Byzantine Chant

Byzantine Chant, sometimes referred to as the Psaltic Art, is one of the systems of ecclesiastical music used by the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church. It is an ancient system of music which grew over the past two millennia, with many saints contributing to its development. Its music is divided into eight modes or tones, which are differentiated by their scales and melodic formulae called "theseis". Traditionally, it is written using Byzantine notation, which was updated to its common modern form by the Three Teachers. It is primarily used by the churches under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Church of Greece, and the Patriarchate of Antioch, although it can also be encountered rarely in Slavic churches like the Orthodox Church in America and the Romanian Orthodox Church.