New York, NY - The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese has been selected to participate in the CBS TV Christmas Eve special An American Christmas to be broadcast December 24th at 11:35 p.m. EST. The one-hour Special will also be broadcast on the Odyssey Network at 2:00 a.m. on Dec. 25th and at 3:00 p.m. on December 26th.
An American Christmas is an engaging drama filled with heart-warming music and striking visual images of the Christmas season. The program illustrates the variety of ways cultural, ethnic, regional, and liturgicalthat Christmas is celebrated in North America at the end of the twentieth century, and that the diversity of our collective spiritual expression enriches us all.
The segment produced by Greek Orthodox Telecommunications (GOTelcom) was produced at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity and St. Paul Chapel in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese headquarters in New York City, and Holy Cross Chapel at Hellenic College/Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline, MA.
His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, spiritual leader of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, opens the segment with Byzantine iconography, Orthodox hymnology and readings, and invites the viewer to celebrate Christmas through the glorious lens of Orthodox Christianity. Participating with His Eminence are the Byzantine Choir of Holy Cross School of Theology and high-school students, Mary Golding and Elias Kefalidis.
An American Christmas is produced by the Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ, in cooperation with the National Council of Churches and the National Interfaith Cable Coalition.