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On Sunday, October 4th, the community of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church of Pittsburgh, PA welcomed Hierarchs from the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America for a reception and performances spotlighting local cultural dance troupes and choirs along with testimonies highlighting the work of the Assembly’s agencies. The Hierarchs were welcomed by Rev. Fr. Michael H. Kallaur, Presiding Priest of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church, the Parish Council, and faithful. 

During the reception which was hosted by the parish community, the Orthodox Volunteer Corps, in partnership with Neighborhood Resilience Project, organized a food assembly station for their backpack feeding program. The Hierarchs and faithful were entertained by performances from several dance troupes and choirs, including:

  • Saint Constantine School of Pittsburgh Students, a Pan-Orthodox school in Bellevue, PA;
  • Otets Paissii Performing Folk Ensemble from the Bulgarian Macedonian National Educational and Cultural Center in West Homestead, PA;
  • St. George Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral Byzantine Choir of Pittsburg from the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese in Pittsburgh, PA;
  • St. Nicholas Serbian Tamburitzans from St. Nicholas Serbian Orthodox Church in Monroeville, PA;
  • Slavjane Folk Ensemble from St. John the Baptist American Carpatho-Russian Church in Allison Park, PA; 
  • Kyiv Ukrainian Dance Ensemble from St. Peter & Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Carnegie, PA;
  • Saint Miriam Byzantine Choir, a Pan-Orthodox choir in Pittsburgh, PA; and,
  • Grecian Odyssey Dancers from Presentation of Christ Greek Orthodox Church in East Pittsburgh, PA.
The performances were held at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church of Pittsburgh, following a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy. Photo courtesy of AoB/Presb. Theophani Sarigianis

Spyridoula Fotinis, Director of Inter-Parish Associations for the Assembly, served as the Master of Ceremonies. Short testimonials from the Assembly’s six Agencies were read by:

  • Fr. Paul Abernathy, Orthodox Youth and Young Adult Ministries
  • Natalya Delsante, Orthodox Volunteer Corps
  • Dominic, Orthodox Christian Fellowship
  • Victoria Dionisos, Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry
  • Presbytera Theophani Sarigianis, Orthodox Christian Mission Center
  • Archon Nicholas Terezis, International Orthodox Christian Charities

At the conclusion of the reception, Fr. Nicholas Anton, Assembly of Bishops’ Director of Operations, thanked the dancers for their lively performances and the faithful of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church for their hospitality.

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