LYNDORA - The priest can be heard as he carries his incense censer around the church: Its small tinkling bells make way for the voices.

"Blessed is the kingdom of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit now and ever unto the ages of ages," he chants.

Although they sound like more, the 15 choristers respond to the call, sending a melodious message down from the balcony where they sing.

"Amen."

It sounds like church. But then again, it could be at home - or maybe in the car. The choir can be heard anywhere, since its voices are preserved on a compact disc.

The recording contains the Divine Liturgy, the traditional service delivered at Eastern Orthodox churches.

The recording was done last year at SS. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Lyndora. It was mixed and mastered in New York and reproduced in Ohio.

The CDs are now being sold in various Orthodox bookstores around the country, as well as through the church.

The Rev. Stephan Zencuch, pastor of the church, said he organized the project partly to showcase the choir voices.

"Since I came here three years ago, I (told) myself this is a good choir with good spirituality," said Zencuch after blessing the new product recently at the church. "Since I came here it's been on my mind."

Zencuch said after thinking for a while about the recording, also created for people unable to get to an Eastern Orthodox service, he hired a sound engineer he knew in New York.

"I love their style," Zencuch said of S-Harmony Studio, whose owners are also Orthodox Christians. "The people are the same faith and this means they have experience with the liturgy."

The engineer visited the church in November, spending two days recording in the sanctuary. One session was done on a Saturday with just the priest and choir. The other documented a Sunday service.

The first recording was ultimately used due to the absence of coughing and shuffling sounds from the pews during the live recording.

For Hope Burka, a member of the choir for 63 years, hearing the CD for the first time provided a new perspective on what the choir sounds like

to parishioners

.

"The voices blended very nicely," the 77-year-old soprano said.

"When you're singing, you're not actually hearing everybody. You have that harmony. (So) I didn't really think about it," she noted, crediting good acoustics in the church for enhancing the choir's sound.

The 58-minute recorded Divine Liturgy, which is mostly chanted, includes The Liturgy of the Catechumens, The Liturgy of the Faithful and The Liturgy of Thanksgiving.

Even though the three tracks on the CD comprise a traditional Orthodox service, Burka said much of the CD's content contains standard appeal for all Christians. "The basics are the same," she said.

Burka said she expects the product to aid elderly Christians, many of whom were raised to place high priority on the church. "The church came first," she explained, noting that some elderly shut-ins might feel a spiritual void with limited access to services.

"It's really a blessing. The elderly or confined can listen to it every day and pray - because it's a prayerful service."

Zencuch said final costs for producing the 1,000 CDs were tallied at about $10,000. But donated funds and in-kind duplication from Sony valued at $3,000 meant the church incurred no out-of-pocket costs. "We did not take a penny from the church treasury," he said.

Proceeds from the sales will be put toward debt incurred for recent parking lot work, he said.

In addition to CDs, which will be sold for $17.95, cassette tapes of the Divine Liturgy will also be sold.

To purchase a CD or cassette tape of the Divine Liturgy, call 724-287-4448.