Orthodox Biz Blog

Icons in Sound is a relatively new program on the Orthodox Christian Network. The host, Vlad Morosan, is an expert on Orthodox liturgical music. I feel like this is a show that practically every Orthodox Christian needs to listen to, and listen to every week.

Why? Because we don't go to church except on Sunday.

Well, we don't. I'm not pointing fingers. I'm just as guilty as anyone. The fact is that I have been Orthodox 10 years, and have never once been to church for the feast of Our Lord's Ascension.

And that is not the only feast I can say that about. My church is 30 minutes away from my home or office on Sunday, with no traffic. On a weekday? I'm pushing a hour to get to church, and then an hour back to the office. To attend church on a weekday, I have to take the day off from work. I've done that before for the Dormition and some other feasts.

Unfortunately, given deadlines and ongoing projects, trying to schedule days off mid-week is....

Well, you know the drill. This is a big boat, and a lot of us are in it together.

Which is why what Dr. Morosan is doing is so incredibly vital. His Icons in Sound program is following the liturgical calendar of the Church. In each program, he discusses and plays chants for the feasts of the church. As he pointed out in his program on the Ascension, "If you want to know the significance of a feast, listen to the chants which are sung during the services in church."

That's tough to do if you aren't actually in church. But now Dr. Morosan's program is making the hymns of the feast days of the church accessible for everyone with a computer and a sound card. For those of us who don't often get to church during the week, this show is literally a Godsend.

Dr. Morosan's commentary on the hymns is also invaluable. The music of the Orthodox Church is central to our worship and to our understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven. All of us, whether we grew up in the church or not, need to understand this marvelous heritage of ours better than we do.

Icons in Sound can be heard on The Rudder Internet Radio. New shows are always featured on the front page of the OCN site. All shows can be found on the Icons in Sound home page by clicking here.