In February of 1992, when two American priests arrived in Vladivostok at the invitation of Bishop Joseph Werth, S.J., the apostolic administrator of the Asian part of Russia, no one in the bishop's vast diocese (more than one and a half times the size of the continental United States) knew any Catholic liturgical music or religious hymns in his own language! This may be hard for Catholics in other parts of the world to imagine, yet it is a striking example of the condition of Catholicism throughout Russia during the Soviet period (1917-91).

Fr. Myron Effing and Fr. Daniel Maurer arrived on a Tuesday. That meant they had less than five days to look for something to sing in Russian for the first Sunday Mass to be celebrated in Vladivostok in over 60 years.

Why was there no liturgical music in Russian? The explanation lies in 20th-century Church history. Before Vatican Council II (1963-65), the Mass of the Roman rite was celebrated in Latin everywhere in the world, including Russia. The only ones who sang were the members of the choir, and at least 95% of what they sang was in Latin. Sometimes in the decades just before the council, choirs were allowed to sing a hymn in the local language after communion.

From 1917 to 1989, the Roman Catholic Church was persecuted to extinction in Russia. All bishops were exiled or killed; all parishes but two "showcase" churches in Moscow and Leningrad were closed and most of the buildings destroyed. The parish in Vladivostok, which before Communism had as many as 10,000 members, was closed in 1930. After that there is no definite information of a Catholic priest visiting the area until 1991, although some people have told us that there was one priest who made a clandestine trip to the outlying areas sometime in the 1950s. All this means that after the liturgical changes inspired by Vatican Council II there had been no development of liturgical music in Russian because there was NO Catholic Church in Russia.

Canons Regular of Jesus the Lord

Fr. Myron and Fr. Daniel are members of a new community of canons called the Canons Regular of Jesus the Lord. One of the essential works of the priestly communities of canons is to pray the official liturgies of the Church (the Mass and the Divine Office) in a joyful and solemn way in a public setting with the laity—usually in a cathedral parish or other large, urban church. To do this, liturgical music is essential. The revival of the charism of the canons regular after Vatican II is a timely development which should not surprise Church historians. The post-Vatican II period is the first time in the history of the Roman rite that the liturgy has been given back to the people in their own languages, which they can fully understand and in which they can more easily participate in a heartfelt way. With so many centuries of popular liturgical experience, canons regular have just the charism of which the liturgical renewal can make good use.

When the two American canons arrived in Vladivostok in 1992, the nearest Catholic parish in Russia was over 3000 miles away. Moreover, it had existed for less than two years and it served a predominantly German-speaking community with Sunday Mass in German. So there was nowhere to go to look for Catholic hymns in Russian. If the parishioners were to sing something in their own Russian language, the only alternative was to look in the local Protestant community.

"Holy God, We Praise Thy Name"

The first Russian-English translator for the two American priests, Mr. Igor Davidov, was a newly converted member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. (He later became a Catholic.) Fr. Dan asked him if his Adventist parish sang hymns in Russian. He said of course they did. Fr. Dan asked him to hum one of the melodies. He did, but Fr. Dan did not recognize it, so he asked him to hum another one. Again, it was not familiar. The third one was clearly the melody usually used for the traditional German Catholic favorite "Holy God, We Praise Thy Name" (Grosser Gott). Fr. Dan began to hum along, and then asked Igor if he could get the Russian words that the Adventists sang in time to make song sheets for the first Sunday Mass. The next day Igor brought a copy of the Russian Adventist hymnal Psalms of Sion, published in Moscow in 1927, during Soviet times. Igor made a rough translation of the text into English so that Fr. Dan, who at that point did not speak any Russian, could hear if the words were compatible with Catholic doctrine. They turned out to be a very good Russian translation of the exact meaning of the Catholic hymn, which in both the original German and in English is a translation of the ancient Catholic Latin hymn Te Deum (We Praise You, God).

First Sunday Mass in Over 60 Years

Because one hymn is not enough for a Sunday Mass, Fr. Myron also decided to teach the people the most simple version of the Latin Sanctus. So Fr. Dan made a hymn sheet with these two songs, one in Russian and one in Latin, and before Sunday Mass, he led a music rehearsal for all the people present. The Roman Catholic faithful of Vladivostok have been singing in Russian and Latin ever since.

This was the beginning of Russian liturgical music development for the Roman rite in the vast area of the Russian Far East.

Russian Liturgical Music Society of St. Augustine

In 1993 Fr. Dan founded the Russian Liturgical Music Society of St. Augustine. The purpose of the society is to find, translate, compose, and disseminate beautiful liturgical music in Russian suitable for the Roman Catholic rite.

The first hymnal published by the Society of St. Augustine, My Soul Proclaims the Greatness of the Lord, was printed in 1994 in a format that allowed the easy addition of new pages into the center of the hymnal as new hymns and Mass parts became available. The first printing of 200 copies, containing 40 hymns and Mass parts, was printed on the small, tabletop Canon copier that was an indispensable gift to the Vladivostok mission from Fr. Joseph Fessio of Ignatius Press in 1992. After that, pages of new hymns were added regularly as parishioners would translate or compose new texts for existing melodies, or as our parish organist Anna Gafurova would compose a new musical setting for some part of the Mass.

