The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-12 00:00:00

Te Deum at the Greek Church.

The small but important community of Greek
merchants in London manifested their fidelity to

George 1., the second King of Greece, by causing a
grand ge Deunt to be sung yesterday in honour of
his Majesty at the Greek Church in London Wall,
on which occasion the King kindly honoured his

subjects dwelling in London by his presence.
The church is a small but well-built edifice in the
Byzantine style, having a high vaulted roof. It was
erected about 20 years since by the Greek residents
of London, who bought the ground and expended
altogether about £20,000 in the work. In order to
accommodate a tithe of the applicants for admission
a gallery was erected at the end of the church oppo-

site the altar, but the other arrangements were, we
believe, the same as on ordinary occasions, except
that the pillars supporting the gallery on either side
were entwined with white and red roses, intermixed
with gilt laurel leaves, the same means of decoration
being continued round the arches above the galleries,
The front of the gallery erected for the occasion was
draped with crimson cloth, and decorated with gilt
ornaments, and in the centre was the following in-
scription, " 1-4(;)teroe BCTAE;tS' TCOV EXV/VCOV-ITITCO,''
(" Live George King of the Greeks.") Besides the
decorations already alluded to, at the top of the
pillars and between the arches were the flags of
England, Denmark, and Greece entwined, the Greek
flag in the centre. As a further and symbolical
sign of welcome, though somewhat a novel mode to
English eyes, the carpet with which the floor of the
church is covered, and also the steps leading to the
altar, were strewn with laurel and bay leaves and
sprigs of rosemary. The altar-screen of the church
is ornamented with some beautiful paintings of
scriptural subjects in accordance with the usual
custom in the Greek churches, where graven images,
with the exception of that of the cross, are not
allowed, but where pictures aro freely displayed,
and are held in such high honour that they are
lavishly ornamented with gold and precious stones.
In front of the altar were two beautiful gilt stands
holding three tall wax tapers, while behind these
were fixed two silver censers or lamps.
It had been proposed to erect a throne for the
accommodation of the King, but on this fact be-
coming known to his Majesty, he, with becoming
modesty, declined to assent to this arrangement, and
expressed his intention to stand during the service,the
in accordance with the orthodox practicethree
Church in the kingdom of Greece,
one of the of
and
branches of "The Holy Orthodox
resulted that the
Catholic,
Apostolic Church." Thus, then, i
only arrangement made for the King's aceomoda-
tion was the placing of a simple hearth-rug on the
floor of the church in front of the pillars supporting
the gallery to the left of the altar. As we have in-
timated, the applications for admission made to the
members of the committee were exceedingly nume-
rous, but, with a view
hte o the proper accommodation
of those to whom t was granted, the
number of tickets issued was very limited. The
principal portion of the ladies were assigned places
in the newly-erected gallery, while others were
accommodated in one of the side galleries. The
spaces beneath two of the galleries were occupied
exclusively by gentlemen ; while the gallery on the
left of the altar was also devoted to the use of the
male portion of the congregation, it being custo-
mary in the Greek churches to separate the sexes
Amongst the gentlemen present were M. Thorben
de Bille, the Danish Minister in London ; Count
Putiatine; Mr. Hazlewood, chairman of the Greek
bondholders. The following members of the Phil-
hellenic Committee were also present :—The Earl of
Coventry, Vice-Admiral Burney, Mr. Jas. Wyld,
MY., Mr. J. F. Maguire, ALP. (vice-presidents),
Mr. John Locke, M.P., Mr. J. Pope Hennessy,
ei.p., with the Hon. Secretary Stephanos Xcnos,
and the Secretary Mr. J. F. O'Brien. The only
gentleman who wore the Greek costume was M.
Cleves, of Cephalonia. The point as to dress was,
as we understood, decided by his Majesty, who had
suggested that simple English costume would be
more desirable than the gaudy Greek habit. Among
those present was also M. Eugenius Popoff, the
priest of the Russian Church in London, wearing a
clerical robe, and displaying the insignia of several
orders and other decorations. He, however, took
no part in the ceremony.
As the doors had been opened at 10 o'clock,
the majority of the congregation were in their
places before 11, shortly after which hour the
Archimandrito Morphinos, the officiating minister
of the church, appeared at the centre opening ofwt:os
altar-screen, from which a gorgeous screen`
the
drawn aside, and recited some portions
he
psalms and some short prayers, in
which
of the
was assisted by M. A gathidee,
the tre'himandrite,
church. At the appearance of ,
a buzz of conversation, which
hiot}e'e been going on,
utmost attention
i was instantly bushed, "da,.t This short eerviee,
was paid to the sacred wee
hour, when the priest
lasted about a quarter of
r-eicriaell e time afterwards
and the buzz of
eon,
those per.
retired within -the altda
versation was renew
caked, and requested
M. Morphinos reaPP
ht be disposed to be
so
present,
who might
ions of fidelity to exuberant
rations the King on
in their dereoce
that
to consider the building
his arrival, within
which they ,
18,2 n a , were was a chureh, and always had
et,orca. He hoped tlinfr.,,.'e that they

