The Roman Foundation for Sacred Music and Art, a foundation closely associated with the Holy See, held a concert of Russian sacred music as part of the 24th Festival of Sacred Music and Art in the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola on Nov. 12. When the Foundation proposed this performance, it was immediately supported by the Moscow Patriarchate; by Metropolitan Anthony, the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations; and by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Russian Ministry of Culture. “All the pieces of this ‘mosaic’ came together to create a wonderful celebration of Russian spiritual culture,” said Russian Ambassador to the Vatican Ivan Soltanovsky.
It had been some years since the choir had performed in Rome, and to an enthusiastic audience. “I would like to remind you that the word ‘pontiff’ comes from the Latin ‘pontifex,’ which literally means ‘bridge builder,” Ambassador Soltanovsky told Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the Russian government newspaper. “This evening is, in essence, a cultural bridge across the barriers and walls erected by politics. The bridge was built within the context of our mutually respectful relations with the Vatican, thanks to a sincere commitment to dialogue and respect for each other’s spiritual heritage,” said Soltanovsky.
