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Published by Ian K
The podcast of the Arbor Vitae Icon Painting Academy, exploring the vast and mesmerising world of Byzantine iconography from a Catholic perspective. Ian is an Englishman, a professional icon painter, founder of the Bethlehem Icon School, and author of the Icon Painter's Handbook. He runs the Arbor Vitae Icon Academy from his current home in the Italian Alps. This podcast focuses on all things related to Byzantine iconography, from the spirituality through the theology to the nitty gritty of painting icons. Ian is a practising Roman Catholic, with a degree in theology from Oxford University
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Highlighting the diverse artistic expressions used in liturgical art, including icons, the discussion delves into the unique characteristics of Orthodox and Catholic liturgical art, noting the former’s decorative and didactic simplicity, while the latter brings an essential, expansive and transformative artistic diversity.
This exploration delves into the relationship between Catholic art and the sacred. Emphasising the theological significance of aesthetics in liturgical art, it highlights examples from medieval masterpieces which inspire joy and reveal hidden truths beyond the material realm.
Explore the true purpose of liturgical art. Discover how art should reveal Christ’s presence, inspire transcendence, and reignite sacred conversations within the Catholic faith.
Icons are the art of the altar, there for a very specific purpose. Listen in as Matthew Shepherd and Ian Knowles explore how moving beyond naturalistic depictions can deepen your spiritual connection with the divine.
Catholicism 'does' art, but it often seems to find Byantine icons 'alien'. Some short introductory thoughts about why that might be the case.
A recent commission which I finished is an icon entitled Behold I make All Things New . This is an explanation of this new design... enjoy!
What images of Jesus did the first Christians have? How did they depict him? Looking at some fragments of evidence I speculate on what images the first Christians had of Jesus and what he might have looked like... and its not quite as you might think...
The 7th Ecumenical Council wasn't so much about images per se but about Christology and the implications of who Jesus was for the way Christians worshipped. This episode is a bit of a tour de force about the way Christology shaped the early Church and eventually led it to see images as essential in its worship.
Early Christians had seven different words they could choose to describe a sacred image. They chose just one...
Icons belong to the liturgy, but the Catholic and Orthodox forms differ. Trying to find a way for a renewal of iconography is complicated both by these differences but also because of secularisation which affects both communities differently.,,
A short response to a few of the points raised by by Gavin Ortlund (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) who serves as senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Ojai in this video https://youtu.be/_ytYX4dXpRo?si=cMWXP56lYZDgR6yJ
Orthodox icons in Catholic Churches...
Orthodox icons are rarely signed, but western liturgical art is often about the artist. This is a big difference between east and west, but many contemporary iconographers feel uncomfortable not signing their name on the front as they would with any other painting. What should we make of this difference?
The Byzantine icon is the 'gold medal' winner of liturgical art.
The Catholic Church has a clear head and identity: the pope, with a single, vast organisation centred on the Vatican. But what about the Orthodox Church? Is it more accurate to say Orthodox Churches? A slight diversion to clarify terms.
The medieval mind was pushed aside with the rise of humanism with catestrophic conseqences for icons both east and west, which the recent renewal of iconography is finally challenging.
Liturgical art is at home in the medieval mindset. Humanistic rationalism less so. Some thoughts on the issues we face when trying to understand what the authors of the 7th Ecumenical Council were getting at, and how to understand liturgy and its art for the Church today.
The iconoclast controversy produced two notable theologians, one of whom is St Theodore of the Studion monastery, who helped the Church to understand how images can avoid being idols and work effectively in Christian worship. Theodore explored how images work with the human capacity of fantasia... what we might translate as 'imagination'. We take a look at what he says in this episode.
What do we mean by describing a painting as a Byzantine icon? Can icons be painted only in that style? Listen in for a clarification of some terms that can often seem very confusing!
What does the Church deem essential for an image to be an icon? And why did the Byzantine Church need to re-invent iconography while the west did not? Explore these topics in this episode delving into the 7th Ecumenical Council and the distinctions in church art between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.
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