Canon: Time for a Paradigm Shift…Part III

    On the Need for the New Paradigm   First, the suggested shift in paradigm is not just playing with words, nor is it merely for amusement or for increasing our vocabulary. Neither are we following some fashionable intellectual trend. From the conventional meaning of the term paradigm, I would emphasize its ‘active’ semantic aspects. These suppose…

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Canon: Time for a Paradigm Shift…Part II

    Are There Rules and Where to Find Them?   However, how can we discuss the concept of a list of icon-painting rules if there is the slightest possibility that it might be imaginary? First, let us recall that imaginary entities can define our behavior just as much as physically existing ones. Let us…

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Canon: Time for a Paradigm Shift

Editorial note: This post is the first of a series of four which touch on the topic of “canonicity” in icon painting. The series consists of an expanded version of an article previously published in Serbian and in Russian. * The author, Todor Mitrović, is one of the foremost representatives of the icon painting revival…

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Creating Culture Today

In this video, I interview Benedict Sheehan and his wife Talia-Maria.  Benedict is well known by OAJ readers as a composer and the music director at St-Tikhon’s Seminary. He has been quite active in the world of Orthodox music and recently celebrated for his composition of a Divine Liturgy.  In the last few months, what…

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Iconography Shows us the Pattern of Reality

In November, I was asked to speak at St. Tikhon’s Seminary for the annual meeting of the Orthodox Inter-Seminary Movement (OISM).  It was my first time at the monastery and school, and I was quite humbled to participate in such an event.  It was also an honour to speak of Christian Symbolism in the last…

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The Living Icon

Editor’s Note: This essay was originally written in Russian by master iconographer Anton Daineko of Minsk, Belarus. It beautifully explores the paradox of creativity within iconography from the very personal perspective of a lifelong practitioner. Anton and Ekaterina Daineko regularly teach icon-painting workshops in the USA, which are highly recommended. They have upcoming workshops in…

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Understanding the Icons of Holy Week

During Holy Week, the Orthodox faithful will see several icons in the center of the church being commemorated. Although we are used to interpret icons as stand alone objects, I have found that it is sometimes best to see the language of icons as an inter-connected web of elements which speak to each other across different icons types. 

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