A recent online discussion was asking which of the psalms people suggested memorising. One thing led to another (that’s how the internet works!) and I was soon reading about the 20 kathismata of the Psalter. Orthodox break the 150 psalms into 20 nearly-equal-in-length groups of psalms.
Each grouping of psalms, called “kathisma” (κάθισμα – meaning “seat” or “sitting”), is a collection of approximately equal length.
Orthodox (and Roman Catholics) tend to follow the Greek numbering of the psalms, as per this table:
| Hebrew numbering | Greek numbering |
|---|---|
| 1–8 | 1–8 |
| 9–10 | 9 |
| 11–113 | 10–112 |
| 114–115 | 113 |
| 116 | 114–115 |
| 117–146 | 116–145 |
| 147 | 146–147 |
| 148–150 | 148–150 |
Following the Greek numbering, these are the kathismata:
| 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 |
Most of the church year, all psalms are prayed through once a week. Here [the numbers are of the kathismata for Matins (Morning Prayer) and Vespers (Evening Prayer)] is a format for a significant part of the year:
| 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 |
You could follow this sequence, say, on a week of private retreat.
During Lent, the psalms are prayed two times each week. You can find more about all this here. Here, each kathisma is divided into three stases. Here, you can click through from the number of the kathisma to the psalm. Here the Hebrew (NRSV) numbering is used – the author also points out the value of systematically praying the psalms. I see the psalms as being a vocabulary for our inner life.
Which brings me full circle – which psalms do you know by heart? Which psalms do you recommend are learnt by heart?
