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A kontakion (
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
, ''kondákion'', plural κοντάκια, ''kondákia'') is a form of
hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...
in the
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
liturgical tradition. The kontakion form originated in Syriac hymnography and gained prominence in Byzantium during the 6th century, particularly through the work of St. Romanos the Melodist of Emesa. Kontakia have a number of
strophe A strophe () is a poetic term originally referring to the first part of the ode in Ancient Greek tragedy, followed by the antistrophe and epode. The term has been extended to also mean a structural division of a poem containing stanzas of var ...
s (''oikoi'' or ''ikoi'', stanzas; singular ''oikos'' or ''ikos'') and begin with a prologue (the ''prooimoion'' or ''koukoulion''). A kontakion sometimes has a biblical theme and may feature a dialogue between biblical characters. The only kontakion that is used in full length today is the Akathist to the Theotokos.


Etymology

The word ''kontakion'' derives from the Greek κόνταξ (''kóntax''), which means "rod" or "stick" and refers specifically to the rod around which a
scroll A scroll (from the Old French ''escroe'' or ''escroue''), also known as a roll, is a roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper containing writing. Structure A scroll is usually partitioned into pages, which are sometimes separate sheets of papyru ...
is wound. While the genre dates to at least the 6th century, the word itself is attested only in the 9th century. The name is likely a reference to the fact that kontakions tend to be lengthy and have a large number of stanzas, thus metaphorically or literally requiring a great deal of "scrolling". A hymn book containing ''kontakia'' is called a ''kontakarion'' (; loaned into Slavonic as ''kondakar'', ), but a ''kontakarion'' is not just a collection of kontakia: in the tradition of the Cathedral Rite (like that practiced at the
Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...
of
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
) this became the name of the book of the prechanter or
lampadarios A lampadarius, plural ''Lampadarii'', from the Latin ''lampada'', from Ancient Greek "lampas" λαμπάς (candle), was a slave who carried torches before consuls, emperors and other officials of high dignity both during the later Roman Republic ...
, also known as ''psaltikon'', which contained all the soloistic parts of hymns sung during the morning service and the Divine Liturgy. Because the ''kontakia'' were usually sung by protopsaltes during the morning services, the first part for the morning service with its prokeimena and ''kontakia'' was the most voluminous part, and acquired the name ''kontakarion''.