A second edition of the same hymnal, bound with black plastic comb binders and containing over 130 hymns and Mass parts and various prayers used in the liturgy, was published in 1998. It comprises both a text-only version for use in the pews and a musical notation version for the use of organists and choirs. The professional printing of both versions was made possible by donations from Fr. Dan's maternal grandmother (age 96 at the time of publication), who is a pianist, organist, music teacher, and choir director, and by an anonymous non-Catholic American benefactor who currently worked at the American consulate general in Vladivostok.

Other Projects

Other projects of the Russian Liturgical Music Society of St. Augustine have been:

1. distribution of the above-mentioned hymnals to all Roman rite Catholic parishes and religious communities in Russia and Kazakhstan;
2. periodic updating of the hymnal with newly composed or newly translated hymns;
3. composing of a musical setting for the Liturgy of the Hours, Sunday Morning Prayer, Week I;
4. liturgical music training workshops for parish organists and liturgical musicians;
5. liturgical music development classes for society members;
6. production and distribution of two cassette tapes of hymns and service music;
7. frequent collaboration with other people working in liturgical music development in Russia, including Sr. Valentina Novakovskaya in Moscow, Fr. Anton Romme in Novosibirsk, and Sr. Roberta in Irkutsk; and
8. founding of the parish choir in 1992 by parishioner Anna Gafurova, and its subsequent growth and development. It is the only permanent Catholic adult parish choir in the diocese of Eastern Siberia. In the great Jubilee Year 2000, the choir, under the direction of Svetlana Naumova, was privileged to be invited by Bishop Jerzy Mazur to the solemn consecration of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Irkutsk 1500 miles away.

Vladivostok choir and parishioners who attended solemn dedication of new cathedral in Irkutsk, Sept. 10, 2000. Picture was taken on steps of sanctuary in front of main altar. Fr. Myron is second from left; Fr. Daniel is on right. Fr. Yevgeny Peregudov (then deacon) kneels in front near Sr. Alicia Gonzalo (superior of Sisters of Charity of St. Ann in Vladivostok); seminarian Yevgeny Balanyov is in front in white cassock, next to Sr. Eugenia. Sr. Rosario stands next to organist Marina Omelchenko in center.

Hymn Text Translation and Composition

The ongoing work of composing new, liturgical, metered hymn texts in Russian and the translating of metered hymns from Latin, English, Spanish, German, and French into Russian has been one of the greatest achievements of the Russian Liturgical Society of Saint Augustine.

This work is more difficult than it may seem at first glance: to find a way to express well the mysteries of our Christian faith and the praise of our hearts and minds in good Russian within the confines of easy-to-sing, metered melodies is a great challenge, especially with the polysyllabic structure of the Russian language, where words are often six to eight syllables long. We are thankful to God for the talents of many people in this regard. Most notably among them, the names of two Vladivostok parishioners must be mentioned:

Yevgeny (Eugene) Kustov, a young man who became a Catholic in 1995 and who is responsible for the translation of over 20 hymns, including many Christmas carols such as "Away in a Manger" and "What Child is This?". In 2000 Yevgeny moved with his new wife to St. Petersburg. Since then he has continued to collaborate with St. Augustine's through conventional and electronic mail.

Fr. Daniel plays hymn melody as Evgeny Kustov and young boy look on. Evgeny has translated over 20 hymns into beautiful, metered, rhyming Russian lyrics.

Viktor Anisimov, a full-time employee of the parish who is in charge of the Catholic catechism lessons by mail and internet and who maintains the mission's Russian website. Viktor has translated 6 hymns for us, including virtually all of our Easter hymns, such as "The Strife is O'er, the Battle Done," "O Sons and Daughters," "Jesus Christ is Risen Today," and "Sing With All the Sons of Glory."

Viktor Anisimov, translator of several liturgical hymns into Russian, especially Easter hymns.

Highly Talented Organists and Choir Directors

Over the years the liturgical music development program has benefited from the great talent and dedication of our organists and choir directors:

Anna Gafurova, founding choir director and organist (1992-95). Anna is a member of the first baptismal class of the parish (June 1992). At the time she began our parish choir she was a student at the Vladivostok Academy of the Arts. She went on to graduate in 1994 with a double degree in music theory and piano performance. She composed the music for many of the settings for our Russian Mass, including various versions of the Kyrie, Acclamation of Faith, Amen, and Lamb of God.

Marina Omelchenko, organist (1995-present). Marina was Anna's classmate and graduated from the same Academy. Marina is now an instructor of music theory and history there. She composed the music for Sunday Morning Prayer. Through the generosity of benefactors Mr. and Mrs. Terry Baltes of Dayton, Ohio, Marina was able to travel to the United States in the summer of 2002 to take a course of organ lessons for the first time in her life. In 1996 she became the first organist to give a public concert in Vladivostok. Since then she has developed a yearly concert series of 16 organ concerts and festivals, playing for all of them and acting as artistic and program director. (See our web page on Organ Concert Series of Sacred Music.)

