Listening to the Valaam Easter night service as #workmuzik. Orthodox chant -- very powerful and clear. Near the end, they read the beginning of the Gospel of John, first in Greek, then in several other languages, including English. The last time I heard them read it (on broadcast) was last year, in Cluj -- I had just come back from the (RC) night Mass at the medieval Hungarian church, and had made a slight detour to visit both the Greek Catholic and the state church -- the latter was extraordinary, basically a large village, all were standing on the low hill outside the church, between the two roads (including some road workers from the nearby construction in high-vis vests, holding candles), like Blaga's notion of the Plaii -- the reciprocal calls of "Christ is Risen / Truly risen" in the local language, from the white-bearded folks around the altar constructed on the porch, calling to every soul in the village around them. Extraordinary.