History

Originally the kontakion was a Syriac form of poetry, achieving popularity in Constantinople first under
Romanos the Melodist Romanos the Melodist (; late 5th-century – after 555) was a Byzantine hymnographer and composer, who is a central early figure in the history of Byzantine music. Called "the Pindar of rhythmic poetry", he flourished during the sixth centur ...
, Anastasios, and Kyriakos in the 6th century, and then under
Sergius I of Constantinople Sergius I of Constantinople (, ''Sergios''; died 9 December 638) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 610 to 638. He is most famous for promoting Monothelitism Christianity, especially through the ''Ecthesis''. Sergius I was born ...
and
Sophronius of Jerusalem Sophronius (; ; c. 560 – March 11, 638), called Sophronius the Sophist, was the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of the city known as Aelia Capitolina and then Jerusalem from 634 until his death. He is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox and ...
in the 7th century. Romanos' works had been widely acknowledged as a crucial contribution to Byzantine hymnography, in some kontakia he also supported Emperor Justinian by writing state propaganda. Romanos' kontakion ''On the Nativity of Christ'' was also mentioned in his vita. Until the twelfth century, it was sung every year at the imperial banquet on that feast by the joint choirs of
Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...
and of the
Church of the Holy Apostles The Church of the Holy Apostles (, ''Agioi Apostoloi''; ), also known as the Imperial Polyandrion (imperial cemetery), was a Byzantine Eastern Orthodox church in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. The first structure dated to ...
in Constantinople. Most of the poem takes the form of a dialogue between the Mother of God and the Magi. A kontakion is a poetic form frequently encountered in Byzantine hymnography. It was probably based on Syriac hymnographical traditions, which were transformed and developed in Greek-speaking Byzantium. It was a homiletic genre and could be best described as a "sermon in verse accompanied by music". In character it is similar to the early Byzantine festival sermons in prose — a genre developed by
Ephrem the Syrian Ephrem the Syrian (; ), also known as Ephraem the Deacon, Ephrem of Edessa or Aprem of Nisibis, (Syriac: ܡܪܝ ܐܦܪܝܡ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ — ''Mâr Aphrêm Sûryâyâ)'' was a prominent Christian theology, Christian theologian and Christian literat ...
— but meter and music have greatly heightened the drama and rhetorical beauty of the speaker's often profound and very rich meditation. Medieval manuscripts preserved about 750 kontakia since the 9th century, about two thirds had been composed since the 10th century, but they were rather liturgical compositions with about two or six oikoi, each one concluded by a refrain identical to the introduction (prooimion). Longer compositions were the Slavic Akafist which were inspired by an acrostic kontakion whose 24 stanzas started with each letter of the alphabet (
Akathist An Akathist, akaphist or Acathist Hymn (, "unseated hymn") is a type of hymn usually recited by Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Christians, dedicated to a saint, holy event, or one of the persons of the Holy Trinity. The name derives f ...
). Within the cathedral rite developed a truncated which reduced the kontakion to one oikos or just to the prooimion, while the music was elaborated to a melismatic style. The classical repertoire consisted of 42 kontakia-idiomela, and 44 kontakia-prosomoia made about a limited number of model stanzas consisting of fourteen prooimia-idiomela and thirteen okoi-idiomela which could be combined independently. This classical repertoire was dominated by classical composers of the 6th and 7th centuries.


Form

The form generally consists of 18 to 24 metrically identical stanzas called ' (lit. "houses"), preceded, in a different meter, by a short prelude called a ' (cowl) or '. The first letters of each of the stanzas often form an
acrostic An acrostic is a poem or other word composition in which the ''first'' letter (or syllable, or word) of each new line (or paragraph, or other recurring feature in the text) spells out a word, message or the alphabet. The term comes from the Fre ...
, which frequently includes the name of the poet. For example, Romanos' poems often include the acrostic "Of the Humble Romanos" or "The Poem of the Humble Romanos". The last line of the prelude introduces a
refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeated in poetry or in music">poetry.html" ;"title="Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeat ...
called "", which is repeated at the end of all the stanzas. The main body of a kontakion was chanted from the ambo by a cleric (often a
deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...
; otherwise a reader) after the reading of the
Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
, while a
choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
, or even the whole congregation, joined in the refrain. The length of many kontakia — indeed, the epic character of some — suggest that the majority of the text must have been delivered in a kind of
recitative Recitative (, also known by its Italian name recitativo () is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repeat lines ...
rather than having music composed for every word, but unfortunately the original music to the kontakia has not survived.


