Institute of Sacred Arts hosts academic round-table on “Tradition and Innovation in the Arts of the Orthodox Church”
The Institute of Sacred Arts (ISA) at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVS) is currently privileged to have Dr. George Kordis as its inaugural artist in residence for the Spring of this academic year. On Thursday, March 17, a group of distinguished scholars gathered around him at St. Vladimir’s Seminary for an academic round-table…
Continue reading »Poetry as Theology: Reflections on Ephrem the Syrian and Richard Wilbur
Introduction Blessed is He who has appeared to our human race under so many metaphors![i] Asked to reflect on the relationship between poetry and theology, I always reach for the above lines of Ephrem the Syrian’s. In some respects, all my thoughts on this matter are circular, starting from and returning to the…
Continue reading »The Three-Year Icon Painting Programme for The Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts
Editor’s Note: Spaces are currently available in Aidan Hart’s certificate program in icon painting – one of the world’s best opportunities for hands-on study in this field. This post is illustrated with examples of student work from the program, showing the wonderful success achieved by Aidan’s teaching method. As the demand for painted icons has…
Continue reading »A Byzantine Master in the New World – An Interview with Iconographer Dionysios Bouloubassis
Dionysios Boloubassis developed a reputation as a talented iconographer in Greece before he immigrated to the United States in 2013. Over the past ten years he built up a new portfolio of work in America, which together with his churches in Greece, demonstrates his experience and skill in carrying on the iconographic tradition. ORTHODOX ARTS…
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 »Every Human Being is a Creator: An Interview with Davor Džalto
Dr. Davor Džalto is professor of Religion, Art and Democracy at Saint Ignatios College in Sweden. His research focuses primarily on the exploration of human freedom and creativity, as metaphysical, political, as well as aesthetic concepts. All of these concerns come together in his book, The Human Work of Art: A Theological Appraisal of Creativity and…
Continue reading »Introducing the Orthodox Arts Festival
Although the arts play an inextricable part in the embodiment of Orthodox faith and culture, it is rare, at least in the anglophone world, to find events that draw together artists from a variety of disciplines into a single international event in support of their work. Indeed, the effort and support necessary for the organization…
Continue reading »The Epiphany of the Eye
“The eye is, to be sure, a small organ in size, but it is more important than all the rest of the body. […] Actually, of course, everything in us is a proof of the wisdom of God, but the eye is so more than any other organ. In truth, it governs the entire…
Continue reading »Review: Great and Holy Pascha and The Mystic Pascha
In a recent panel discussion on music for the Orthodox Christian Studies Center of Fordham University, composer Benedict Sheehan made the observation that the publication of musical anthologies tends to solidify and codify generational snapshots of particular traditions, carrying authoritative weight for those who use it as a resource. These anthologies… put on the page…
Continue reading »Biblical Visions: Exterior Murals at the Monastery of the Transfiguration
Between 2016 and 2018 I created a series of wall paintings with scenes from the Old Testament for the exterior walls of a chapel in Dordogne, France. The chapel is located in the Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration which was founded by Archimandrite Elie and is a dependency of the Monastery of Simonos Petras on…
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