A Life of Icons – Interview with Anna Gouriev
Anna Pokrovsky Gouriev is a professional iconographer working in the United States. Originally from Russia, she is the daughter of Ksenia Pokrovsky who was one of the instrumental voices for the rediscovery of traditional iconography in the 20th century. Jonathan Pageau teaches with her at the Hexaemeron School of Ecclesial Arts, and it is in…
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 »Saint Tikhon Choir & Company Release Chart-Topping Album
South Canaan, PA—On August 28, the world-premiere recording of Alexander Kastalsky’s Requiem was released by Naxos Records. The recording—which was made during a live performance in the Washington National Cathedral in October of 2018 in celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the World War I Armistice—features the combined forces of multiple GRAMMY-winning ensembles, including the Cathedral Choral…
Continue reading »‘Being’, The Art and Life of Father Sophrony
Archimandrite Sophrony, painting Christ at the Last Supper, early 1980s, the Monastery of St John the Baptist, Refectory.[1] Image: ©The Stavropegic Monastery of Saint John the Baptist, Essex. Editorial note: This is the second part of a series on the artistic path and iconographic legacy of Saint Sophrony (Sakharov) as seen through a collection…
Continue reading »Designing an Image of Everything
For many years now I have been studying the traditions of iconology, the sacred visual language which has developed in the Church. Long before becoming an icon carver, the pattern of my thinking had already been built through meditation on the images of both the Christian East and the medieval West. Although I am mostly…
Continue reading »A Recording of the Kastalsky Requiem – Fundraising Request
In 1917, Russian composer Alexander Kastalsky wrote a monumental Requiem commemorating the Allied slain of World War I. He brought together melodies from all the religious traditions of the Allies, weaving them into a harmonious and triumphant whole, memorializing those who gave their lives in service to their nation. The work is testament to the…
Continue reading »Canon: Time for a Paradigm Shift…Part IV
How to Conceive a Paradigm Shift? In the end, of course, we cannot naïvely expect that this change of paradigm can be imposed by some “official directive.” As the “chair and apple” example shows, such change happens neither easily nor suddenly. The need for change can be voiced, or even generated by an individual,…
Continue reading »Canon: Time for a Paradigm Shift…Part III
On the Need for the New Paradigm First, the suggested shift in paradigm is not just playing with words, nor is it merely for amusement or for increasing our vocabulary. Neither are we following some fashionable intellectual trend. From the conventional meaning of the term paradigm, I would emphasize its ‘active’ semantic aspects. These suppose…
Continue reading »Canon: Time for a Paradigm Shift…Part II
Are There Rules and Where to Find Them? However, how can we discuss the concept of a list of icon-painting rules if there is the slightest possibility that it might be imaginary? First, let us recall that imaginary entities can define our behavior just as much as physically existing ones. Let us…
Continue reading »Canon: Time for a Paradigm Shift
Editorial note: This post is the first of a series of four which touch on the topic of “canonicity” in icon painting. The series consists of an expanded version of an article previously published in Serbian and in Russian. * The author, Todor Mitrović, is one of the foremost representatives of the icon painting revival…
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