The liturgical place of the kontakion

Within the cathedral rite, the ritual context of the long kontakion was the ''pannychis'' during solemn occasions (a festive night vigil) and was usually celebrated at the Blachernae Chapel. Assumptions that kontakia replaced canon poetry or vice versa that the Stoudites replaced the kontakia with Hagiopolitan canon poetry, always remained controversial. The Patriarch
Germanus I of Constantinople Germanus I of Constantinople (, Greek: Γερμανός; 634 – 742) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 715 to 730. He is regarded as a saint by both the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, with a feast day of 12 May. He had bee ...
established an own local school earlier (even if it is no longer present in the modern books), while the Stoudites embraced the genre kontakion with own new compositions. The only explanation is that different customs must have existed simultaneously, the truncated and the long kontakion, but also the ritual context of both customs. The truncated form consists only of the first stanza called "koukoulion" (now referred to as simply "the kontakion") and the first oikos, while the other oikoi became omitted. Within the
Orthros ''Orthros'' (Greek: , meaning "early dawn" or "daybreak") or ''útrenya'' ( Slavonic ѹ́тренѧ) in the Byzantine Rite of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches, is the last of the four night offices (church services), ...
for the kontakion and oikos is after the sixth ode of the canon; however, if the
typikon A typikon (or ''typicon'', ''typica''; , "that of the prescribed form"; Church Slavonic: ') is a liturgical book which contains instructions about the order of the Byzantine Rite office and variable hymns of the Divine Liturgy. Historical de ...
for the day calls for more than one kontakion at matins, the kontakion and oikos of the more significant feast is sung after the sixth ode, while those of the less significant feast are transferred to the place following the third ode, before the
kathismata A kathisma (Greek: κάθισμα; Slavonic: каѳисма, ''kai-isma''), literally, "seat", is a division of the Psalter, used in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite Catholic churches. The word may also describe a hymn sung at Matins, a ...
. Since the late 13th century, when the Court and the Patriarchate returned from exile in Nikaia, the former cathedral rite was not continued and thus, also the former celebration of kontakion changed. The only entire kontakion celebrated was the Akathist hymn. Its original place was within the
menaion The Menaion (; Slavonic: Минїѧ, ''Miniya'', "of the month") is the liturgical book used by the Eastern Orthodox Churchand those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite containing the propers for fixed dates of the calenda ...
the feast of Annunciation (25 March). In later kontakaria and oikemataria which treated all 24 oikoi in a kalophonic way, the Akathist was written as part of the triodion, within the oikematarion the complete kontakion filled half the volume of the whole book. As such it could only be performed in short sections throughout
Great Lent Great Lent, or the Great Fast (Greek language, Greek: Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή, ''Megali Tessarakosti'' or Μεγάλη Νηστεία, ''Megali Nisteia'', meaning "Great 40 Days", and "Great Fast", respectively), is the most impor ...
and became a kind of para-liturgical genre. In the modern practice it is reduced to heirmologic melos which allowed the celebration of the whole Akathist on the morning service of the fourth Sunday of Great Lent. This Akathist was traditionally ascribed to Romanos, but recent scholarship has disapproved it. In Slavic hymnography the so-called Akafist became a genre of its own which was dedicated to various saints; while not part of any prescribed service, these may be prayed as a devotional hymn at any time. The current practice treats the kontakion as a proper troparion, based on the text of the prooimion, dedicated to a particular feast of the menaion or the moveable cycle.