ld receive his Majeslf without any cl \e6
any such a departure &inn strict decorum \
very distasteful to the King. This cautioe:r
rected to a few Greek captains of vessels
cupied on© of the galleries, and was alp\
necessary, inasmuch as on one memorably
celebration the same class of men had actin,
brought loaded pistols in the church, and whi
shouting and giving vent to their joy at the recu.
r.
rence of this festival they had fired their weapons,
to their intense delight, but to the extreme horror
and fright of many ladies present. The priest an-
nounced. however, that they might give one
" zyrw," at his Majesty's departure. The caution
seemed scarcely necessary, judging by the propriety
with which these men conducted themselves, but
no doubt his reverence thought that the demonstra-
tive tendencies of his countrymen were not to be
trusted.

,About 10 minutes before 12 his Majesty arrived,
and was received at the entrance by the wardens'
of the church, Messieurs B. Melas, Etienne A.
Ralli, and Emmanuel Mavrogordato, with Messrs.
Pantia Etienne 11111 i, Etienne Franghiadi, Antoine
Mavrogordato, Eustratio Etienne Ralli, Mothieu
F. Mavrogordato, C. Geralopulo, and Stamati M.
Zizinie, with whom were also Mr, A. C. ioniLlcs,
Greek consul-general at London ; Mr. D. N. Gen '-
copulo, Greek consul at Liverpool; and Mr. S. N..
,Frangoputo, Greek consul at Manchester. The Mi-
nisters of the Greek Church in England, the Archi-
mandrite Morphiuos, the Archimandrite Stratoulis
of Liverpool, and M. Moro of Manchester, attired
in their magnificent satin robes, richly adorned with
enormous wax tapers, also pro-
pgioilededanbdoyssilvbeera,rinanad, preceded by two white-sur-
ceeded to the entrance of the church to receive his
Majesty. The Archimandrite Morphinos bore a
copy of the Old and New Testament, enshrined in a
magnificent binding, and carried reverently acrosa

the breast.
His Majesty,whowasattendedbyCount Sponneelr,
Baron Guldencrone, Lieut. Fanch, Lieut. Leth,
Philemon, and Professor Keeppen, was conducted
to the position assigned to him, when the service
immediately began by the choir, conducted by M:
N. Coves, chanting the Psalm of David—Tic OE6c
INIE"-yas Ws.6 ecOs ' (" Who is so great a god as
our God ?") After which a mass of St. Chrysostom
was chanted, and then portions of the Evangelists
were read by the officiating minister. A short pause
ensued, and then the officiating priests, preceded
by the boys with tapers, entered the bay of the
church (which was kept clear of the congregation),
bearing the sacramental elements and a richly-
adorned cross. The service altogether was marked
by much splendour of ceremonial, and the hymns
and other portions were beautifully chanted. The
effect was very grand, even though unaccompanied
by any instrumented music, as euch is forbidden in
the Greek Church, where singing is universally in
use. Three prayers were also offered—one for his
Majesty by the Archimandrite Morphinos, the second
for all the faithful by the Archimandrite Stratoulis,
and the third for those who died in the cause of
independence by M. Moros. A beautiful Hymn to
the King was also sung. At the conclusion of the
liturgy the grand Te Deum burst from the choir, and
almost electrified the congregation by the marvel-
lous grandeur of the music and the ability with
which it was executed. The words were the same
as in the "Te Deum laudamus," sung in our
own church. The service was concluded by the
benediction from NI. Morphinos, when the King
quitted the church, and was conducted to the door
by the deputation who received his Majesty at his
entrance, preceded by the officiating ministers.
There was no ebullition of feeling on the depar-
ture of the King, as might have been expected from
the permission given by M. Morphinos; but outside
the church in London-wall there was an immense
crowd assembled, partly composed of Greeks, but
the greater portion were the residents of the locality.
Some cheering took place, but it was not of a very
enthusiastic nature on the part of the English, who
were, we hope, restrained by a feeling of the sacred-
ness due to the day, and the Greeks, for whom
every allowance must be made under the circum-
stances, were too few in number to be very effectual
in their cheering, though their loyalty was abun-
dantly manifest.
The 7e Deum, the Hymn, as well as some of the
other pieces of sacred music, were composed expressly
for the occasion by M. Covas, the master and leader
of the choir, and from the general satisfaction they
gave he is to be congratulated on his success. M.
Coves, through diligent study, has been able to com-
bine in the compositions the impressive tunes of the
ancient sacred music of the Greek Church with the
harmony of the new European school, which is a
very difficult work, and deserves every praise. We
understand that he has dedicated these works to his
Hellenic Majesty.

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