New York, NY - Eleven dedicated church musicians of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America will be honored on National Church Music Sunday, October 1, 2000. This day is designated as an annual Archdiocese-wide commemoration to occur on the first Sunday in October, following the Feast of St. Romanos the Melodist, the patron saint of church musicians. This year, both The Feast Day and National Church Music Sunday occur on October 1st.

National Church Music Sunday has been set aside to honor the contributions that choir directors, choir members, organists, psaltai, and Church School music educators make to their parishes. In addition, it is a day when the work of the eight diocesan Choir Federations and the National Forum of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians is recognized. Many local parishes hold special recognition events on National Church Music Sunday for their choirs, psaltai, and choir federations.

Church musicians who have served for more than 25 years as choir directors will receive personal recognition from His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios. These individuals will be honored in their home parishes with a medal of St. Romanos the Melodist, the patron saint of church musicians and a certificate of recognition for their "outstanding musical and spiritual contributions to the Greek Orthodox Community of America." The National Forum of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians administers the award for the Archdiocese.

Since the inception of the award in 1988, nearly 250 choir directors have received the Years of Service medal, for years of service ranging from 25 years to 63 years.