Byzantine Chant

The Music at Saint George Parish The services at St. George are sung a cappella (without instrumental accompaniment) by the clergy, the choir, and the people. The music is an ancient style of chant that was developed in the Christian Byzantine empire that surrounded the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. What you hear at St. George is music that is familiar to the Christian East – The Holy Land, Lebanon, Syria, and Greece. 

If you live in the United States, you may have heard the expression, "Good old gospel music!" referring to songs penned in the early 20th century. This expression has a more exact meaning when applied to Byzantine chant. The hymns sung at St. George are in fact very good (in that they magnify the splendor and majesty of God in our hearts) and very old, seeing that many of them date back to the early years of the Christian era. 

Most of the music sung at St. George is sung in English, with some special, or repeated, pieces sung in Arabic for the sake of our largely Arab congregation. The tunes will sound odd to the ears of westerners because they are of Greek and Middle Eastern origin. If you remember that Christianity itself is a faith of Middle Eastern origin, and that the Christian holy scriptures were originally written in Greek, then maybe this will seem more natural. We heartily welcome you to come visit us at St. George. See and hear for yourself how we worship Our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