Orthodox Arts Journal

Acoustical Considerations in Orthodox Church Design by Andrew Gould - As a designer of Orthodox churches, I am frequently asked whether a proposed church building will have good acoustics. Acoustics is a complex matter that cannot always be catagorized as simply “good” or “bad”. In order to shed some light on this topic, I am going to discuss the various acoustical characteristics encountered in churches,… ... Continue reading »

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Murals for the Burning Bush Chapel and Prothesis at St John of the Ladder in Greenville, South Carolina by Seraphim O'Keefe - Introduction to the Project I have been commissioned to design and paint the wall iconography for the parish church of St. John of the Ladder in Greenville, South Carolina. This beautiful temple is of Andrew Gould’s design. His OAJ article about it appears here. I intend to post updates on the iconography project occasionally. As… ... Continue reading »

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Blessed Art Thou among Women—a New Release by the PaTRAM Institute Singers by Vladimir Morosan - Blessed Art Thou among Women—a New Release by the PaTRAM Institute Singers, Peter Jermihov, Conductor Reviewed by Vladimir Morosan The liturgical tradition of the Orthodox Church is extremely rich with hymnography in honor of the Virgin Mary—the Most Holy Theotokos or Mother of God, as she is typically referred to. Virtually every complex of Orthodox… ... Continue reading »

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A Constellation of Chandeliers – Some Recent Lighting Projects by Andrew Gould - I have written some articles in the past about large choros chandeliers that I have designed and installed. But today, I’d like to introduce a number of other lighting projects: individual or unusual fixtures, chandeliers in interesting places, and other pieces I’ve had the pleasure of making. I will start with a recent chandelier I… ... Continue reading »

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Creating Culture Today by Jonathan Pageau - https://youtu.be/DrIeOMi13JU In this video, I interview Benedict Sheehan and his wife Talia-Maria. Benedict is well known by OAJ readers as a composer and the music director at St-Tikhon's Seminary. He has been quite active in the world of Orthodox music and recently celebrated for his composition of a Divine Liturgy. In the last few months,… ... Continue reading »

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Murals for the Burning Bush Chapel and Prothesis at St John of the Ladder in Greenville, South Carolina

Creating Culture Today

The Icon Painting of Fr. Stamatis Skliris: A Call for Authenticity

Blessed Art Thou among Women—a New Release by the PaTRAM Institute Singers

A Retractable Icon Screen

Acoustical Considerations in Orthodox Church Design

Review of “TREASURE IN A BOX: A Guide to the Icons of St Andrew” by Mary Kathryn Lowell

Introducing the Institute of Sacred Arts at St. Vladimir’s Seminary

Orthodox Church Design Featured in The Pennsylvania Gazette

Byzantine Music is Choral Music

On Pronouncing Saints’ Names in English

Iconography Shows us the Pattern of Reality

Andrew Gould Featured in New Book and New Website

Preparatory Drawings as Temporary Icons: An Alternative Solution

Coming Full Circle: A Masterclass at the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra

Fr Gregory Kroug – An Exhibition Honoring the 50th Anniversary of his Repose

A Beautiful Church for Holy Cross Monastery in West Virginia

Worship in the Workshop: Providing Opportunities to Raise the Bar

The Living Icon

An Interview with Iconographer Vladimir Grygorenko – His Recent Work and Developing Style

Introducing the Institute of Sacred Arts at St. Vladimir’s Seminary - The Holy Liturgy in the Orthodox Church can be said to be the aspiration towards, if not the actualization of, a “complete work of art” – a synthesis of all the arts – whether it be music, painting, mosaic, embroidery, poetry, architecture, sculpture, choreography, rhetoric, etc., at the service of theology and divine worship.… ... Continue reading »

Orthodox Church Design Featured in The Pennsylvania Gazette - My design work for Orthodox Churches has been featured in an article in The Pennsylvania Gazette, the magazine of University of Pennsylvania (my alma mater). It includes an interview discussing how I came to my vocation and my philosophy of traditional church design, followed by a lengthy excerpt from the book Charleston Fancy. I am… ... Continue reading »

The Icon Painting of Fr. Stamatis Skliris: A Call for Authenticity - It could be said that Fr. Stamatis Skliris ranks as one of the most important, albeit idiosyncratic and challenging, contemporary iconographers residing in Greece today: idiosyncratic, because his style stands out in a category of its own, in its personal, expressive potency and unique, at times odd, pictorial synthesis; challenging, because he often breaks all norms or expectations of what a traditional icon is “supposed” to look like. He doesn’t seem to fit any stereotypical standards. Thus at times he leaves the viewer feeling uneasy. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that to some his work and ideas rank as “controversial”, in their daring and unconventional approach, especially since his style consists of a fertile synthesis of the icon painting tradition with modern visual trends. Hence, though I’ve been hesitating for a while, I have finally decided to go ahead and discuss his work, since to do otherwise would be a major oversight on our part. He is simply a major contributor to the revival of icon painting, in both the realm of theory[i] and practice, and cannot be readily dismissed or ignored as insignificant. Fr. Stamatis Skliris was born in Piraeus in 1946. Initially… ... Continue reading »

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Richard Barrett
Fr. Steven Bigham
Andrew Gould
John A. Graham

Aidan Hart
Lynette Hull
Fr. Silouan Justiniano

Markos Kampanis
Nicholas Kotar
Mary Lowell

Fr. Ivan Moody
Vladimir Morosan
Fr. Patrick O’Rourke

Jonathan Pageau
Katherine Sanders
Benedict Sheehan
Federico José Xamist

The purpose of this project is to make available online a collection of graphic illustrations of the highest quality. The collection will focus on iconographic drawings and related graphic ornaments stylistically suited to the illumination of printed Orthodox publications. The project will address the needs of Orthodox book designers, graphic artists, and many others, who desire excellent imagery for their publications.

Learn more and gain access to the images »