The Church Gesamtkunstverk: Harmony of the Arts in the Church of St. Onuphrius the Great

Gesamtkunstwerk, or “total work of art,” is a term popularized by the opera-composer Richard Wagner to describe the ideal integration of multiple art forms into a single creative vision. Clear to the Orthodox Christian, the Divine Liturgy is the supreme expression of this idea, combining communal prayer, Holy Tradition, and all the arts for the…

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Organicity and Sham

Author’s Note: This article was written for a Moscow magazine on church aesthetics, and speaks to the situation with church art in parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church. In American churches, the situation is somewhat different. For example, icons and church utensils in America are not manufactured on the massive scale that occurs in Russia.…

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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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Murals for the Burning Bush Chapel and Prothesis at St John of the Ladder in Greenville, South Carolina

Introduction to the Project I have been commissioned to design and paint the wall iconography for the parish church of St. John of the Ladder in Greenville, South Carolina. This beautiful temple is of Andrew Gould’s design. His OAJ article about it appears here. I intend to post updates on the iconography project occasionally. As…

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Seeking Perfection in the World of Art: The Artistic Path of Father Sophrony

Editorial note: Due to its little-known subject matter and the book’s current limited availability in some regions, the following is a summary, rather than a standard review, of Seeking Perfection in the World of Art: The Artistic Path of Father Sophrony1 – Sister Gabriela’s monograph on the artistic journey and iconographic legacy of Elder Sophrony.…

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