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June 1, 2007
Local Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches Continue Ecumenical Initiative with a Celebration of Sacred Readings and Music
CONTACTS:
Simon Berry
Director of Liturgy & Music
St. Dominic’s Roman Catholic Church
+1 (415) 674-0430
simon@stdominics.org
www.stdominics.org
Nick Tarlson
Director of Music
Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation
1 (415) 956-5700 ext 121
ntarl@dictyon.com
www.annunciation.org
On June 28, 2007 the Solemn Choir of St. Dominic’s Roman Catholic Church and the choirs of San Francisco’s Annunciation Greek Orthodox
Cathedral and Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church will gather at St. Dominic’s at 2390 Bush Street at Steiner at 7:30 p.m. for “An Ecumenical
Celebration of Sacred Readings and Music.”
The evening’s theme will be a “Litany for Peace” with a sequence of readings interspersed by choral presentations. The prayers’ focus will
be on the need to create a better world for our children.
The choirs will be joined in this ecumenical endeavor by Metropolitan Gerasimos of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco, Archbishop
George Niederauer of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, and children from the Catholic and Orthodox parishes.
The “Ecumenical Evening” is an outgrowth of the Ecumenical Service held by the two hierarchs at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church on
November 29, 2006. That service commemorated the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (Istanbul).
After the service, a parishioner at St. Dominic’s was moved to contact Father Michael Pappas, pastor of Holy Trinity and the Ecumenical
Officer of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco, and suggest that a joint concert might be a good next step. Fr. Michael presented
the idea to the choir directors of the Annunciation Cathedral and Holy Trinity Church and the “choir dialogue” began.
Each choir will present a musical selection from its own tradition. The Catholic choir, under the direction of Simon Berry, Director of
Liturgy and Music at St. Dominic’s, will present Ascendit Deo by Peter Philips, Dum Complerentur by Tomas Luis de Victoria, O Lux Beatissima
by Howard Helvey, and Ave Maria by Franz Biebl. The Greek Orthodox Choirs, under the direction of Nick Tarlson, Music Director of the
Annunciation Cathedral choir, will be presenting Blessed are You, O Christ by Tikey Zes, Great Doxology and Axion Estin by Frank Desby,
Epi Si Heri by Theodore Bogdanos and Soma Christu by Tikey Zes. The combined choirs, with a total of over 50 members, will join together
for First in Rank Among the Apostles by Kevin Lawrence.
The concert has special historic significance, both in terms of its nature and date.
According to Dr. David Carlson, writing for Orthodoxy Today.Org in 2004, “Since 1964 when Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagorus
embraced and formally nullified the anathemas of 1054 against each other, the patronal feasts of Sts. Peter and Paul (celebrated in Rome,
June 29th) and St. Andrew (celebrated in Constantinople, November 30) have brought Orthodox and Catholic hierarchs together to celebrate
their common apostolic roots.”
It was at the 2004 commemoration of this event in St. Peter’s Square, when Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew joined Pope John Paul II under a
canopy before thousands of onlookers, that a Greek choir joined the Vatican choir in solemn song.
The coming together of the Orthodox and Catholic choirs in San Francisco is a symbolic echo of that historic occasion and a reflection of
the commitment of the Orthodox and Catholic communities in San Francisco to their joint ecumenical journey.
A reception will be held at St. Dominic’s parish hall after the event.
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AVAILABLE FOR COMMENTS:
Fr. Xavier Lavagetto, OP, Pastor, St. Dominic’s Roman Catholic Church (xavier@stdominics.org)
Fr. Stephen Kyriacou, Dean, Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation (dean@annunciation.org)
Fr. Michael Pappas, Pastor, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church and Ecumenical Officer of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco
Simon Berry, Director of Liturgy and Music, St. Dominic’s Church
(simon@stdominics.org)
Nick Tarlson, Director of Music, Annunciation Cathedral
(ntarl@dictyon.com)
Voula Brown, Director of Music, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
(Voula@garlic.com)
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