Church Furniture
Liturgical Furniture for an Historic Cathedral
I was asked, in 2015, to design a set of liturgical furniture for Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Baltimore. When I looked at the building, I could see that this would be a complex project with several stylistic influences in play. The monumental structure was built by a Protestant congregation in 1888 in the ‘Richardsonian…
Continue reading »The Altar and The Portico (pt.1)
This is post 1 of 2 in the series “The Altar and The Portico” Aidan Hart explores the relationships and differences between sacred art and secular gallery art. The Altar and The Portico (pt.1) The Altar and The Portico (pt.2): Gallery Art THE ALTAR AND THE PORTICO (PT.1) The Relationship of Orthodox Iconography and Gallery…
Continue reading »The Question of Polychrome – Part 2: Painting a Byzantine Analogion
This is post 2 of 2 in the series “The Question of Polychrome for Liturgical Woodcarving” Andrew Gould looks at the role polychromy has played in historical liturgical arts and how it can be adapted to contemporary designs. The Question of Polychrome for Liturgical Woodcarving – Part 1 The Question of Polychrome – Part 2:…
Continue reading »Ciboria and Tabernacles: A Short History
(This article continuation of my last post: Holy Tables with Reliquaries: A Short History ) The Ciborium A ciborium is a form of canopy supported by columns over the holy table (25). It is sometimes also called a baldachin, but strictly speaking this latter term should be limited to cloth canopies. Ciboria came to be common,…
Continue reading »Holy Tables with Reliquaries, a Short History
In this overview and the one that will follow I have combined the history of altars (also called holy tables), ciboria and tabernacles because their respective developments are somewhat related. In this first section I will deal with Holy Tables and will focus on ciboria and tabernacles in the second installment. My interest in…
Continue reading »American Orthodox Church Furniture
Founder of the Orthodox Arts Journal, church architect and craftsman Andrew Gould wrote the following concerning furniture in the Orthodox Church: The presence of furniture reveals the welcoming and comfortable aspect of the Kingdom of God. All is not judgment and fear in church. We are called to attend church as though we are coming…
Continue reading »Gilding Course to be Taught by Christabel Anderson
Iconographer, manuscript illuminator, and OAJ contributor Christabel Anderson will be teaching a fully booked eight-week course on the ancient art of gilding at the Prince’s School for the Traditional Arts in London beginning February 6. As a follow-up to this course, and the others she’s taught previously, Anderson will be conducting a five-day course at the…
Continue reading »A Choros Chandelier for a Timber Frame Church
During the fall and winter of 2013, I had the marvelous opportunity to make and install a choros chandelier for St. Thomas the Apostle Orthodox Church in Waldorf, Maryland (a parish of the American Carpatho-Russian Diocese). The project was my second large articulated choros (the first, in South Carolina, was described in this article from…
Continue reading »Technical Hierarchy
This is post 3 of 3 in the series “Hand and Machine” Jonathan Pageau and Andrew Gould exchange ideas in an attempt to understand the difficulties and opportunities of new technologies in the making of liturgical art. The discussion is also in reaction to fr. Silouan’s article on Degraded Iconicity. The Robot and The Master…
Continue reading »Further Thoughts on Machine-Manufacture of Liturgical Art
This is post 2 of 3 in the series “Hand and Machine” Jonathan Pageau and Andrew Gould exchange ideas in an attempt to understand the difficulties and opportunities of new technologies in the making of liturgical art. The discussion is also in reaction to fr. Silouan’s article on Degraded Iconicity. The Robot and The Master…
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