Prooimia of 4 classical kontakia

The examples chosen here are only the introduction () and they belong to the old core repertoire of 86 kontakia which had been all known as part of the cathedral rite. Thus, they can be found with notation in the kontakarion-psaltikon.See the edition by Constantin Floros (
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
).
According to the melodic system of the cathedral rite, certain kontakia-idiomela served as melodic models used to compose other kontakia. The kontakion for Easter for instance was used to compose an Old Church Slavonic kondak in honour of the local saints
Boris and Gleb Boris and Gleb (), respective Christian names Roman () and David (), were the first saints canonized in Kievan Rus' after its Christianization. Their feast day is observed on July 24 (August 6 Gregorian calendar). History According to the tw ...
, two martyre princes of the
Kievan Rus Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of Russ ...
. The concluding verse called "" () was repeated like a refrain after each oikos and its melody was used in all kontakia composed in the . Kontakion of Pascha (Easter) The Slavic kondakar has the old gestic notation which referred (in the first row) to the hand signs used by the choirleaders to coordinate the singers. Except for the ephymnion the whole prooimion and the oikoi were recited by a soloist called "monophonaris" (the hand sign were not so important than during the ephymnion). The Middle Byzantine notation used in the Greek kontakarion-psaltikon rather showed the melismatic melos behind these signs.
Though Thou didst descend into the
grave A grave is a location where a cadaver, dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is burial, buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of buria ...
, O Immortal One, yet didst Thou destroy the power of
Hades Hades (; , , later ), in the ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the Greek underworld, underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea ...
, and didst arise as victory, O Christ God, calling to the myrrh-bearing women: Rejoice! and giving peace unto Thine apostles, ''Thou Who dost grant resurrection to the fallen.''Translation according to the
Prayer Book A prayer book is a book containing prayers and perhaps devotional readings, for private or communal use, or in some cases, outlining the liturgy of religious services. Books containing mainly orders of religious services, or readings for them are ...
published by Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York).
Another example composed in the same echos is the Akathist hymn, originally provided for the feast of Annunciation (nine months before Nativity). Kontakion of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos (25 March)
To thee, the Champion Leader, we thy servants dedicate a feast of victory and of thanksgiving as ones rescued out of sufferings, O Theotokos; but as thou art one with might which is invincible, from all dangers that can be do thou deliver us, that we may cry to thee: ''Rejoice, thou Bride Unwedded.''
Kontakion of the Transfiguration of the Lord (6 August) This kontakion-idiomelon by Romanos the Melodist was composed in echos varys (the grave mode) and the prooimion was chosen as model for the prosomoion of the resurrection kontakion Ἐκ τῶν τοῦ ᾍδου πυλῶν in the same echos.
On the mount Thou was (sic) transfigured, and Thy disciples, as much as they could bear, beheld Thy glory, O Christ God; so that when they should see Thee crucified, they would know Thy passion to be willing, and would preach to the world ''that Thou, in truth, art the Effulgence of the Father.''
Kontakion of the Sunday of the Prodigal Son (9th week before Easter, 2nd week of the triodion) The last example is not a model, but a kontakion-prosomoion which had been composed over the melody of Romanos the Melodist's Nativity kontakion in echos tritos.
Having foolishly abandoned Thy paternal glory, I squandered on vices the wealth which Thou gavest me. Wherefore, I cry unto Thee with the voice of the Prodigal: I have sinned before Thee, O compassionate Father. ''Receive me as one repentant, and make me as one of Thy hired servants.''


