Archon Protopsaltis Leonidas Asteris has fallen asleep in the Lord
Leonidas Asteris, Archon Protopsaltis (Head Chanter) of the Great Church of Christ (Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople), has passed away. He served for many years as Protopsaltis of the Patriarchal Church of Saint George in the Phanar.
Born in 1936 in the famous Galata district of Constantinople, Asteris began his musical journey at the age of five as a “canonarch” at the Church of St. Nicholas. He was trained by the late Panagiotis Konstantinidis, Protopsaltis of the Holy Archdiocese.
At the ages of 10 and 13, he was twice invited to serve in the Patriarchal Church by Archon Lampadarios Thrasyvoulos Stanitsas and Archon Protopsaltis Konstantinos Priggos. Later, as a domestikos (assistant chanter), he sang at the side of his first teacher at the Church of Christ the Saviour in Galata.
From 1958 to 1963, Asteris served as Protopsaltis at the Church of Saint Theodore in Vlanga, under the direction of Father Ioannis Galanis, a student of Iakovos Protopsaltis, from whom he learned much. From 1963 to 1979 he was Protopsaltis in the Metropolis of the Princes’ Islands, working with Stefanos Brousalis. There he met the last Great Domestikos, Anastasios Michailidis, who taught him what he needed to later assume the position of Protopsaltis of the Great Church of Christ.
From 1979 to 1984 he served at the Church of Saint Demetrios in Tatavla. In 1984, Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios and the Holy Synod invited him to become Protopsaltis of the Great Church of Christ, where he served until recently.
Leonidas Asteris was a graduate of the Lyric Stage and Art Conservatory and performed prominently at the Lyric Stage of Constantinople from 1969. He specialised in the German and Italian opera repertoire and studied at the Mozarteum in Salzburg under esteemed mentors such as Schreier and Fischer-Dieskau. He received the Karl Orff Prize and gave a personal concert in the Church of St. Blaise.
In recent years, Asteris has taught at the Department of Music Science and Art at the University of Macedonia, focusing on vocal technique and advanced singing methods for chanters.
The late former Protopsaltis Chanter, Leonidas Asteris, funeral service will be held at the Patriarchal Cathedral on Friday, 6 December 2024, at 14:00.
His burial will occur at the Holy Transfiguration Cemetery in Sisli.
The announcement of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is as follows:
The Ecumenical Patriarchate announces the repose in the Lord of the late Leonidas Asteris, former Chief Cantor of the Great Church of Christ.
His funeral service will be held on Friday, 6 December 2024, at 2:00 p.m. in the Patriarchal Cathedral and his burial will take place at the Cemetery of the Holy Transfiguration in Sisli.
Source: orthodoxtimes.com
