By Yelena Stasyukevich
The festival brought together around 50 groups from Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Serbia, with the public welcome to attend not only the first and last concerts but each one in between. Choirs sang sacred and secular works at Grodno’s House of Culture, with groups travelling from Konakovo (Russia) and Olsztyn (Poland). A student choir from the Minsk State Linguistic University also took part.
The festival of Orthodox chants first took place in Grodno in 2002 and was dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the revival of the Grodno Eparchy. Kolozhsky Blagovest aims to encourage spiritual union and mutual understanding while popularising creativity in Orthodox singing culture.
