kontakion

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Byzantine Greek κοντάκιον (kontákion).

Noun

kontakion (plural kontakia)

1. (Eastern Orthodoxy) A form of hymn or poem recited as a dialogue between a chanter and the choir.
   • 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 454:

     The liturgical form of hymn which replaced the kontakion was the canon, a set of nine hymns.

   • 1988, Milorad Pavić, translated by Christina Pribićević-Zorić, Dictionary of the Khazars, Vintage, published 1989, page 31:

     When awakened, Kyr Avram sits in bed and, as if out of fear, sings troparia and contakia in honor of his ancestors, when the Serbian church has declared saints.

Alternative forms

• contakion