Kontakion of the Departed

Perhaps the kontakion which is best known in the west is the Kontakion of the Departed or the Kontakion of the Dead. The text is attributed to the "humble Anastasios", probably a Byzantine monk writing in the 6th or 7th century, although the exact date is a matter of debate. In Russian Orthodox churches, the kontakion is traditionally sung during funerals and memorial services, and on Parents’ Sabbath (Russian Wikipedia article) when the departed are commemorated. It was translated into English from Russian by William John Birkbeck, an English theologian and musicologist who studied Russian church music in Moscow in 1890. The traditional tune, known in English as the
Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
Melody, was edited by Birkbeck's close friend, Sir Walter Parratt, the organist of
St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle St George's Chapel, formally titled The King's Free Chapel of the College of St George, Windsor Castle, at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is a Royal peculiar, Royal Peculia ...
.Skinner 2008, p. 194
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
may have heard this kontakion in Russian at a memorial service in London for the death of
Tsar Alexander III Alexander III (; 10 March 18451 November 1894) was Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 1894. He was highly reactionary in domestic affairs and reversed some of the liberal ...
in 1894, where she noted that "a fine Russian hymn, always sung at funerals throughout the Greek Church, was sung without accompaniment, & was very impressive". She certainly heard Birkbeck's translation when it was sung at the funeral of Prince Henry of Battenberg in 1896. During the planning of Victoria's state funeral, her daughters asked that the kontakion be included in the service as it was a favourite of their mother's, a suggestion which was blocked by Bishop
Randall Davidson Randall Thomas Davidson, 1st Baron Davidson of Lambeth, (7 April 1848 – 25 May 1930) was an Anglican bishop who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1903 to 1928. He was the longest-serving holder of the office since the English Reformation, Re ...
with the support of King
Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...
, on the grounds that the text was not in keeping with
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
teaching on prayers for the dead. Nevertheless, it was sung at the funeral of
Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, queen-consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 Januar ...
at
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
in 1925. The Kontakion of the Departed with Parratt's arrangement was included in the first edition of ''
The English Hymnal ''The English Hymnal'' is a hymn book which was published in 1906 for the Church of England by Oxford University Press. It was edited by the clergyman and writer Percy Dearmer and the composer and music historian Ralph Vaughan Williams, and ...
'' in 1906, and has since appeared in several other Anglican hymn books, including ''
Hymns Ancient and Modern ''Hymns Ancient and Modern'' is a hymnal in common use within the Church of England, a result of the efforts of the Oxford Movement. The hymnal was first published in 1861. The organization publishing it has now been formed into a charitabl ...
'' and '' The Hymnal'' in the United States. It has been sung at the state and ceremonial funerals of
Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
,
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from ...
, and Queen
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
. The text of the kontakion is incorporated into the Funeral Service in the
Book of Common Prayer (1979) The 1979 ''Book of Common Prayer'' is the official primary liturgical book of the U.S.-based Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church. An edition in the same tradition as other versions of the ''Book of Common Prayer'' used by the chur ...
, the liturgy currently used by the Episcopal Church in the United States. The words are spoken at
state funerals in the United States In the United States, state funerals are the official funerary rites conducted by the federal government in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., that are offered to a sitting or former president, a president-elect, high government officials and ...
, for example, the state funeral of Ronald Reagan in 2004 and the state funeral of Gerald Ford in 2006. In 1971, British composer
Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...
used the Kiev Melody as one of four themes in his Cello Suite No. 3, which he wrote as a present for Russian cellist
Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enl ...
. The American hymnologist, Carl P. Daw Jr., wrote a paraphrase of this kontakion in 1982, ''Christ the victorious, give to your servants'', intended for congregational singing and set to the tune '' Russian Hymn'' by
Alexei Lvov Alexei Fyodorovich Lvov (Russian: ''Алексей Фёдорович Львов'') ( – ) was a Russian composer., best known for the composition of the Imperial Russian National Anthem, ''God Save the Tsar''. Biography Lvov was born i ...
.
Μετὰ τῶν ἁγίων ἀνάπαυσον, Χριστέ, τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν δούλων σου ἔνθα οὐκ ἔστι πόνος, οὐ λύπη, οὐ στεναγμός, ἀλλὰ ζωὴ ἀτελεύτητος: ἀλληλούϊα. Со святыми упокой, Христе, души раб Твоих, идеже несть болезнь, ни печаль, ни воздыхание, но жизнь безконечная. Сам Един еси Безсмертный, сотворивый и создавый человека: земнии убо от земли создахомся, и в землю туюжде пойдем, якоже повелел еси, Создавый мя и рекий ми: яко земля еси и в землю отыдеши, аможе вси человецы пойдем, надгробное рыдание творяще песнь: Аллилуиа, Аллилуиа, Аллилуиа. Give rest, O Christ, to thy servant with thy saints, where sorrow and pain are no more; neither sighing, but life everlasting. Thou only art immortal, the Creator and Maker of man; and we are mortal, formed of the earth, and unto earth shall we return; for so thou didst ordain when thou createdst me, saying: 'Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.' All we go down to the dust, and, weeping o'er the grave we make our song: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.


Editions

*


See also

*
Akathist An Akathist, akaphist or Acathist Hymn (, "unseated hymn") is a type of hymn usually recited by Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Christians, dedicated to a saint, holy event, or one of the persons of the Holy Trinity. The name derives f ...
*
Troparion A troparion (Greek , plural: , ; Georgian: , ; Church Slavonic: , ) in Byzantine music and in the religious music of Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a short hymn of one stanza, or organised in more complex forms as series of stanzas. The wi ...
* Condaghe


References


Notes


Literature & editions

* * * * * * * * * *


Greek and Old Slavic kontakaria (manuscript sources with medieval kontakia collections)

* * * * * *


External links


Kontakion on the Nativity of Christ
{{Byzantine music 6th-century establishments in the Byzantine Empire Byzantine music Genres of Byzantine music Eastern Christian hymns Eastern Orthodox liturgical music Liturgy of the Hours Christian prayer