A chanter (Gk. ψάλτης - psaltis) is the chief singer in a church with responsibilities for the ecclesiastical choir.  The chanter's duties and qualifications have varied considerably according to time and place. He may be held accountable for the immediate rendering of the music, showing the course of the melody by movements of the hand(s), similar to a conductor. Services consist in part of a dialogue between the clergy and the people (often represented by the Psaltis or the choir).

The position of chanter (psaltis) is one of the minor clerical orders. The chief chanter is called the protopsaltis (Gk. προτοψάλτης). The chanters sing the many hymns called for during the Divine Services. A chanter must be knowledgeable about the ecclesiastical modes as well as the complex structure of the services. The church has developed eight Modes or Tones (Octoechos), within which a chant may be set, depending on the time of year, feast days, or other considerations of the Typikon. A chanter must be a baptized Orthodox Christian, and properly ordained to service a parish by the Bishop.

In the Greek tradition, a psaltis will often wear the exorason, a black outer cassock. In the Greek tradition, the psaltae are stationed at a psalterion, a chanting podium positioned to the south and sometimes also to the north side of the sanctuary.

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