Posts by Andrew Gould
Churches of North Macedonia – Monastery of Saint Naum
Continuing my photojournalism series highlighting Balkan churches, this post features an especially beloved monastery in North Macedonia – The Monastery of Saint Naum. Saint Naum was a disciple of Saints Cyril and Methodius, and participated in their mission to spread Christianity and literacy in Europe. After completing the Moravian mission, he settled in Bulgaria…
Continue reading »Churches of North Macedonia – Saint George in Staro Nagoričane
Resuming my photojournalism series highlighting Balkan churches, this post features an especially interesting and beautiful church in North Macedonia – The Church of Saint George in the village of Staro Nagoričane. The church bears a unique form and history. It was originally built in the 10th century, almost certainly as a three-aisle basilica. It was…
Continue reading »OAJ Tour of Georgia Led by Andrew Gould
After a fantastic tour of the Balkans last June, the Orthodox Arts Journal is sponsoring a second art and architecture package tour. This tour will last 2 weeks, and will visit all the key sites for medieval architecture, frescoes, and liturgical art in the Republic of Georgia. It will begin in Tbilisi on June 3rd,…
Continue reading »Lecture: Exploring Church as the Center of Our Life
This talk was offered as part of the Fall Retreat at Holy Annunciation Orthodox Church in Rolla, Missouri. It explores the theme of community life being expressed through liturgical art – a sort of do-it-yourself guide to building an artistic culture of worship and hospitality in church, village, and home: Annunciation Fall Retreat – October…
Continue reading »Announcing an Exciting Book Project Featuring the Liturgical Arts of North America
I’m very pleased to announce that I’ve partnered with the Sacred Arts Institute at Saint Vladimir’s Seminary to produce a major book featuring the best of North America’s Orthodox Liturgical Arts. This will be a high-quality art book focused on presenting excellent color images. We will feature historic and contemporary churches, icons, furnishings, metalwork, textiles,…
Continue reading »Iconostases in Balkan Churches – Part 2: Dečani Monastery
The iconostases of Dečani Monastery are of such overwhelming interest that they warrant their own post in my photojournalism series. Dečani was built in 1327-1331. Among the hundreds of monasteries built by the medieval kingdom of Serbia, it was the tallest and grandest. Today, it is also, miraculously, the best preserved, with an extraordinary collection…
Continue reading »Iconostases in Balkan Churches – Part 1: Serbia
Continuing my photojournalism series highlighting Balkan churches, this post features interesting iconostases I photographed in Serbia and in the Kosovo and Metohija region. These iconostases range from medieval to contemporary, and exhibit a remarkable range of styles. I find it fascinating to view them grouped together, and consider that there are such diverse solutions to…
Continue reading »Interview with Andrew Gould on the New Church at Holy Cross Monastery
I invite you to watch this new interview, in which Abbott Seraphim and I discuss the new church under construction at Holy Cross Monastery. We touch on the future of monasticism in America, the importance of authentic craft to the growth of the Church, and the special role of Orthodoxy in an increasingly artificial world.…
Continue reading »Portraits of Light and Shadow in Balkan Churches – Part 2: Peć, Gračanica, and Dečani
Continuing my photojournalism series highlighting Balkan churches, this post will feature wide-angle interior portraits of the three great monastery churches of the Kosovo and Metohija region. Peć, Gračanica, and Dečani are monuments of unequalled importance, astonishing for their architecture and frescoes, and for their incredible state of preservation in this most embattled region. Because few…
Continue reading »Portraits of Light and Shadow in Balkan Churches – Part 1: Serbia
Having completed the first tour sponsored by the Orthodox Arts Journal, which took place in June of 2023, I’ve been considering how to share some of the four-thousand photographs I captured. The tour was a resounding success, visiting thirty monasteries and many other churches and cathedrals. Because of the volume of splendid things we saw,…
Continue reading »