Theophany and What Sacred Art Does

You enter a silent museum.  Standing at an appropriate distance, you gaze at a piece of art set against a clinically white wall.  The art is lit as to leave no glare or shine and you as the viewer leave no shadow on it.  Enough space is allotted all around the art so to be admired without…

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Celebrating 25 years of the Prosopon School of Iconology and Iconography

(Editorial Note: this article was submitted by Lynette Hull, an iconographer trained in the Prosopon School) The Prosopon school of Iconology and Iconography will celebrate its 25th  anniversary by hosting a conference, entitled “Locating Prosopon,” at Princeton Theological Seminary, April 12 – 13, 2013. The Prosopon School, founded by Master Iconographer, Vladislav Andrejev, has taught…

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The Ass and The Ox in The Nativity Icon

There is no ass or ox in the Biblical narratives of the birth of Christ.  Yet, besides the Christ Child himself, the ass and the ox are the most ancient and stable elements in the iconography of the nativity.  In fact the earliest example of a nativity known to us contains only the swaddled Christ in the manger flanked by the ox…

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Benedict Sheehan Invited To Conduct in Moscow

(Editorial note: This article, regarding one of our contributors, Benedict Sheehan, was taken from the St-Tikhon Seminary website.) On December 27, 2012, St. Tikhon’s Seminary choir director, Benedict Sheehan, will travel to Moscow to work with the Male Choir of the Moscow Representation Church (Podvorye) of the Trinity–St. Sergius Lavra and its renowned choirmaster, Vladimir…

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TED Talk on Iconography

Lynette Hull, an American iconographer part of the Prosopon School has recently given a twenty minute presentation on Iconography which is part of a TEDx event. TED is a hip technology, education and design non-profit organization that gives conferences and organizes events. It is seen as the leading place to get a glimpse of new burgeoning…

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More Western Medieval Art

A few weeks ago, I posted a short piece on the Catalonia Museum and some beautiful icons, frescoes and objects that show the amazing unity between Orthodox Art and early medieval Western art. Petrus Agricola, on his Flickr stream has just posted many images (about 150), enamels, ivories and other objects form the Schnütgen Museum in Cologne, a…

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The Bethlehem Icon Centre

Editorial Note:  In the light of recent events in Gaza, I asked Ian Knowles the Director of the Bethlehem Icon Center to introduce us to this wonderful project.  In such a desperate political situation, sacred art has been focal point to bring about collaboration between Orthodox, Coptic, Catholic and Syrian Palestinians in the desire to…

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Designing a Syrian Orthodox Panagia

I was recently asked by a young student of St-Vladimir’s Seminary to make a Panagia which he wanted to give to his bishop.  This student is of Indian background and a Syrian Orthodox.  I have always been fascinated by Orthodoxy in India,  the stories of St-Thomas, the link with Nestorian Christianity and also their long…

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Medieval Art from Catalonia

The utmost french speaking resource website for Orthodoxy, www.orthodoxie.com, has a very beautiful Flickr stream of the National Museum of Catalonia.  It is an amazing showcase of Western icons, liturgical objects, frescoes and furniture from the Early Middle Ages. When looking at the images, what strikes me the most is the boldness in color bringing about a…

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The 22nd Russian Orthodox Church Musicians’ Conference

(Editorial note: George Skok, the choir director of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Toronto kindly sent us this summary of ROCOR’s recent Orthodox Church Musicians’ Conference which gathered an amazing array of musical experts from Russia and North America.  Among these, our own Benedict Sheehan led a seminar for the group. The Article is by V.V.…

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