For the Tohsaka family in particular, their magic was derived from Western magic after one of Rin ancestors shagged one of the Edelfelt sisters after the 3rd Holy Grail War. That's how they got Gandr. That raises another question: The Edelfelts are Finnish, so why is their magic in German. Who knows?  
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## 1 answers
### Answer by username_3 on 2022-04-08. Score: 4
It's because of Christian liturgy. The "Kyrie eleison" is the name of a prayer, and one of the most ancient of gregorian chants.

It has its origins in Eastern Christian doctrine, it derives from ἐλέησόν με κύριε (eleison me kyrie), which was the Greek translation of a Biblical phrase often found in the Psalms: חָנֵּנִי יְהוָה, "have mercy on me, Lord". It's used as part of the litany, which is prayer that consists of petition to God or to a Saint to intercede, as the priest asks the petition, the chorus would answer "Kyrie eleison and "Christe eleison" in alternation.

So it seems fitting that for Fate worlds, where Christian doctrine is also a form of Magecraft, this chant is used as an incantation part of exorcism rituals, as it's asking for God to lend his power.

Sources: [Kyrie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrie), [Litany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litany)
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