Posts by Andrew Gould
Sacred Arts East and West: A Conversation with Aidan Hart, Jonathan Pageau, and Andrew Gould
The Institute of Sacred Arts (ISA) at St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) will host a panel discussion with artists and scholars Aidan Hart, Jonathan Pageau, and Andrew Gould, on Monday, April 24, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. The event will be moderated by ISA founding director and SVOTS Professor of Systematic Theology Dr Peter Bouteneff and Associate Professor of…
Continue reading »OAJ Tour of the Balkans Led by Andrew Gould
The Orthodox Arts Journal is sponsoring its first-ever art and architecture package tour, which will take place in the Balkans. This tour will last 2 weeks, and will visit all the key sites for medieval architecture, frescoes, and liturgical art in Serbia, Kosovo, and North Macedonia. It will begin in Belgrade on May, 30th, 2023,…
Continue reading »An Interview with Benedict Sheehan – Vespers, and its Concert Premiere
Editor’s Note: Benedict Sheehan’s Astonishing Masterwork Vespers will be performed in a premiere concert series this weekend, November 11th, 12th, and 13th, at locations in New York and Pennsylvania. Full concert and ticket information follows this exclusive interview. Brad Given: How do you prepare for creating a work like this? Vespers is obviously a large,…
Continue reading »Church Architecture in America: A Look at the Sanctuary from a Missionary Perspective
Editor’s Note: This essay is an interesting provocation for church architects and liturgical artists. Fr. John Finley challenges us to rethink some of the normative materials and imagery used in our churches to better conform to the vision of Heaven described in scripture. I think there is much to be said for this approach, controversial…
Continue reading »A New Icon – Saint Katherine Teaching the Philosophers of the Alexandrian Court
I would like to share an interesting project in which I collaborated with iconographer Natalia Aglitskaya to develop a new icon composition. The project was a commission from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, to commemorate their fiftieth anniversary of coeducation, which occurred in 2019. The college wanted a memorial to the admission of women to…
Continue reading »A Professionally-Built Iconostasis for a Mission Church
The iconostasis featured here is the culmination of an idea I have been developing for several years. It is installed at Saint Matthew the Apostle Orthodox Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I would like to tell the story of how it came to be, and discuss the problems it is meant to solve. The iconostasis…
Continue reading »An Interview with Benedict Sheehan on the Premiere Recording of his Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom
This week Cappella Records released the world premiere recording of Benedict Sheehan’s Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom. It’s an ambitious and truly incredible setting, full of sweeping melodies and rich deep harmonies. It calls to mind the great concert liturgies and masses by famous composers of the past, and can compare admirably with any of…
Continue reading »Painting the Iconographic Murals at Saint Gregory Palamas Monastery
I have been asked to paint the iconographic murals in the new chapel at St. Gregory Palamas Monastery in Perrysville, Ohio. This chapel, dedicated to St. Gregory Palamas, is yet another good example of contemporary Orthodox architecture. It unites the traditional appearance of Byzantine interiors with the familiar exterior detailing of rural vernacular architecture. It…
Continue reading »Acoustical Considerations in Orthodox Church Design
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 »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…
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