NEW YORK: October 19, 2010
An Akathist Before the Icon of the Mother of God “Healer of Cancer” to be Performed at New York’s Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection

On October 22, 2010, at 7:30 pm, an akathist to the Mother of God " The Healer of Cancer" will be performed at the Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection, 59 East Second Street, New York, NY. The service is scheduled to be held the week after the widely-known Avon Breast Cancer Walk as a  cancer research fundraiser, to enhance cancer awareness, and to provide support ministry to the afflicted and their families. A new musical setting for the English text of the akathist has been composed by  Robert Sirico, reader and choir director at  Saint John the Theologian Church [OCA],  Shirley, NY, and founder of the "Orthodox Christian Music Project." The akathist will be sung by the Synodal Choir of the  Russian Orthodox Church Outside of  Russia, conducted by Maestro Peter Fekula. At the reception that will follow, Dr Steven Sugarman, Director of Oncological Research at Sloan Memorial Kettering Cancer Hospital, will address the gathering. More info is available on the cathedral web site at nycathedral.org.