East of Western Church Music: Prayers and Hymns from Georgia

East of Western Church Music: Prayers and Hymns from Georgia

For the first time, the festival is visited by the Choir of the Monastery of 13 Assyrian Holy Fathers and their director, the monk Seraphim Bit-Kharibi, under the festival theme “East of Western church music”. The choir sings hymns and prayers in Aramaic, which is assumed to be the primary spoken language of Jesus. The texts come from the Old and New Testaments, and are accompanied by a cappella melodies. Variants of Aramaic are still in use as a liturgical language in many churches with roots in the Middle East. In Georgia, the ancient tradition is kept alive through the monastery work in Kanda, led by Bit-Kharibi himself. The monastery yearly receives thousands of visitors who want to experience the holy liturgy in Aramaic languages.