Yeah - I caught that when that word came up in Hebrew Vocab mumble mumble years ago.
I got my wife a subscription to Magnificat which she brings to Sunday Mass so I can always follow along. This helps with the varying quality of the lectors.
I wish I could be at this service you describe. Wow! IT sounds beautiful.
His full title is "His All Holiness Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch".
I arrived early (3:30 for a 4:30 rehearsal, 5:30 service) because Atlanta traffic can be treacherous but it wasn't this time. Haven't been to the Orthodox Cathedral in years, when I was a preteen and young teenager we had several good family friends who were pillars of this church (more on that later!) It is not a large sanctuary, but the associated buildings ramble down a hill and cover several acres of ground on the north side of Decatur, on Clairmont Road. Wandered in through the main entrance, past several barricades manned by DeKalb County sheriffs (His All Holiness is the equivalent of a head of state). Asked directions of a young man with a name tag, who pointed me to the choir loft (which I never would have found as it is reached by an obscure winding staircase behind two doors off to one side). The Orthodox choir was already assembling, they have two sections, a more conventional SATB group with an organist, and an a capella male schola which they call a 'chant choir'. Our folks started trickling in around 4:30, and while the Orthodox choir was warming up we dashed downstairs to a small courtyard outside. Albert gave us the pitch and we ran the chant, the Victoria, and part of the Litany of the Saints very quickly, and it all sounded quite well even though our tenor had not showed up yet . . . he's always late and we're almost used to it . . . . Back upstairs to sit and wait for things to begin. Then of course our tenor showed up.
The sanctuary is simply magnificent. It is round in form, with many tall narrow windows and a huge dome. Beautiful full length mosaics on all the walls, depicting iconic scenes from the Life of Christ -- the Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension, Pentecost, the Harrowing of Hell -- the Dormition of the Virgin on the wall above the choir loft, and in the top of the great dome Christ Pantocrator. The iconostasis (in the position of a roodscreen, but made of brass or some other gold-colored metal, with beautiful full-length icons of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and saints and angels) is very modern in form, with elaborate doors leading to the high altar, which were open for the service.
The bells began to ring, and the various priests, bishops, archbishops and metropolitans, from all over the world, began to process. There must have been nearly 100 various clerics, all dressed in deepest black. Our Archbishop Emeritus relieved the general gloom in his purple choir vestments (ok, that's the Episcopalian term for vestments worn when not celebrating, is there a separate Catholic term?), attended by two priests in cassocks and their best surplices (one of whom is our 1st Parochial Vicar who has been instrumental in getting the local ecumenical effort started).
Then His All Holiness Bartholomew I appeared upon the scene, a very handsome man with a beautiful long white beard, very dignified, in brilliant red vestments with gold embroidery and a long train, which was carried by two deacons. The cameras in the nave were going off continuously (and no wonder). As he processed, the Orthodox Choir began to sing a series of anthems in Greek - very close harmony and very beautiful. He took his seat on the episcopal throne to the right of the area before the iconostasis.
The master of ceremonies (a local Greek politician!) greeted all the various guests, and then our Archbishop gave the first reading from the Church Fathers. Then we sang . . . and really it went quite well. The acoustics were excellent, there were about 10 of us because most folks couldn't get off work, but it sounded very nice. Then there was a second Patristic Reading by the local metropolitan (who looks exactly like Santa Claus, only in black). Then the Baptist Choir, who were positioned down on the floor to the left front with their own electronic keyboard (there were too many of them to sit in the small choir loft - probably 50 I would say). They sang a roof-raising unison hymn in perfect blend, then a second hymn where the verses were sung in unison but the chorus went into parts, then a call and response form with the female soloist ad libbing over and above the response . . . you could see from the expressions of some of the primates on the dais in front that they had never heard anything quite like THAT before - some of them actually turned around and stared!
There was a long address in Greek from His All Holiness, of which I could catch about every 10th word, then he was kind enough to read a prepared statement in English regarding the ecumenical effort and the theme of his pastoral visit to the U.S.: stewardship of the environment. He thanked all the dignitaries and visitors (including us!) and then the Greek choir sang the Small Doxology in honor of the Theotokos . . . and one of the ladies who was sitting beside us shoved some music at those of us who could reach, so we just joined in. It wasn't hard, except trying to read the Greek and the alto part at the same time! The pronunciation was close enough for us to fake it though.
Then we adjourned downstairs for Great. Greek. Food.
The tale I mentioned above is this -- I was just chatting beforehand with the lady who was sort of a coordinator for the choirs (not the musical director, but in some sort of management position). Turns out she is the daughter of a (sadly deceased) local judge here who was very popular and well thought of by the bar, a pillar of this cathedral and a very close friend of my dad's. In fact, dad was his campaign manager. So we fell on each other's necks (we hadn't seen each other since we were little bratty kids). You meet people you know in the STRANGEST places . . . .
That's all from the front lines of the Ecumenical Prayer Service!