My Journey in Liturgical Music

My name is Viktor Mastoridis. Since 2017, I have been compiling English liturgical texts and music for monthly Children's Vespers gatherings in East London, UK.

During the pandemic, one of our members became a deacon and later a priest in the Antiochian Church. Our Children's Vespers gradually transformed into Great Vespers. In 2023, we received a blessing from His Eminence Silouan, Metropolitan of the British Isles and Ireland, to establish a mission in East London under the name Community of Saints Etheldreda and Sophrony.

By profession, I am a musician and songwriter specializing in Balkan Fusion, and I teach music at a primary school. My path toward liturgical composition began in 2017, when we struggled to sing the Gentle Light hymn and I composed a melody that our community adopted and continues to use today. Even so, I never considered myself a liturgical music composer until 2024, when personal tragedies—a family situation and the suffering of children in Gaza—led me through deep sorrow to discover this calling by God's grace.

With the blessing of my spiritual father, and the approval of several priests and a monk from the Monastery of St John the Baptist in Essex, I began compiling Simplified Obikhod style melodies for services, as well as developing original compositions for some parts of the services.

My Approach

The music I compose follows a simple style: melody and ison, occasionally with two melodies in harmony. In traditional Byzantine chant, the ison provides a drone bass note without words. In my compositions, the ison sings the same words and rhythm as the main melody, as in the Znamenny chants.

My melodies are designed for smaller choirs—even one or two singers can perform them effectively. The style draws from Orthodox musical heritage, particularly Russian and Greek traditions, but I begin with the natural flow and rhythm of the English language.

Sources and Materials

I use three primary text sources, clearly marked on each score:

· The UK Deanery (formerly part of the Russian Exarchate, now within the Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain): 
https://thyateira-deanery.uk/

· The Orthodox Church in America: 
https://www.oca.org/liturgics/service-texts

· The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese: 
https://www.antiochian.org/liturgicday

Many of the hymns published on this site include audio recordings, often made with my wife and daughter, alongside their notation. When possible, I provide multiple text variations from these sources.

Support

All materials are provided at no charge. If you find this work helpful, I would be grateful for your support of this ministry through Patreon.

Thank you for your prayers and support.