April 10, 2006

The Other Holy Land will be rebroadcast on the Hallmark Channel, Sunday, April 23 at 7:00 a.m. (ET/PT). April 23 is celebrated this year as Easter Sunday in the Orthodox churches. Check local listings. The program, originally broadcast in September 2003, features four geographical areas – Constantinople, Cappadocia, Ephesus and Smyrna – where it becomes strikingly clear that the history of Christianity in The Other Holy Land is also the history of the Greek Orthodox Church.

The one-hour documentary filmed in Turkey and the United States, includes interviews with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop Demetrios of America, Bishop Kallistos Ware, Spalding Lecturer in Eastern Christian Studies at Oxford University and other noted theologians and historians. The use of dramatized voices brings to life primary texts from the early Fathers and Church writers; early texts are juxtaposed with visuals of today's religious services including a Divine Liturgy celebrated by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Cappadocia.

Participants in addition to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop Demetrios and Bishop Kallistos include: Rev. Dr. Robert G. Stephanopoulos, Dean of the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, NYC; Rev. Dr. Demetrios Constantelos, Professor Emeritus of History and Religion, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey; Rev. Dr. Forrest Church, Minister of All Souls Unitarian Church, NYC; Dr. Helen Evans, Curator for Early Christian and Byzantine Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC; Robert Ousterhout, Ph.D, Archeologist, Professor of Architectural History, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and narrator, Robert Aubry Davis.

Produced by Frank Frost Productions in cooperation with the Greek Orthodox Office of News and Information and GOTelecom, the documentary was funded by the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Endowment Fund, The Aegean Free Trade Zone and Faith & Values Media.

DVD and VHS copies of this program are available for purchase at $20 each, plus $6 shipping. Call GOTelecom at 1-800-888-6835. (Bulk orders available)

For more information and to find Hallmark stations in your area log on to: http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/.

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America