OIKOS

OIKOS– (Ikos) – A specially constructed stanza, in honor of a particular feast, which is sung, together with the kontakion, after the 6th ode of the kanon. The oikos develops the ideas expressed in the kontakion and, as a rule, concludes with the same words as the kontakion. Like the Kontakion, it is a condensed form of a hymn.  The Greek word means `house’, signifying that the Oikos contained all the essentials of a household.  Similarly, the Oikos of the church service was a brief summary of the saint or feast day being celebrated.