Head parish organist Marina Omelchenko at console of "Epiphany organ," gift from Church of the Epiphany, Coon Rapids, Minnesota.

Ekaterina Yankina (Katia), choir director (1995-99). Katia is also a member of the first baptismal class in 1992. She graduated in 1997 with an associate of arts degree in choir directing from the Vladivostok School of Music. Besides directing the parish choir for three years, she worked in the music development program, composing settings for the Russian version of the Kyrie and correcting mistakes in Russian hymn translations by foreigners.

Tatiana Yankina (Tanya). Tanya is the twin sister of Katia and also a member of that first (very successful) baptismal class. A charter member of the parish choir, she became the layout designer and editor of the second edition of the parish hymnal My Soul Proclaims the Greatness of the Lord (1997-98).

Svetlana Naumova (Sveta), parish choir director (1999-2003). Sveta was baptized at the Easter Vigil in the Jubilee Year. She composed the lyrics for a beautiful hymn about the Annunciation and Incarnation of the Lord that we used for the first time at our parish's major celebration of the Jubilee Year, March 25, 2000. Sveta recently graduated from the Vladivostok Academy of Arts magna cum laude with a master's degree in choral music directing. An extremely talented choir director, she brought the parish choir to a new level of excellence. She is the founder and director (2001-03) of the professional Catholic Concert Choir of Vladivostok. In June 2003, after graduation, Sveta left Vladivostok for Kaliningrad, Russia, where she is to be married in July and where she and her husband Valdas will live. Her leaving is a great loss for the parish and the music development program. We wish her abundant blessings in her marriage and great success in her music. She has a bright future ahead of her in the world of choral music.

Some Very Special People

We would like to thank the following people for their help with the music program:

Fr. Bernard Reiser, pastor emeritus of the Church of the Epiphany in Coon Rapids, Minnesota (Minneapolis region). In 1995 Fr. Reiser donated to the parish in Vladivostok the major gift of a powerful electronic organ, the Cambridge 220-II, built by the Rodgers Instrument Company of Hillsboro, Oregon, in 1973. Only because of this organ has the parish in Vladivostok been able to make such progress in liturgical music development. Without it, of course, the organ concert program would be unimaginable. Everyone in the parish is undyingly grateful to Fr. Reiser and the people of Epiphany for this wonderful gift that has brought joy and prayerful reflection to them and to many thousands of people who have attended the concerts of sacred organ music.

Fr. Bernard Reiser, pastor of Church of the Epiphany, Coon Rapids, Minnesota, and Fr. Daniel. Photo taken in Church of the Epiphany, 1997.

Susan Gray, member and former head organist of Vladivostok's sister parish of St. Jude in Cabot, Arkansas. Susan has played an indispensable role in the liturgical music development of the Vladivostok parish. Susan visited us in 1995 when we first received the Epiphany organ. At that time she presented four master classes of introduction to the organ for more than 60 musicians in Vladivostok, most of whom had never seen an organ before. She also gave our parish organist Marina Omelchenko her first organ lessons, and showed her how to choose organ stop registrations for sacred music. Susan returned to Vladivostok in 2002 to be the main presenter at the first workshop for liturgical musicians in the Vladivostok deanery. The daughter of a professional violinist and sister of another professional musician, Susan studied piano and organ privately for many years. She is a fine organist, a great teacher and presenter, and a very knowledgeable liturgist. She has also worked tirelessly in her position as grant writer to search for funds for the charitable and social works of our parishes. Another St. Jude parishioner, tenor soloist Dan Pyne, has also helped in the musical development program, providing our parish with sheet music and other resources. We are very grateful to them for all their help.

Organist Marina Omelchenko (left) and Susan Gray during Susan's first trip to Vladivostok in summer 1996.

The members of the parish of St. Charles Borromeo in Kettering, Ohio. In June 2003, the parish of St. Charles Borromeo sent the Vladivostok mission a gift of a Rodgers Providence 330 organ (built in 1974). It is larger than our present Rodgers Cambridge 220-II, with the addition of one more keyboard and three more speaking stops. After it clears the Russian customs process, it will be placed in the church nearer to the sanctuary, where it can easily be moved into the center of the sanctuary for organ concerts. Not only will the organ have more musical flexibility, its placement will allow us to increase the number of seats available for each concert from 200 to well over 300. The present Rodgers Cambridge organ, located in the rear choir loft, will continue to be used for all Sunday and feast day Masses at which the parish choir sings.

The Future Looks Bright!

Recently Kelly Whittier, a U.S. candidate for the Sisters in Jesus the Lord and the holder of a master's degree in organ, has declared her desire to come to Russia to work in the liturgical music development program. Among her goals is to put the Russian translation of the Liturgy of the Hours into music. This may be the answer to 11 years of prayer on the part of the Canons Regular of Jesus the Lord. Please pray with the canons for the continued growth and development of Russian liturgical music for the Roman rite of the Catholic Church.

We will post more information about the developments in the liturgical music program and sacred music concert program as it becomes available.