His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Pavle received guest choirs

BLESSED GREEK CHOIR FROM ATALANTA AND SERBIAN CHOIR
OF ST LAZARUS CHURCH FROM SYDNEY

Serbian Patriarch Pavle received in the Protection of the Mother of God church hall on 25 January 2004, a guest choir from Atalanta led by its director and a proven friend of the Serbian people, Nikos Euthimiades. The Patriarch welcomed and blessed the Greek choir members underscoring that the Serbian people are always mindful of having received their Orthodoxy from the great Greek people. The “Harmony” Choir presented His Holiness with a silver clad icon of Jesus Christ. In conversing with Mr. Euthimiades, the Serbian Patriarch pointed out the significance of further promoting cultural links between the Serbian and Greek peoples, especially in the field of cultivating choral music.

Mr. Euthimiades is the director of the Greek Music Conservatory in Athens and artistic director of numerous international festivals, as well as many orchestras and choirs. He studied choral directing at the Faculty of Musical Arts in Belgrade. Earlier he received our state Order of Merits for the People.

The following day, Monday 26 January 2004, in the Patriarchal Chapel of St. Simeon the Myrrhobletes, His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Pavle received the Holy Prince Lazarus guest choir from Sydney. Blessing the presence of this choir in the Fatherland, the Patriarch among all else indicated the importance of preserving the Orthodox faith and Serbian name in that remote country. The Dean of St. Lazarus Church, Archpriest Miodrag Peric, expressed the joy, which the choir experienced at being in their Fatherland. Among other things, he looked forward to their participation in the St. Sava Academy at the “Sava Center” in Belgrade, as well as becoming a member of the great choral family of the Federation of Serbian Choirs.