The coronation of King Charles is approaching and he has requested that there be Greek Orthodox Byzantine music at the ceremony, as a tribute to his father, Prince Philip.
The Byzantine Chant Ensemble was chosen to perform Greek Orthodox music during the ceremony and the creator of the ensemble, Alexandros Ligas, professor of liturgy and Orthodox music at the Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York and founder of the choir "Cappella Romana."
He spoke to ERT and the show "Connections".
"The king has maintained very close relations with Orthodoxy for several years. He wanted to honour his father, Prince Philip, who was also born in Corfu, with a Greek hymn" said Ligas.
As for how the proposal reached him, the conductor of the choir that will sing at the coronation of King Charles, said that "at Westminster Abbey they had this order from the king, that he had this request that he wanted Greek Orthodox music, but they came to contact me as a researcher of orthodox music."
"That is, let's find some way to satisfy this request," he added.
It is recalled that the official coronation ceremony of King Charles will take place on May 6, 2023, at Westminster Abbey in London, as announced by Buckingham Palace.
The royal wife, Camilla, will also be crowned at the historic ceremony.
King Charles has commended the people of Ukraine for showing “truly remarkable courage and resilience in the face of such human tragedy,” in a message marking 12 months of conflict in the country.
“It has now been a year that the people of Ukraine have suffered unimaginably from an unprovoked full-scale attack on their nation,” the monarch said in a statement Friday.
“They have shown truly remarkable courage and resilience in the face of such human tragedy. The world has watched in horror at all the unnecessary suffering inflicted upon Ukrainians, many of whom I have had the great pleasure of meeting here in the UK and, indeed, across the world, from Romania to Canada.”
The King added that it was “heartening” to see the UK and its allies “doing everything possible to help at this most difficult time.”
King Charles reaffirmed his support to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he met at Buckingham Palace earlier this month, and expressed his “personal support” for the people of Ukraine.
When Zelensky was in London in early February, he praised Britain for its steadfast support of his homeland in the year since Russia’s unprovoked invasion. Standing in the historic surroundings of Westminster Hall – the oldest part of the Palace of Westminster, where the late Queen Elizabeth II lay in state a few months before – he namechecked former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, an early and steadfast supporter, and commended UK lawmakers for their “strong British character.”
Earlier this week, King Charles visited an undisclosed location in southwest England where Ukrainian military recruits are being trained.
King Charles watched as the troops – many of them civilians with little to no military experience – were taught basic combat training as part of a five-week course delivered by the UK and international partner forces.
He viewed defensive training exercises, including a scenario where recruits stormed a trench amid a gun battle. Scenes reminiscent of World War I trench warfare have been commonplace in Ukraine over the past year.
The course, which has been in operation since last summer, is designed to provide recruits with hostile-environment training. Over 35 days, they learn basic fieldcraft, medical care, marksmanship, weapon handling, and awareness of the laws of armed conflict, among other subject areas.
“You are amazing, I don’t know how you do it. I am full of admiration,” the King said to a senior Ukrainian officer shortly after his arrival, UK news agency PA Media reported.
The British Army’s Chief of General Staff, Gen. Patrick Sanders, accompanied the King during his visit and outlined the training being delivered. He later described the monarch’s visit as “an honour” before adding that the international training effort had so far made 10,000 troops combat-ready.
A 32-year-old Ukrainian high school teacher, who volunteered to fight in the war, told PA: “We’ve been mostly digging trenches for now, how to defend a trench and counter attack and take it back.
“One of my favorite parts was the urban terrain which will be particularly useful for fighting in the Donbas (region of Ukraine). The hard fight there is mostly urban and we look forward to putting these skills to use and pushing the enemy back,” he added.