Sticheron

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Sticheron

A sticheron is a hymn sung in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite churches. The word comes from Greek and means “set in verses.” Stichera (the plural) are verses used in church singing, especially during the daily evening service (Vespers) and morning service (Orthros), and in other services.

What the sticherarion is
- The sticherarion is the book that contains the stichera for the morning and evening services all year. Stichera are sung with lines called stichoi.
- Some stichera have melodies written for them (idiomela), others use standard melodic patterns (avtomela). Some hymns were later created from existing tunes (prosomoia).

How the music works
- Stichera follow the Octoechos, the eight-mode system. The sticherarion helped bring together the melodic patterns that go with these modes.
- Over time, the sticheron melodies could become elaborate (sticheron kalophonikon). Sometimes a troparion (a refrain) was expanded so it could be sung in its own right.

History in brief
- The Sticherarion as a notated hymn book developed during the Studite reforms in the 9th–10th centuries. At first, sticheron was sung by the whole congregation, then soloists began to perform more elaborate versions.
- John Koukouzelis and other composers helped develop the kalophonic style, turning some stichera into long, decorative pieces.
- In the 17th century, the old Sticherarion gave way to the Doxastarion (focused on doxastika, a kind of hymn). By the 18th–19th centuries, abridged Doxastarion versions were published and used.

The four main parts of the old Sticherarion
- Menaion: hymns for the entire year tied to saints’ days (the months’ cycle, immobile).
- Triodion: hymns for Great Lent (mobile cycle before Easter).
- Pentekostarion: hymns for the Paschal season (after Easter).
- Octoechos: hymns arranged in eight-week cycles, sometimes including additional hymns known as avtomela or the odes of other liturgical books.

Where stichera are used
- Stichera appear in Vespers (evening) and Orthros (morning), as well as in other services. They can be sung after psalms or alongside them, and they come in several forms, such as:
- Doxastichon: a sticheron that follows the phrase “Glory to the Father…”
- Theotokion: a sticheron dedicated to the Theotokos (Virgin Mary)
- Dogmatikon: stichera about church dogma
- Aposticha: stichera that can come before the verse they accompany

In short, a sticheron is a versatile hymn used in Byzantine liturgy, with a long history from early notated chant books to the elaborate musical traditions of later centuries.