June 27, 2013
"The goal is to sing as one big family" ‒ Choir singers from across America are invited to sing at the St. Vladimir’s Day Celebrations

On July 26-28, hundreds ‒ maybe even thousands ‒ of people will descend upon the small town of Jackson, NJ to celebrate the 1025th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus’ and the 75th anniversary of the founding of St. Vladimir Memorial Church. As the faithful of the Russian Orthodox Church prepare for the upcoming celebration, different groups of people all over the world are being mobilized for such a significant milestone, among them clergy, sisterhoods, and social organizations.

One subculture of the Orthodox Church that is especially excited for this anniversary is choir singers from all over ROCOR. "I could not be more excited about this event," said Larissa Sander of Cincinnati, OH, who plans to come to Jackson to sing at the divine services. "What a wonderful return to the ‘glory days’ of the St. Vladimir’s Celebrations," she said, referring to the tradition that was born 75 years ago, when thousands of Russian émigrés – many of whom came from different church choirs around the country – would come to the Memorial Church once a year to celebrate St. Vladimir’s Day and raise their voices together in honor of the Baptizer of Russia.

This year, with the blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion, the services in Jackson will be sung by a joint choir of singers from all across America, under the direction of Deacon Alexander Petrovsky. Although Fr. Alexander is currently living and serving in the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America, his roots are based in Jackson. As the son of the ever-memorable Archpriest Philip Petrovsky, who served in St. Vladimir’s for over 37 years, Fr. Alexander is no stranger to the annual St. Vladimir’s Day celebrations. "Our family was one of the first to settle in the Cassville (Jackson ‒ ed.) area in the mid-1930’s," said Petrovsky. "I dearly remember the longtime choir director of St. Vladimir’s, Mr. Vladimir Tarkan, under whom I sang for many years and who inspired my love for church music."

All Orthodox singers are invited to participate in the joint choir, especially the youth. "We want this choir to be an opportunity for the youth to come forward and show that the future of the Church is in capable hands," said Fr. Alexander. "We will be singing music that reflects not only the history of the rich Russian choral tradition, but the present growth and bright future of church music."

Much has changed in ROCOR over the past 25 years, and this year’s celebrations in Jackson will be a reflection of that. Twenty-five years ago, when the faithful gathered in Jackson for the Millennium of the Baptism of Rus’, all of the singing was in Church Slavonic, but, like the Church itself, this year the singing will be bilingual. "The Russian Church has a history of being a missionary Church, perhaps more than any other Orthodox Church," explained Fr. Alexander. "These fruits have borne themselves on this continent and singing in English has become an essential part of worship in our parishes. This celebration will reflect our missionary spirit."

Thanks to that missionary spirit, the Church Abroad has grown significantly in the past 25 years, and a large amount of American converts are finding spiritual refuge within its parishes. Even though many parishes sing fully or partially in English, the question of bilingual celebrations has been a sore topic until now. "I’m so thankful to the organizers of this year’s St. Vladimir’s Day Celebrations for being mindful of the reality of the liturgical language in ROCOR," said Sander. "For so long, English was not particularly welcomed in some of our large-scale celebrations, and I know that many of our ROCOR faithful are truly thrilled that they will be able to pray, sing, and participate in this event."

These sentiments were also echoed by the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, Metropolitan Hilarion, who said that "many of our clergy and faithful come from various non-Russian backgrounds, and have whole-heartedly embraced the sacred customs and traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church." His Eminence urged the faithful not to "fall into the temptation of segregating our Diocese into cultural groups, because as sons and daughters of the Russian Orthodox Church, we are all citizens of Holy Russia." (Click here to read the full text of Met. Hilarion’s appeal.)

But the fact that there will be more English used in the services does not mean that the ROCOR faithful have forgotten their roots. "Church Slavonic is part of our heritage and an important aspect of worship in ROCOR," said Sander. "Even if a singer does not regularly use Church Slavonic in his own parish, having the opportunity to connect with others in this unifying way and experiencing the beauty and history of our liturgical music will be a wonderfully enriching experience." Transliterations of the Slavonic pieces will be available for all choir singers.

Part of what makes it such an unusual undertaking is the participation of a large number of the faithful, regardless of age or experience. "The goal is not to sing overly complicated music, but to gather everyone in one place and sing as one big family," said Dimitry Doohovskoy of Jackson, NJ. "If you don’t sing very often, or have not been able to start, there is no better time to start than now! I imagine the first Russian singers in 988 did not have much experience either, and probably did not sound very good when they started, but it is a good thing that they started."

As choir singers prepare to greet the 1025th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus’, it is important to remember that this is not only a celebration, but, in the words of Fr. Alexander, "we need to treat this as a pilgrimage." As the Russian Church looks toward the future, the one thing that is needful is true Orthodox unity, and not cultural partisanship. "Regardless of bloodlines, heritages, or nationality, we all share this one commonality: the salvific power of the Body and Blood of Christ," he said.

Those who are interested in singing at the St. Vladimir’s Day Celebrations must contact Fr. Alexander at (216) 571-4084 or kamerton1975@gmail.com in order to sign up for the choir. Participation in the event is not only open to singers, but to all the faithful as well. In the words of Dimitry Doohovskoy: "Come sing! If you don’t want to sing, come anyway! If you can’t make it this year, come next year!"

Click here for more information about St. Vladimir's Day.

 

Media Office of the Eastern American Diocese