Archetype and Symbol II: On Noetic Vision

This is post 2 of 2 in the series “Archetype and Symbol” Fr. Silouan explores the possibility of creativity and the creative act within an Orthodox theological frame. Archetype and Symbol : Thoughts on the Creative Act Archetype and Symbol II: On Noetic Vision   Archetype and Symbol II: On Noetic Vision    Upon reading the…

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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…

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Designing Icons (pt.9): Perspective Systems in Icons

This is post 9 of 9 in the series “Designing Icons” Aidan Hart gives us a full chapter on designing icons from his book “Techniques of Icon and Wall Painting.” Designing Icons (pt.1) Designing Icons (pt.2): Icon Prototypes Designing Icons (pt.3): New Icons Designing Icons (pt.4): Researching Festal Icons Designing Icons (pt.5): Conventions of Traditional…

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Degraded Iconicity III: Mysteriological Matter; As Above, So Below

This is post 3 of 6 in the series “Degraded Iconicity” Fr. Silouan Justiniano thinks through the effect of contemporary image culture and mechanical reproduction on iconography and our sense of the sacred. The Degraded Iconicity of the Icon: The Icon’s Materiality and Mechanical Reproduction Degraded Iconicity II: Uplifting Materiality and Symbol. Degraded Iconicity III:…

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Degraded Iconicity II: Uplifting Materiality and Symbol.

This is post 2 of 6 in the series “Degraded Iconicity” Fr. Silouan Justiniano thinks through the effect of contemporary image culture and mechanical reproduction on iconography and our sense of the sacred. The Degraded Iconicity of the Icon: The Icon’s Materiality and Mechanical Reproduction Degraded Iconicity II: Uplifting Materiality and Symbol. Degraded Iconicity III:…

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The Degraded Iconicity of the Icon: The Icon’s Materiality and Mechanical Reproduction

This is post 1 of 6 in the series “Degraded Iconicity” Fr. Silouan Justiniano thinks through the effect of contemporary image culture and mechanical reproduction on iconography and our sense of the sacred. The Degraded Iconicity of the Icon: The Icon’s Materiality and Mechanical Reproduction Degraded Iconicity II: Uplifting Materiality and Symbol. Degraded Iconicity III:…

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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…

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St-Peter on The Right. St-Paul on the Left.

This is post 2 of 3 in the series “The Right and Left Hand in Iconography” Jonathan Pageau examines the recurrence of left and right hand symbolism in traditional art and how they create a pattern of engagement in the world. Mercy on The Right. Rigor on The Left St-Peter on The Right. St-Paul on…

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