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Yonkers, NY:  St. Vladimir’s Seminary’s first “Orthodox Masterpieces” event honors Fr. Sergei Glagolev

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Renowned composers Fr. Sergei Glagolev and Fr. Ivan Moody at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, 2016.

On Saturday, February 10, 2018, Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary honored Archpriest Sergei Glagolev, the well known composer of Orthodox liturgical music, by singing a number of his works at the celebration of Great Vespers.  The Saint Vladimir’s Seminary Chorale, a volunteer campus community choir, sang the responses.

Father Sergei is noted for his pioneering work in introducing English-language musical compositions into Orthodox Christian liturgical services — inspired hymnography with a uniquely American sound.  Following Vespers, Harrison Russin, the seminary’s Lecturer in Liturgical Music, offered a presentation on the impact of Father Sergei’s work.  A video of Vespers and the lecture is available online.

In conjunction with the event, a reflection on Father Sergei’s legacy, “Icons in Sound and the Music of Father Sergei Glagolev” written by Mr. Russin, also is available on the seminary web site.

The service represented the first offering in the seminary’s “Orthodox Masterpieces” series.

Moscow, Russia:  Works by Fr. Sergei Glagolev, other contemporary composers, performed in Russia

On Monday, January 29, 2018, compositions by Archpriest Sergei Glagolev were performed at the Moscow Conservatory, one of Russia’s premier musical institutions, at a concert highlighting works by Orthodox composers who wrote outside the borders of their homeland.

“The majority of masterworks on this program were sung in Russia for the first time, reviving a repertoire not only neglected during the Soviet era, but even disparaged and publicly vilified,” said Vladimir Morosan, founder of Musica Russica music publishers and editor of the multi-volume series Monuments of Russian Sacred Music.  “Bringing these works back to their homeland bears a deep symbolic as well as artistic significance.”

In addition to compositions by Father Sergei, the works of two other living composers born outside of Russia — Archpriest Ivan Moody and Kurt Sander, both of whom are converts to Orthodox Christianity—were presented.

“From the beginning, this project has been a collaborative effort, bringing together the artistry of prominent Church musicians and conductors with the latest in scholarly knowledge and research, both in the US and Russia,” added Mr. Morosan, who assembled the program and provided the musical scores.  “Consultants from the US—descendants of Russian exiles who had devoted their careers and musicians and scholars to Russian Orthodox church music—included Dr. Nicolas Schidlovsky, a noted scholar of medieval Orthodox chant, and Dr. Peter Jermihov, a prominent Russian-American conductor from Chicago, who directed the 40-voice Kastalsky Chamber Choir, which was expanded for this occasion by the addition of 20 women’s voices.”

Lone Butte, BC, Canada:  Holy Transfiguration Hermitage releases unique recording

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The monks of the Archdiocese of Canada’s Holy Transfiguration Hermitage have created and released a unique collection of liturgical hymns set to Gregorian melodies.  The recording, “Orthodox Hymns in Gregorian Chant,” may be ordered online.

By way of background, many people think of Gregorian, or Plainchant, as the Medieval song of the Roman Catholic Church.  This, however, only represents one chapter of an epic story.  In fact, Western Plainchant is one of the most ancient and venerable modal traditions in the world, with deep roots in the music of Old Testament Israel and Classical Greece.  The heart of the Gregorian repertoire was written between the third and eighth centuries AD, and is closely related to the emerging Byzantine chant of that period.  From the eighth to the 12th centuries, Gregorian chant acquired the Frankish, Celtic and Mozarabic (old Spanish) colorations which give it a distinctive “western” sound; however, it was not exposed to the Middle Eastern influences which characterized later Byzantine performance.  The melodic figures of Gregorian chant remain archetypal to western music until this day.

Also released was a voluminous study, titled “Orthodox Liturgical Hymns in Gregorian Chant: Ancient Modal Tradition of the West,” available in PDF format online, which contains an extensive historical and theoretical introduction to Gregorian chant, followed by sheet music for the idiomela of Vespers, Matins and the Divine Liturgy, as well as Festal, Lenten, and Paschal material.  A forthcoming companion volume will include pointed texts for chanting the stikhera, troparia and canons of the Resurrection cycle.

Brookline, MA:  Last chance to register for 2018 CrossRoad program for HS juniors and seniors

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2017 CrossRoad participants explore Boston’s historic sites.

High school juniors and seniors from the Orthodox Church in America are invited to participate in the summer 2018 CrossRoad program sponsored by Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology/Hellenic College, Brookline, MA.

Online applications are still being accepted for one of three programs slated to be held in Boston and Chicago during June and July 2018.  Applicants will be notified of their acceptance into the program by mid-March.  Scholarships and financial aid will be available to all accepted applicants.

The pan-Orthodox program is designed to best meet the needs of Orthodox Christian teens who desire to deepen their faith in an Orthodox setting.  Students will be afforded unique opportunities to explore their vocations, encounter service in a new way, take theology and Scripture courses with top professors and make lifelong friendships while exploring Boston or Chicago.

Geneva, Switzerland:  WCC welcomes applications for Internship Programme 2018

Orthodox Christian young adults ages 21 through 29 who are actively involved in Church and ecumenical relations are invited to apply for the World Council of Churches’ [WCC] 2018 Internship Programme.

The programme’s overarching goal is to strengthen Church and ecumenical relations and create benefits for young people through capacity building, ecumenical formation, regional relations, international and multicultural exposure, and leadership building.  Interns are assigned to work for 12 months at the WCC offices in Geneva, Switzerland in one of the programme areas of the WCC.  This is then followed by a six-month work placement in the intern’s own country.  Available work areas include Communication, Health and Healing, Just Community of Women and Men, and Commission of the Churches on International Affairs.

Interested applicants from OCA parishes should request a letter of recommendation from the OCA by sending their C.V. and a cover letter of interest by March 1 to Archpriest John Jillions, OCA Chancellor, at chancellor@oca.org.

Application guidelines are available online.  For additional information, please contact youth@wcc-coe.org.

Annapolis, MD:  Mission to sponsor pilgrimage to Romania

Priest Robert Miclean and the faithful of Holy Archangels Mission, Annapolis, MD will be sponsoring a pilgrimage to many of the holy sites of Orthodox Romania May 15-June 1, 2018.  The pilgrimage will include visits to some of the most beautiful churches and monasteries in the world and related sites of interest to Orthodox Christians.  The cost of participation, which includes international travel and accommodations, is just $2750.00 per person.  Detailed information, itinerary and registration are available online.