The Falling Asleep of Ksenia Pokrovsky

News that Ksenia Mikhailovna Pokrovskaya had fallen asleep in the Lord on Sunday, July 7, 2013 was a profound shock. Though she had chronic hypertension, she had not been ill. She was tired, yes, for many years, but still actively sharing her wisdom and knowledge with clarity and generosity.  For both her family and friends…

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The Patriarch Tikhon Choir – Their Sound Hath Gone Forth

For Immediate Release The Patriarch Tikhon Choir, a unique choral ensemble made up of professional singers from Russia and North America, under the direction of renowned Moscow conductor Vladimir Gorbik, will perform their premiere concert series of Orthodox sacred choral works entitled “Their Sound Hath Gone Forth,” Monday, September 16, 2013, at St. Malachy’s –…

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Vladimir Gorbik Teaches Third Successful Liturgical Music Master Class in the U. S.

Like other liturgical arts, the art of liturgical singing, whether solo chant or choral, is dependent to a great extent upon apprenticeship and following traditionally established models. The successful transmission and development of this subtle and ephemeral art depends on the availability of opportunities for aspiring liturgical musicians to encounter examples offered by skilled master…

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Andreas Ritzos and OAJ Nexus

  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…

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When the Archbishop of Canterbury met with the Pope of Rome in mid-June, they exchanged gifts. Archbishop Justin Welby presented Pope Francis with an illumination of the Pope’s motto, taken from the Venerable Bede’s homilies on St. Matthew’s Gospel – “Miserando atque Eligendo“  – in the context of the original, it is taken to mean “lowly…

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One Year Already

It was a bit more than a year ago that we posted our first article on the Orthodox Arts Journal in the hopes of fostering Orthodox traditional arts of all kinds. The OAJ is the brainchild of a few of us hoping to see a space where individuals could encounter the beauty, richness and diversity of liturgical…

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Prosopon Conference Online

A few months ago, we posted an article about a conference celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Prosopon School of Iconography and Iconology. The event took place in April of this year in Princeton NJ.  They had 120 people attend, mostly from the US, but also from England, Estonia and Russia. For those nearby, there…

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Is There Really a Patristic Critique of Icons

Gabe Martini has written a nice concise defense of icons in the Patristic record for the Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy blog.  It is a response to a Protestant article, but it shows nicely how thin the opposition to icons is in the Church Fathers.  Gabe relies strongly on our own fr.Steven Bigham’s books and so I…

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The Apocalypse Art Prize

“The first rule of art is beauty.” So begins “A Primer of Pictorial Devices in Medieval Painting” written by artist Gloria Thomas. The primer is a guide to competitors in the Apocalypse Art Prize. The prize is $10,000 and the deadline for entry is December 31, 2013. Complete information about the prize and how to…

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Learning Icon Carving with Hexaemeron

Icon carving is an art which has been experiencing a great renewal in Orthodoxy all across the world.  In the last 15 years we have seen several amazing icon carvers appear, with Aidan Hart in England, the Azbuhanov couple in Russia.  The art of miniature carving has also been  finding  a quality it had lost…

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