Teaching Art in a Catholic School
Some of you might be interested in reading a short article I wrote for the New Liturgical Movement. I teach art once a week in a small Traditionalist Catholic school. It has been a great joy to teach in a context so friendly to liturgical art. On my first day, as I was explaining what…
Continue reading »Notes from the psalterion, updated and annotated – Part II, Getting Started
This is post 2 of 6 in the series “Notes from The Psalterion” Richard Barrett gives us practical advice for the discipline of liturgical music in a local parish context. Notes from the psalterion, updated and annotated – Part I, First Principles Notes from the psalterion, updated and annotated – Part II, Getting Started Notes…
Continue reading »The Carved Miniatures of George Bilak
George Bilak is a Serbian carver who now lives in the United States. He carves miniature icons, pectoral crosses, blessing crosses and eggs that will take your breath away. I can say without hesitating that he has been one of the biggest influences in how I carve miniatures. My very first miniature commission, of which…
Continue reading »Orthodox Homiletics: A New Website
When we think of the traditional Orthodox liturgical arts, we most often think about the tactile and the sensory; gilded icons glowing with candlelight cast from iron chandeliers, the smell of incense wafting as the priest walks censing the believers as the choir sings praises to the Theotokos. One thing that doesn’t necessarily come to…
Continue reading »St-John Chrysostom on Liturgical Art
As a liturgical artist, as someone who makes expensive objects to furnish the Church or to be worn by its clergy, there is a homily of St-John Chrysostom I like to keep in the back of my mind. It is a homily on the Gospel of St-Mathew in which he warns us: “Do you want…
Continue reading »Roman Frescoes of the 8th Century
John Sanidopoulos of the quality Mystagogy blog has posted a nice little article on the restoration being done of 8th century Byzantine style frescoes in the Santa Maria Antiqua church of Rome. On Monday October 1st Italy’s Culture Ministry allowed a rare peak at a (EURO)3 million ($3.8 million) restoration of medieval frescoes in the…
Continue reading »New Wall Painting
In August I completed a wall painting on the east wall of my medieval parish church, The Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Fathers, Shrewsbury, England. On some of the other walls there already exist simple medieval wall paintings, dating from around 1380 A.D., but the east wall was newly plastered during recent restoration work…
Continue reading »Church of St. John, Istanbul
I will be periodically posting short photo-essays illustrating historical Orthodox art and architecture that may be of interest to our readers. I have decided to start with some photos of the least-known Byzantine church in Istanbul, the tiny church of St. John the Baptist, now the Hirami Ahmet Pasha Mosque. It is the smallest Byzantine church…
Continue reading »Short Interview With Dr.Vladimir Morosan
Some of you might be interested in listening to the latest installment of “Ancient Faith Presents” on Ancient Faith Radio where Bobby Maddex interviews one of our collaborators, Dr. Vladimir Morosan, the founder and president of Musica Russica. As we have mentioned in another post, Musica Russica is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. In this interview, Dr.…
Continue reading »Wooden Vessels
Recently I had the chance of making a wooden chalice and diskos set for a priest. It was quite an interesting undertaking as it required a woodturner, a silversmith and myself to bring the whole thing together. Interestingly enough, the order for this set came as I was working on another wooden chalice, making stone roundels…
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