mount athos Archives – Orthodox Arts Journal

The Painter’s Manual of Dionysios of Fourna and the Byzantine Church of the Monastery of Saint Gregorios

By Nicholas Patricios | October 14, 2022 |

Second zone in the Holy Bema: The Holy Eucharist (center detail) with Christ at the Holy Table (center) and the apostles Peter (left) & John (right)

Over the centuries it had been noticeable that the iconography of Byzantine churches was consistent in content and style. It was most likely that the artists of religious images were following rules on what was to be painted, how images were to be arranged, and how they were to be rendered. In 1839, a painter’s…

Painting as Prayer, The Art of A. Sophrony Sakharov

By Christabel Helena Anderson | April 8, 2021 |

Editorial note: This is the third part of a series on the artistic path and iconographic legacy of Saint Sophrony the Athonite (1896-1993) as seen through a collection of monographs written by Sister Gabriela, a member of his monastic community in Essex, England. The previous articles, Seeking Perfection in the World of Art can be…

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

By Christabel Helena Anderson | January 3, 2019 |

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.…

Conserve or Restore? A Question of Ancestor Kisses

By Mary Lowell | July 7, 2017 |

Conserve: To protect from loss or harm; to keep quantity and quality constant through physical or chemical reactions or evolutionary changes. Restore: To bring back into existence or use; to return to an original condition. Close in definition, the differences when applied to art treasures can be catastrophic. Consider the botched effort to “restore” Elías…

The Printmaking Tradition on Mount Athos

By Markos Kampanis | March 9, 2015

Editor’s note: We would like to introduce our new contributor, Markos Kampanis. Markos is a prominent artist and iconographer in Greece. He has a particular expertise in Athonite murals and prints and will be sharing his knowledge in a series of articles. Artistic tradition on Mt Athos is usually associated with painted icons and murals.…