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 […]
When Andrew Gould launched the Orthodox Arts Journal (OAJ) in June of 2012, he had in mind the clearinghouse model it has become. It is a service that informs and engages readers in helping to create a culture that values quality Orthodox arts. It is hoped by this effort that a market will emerge […]
Editor’s Note– At the beginning of February, I received an email from an iconographer, Fr. Silouan Justiniano of the Brotherhood of the Holy Cross (ROCOR) in Long Island, New York. Fr. Silouan had an article he was interested in having the Orthodox Arts Journal publish. We will publish it, and Fr. Silouan will henceforth be […]
“Symbolism” is a term that has become quite diluted in the past 500 years. Since the middle ages, the notion of the symbol has undergone a deep mutation due to the immeasurable changes in our experience of knowledge and meaning. Symbolism has been progressively reduced from underlying our very cosmological world view, to now being a […]
George Bilak is a Serbian carver who now lives in the United States. He carves miniature icons, pectoral crosses, blessing crosses and eggs that will take your breath away. I can say without hesitating that he has been one of the biggest influences in how I carve miniatures. My very first miniature commission, of which […]
I would like to draw the readers’ attention to this video. It features OAJ contributor and icon carver Jonathan Pageau in action, and some of his finished works. The Gospel cover and the pectoral crosses were collaborative efforts with OAJ founder, Andrew Gould. The music is Psalm 103, Valaam Chant, by the St. Tikhon’s Mission […]
This is post 5 of 5 in the series “The Icon: Sign of Unity or Division?” ( Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4) The Renaissance of the Canonical Icon Since the end of the 19th century, starting in Russia, the Orthodox Church in all its zones began to experience a rediscovery of its own […]
Pravmir.com has an article up featuring an ongoing exhibit of Russian “folk icons”. I have included a few images below, but the article should be read in its entirety. A few things come to mind when looking at these folk icons. As the author points out, these icons have a certain “warm-heartedness” about them, and […]
This is post 4 of 5 in the series “The Icon: Sign of Unity or Division?” (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) What Is It a Sign of? Among Western Christians, there is a very clear interest in icons. Following Orthodox Christians themselves, certain Catholics and Protestants have rediscovered canonical icons, that is, Christian images […]
In 1995, a small unused room in the Icon Painting School at the Moscow Orthodox Theological Academy was converted into a studio for a single student interested in the lost art of church embroidery. This became the Pictorial Embroidery Department of the Icon Painting School housed in a larger facility within the famous Trinity-St. Sergius […]