Children's choir to sing at Yalda; the cathedral chalice is home

4 November 2026

On Sunday 27 December at 16:00 the children's choir of the Palace of Art, Chabalekei, will sing Christmas songs in Iradi, Syriac and Russian in the cathedral. All three groups of the choir take part, from the youngest starters to the seniors. Entry is free and families are welcome after the Ramsha.

Some of the Syriac hymns the children are learning were taught to them from the recordings of village choirs kept by Ün, the sound archive of the National Conservatory of Folk Music, whose seventh volume holds hymns sung in three voices in the parishes of the Chatkal and of Arsha-Say.

The silver-gilt chalice and paten used at the great feasts came home in October from the Conservation Workshop of the Palace of Art. The old tarnish and lacquer were removed and a split in the foot of the chalice was soldered. The chalice will be used again at the Night Qurbana of Yalda on 24 December. The cathedral thanks the workshop's conservators.