Liturgy

==Etymology==
The word ''liturgy'' ({{IPAc-en|l|ɪ|t|ə|r|dʒ|i}}), derived from the technical term in [[ancient Greek]] ({{lang-el|λειτουργία}}), [[Liturgy (ancient Greece)|''leitourgia'']], which means "work or service for the people" is a literal translation of the two [[Affix|affixes]] λήϊτος, "leitos", derived from the [[Attic_Greek|Attic]] form of λαός ("people, public"), and ἔργον, "ergon", meaning "work, service". 

In origin, it signified the often expensive offerings wealthy Greeks made in service to the people, and thus to the ''[[polis]]'' and the state.<ref>N. Lewis, "''Leitourgia'' and related terms", ''Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies'' '''3''' (1960:175–84) and '''6''' (1965:226–30).</ref> Through the ''leitourgia'', the rich carried a financial burden and were correspondingly rewarded with honours and prestige. Specific ''leitourgia'' were assigned by the ''polis'', the State, and during Rome's domination, the Roman Imperial authorities as "gifts" to the state and the people. Their performance became obligatory in the course of the 3rd century AD, as a form of taxation. The holder of a Hellenic ''leitourgia'' was not taxed a specific sum, but was assigned to subsidise a particular ritual, which could be performed with greater or lesser generosity or magnificence. The chief sphere remained that of civic religion, embodied in the festivals: [[Moses Finley|M.I. Finley]] notes "in [[Demosthenes]]' day there were at least 97 liturgical appointments in Athens for the festivals, rising to 118 in a (quadrennial) [[Panathenaic festival|Panathenaic year]]."<ref>Finley, ''The Ancient Economy'' 2nd ed., 1985:151.</ref> Groups of rich citizens were assigned to subsidise civic amenities and even warships. Eventually, under the [[Roman Empire]], such obligations, known to Romans as ''[[Munera (ancient_Rome)|munera]]'', devolved into a competitive and ruinously expensive burden that was avoided when possible. ''Munera'' included a wide range of expenses having to do with civic infrastructure and amenities; festivals and games (''ludi'') and imperial obligations such as highway, bridge and aqueduct repair, supply of various raw materials, and feeding troops in transit.