Lenten campaign 2026
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Tudor and Adrian’s first video reached 2.6 million views on TikTok. However, this isn’t just another staged performance of a trendy dance or an iteration of some social media trend. It’s two friends praying together through song!
They are both Orthodox Christians, and they use their “Orthodox Brothers” Instagram page (15,800 followers) and TikTok account (48,900 followers) to introduce people to Byzantine chant.
Byzantine chant is a traditional liturgical form of singing in the Orthodox Church, historically developed in Greek (and later in Arabic). They film themselves without any artifice in a church, a living room, or simply in their car, sometimes translating certain songs into other languages to the delight of their followers.
“We get a lot of support and that makes us want to keep going,” explains Tudor in a video with Nikolas Tirrier. Born in Romania, Tudor grew up in the Paris region and has lived in France for almost 20 years. For him, expressing his faith is essential, including on social media.
“You shouldn't be afraid to be a Christian. Growing up, I was a little ashamed, but now I'm proud of it,” he says.
It was under the influence of his father, an Orthodox priest, and through participating in the Divine Liturgy that the young man decided to really learn Byzantine chant. “We don't do this for ourselves; rather, we do it first and foremost for Christ. We have nothing to gain,” he explains.
An ancient and solemn form of liturgical music
Byzantine chant is monodic, meaning that it is based on a single melodic line without harmonization. It is sometimes accompanied by an ison, a note held by other singers to support the tone.
Byzantine chant is essentially oral and melismatic (meaning that several notes support the same syllable, unlike syllabic chant, in which each syllable of the text is sung with a single note), with great importance given to psalmody and vocal ornamentation. It serves primarily to convey the sacred text, often in ancient Greek, in a clear and contemplative manner, promoting inner prayer and solemnity.
This form of singing, codified in the early Christian centuries, remains alive today, particularly in Greek, Syrian, and Arabic Orthodox churches.
