Iconography: Towards Future Seminary Curriculum Development

Editorial Note: The following paper was presented at the academic theological conference, The Orthodox Christian Seminary in the 21st Century, held Saturday, September 16, during the 75th Anniversary of Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary, which took place at Jordanville, NY, September 15-17, 2023.[i] ****   Trinity!! Higher than any being, any divinity, any goodness! Guide of…

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Icon, Religion—Abstraction: Joseph Masheck with Joachim Pissarro & Fr. Silouan Justiniano

  …I looked at Russian icon painting with new eyes, that is to say, I “acquired eyes” for the abstract element in this kind of painting. –Wassily Kandinsky[i]   For better or for worse the traditional icon painting revival is indebted to modernism, in particular its development of abstraction. Although, as a traditional liturgical art,…

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Recent Fresco Iconography in Belgium

The rector, Fr. Dominique Verbeke, and his counsel, asked me to present a proposal on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Orthodox parish of the Holy Apostle Andrew in Ghent, Belgium. I was to decorate the ‘first church’, a big room in a house of the Old Beguinage (17th century)…

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Interview with Iconographer Baker Galloway

Mother of God "Of the Sign"

Editor’s Note: Following upon Aidan Hart’s recent post about applications currently being accepted for the 3-year Icon Painting Programme taught by him, we present an interview with a 2019 graduate of that program, Baker Galloway, conducted by Seraphim O’Keefe on behalf of the OAJ.  Introduction Baker Galloway is an American graduate of the 3-year Icon…

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Narthex Murals at St John of the Ladder

Introduction This article is the second in a series documenting the mural project at St John of the Ladder Orthodox Church in Greenville, South Carolina. This beautiful temple was designed by Andrew Gould. The previous article presented the murals in the two smaller rooms adjacent to the church’s sanctuary. Here, I will present the recently…

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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…

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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,…

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