Source: Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
Fr. Peter Samore, Director of Communications
Videos: Great Vespers | Antiochian Archdiocese Choir Concert | Orthros, Hierarchal Divine Liturgy
Lifting their voices in song is how Orthodox Christians glorify and worship God in the divine services. They constantly refine their artistic expression and expand their musical knowledge to praise their Creator in their churches.
From Feb. 5-8, 2026, the Department of Sacred Music gathered more than 120 church singers from across the Archdiocese for their annual Winter Sacred Music Institute, hosted this year at St. George Church in Phoenix. They were delighted to reunite with His Grace Bishop Anthony, the department’s hierarchal overseer; Mrs. Mareena Boosamra Ball, the department’s chairwoman; and Fr. John El Massih, the chairman of the department’s Byzantine Chant committee and Protopsaltis (head chanter) of the Archdiocese.
This year’s Winter SMI focused on “Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday Hosanna in the Highest: Blessed Is He That Cometh in the Name of the Lord.” Attendees were treated to an historical and liturgical overview of the development and hymnography of these blessed days that are neither part of Great Lent nor Holy Week – they form their own season in between!
Throughout these services, the hymns reflect the end of the 40-day fast, our Lord Jesus Christ coming to Bethany to raise Lazarus, the prefiguration of the universal resurrection, the return of ancient monastics from their Lenten wanderings in the desert to their monasteries (“Today the grace of the Holy Spirit hath brought us together”), the triumphant entry of Christ into Jerusalem to take believers to the Jerusalem on high, the prefiguration of His Ascension and Second Coming, and the transition into Holy Monday.
Instructors in the Antiochian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Online Music School and diocesan chairpersons of the department served as faculty during the Winter SMI, teaching students how to sing these deeply theological hymns. They also gave lessons at beginning, intermediate and advanced levels on music theory, choir conducting, vocal and breathing techniques, among other topics.
In between the workshops, Sayidna Anthony’s keynote addresses focused on preparation for Great Lent which, this year, starts Feb. 23. He emphasized that “Limitation is liberation.”
“Lent prepares us for eternity,” His Grace continued. “It takes away from us all the supports that we depend on, but don’t need. We can eat foods, but not all of them. It’s a gradual release from a concentration on earthly things.”
On Saturday evening, the participants from the Winter SMI lifted their voices to heaven in Great Vespers. Then, as auditioned members of the Antiochian Archdiocese Choir, they sang in concert inside St. George Church. “More Spacious Than the Heavens” featured chant and choral selections devoted to Mary, the Most Holy Theotokos. The grand finale brought together both musical styles for the Ninth Ode of the Canon of the Meeting (Presentation) of Christ in the Temple. The full video of the glorious concert is available for your viewing enjoyment.
The weekend concluded on Sunday morning with Sayidna Anthony presiding at Orthros and celebrating the Hierarchal Divine Liturgy, joined by dozens of participants singing in two choirs, along with four priests and six deacons, including the newly ordained Dn. Elias Mousa who will serve at St. George Church.