Heaven and Earth in The Icon

This is post 3 of 4 in the series “Ancient Cosmology Today” Jonathan Pageau uses a phenomenological approach to explain traditional cosmology and its symbolism, explaining in what manner it is crucial to our experience of being in the world. Most of The Time The Earth Is Flat. Where is Heaven? Heaven and Earth in…

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The Carved Icons of Elena and Sergio Nikolenko

I was recently made aware of two wonderful Russian carvers named Elena and Sergio Nikolenko.  Their work is quite impressive, using ornament with spectacular precision.  Their stylisation of faces ranges from the more iconic to more realistic features depending on pieces. The couple work on their icons together, with Elena being the designer and the one…

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An Inlaid Gospel Cover

  The idea for this gospel cover began several years ago. I discussed with Jonathan Pageau the possibility of  using his stone carvings as inlaid icons in wooden liturgical pieces. He is able to carve the steatite stone slabs quite thin so that the weight is reasonable even for a book cover. I based the…

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Third Sermon for the Pilgrim: a Balkan Journey

I have survived three pilgrimages with Fr. Ilya Gotlinsky, leader of Orthodox Tours. Each one has been a sermon. My journey through Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia (May 25 to June 7, 2014) with 27 fellow pilgrims from the Australia, England, Ireland, Russia and the United States, is the latest sermon. First Sermon: Russia 2005, “Beloved,…

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Completion of Dome Fresco in Santa Rosa, CA

A masterpiece of iconography has recently been completed at St. Seraphim of Sarov Orthodox Church in Santa Rosa, CA (OCA). The dome is the work of Fr. Patrick Doolan, a renowned iconographer trained by Leonid Ouspensky. He and his assistant, Fr. Moses, painted the dome in true fresco over the course of the past year.…

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Aidan Hart’s New Book on Icons in the Modern World

In the spirit of Aidan Hart’s last series for OAJ (Holy Icons in Today’s World: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3),  his most recent book, “BEAUTY MATTER SPIRIT: Icons in the Modern World”,  focuses on the implications of the icon and its theology for our lives in the twenty-first century. 256 pages. Over 30 colour plates.…

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