Carol festival gathered about 250 participants at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Philadelphia
On January 8, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Philadelphia hosted a Festival of Carols. This event is already a tradition because, a two-year break during the coronavirus pandemic withstanding, it has already been held more than ten times. 244 participants were registered for this year's festival, according to the organizer and presenter, Father Roman Pitula, who is the pastor of the Cathedral. Among them were the choirs of the parishes of the Philadelphia Archeparchy - Cathedral (Philadelphia), Patronage of the Mother of God (McAdoo), St. Michael the Archangel (Jenkintown), Holy Martyr Josaphat (Trenton), choirs and ensembles of the Ukrainian community "Soloveyky", "Prometheus", "Svitanok", "Dzvin", and the school choir of Quinton, New Jersey. And, as tradition has it, the United Baptist Choir from Warminster, Pennsylvania joined the caroling.
After the end of the festival, which gathered children and adults, Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians, Greek and Roman Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants, Metropolitan Borys Gudziak addressed the participants and audience with a short speech. In particular, he addressed the topic of celebrating Christmas during the war. "We are going through difficult times. There is great joy and great truth in that joy, but there is also great darkness. If we look at the icon of the Nativity of Christ, we see how it embraces everything and explains everything - there is also darkness in the center. Cold dark cave, danger, exile. It is there that our almighty Lord decides to send his Son.
He also drew attention to the icon of the Resurrection, which is symbolically connected with the icon of Nativity. "On the icon of the Resurrection there is also darkness - the darkness of death, from which Jesus comes out, smashes the gates of hades, and pulls out Adam and Eve. This is what we sing in our carols, this is our faith. We sing: "God is with us," Metropolitan Borys said. "It is important to remember that when it is dark, cold, lonely, and dangerous; when death is lurking at us, there, and especially there, God is with us," he emphasized.
The archbishop thanked the participants and the audience, in particular mentioning those who were forced to leave Ukraine due to the war and ended up in Philadelphia. "It is a great honor for me that you came to our Cathedral with a prayer and a carol. Be strengthened with the certainty that God's truth will prevail. Let the carol sound in your hearts and your homes, let the miracle of Bethlehem, the mystery of God's plan reinforce your faith, and help you face all the challenges in your life. May the communion that we have experienced, may the song that we shared, may the love of the Lord that we celebrate carry you through this year" he concluded.
