Kontakion
Encyclopedia
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
performed in the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
. The word derives from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
word kontax (κόνταξ), meaning pole, specifically the pole around which a scroll
Scroll
A scroll is a roll of parchment, papyrus, or paper, which has been drawn or written upon.Scroll may also refer to:*Scroll , the decoratively curved end of the pegbox of string instruments such as violins...
is wound. The term describes the way in which the words on a scroll unfurl as it is read. The word was originally used to describe an early Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
poetic
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
form, whose origins date back certainly as far as the 6th century AD, and possibly earlier.
Traditional history
Sacred TraditionSacred Tradition
Sacred Tradition or Holy Tradition is a theological term used in some Christian traditions, primarily in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox traditions, to refer to the fundamental basis of church authority....
ascribes the origin of the Kontakion to St. Romanos the Melodist during the 6th century. Certainly, Romanos' inspired compositions represent the apex of the Golden Age
Golden Age
The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology and legend and refers to the first in a sequence of four or five Ages of Man, in which the Golden Age is first, followed in sequence, by the Silver, Bronze, and Iron Ages, and then the present, a period of decline...
of Byzantine hymnography. His masterpiece is the Kontakion for the Nativity of Christ. Up 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
Hagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey...
and of the Church of the Holy Apostles
Church of the Holy Apostles
The Church of the Holy Apostles , also known as the Imperial Polyandreion, was a Christian church built in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, in 550. It was second only to the Church of the Holy Wisdom among the great churches of the capital...
in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. Most of the poem takes the form of a dialogue between the Mother of God and the Magi, whose visit to the newborn Child is celebrated in the Orthodox Church on the 25th of December, rather than on the 6th of January (the Feast of the Theophany on January 6 celebrates the Baptism of Christ in the Orthodox Church).
Historical format
A “kontakion” is a poetic form frequently encountered in Byzantine hymnography. It was probably based in Syriac hymnographical traditions, which underwent an independent development in Greek-speaking Byzantium. It could best be 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 Isaac the Syrian—but meter and music have greatly heightened the drama and rhetorical beauty of the speaker’s often profound and very rich meditation.The form generally consists of 18 to 24 metrically identical stanzas called oikoi
Oikos
An oikos is the ancient Greek equivalent of a household, house, or family....
(“houses”), preceded, in a different meter, by a short prelude, called a koukoulion (“cowl
Cowl
This article is about the garment used by monks and nuns. For other uses, see Cowl or Cowling .The cowl is an item of clothing consisting of a long, hooded garment with wide sleeves. Originally it may have referred simply to the hooded portion of a cloak...
”). The first letters of each of the stanzas form an acrostic
Acrostic
An acrostic is a poem or other form of writing in which the first letter, syllable or word of each line, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out a word or a message. As a form of constrained writing, an acrostic can be used as a mnemonic device to aid memory retrieval. A famous...
, which frequently includes the name of the poet. The last line of the prelude introduces a refrain
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
, which is repeated at the end of all the stanzas.
The main body of a kontakion was chanted from the ambo by a minister (often a deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
) after the reading of the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
, while a choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
, 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
Recitative , also known by its Italian name "recitativo" , is a style of delivery in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms of ordinary speech...
, but unfortunately, the original music which accompanied the kontakia has now been lost.
Modern performance
Over time, the performance of the kontakia came to be replaced by the canonCanon (hymnography)
A canon is a structured hymn used in a number of Eastern Orthodox services. It consists of nine odes, sometimes called canticles or songs depending on the translation, based on the Biblical canticles. Most of these are found in the Old Testament, but the final ode is taken from the Magnificat and...
. At the present time, the chanting of an entire kontakion is quite rare. Normally, only the first koukoulion (now referred to as "the Kontakion") and the first oikos are performed. The normal place for the Kontakion and Oikos is after the Sixth Ode of the Canon; however, if the typicon for the day calls for more than one, the more important Kontakion and Oikos will be chanted after the Sixth Ode, and the secondary ones will be chanted after the Third Ode.
For the most part, the only time an entire Kontakion is performed is when an Akathist
Akathist
The Akathist Hymn is a hymn of Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic tradition dedicated to a saint, holy event, or one of the persons of the Holy Trinity...
Hymn is chanted. The original Akathist was composed in honor of the Theotokos
Theotokos
Theotokos is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its literal English translations include God-bearer and the one who gives birth to God. Less literal translations include Mother of God...
, but Akathists have been composed to Christ and to various saints as well. The most important Akathist is the one to the Mother of God that is chanted on the fifth Saturday of Great Lent
Great Lent
Great Lent, or the Great Fast, is the most important fasting season in the church year in Eastern Christianity, which prepares Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Pascha . In many ways Great Lent is similar to Lent in Western Christianity...
, though Akathists may be chanted as a devotional service at any time.
Examples
These are from the Prayer BookPrayer book
A 'prayer book' is a book outlining the 'liturgy' of religious services.In this sense, it may carry the following specific names in various religions:*Breviary or Missal, in Roman Catholicism*Agenda , in Lutheranism...
published by Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)
Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)
Holy Trinity Monastery is a male monastic community in Jordanville, New York. It is under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. The monastery is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and its patronal feast day is Pentecost.-History:...
:
Kontakion of Pascha (Easter)
Though Thou didst descend into the grave, O Immortal One, yet didst Thou destroy the power of HadesHadesHades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
, and didst arise as victory, O Christ God, calling to the myrrh-bearing womenMyrrhbearersIn Eastern Orthodoxy the Myrrhbearers are the individuals mentioned in the New Testament who were directly involved in the burial or who discovered the empty tomb following the resurrection of Jesus...
: Rejoice! and giving peace unto Thine apostles, Thou Who dost grant resurrection to the fallen.
Kontakion of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos:
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
On the mount Thou was 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
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.