The Texas Byzantines at the Call to Holiness Conference in Houston, Texas

Byzantine Great Vespers at the
Roman Catholic Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart

The Call to Holiness Conference, which drew some 1,500 persons, was held September 11-12, 2009 at the George L. Brown Convention Center and for the Great Vespers, at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in downtown Houston. Very Rev. Fr. Elias Rafaj, pastor of St. John Chrysostom Church, delivered three workshops on Christian art as a tool of prayer and icons as a medium of faith education and theology. One workshop was given in Spanish and one was a part of the conference's "Youth Track." Another speaker familiar to our Texas parishes was Melkite priest Fr. Damon Geiger, OSST, Director of Formation at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Seminary in Houston, who gave a workshop on Christian prayer and how to respond to God's call to holiness.

On Friday as the first round of speakers and workshops took place, the "Texas Byzantine Choir" made up of parishioners from St. John Chrysostom (Houston) and St. Basil the Great (Irving) Churches, met for one last rehearsal and a first recording session at St. Pius V Roman Catholic Church in Pasadena, TX, a southern suburb of Houston famous as the home of NASA. Choir director Mignon Thurow (of St. Basil's) ironed out the last wrinkles and gave a wonderful pep talk that calmed nerves, united the singers and lifted spirits. Following this, the entire choir went out to dinner and then headed to the Co-Cathedral for Great Vespers, served on the Leave-taking of the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos. 

Great Vespers were presided over by His Grace, +Bishop Nicholas (Samra), retired auxiliary bishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy in the United States and by His Eminence, Daniel Cardinal Dinardo.

Serving were Fr. Elias Rafaj, Fr. Damon Geiger,OSST, Fr. Philip Acquaro, CB, Fr. Deacon Andrew Veres, Fr. Deacon Edward Kleinguetl and altar servers from both St. John Chrysostom and St. Basil the Great Parishes. Readers for Great Vespers were Francis Ellis, Teresa Wells and Tom Wells. The music was prepared by Cantor Mark Worhatch of Austin and included prostopinije in English and Spanish, and Greek-Melkite chant, showing the richness of the musical heritage of the Byzantine Tradition . The choir's ability to work through unfamiliar tones and two languages was a testament to their devotion to God and their desire to share the beauty of our Byzantine Tradition through their gift of music. Great Vespers concluded with Artoklasia and mirovanije, given by both +Bishop Nicholas and +Cardinal DiNardo. Cardinal Dinardo expressed his deep gratitude to the choir for all the work they put in as they prepared for the Vespers ...the results were truly angelic and Constantinople touched Houston that summer's evening!