Father Athanasius Pistolis Protopresbyter, Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral Greenville, SC Father Bless, Dear Father Tom When we are present in the Divine Liturgy, we are mystically transported to the Upper Room. We are mystically in the Heavenly Liturgy singing with the saints and angels! If we are going to use an organ in church, it should be a pipe organ. It should be the best of what we have the ability to offer since we use it in the Divine Liturgy. I am blown away when I think about the Divine Liturgy. We participate mystically in the Liturgy of Heaven and sing with the angels and saints! Isn't that the most awesome thing! We get to commune with God! The poorest person who is an Orthodox Christian is richer than the richest person who is not! Sadly, many people take this rich treasure for granted. I too can be distracted by things. The electronic organ is extremely distracting! It seriously degrades the quality of our music! When almost the entire Liturgy is sung, such a compromise should not be tolerated! Sadly, many Greek Orthodox churches use electronic organs in the Divine Liturgy. If an organ is going to be used in the Sacred Liturgy, it should not be something so obviously fake as what is often used. The Divine Liturgy is an extremely important part of the life of an Orthodox Christian. It is the sacred time when we commune with our Lord and Saviour. The place we use to celebrate the Liturgy is not just some other enclosed space. It is set apart for the Liturgy. It should be furnished and adorned according to the best of our ability! The leftovers of what God has blessed us with should not be what we use in the Church. It is our belief that the use of an electronic organ is a sad compromise and it is a very poor reflection on our church. The result of the electronic organ is seriously compromised music and a choir that has no enthusiasm. We should not be willing to compromise our music when it is a key element of our worship. It is also a horrible embarrassment that such a poor substitute for a real organ is used. Visitors have even made comments that an obviously fake organ like we have is out of place in a church like ours. We the undersigned humbly implore you to allow and even order the replacement of the electronic organ with a small pipe organ. Venerating your right hand,

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