We who mystically represent the Cherubim, and sing the thrice-holy hymn to the life-giving Trinity, let us now lay aside all earthly cares, that we may receive the King of all, escorted invisibly by the angelic orders. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
ORTHODOX 6TH CENTURY AD
The Cherubic Hymn
Also known as Cherubikon · We Who Mystically Represent the Cherubim
Other forms
Greek (Cherubikon)
Hoi ta Cheroubim mystikōs eikonizontes,
kai tē zōopoiō Triadi ton trisagion hymnon prosadontes,
pasan tēn biōtikēn apothōmetha merimnan.
Hōs ton Basilea tōn holōn hypodexomenoi,
tais angelikais aoratōs doryphoroumenon taxesin.
Allēlouia, Allēlouia, Allēlouia.
Church Slavonic
Izhe Kheruvimy taino obrazuyushche, i Zhivotvoryashchey Troitse trisvyatuyu pesn pripevayushche, vsyakoye nyne zhiteyskoye otlozhim popecheniye. Yako da Tsarya vsekh podymem, angelskimi nevidimo dorinosima chinmi. Alliluia, Alliluia, Alliluia.
About this prayer
The Cherubic Hymn is one of the most distinctive prayers of the Byzantine Christian liturgical tradition, sung at the Great Entrance in the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom and the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great. The Great Entrance is the procession in which the bread and wine, prepared at the Table of Oblation, are brought through the church and placed on the altar in preparation for their consecration. The Cherubic Hymn is sung throughout this procession, mystically identifying the assembled Christian community with the angelic Cherubim who attend the throne of God.
The prayer was added to the Byzantine Liturgy in 573 AD by the Byzantine Emperor Justin II (520-578) and his Empress Sophia. Before its introduction, the Great Entrance was accompanied by Psalm verses or by silence. The Cherubic Hymn replaced these earlier practices and has been sung at the Great Entrance continuously for over fifteen hundred years across the Greek, Russian, Romanian, Arabic, and other Orthodox traditions, in the Eastern Catholic churches that follow the Byzantine Rite, and in some modern Anglican and Lutheran liturgies that have adopted Eastern liturgical elements.
The prayer's theology is striking. The worshippers identify themselves with the Cherubim, the angelic order described in Ezekiel 1 and Ezekiel 10 as the closest beings to the throne of God, who sing the Trisagion ('Holy, Holy, Holy') to the Trinity. The worshippers ask to 'lay aside all earthly cares' so they may receive Christ, the King of all, who is invisibly escorted by the heavenly angelic orders. The hymn's vision of the liturgy as a participation in the heavenly worship is one of the central theological claims of Byzantine Christianity: at every Divine Liturgy, the visible church on earth joins the invisible church in heaven in a single act of worship.
The English translation included here is from the standard public-domain English versions of the Divine Liturgy used in Greek and Russian Orthodox parishes in the English-speaking world. The Greek and Church Slavonic forms reflect the two main liturgical languages of Eastern Orthodox worship.
When it's said
Sung at the Great Entrance during the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom and the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic churches of the Byzantine Rite. The Great Entrance is the procession of the bread and wine from the Table of Oblation to the altar, typically occurring after the Liturgy of the Word and before the Eucharistic Prayer. The hymn is also sung at certain solemn occasions outside the regular Liturgy in the Byzantine tradition. Different musical settings are used for different seasons; the slow, contemplative settings used at the Great Entrance are among the most distinctive elements of Byzantine sacred music.
Notes on the text
The introduction of the Cherubic Hymn into the Byzantine Liturgy by Justin II in 573 AD is one of the few firmly datable liturgical additions in the Byzantine tradition. Most elements of the Divine Liturgy developed gradually over centuries and cannot be assigned to specific dates or individuals. The Cherubic Hymn is an exception: it was introduced at a known date by a known emperor and has been in continuous use ever since. The musical setting of the Cherubic Hymn is one of the most important compositional traditions in Byzantine music. Hundreds of settings exist, ranging from simple plainchant forms to elaborate polyphonic settings by composers such as Bortniansky, Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninoff in the Russian tradition. The hymn is typically sung slowly to allow time for the Great Entrance procession; the music is meant to evoke the heavenly worship that the words describe. The phrase 'lay aside all earthly cares' is one of the most quoted in Byzantine spirituality. It is used not only at the Great Entrance but as a general spiritual instruction: the Christian preparing for prayer is asked to consciously set aside the cares of daily life in order to give full attention to the encounter with God.
Common questions
When is the Cherubic Hymn sung?
At the Great Entrance during the Divine Liturgy in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic churches of the Byzantine Rite. The Great Entrance is the procession in which the bread and wine, prepared at the Table of Oblation, are carried through the church and placed on the altar in preparation for the Eucharistic Prayer. The Cherubic Hymn accompanies this procession at every Divine Liturgy.
Why do worshippers identify themselves with the Cherubim?
The Cherubic Hymn expresses one of the central theological claims of Byzantine Christianity: that the Christian liturgy is a participation in the worship that the angels offer continually before the throne of God. The Cherubim, the angelic order described in Ezekiel 1 and 10 as closest to God's throne, sing the Trisagion ('Holy, Holy, Holy'). By singing this hymn, the assembled Christian community identifies itself with this heavenly worship and asks to receive Christ as the angels do.
Is the Cherubic Hymn used in Western Christianity?
Not historically in the same liturgical position. The Roman Catholic Latin liturgy has its own Eucharistic preparation prayers (such as the Offertory chants) and does not use the Cherubic Hymn at Mass. However, some modern Anglican and Lutheran liturgies that have adopted Eastern liturgical elements include the Cherubic Hymn or English adaptations of it. The hymn is also occasionally sung in concert settings as Byzantine sacred music by Western choirs.
Source
Introduced into the Byzantine Liturgy by Emperor Justin II (520-578) and Empress Sophia in 573 AD, as recorded by the Byzantine chronicler George Kedrenos. In continuous use in the Divine Liturgy from that time to the present. Public domain.
Last reviewed: June 2026 against primary source.
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