17 May 2023

On 27 April 2023, the schola of Benedictine monks of Sant’Anselmo, led by maestro P. David Foster OSB, and the Byzantine choir “Psalterion” from Greece, under the direction of maestro Mr. Christos Vattis, performed hymns of the Resurrection of the Lord and of the Divine Liturgy.

The audience, among them more than 30 ambassadors to the Holy See, enjoyed a true Easter program. As in the Bible every apparition of the Risen Lord is told as an encounter, so one could enjoy the encounter of two different musical traditions: the Gregorian and the Byzantine, the Western and the Eastern. It was an attempt to make audible the idea that these traditions, as different as they are, speak of the same mystery. It is the same God they glorify. And yet, its expressions are very different: polyphonic/monophonic, in different tonalities, with different kinds of voices. It seemed almost as if one needed different ears in each case.

The high point of the evening was the “Hagios ho Theos, Sanctus Deus,” in which both scholas sang their own parts in their respective languages in one and the same piece of liturgical music.

The program was sponsored by Sant’Anselmo Abbey and its Prior, Mauritius Wilde OSB, and the Greek Embassy to the Holy See, with her Excellency, Mrs. Aikaterini Katia Georgiou.

Altre Notizie

  • The community of Sant'Anselmo extends our congratulations, thanks and prayers to Father Gregorio. Story, links and photos can be found here.

  • On the eve of the 3rd Sunday of Advent, Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, consecrated our Brother Anselm Demattio to the diaconate. Story and photos here.

  • On the morning of 12 December 2022, three residents of Collegio Sant'Anselmo were installed as acolytes. Acolyte installation is a preparatory rite, or minor order, leading to the priesthood. Installed, in descending order of monastic profession, were Pietro Bui, OSB; Kokila Fernando OSB; and Raban Heyer, OSB. Story and photos here.