The  art, both pictorial and musical, of His Holiness and Beatitude, Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, is an expression of service of Our Lord, and of great love and gratitude to Him.

We  now wish to draw your attention to a premiere of the year – SANCTUS.

The premiere of AVE MARIA by His Holiness and Beatitude, was held at the V international festival  “ From  Easter  to Ascension”.  And the VI festival has the honor to host the first ever performance of SANCTUS, praising hymn to the Holy Trinity.

SANCTUS (Latin: Holy or Holy Is) is the oldest Christian hymn, being part of a synagogue   service   in the Old Testament,   and later carrying over to Christian liturgy.

SANCTUS, i.e. Holy Is, was part of a liturgy in both the Western and Eastern churches, and naturally, was done in the liturgical languages of the local churches. It is the most important hymn of the Eucharistic canon in the liturgy of any tradition. The hymn is confirmed in the ancient Eastern Christian worship. SANCTUS is also included in Matins in Roman church, as early as in I century, according to the records of St. Pope Clement I, a disciple of St. Peter Prince of the Apostles.

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth!

Pleni sunt caeli et Tera gloria tua! Hosanna in excelsis!

Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini! Hosanna in excelsis!

Holy is, holy is, holy is (by another version – Holy, holy, holy)

Lord (God) of Sabaoth! (Lord Sabaoth) Heaven and earth are full of thy (your) glory! Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!

The text of the Sanctus is a direct paraphrase of the biblical citations and is comprised of two parts. The first part (Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth! Pleni sunt caeli et Tera gloria tua!) Holy is, holy is, holy is Lord (God) of Sabaoth! Heaven and earth are full of thy glory! – is based on the prophet Isaiah's vision (Is. 6:3) of celestial beings, Seraphs, the highest rank of angelic hierarchy, who, full of divine love, are praising God with the words of the Sanctus. Therefore, the Sanctus is frequently called as Seraph' hymn, too.

And the  second  part,  Hosanna in excelsis!  Benedictus  qui venit  in  nomine Domini!  Hosanna  in excelsis! (Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He that cometh  in the  name of  the Lord! Hosanna  in the highest!) is taken from the Gospel of Matthew (Math. 21.9), and is dated from relatively later period. With these words, people met and expressed their love and respect to Jesus on the event of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. And in the Gospel the words are taken from Psalm 117:26, which is a prophecy about Jesus' taking human flesh, in order to save and rescue the mankind from evil.