Taizé service

The Cathedral is illuminated by candlelight. Time for God – Time for oneself – Time for one another. The room is filled with the first few beautiful notes emanating from the piano. The voices and other instruments become fused in celebration and praise of God. The Taizé Evenings are a moving service of worship. Every month sees hundreds of people celebrate on one occasion at Berlin Cathedral.

The small village of Taizé, ten kilometres north of Cluny, is home to the Communauté de Taizé, an international, ecumenical order of men. The community is best known for its ecumenical youth meetings, to which thousands of visitors of many nationalities and denominations make a pilgrimage every year.

The Taizé services in Berlin Cathedral are strongly orientated towards the rules of the French brothers, but have developed their own profile over the years. Unlike in France, the participants do not sit on the floor, but in rows of pews. During the service, visitors light candles so that by the end of the celebration, the entire church is lit up by hundreds of lights. Prayers are almost always sung at Taizé services. Cantor Christopher Sosnick supports the singers with his piano playing, together with Holger Robbers as lead singer and musicians on the violin, clarinet, bass, flute.