"The Passion According to St. Matthew"
("La passione secondo Matteo")
March 29, 2007, the eve of Holy Week

In 2007, Easter falls on the same day for the Roman Catholic and for the Orthodox Churches: April 8. A few days before Easter, there will be a remarkable musical meditation on the Passion of Christ in Rome involving leading Russian musicians and leading Vatican officials.

Pope Benedict XVI shares the late John Paul II's hope and vision: Reunion with the Orthodox. So, this concert will take on a special ecumenical significance - another small step in the reunification of these two Churches.

• The Passion According to St. Matthew was composed by Hilarion Alfeyev, Russian Orthodox Bishop of Vienna.
• It is an Orthodox reading of the Passion story based on the Orthodox liturgical text.
• The concert will be performed by one of the leading orchestras of Russia, the Tchaikovsky Great Symphony Orchestra, and by the Choir of the Tretyakov Gallery.
• The foremost Russian conductor, Vladimir Fedoseev, will conduct this performance.
• The concert will take place the evening of March 29, 2007 at the Auditorium Conciliazone which is only two or three blocks from the Vatican in Rome.

This concert is unusual in its location, subject, composer, conductor, performers and, last but not least, its listeners: Cardinals Paul Poupard of the Pontifical Council for Culture and Cardinal Walter Kasper of the Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, representatives of the Russian Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow, and Mr. Nikolai I. Sadchikov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentionary of the Russian Federation to the Holy See. Invitations will also be sent to the heads of all the dicasteries of the Roman Curia, and to the entire diplomatic community in Rome accredited to the Holy See.

And so Rome, and the world, will hear a concert on the evening of March 29 which may mark a major advance forward in Catholic-Orthodox friendship on the eve of Holy Week.

Inside the Vatican is a sponsor and the organizer of this concert. Would you like to join Inside the Vatican in person and sponsor the concert as well?

$1,000 - $1,500 – Contributor (listed in program, 2 reserved seats in front section and 2 VIP reception tickets)

$1,501 - $5,000 – Ambassador (listed in program, 6 reserved seats in front section, 6 VIP reception tickets, sponsor dinner for 2)

$5,001 - $10,000 – Patron (listed in program, 12 reserved seats, 12 VIP reception tickets, sponsor dinner for 2, plus private tour of  the Vatican for 2)

If you would like to sponsor and attend the concert please contact Debbie Tomlinson, VP of Development, for Inside the Vatican at 904.699.0960 or dtomlinson@insidethevatican.com.

If you would just like to attend the concert, tickets are available from GreenTicket: Italian, English (if you are having problems finding the tickets in English, please contact dtomlinson@insidethevatican.com).

Order The Passion According to St. Matthew on DVD