Christmas gift of the City of Nis to the City of Belgrade

Children’s Choir in the crypt of St. Sava

With the blessing of His Holiness Irinej, Serbian Patriarch, upon the invitation of the brotherhood of the Saint Sava Cathedral, a Christmas and New Year’s Concert of the Children’s Choir “Branko” from Nis was held in the crypt of the Memorial Cathedral of Saint Sava in the district of Vracar on Sunday, 15 January 2017.

The concert was attended by Serbian Patriarch Irinej, who before becoming the Pimate of the Serbian Orthodox Church, was Diocesan Bishop of the City of Nis and during his ministry, 21 years ago, this choir was founded.

All the present were addressed by the Principal of the Saint Sava Cathedral, His Grace Bishop Arsenije of Toplica, Vicar Bishop of the Serbian Patriarch.

The Nis church-chanting Assemble Branko was founded on 1 September 1887 in the Cathedral church of the Holy Trinity in Nis. The choir got its name after the famous poet of the Serbian romanticism Branko Radicevic. For 125 years long this choir has been chanting at liturgies celebrated by the Bishop of Nis and priesthood at the Cathedral church of Nis. Between the two World Wars it got an Order of Saint Sava of the Third degree, a gold medal of King Aleksandar Karadjordjevic and a fellowship’s flag of King Petar II Karadjordjevic. After the Second World War the Choir Branko shared the destiny of the Serbian Church and longer than forty years it was excluded from the social life, but it didn’t stop its basic task – chanting during liturgical services.