The Ancient Churches of Spain

I would like to call attention to some of the ancient churches of Western Europe which predate the Great Schism. These churches offer a glimpse of Western Orthodoxy as it once was, and as such, offer us some suggestions for Orthodoxy in the West as it could be today. European churches of the 7th to…

Continue reading »

The Serpents of Orthodoxy

One of the most surprising images one is faced with considering Orthodox liturgical symbolism is the bishop’s staff sporting two snakes flanking a small cross atop it.  Especially in a Protestant North American context, this image seems to hark back to ancient chthonian cults, more a wizard’s magic staff than anything Christian.  As I have…

Continue reading »

Miniature Icons by Evgeny Baranov

Here are some of the most astounding miniature icons I have seen.  They are made by a Russian artisan named Evgeny Baranov who is also a very good goldsmith as you will see below.   These pictures were taken from his facebook page.  I have been trying to get a short interview with some more details, and…

Continue reading »

A Byzantine-Style Diskos and Asterisk

It is well known that the early Byzantine church used very large patens and loaves of bread in the Divine Liturgy. Surviving examples of patens from the 6th-century are frequently two feet or more in diameter, compared to the six inch diskos typical today. Interestingly, the Melkite church still uses larger patens, and I recently…

Continue reading »

Notes from the psalterion, updated and annotated — part IV, in which the question is asked, “Shouldn’t you be at rehearsal?”

This is post 4 of 6 in the series “Notes from The Psalterion” Richard Barrett gives us practical advice for the discipline of liturgical music in a local parish context. Notes from the psalterion, updated and annotated – Part I, First Principles Notes from the psalterion, updated and annotated – Part II, Getting Started Notes…

Continue reading »

St. Tikhon’s Seminary to Present “Hymns of Holy Russia in the New World”

A Master Class and Concert with Vladimir Gorbik — Feb. 28 to Mar. 3, 2013 As part of its 75th anniversary celebration, Saint Tikhon’s Seminary will host a rigorous three-day master class for the select student choirs of three of America’s premier Orthodox Christian seminaries — Saint Tikhon’s Seminary, Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, and Holy Trinity…

Continue reading »

Contemporary Georgian Art

There is a facebook page called “Contemporary Christian Art” but most people would not notice because it is all in Georgian script.  Although boasting hundreds of pictures of early art from all of Christendom, the most remarkable aspect to those of us who are not in Georgia is how it prominently features contemporary Georgian liturgical…

Continue reading »

Can Statuary Act as Icon?

There is a long tradition of relief sculpture in the Orthodox Church’s liturgical art tradition, but very little in the way of three dimensional sculpture. Can sculpture in the round act like an icon, leading us through itself to its prototype? Although, for reasons discussed below, the Orthodox Church is unlikely to adopt sculpture in…

Continue reading »