PROSPECT HEIGHTS — With Catholic and Orthodox Easter falling on the same day this year, four parishes in Brooklyn are merging their choirs for a special concert. Two Catholic and two Eastern Orthodox churches are presenting “Walking With Jesus: From Palm Sunday to the Resurrection,” a dinner and concert on Friday, April 25, at 8 p.m. at Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Cathedral in Brooklyn Heights.
The four participating choirs are from Our Lady of Lebanon, Church of the Virgin Mary Melkite Church in Park Slope, St. Mary’s Antiochian Orthodox Church in Bay Ridge, and St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral in Boerum Hill. Bishop Gregory Mansour of the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn and pastor of Our Lady of Lebanon, said that “the unification of the four churches is a part of a bigger picture
for Christian unity and the importance of praising God.”
He said Father Dominique Hanna, rector of the cathedral, had the idea for the concert and prayer service. Father Hanna said it is the perfect time to honor the unity between the Churches. “This has never happened before and nobody thought about it until now. Our Churches share a lot of things,” said Father Hanna. “We invite the Orthodox clergy to our events and we attend their galas and celebrations, but this is the first time we have come together as a community for a beautiful event like this.”
He noted the interesting dynamic between Maronite and Antiochian Orthodox families. “Many of us come from similar families and similar backgrounds and sometimes we just say to ourselves, ‘Why are we so divided?’ A lot of Orthodox will come to our churches, and a lot of Maronites will go to the Orthodox churches because there is a strong friendship and relationship between us,” Father Hanna said.
He also noted how many Syrian and Lebanese families have members that are Maronite and Orthodox, and they feel equally at home in both Churches because the similarities between the faiths far outweigh the differences. “We could be united but express our faith differently as we do in the Catholic family where the Maronites are different from the Latin Church or Melkite Church yet we share the same faith,” Father Hanna said.
Mike Naber, a member of the cathedral’s choir who had the idea for the concert, said that bringing the church choirs together stems from celebrating Easter on the same day and his strong belief there is very little difference between the various denominations. “What really divides the Catholic and Orthodox Churches is far, far, far less important than what really unites us, which is Christ himself,” Naber said. “They can go into all theological differences and historical differences, but at the end we are all Christians and should take our strength from Christ himself for
us to be united together.”
Father Hanna added that it’s important and beautiful to be different, but noted also that should not be something that separates people. “On the contrary, it should be something that will bring us together, to know the other person at a deeper level,” he said. “We want you to be different but that should not be a source of conflict. I always use the analogy that you make your tabouli different from my tabouli but I can still enjoy your tabouli and say, ‘It is different but it tastes good.’ ”
Father Michael Ellias, pastor of St. Mary’s, said that he’s delighted to participate in the unity concert. “First of all, we have to congratulate Bishop Gregory and the people at Our Lady of Lebanon for taking the initiative to bring these choirs together. This event is just another bridge between our two shared traditions.” Previewing the concert, Sandra Arida, choir director at St. Mary’s, said that each choir will prepare pieces of their own, as well as participate in communal performances that will be sung in both English and Arabic.
The program will open with all of the choirs performing the Byzantine “Hallelujah,” which then merges into four verses of the “Evlogitaria of the Resurrection,” which is sung at Orthodox Sunday Matins, with each church choir performing a verse, Arida explained. St. Nicholas and St. Mary’s will sing first, followed by Our Lady of Lebanon and the Church of the Virgin Mary.
All four choirs will close the program in unison with “Jesus Christ is Risen, Alleluia!” in English, Arabic, and Greek, she said. Father Thomas Zain, pastor at St. Nicholas, called the event wonderful. “This is where we come together as different Middle Eastern Christians to celebrate the joy of the paschal season together through the beautiful hymnography of our respective Churches, and it is especially important this year since we celebrated this most important feast of the Church year on the same day,” Father Zain said. Father Antoine Rizk, pastor at the Church of the Virgin Mary, said the concert is a remarkable expression of unity and diversity in the Church.
“This will be a shining star in the kingdom of God as never before,” said Father Rizk. “And every time we meet together it is special because we have a shared history and shared experiences around the faith, and this is a powerful expression of what we all share together.” In addition to the concert, on Tuesday, May 20, Our Lady of Lebanon will honor the 1700-year anniversary of the Council of Nicea with an ecumenical prayer for peace in the world.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan will attend the service and invitees include Antiochian Orthodox Archbishop Saba Isper of New York and Bishop Robert Brennan. “It is our desire to work for the unity of the Churches in our own particular way, to honor the Mother of God, as declared by the Council of Nicea, and to pray for world peace,” Bishop Mansour said. “There is certainly more that unites us than makes us different.”