The difference between an Icon and a Portrait, Women in the church.

A couple of informative and thought provoking articles.

What’s the Difference Between an Icon and a Portrait?

Ekaterina Stepanova

The first question that an icon painter is often asked is how one can draw a saint one has never seen. When I graduated from the Surikov ...

Be the Bee – Women in the Church

admin

She, a woman, might have been the first person in history to proclaim the Gospel. To this day we still call women like St. Mary Magdalene or St. Photini Equals to the Apostles.

Venerate Kursk Root Icon: CARDIFF, THURSDAY 5 JUNE 18:00hrs

Venerate Kursk Root Icon: CARDIFF, THURSDAY 5 JUNE 18:00hrs
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Дорогие прихожане и гости нашего прихода, c большой радостью спешим известить вас о том , что наш приход города Кардифф посетит Чудотворная Курская-Коренная икона Божьей Матери! Дата прибытия четверг 5-е июня нынешнего года в 18.00 ( Акафист) в церковь Св Николая : Greek Church Street, Butetown, Cardiff, CF10 5HA.http://www.russianorthodoxchurchcardiff.co.uk/Dear parishioners and visitors to our parish, great pleasure to inform you that our parish Cardiff visit the Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God! Arrival Date Thursday 5th of June this year at 18.00 (Akathist) in the Church of St Nicholas: Greek Church Street, Butetown, Cardiff, CF10 5HA.

Византийская икона Божией Матери / The Byzantine Icon of the Mother of God

The Byzantine Icon of the Mother of God

Commemorated on April 7, May 1

      The Byzantine Icon of the Mother of God appeared on 7 April 732. It was transferred to Russia from Rome.

© 1996-2001 by translator Fr. S. Janos.

  

Византийская икона Божией Матери

Дни памяти: 7 апреля, 1 мая

      Византийская икона Божией Матери явилась 7 апреля 732 года. В Россию была перенесена из Рима. 

http://www.russianchurchlondon.org/en/calendar/

Feast day of St Nicholas

Icon of St Nicholas the Wonderworker

Today is the feast day of St Nicholas. Although it was a week day I was able to travel to celebrate the feast day  with the Divine Liturgy with my Orthodox church family.   As I stood there in the church meditating on ordinary and the miraculous I appreciated the true meaning of community.  As  the priest reminded us, we are already miraculous and special because we are Human and God chose to take on Human form. When we meet in the Church and share  in the gifts of Christ, we are communing with one another is a deeply profound way. It is beyond a mere get together, it is like a prequel of heaven itself.

As an unexpected treat after Liturgy we were all invited to listen to the children sing and share in food. With musical accompaniment  The children  beautifully sang two songs.

The first was written by Grainne Archer titled, "St. Nicholas  Children's song".

To the Children it will be no surprise
that Parents sometimes can be unwise:
A father, driven by poverty
To sell his daughters, was soon set free
by St. Nicholas, St Nicholas,
Who gave his earthly riches away
St. Nicholas, St. Nicholas,
He saved his neighbour and points to Mary
Who gave Mankind Jesus Christ on Christmas Day.

Although I know it's a foolish goal
To have the whole world and then lose my soul,
If I inherited lots of  wealth
Perhaps I'd spend it all on myself
But St. Nicholas, St. Nicholas,
He gave all his earthly riches away,
St. Nicholas, St. Nicholas,
He saved his people and points to Jesus who  gave Himself to Mankind
On Christmas Day.
---
The second was  Hymn to St Nicholas, the words written by Charles William Polm and was put to a  Traditional Dutch melody

St. Nicholas lived in a land far away;
A warm-hearted Bishop, the people did say.
While still a young person his parents both died;
His fortune he shared  with the poor far and wide.

The Bishop of Myra he soon was proclaimed;
For prayer, Holy life and good works he was famed.
The good friend of children, he cared for their need;
The sick and imprisoned he aided and freed.

 He gave three young women a dowry of gold,
To help them find  husbands to have and to hold.
Through his life shone Christ's life and thus we proclaim:
Dear Nicholas, help us who honour your name.

----

Russian icon depicting St Nicholas with scenes from his life. Late 1400s or early 1500s. National Museum, Stockholm.

Thank you to the Parish of St Nicholas the Wonderworker for making us feel so welcomed on their Patronal feast day.

Icons in Hazmat suits!

 Pietro Cavallini  Fresco 1300

Venerating Icons is second nature and I believe in the miraculous having witnessed it  in my own life ( more about that some other day). For those of you who don't know, some Icons have miracles associated with them. 
The purpose of an Icon is to cast your mind heavenward, to tell the story of events and to aid in prayer. The prayer is not to the Icon but to the person  that the image is of eg: Christ. The image on the wood is just that, an image on wood and nothing more.

Then of course there is the artistic side, recognising the skill of the artist, composition etc.. However what I didn't realise until recently was the truly hazardous nature of the materials they worked with. I love art and feel that I could give myself over to the prayer and meditation as well as having the ability to paint to a reasonable standard. I wondered if Icon painting might be the way to go.  There is a lot of skill to Icon painting and the materials require a lot of work. One of the interesting things was mixing your own pigments. It interested me so I went to look for more information. After searching the internet I came across this http://www.iconofile.com/ , scrolling down brings up a list of horrors such as mercury, lead and arsenic in the pigments.

Such revelations bring a renewed appreciation for artists of old and the risks they took to give us works of great beauty.  Unless there is a safe alternative I think I'd rather leave Icon painting to  others.  It's that or  painting in a Hazmat suit!

Visit of the Holy Cross.

 Icon depicting The Cross of Kiy, a replica of the True Cross with holy relics commissioned by Nikon, Orthodox patriarch of Moscow, in 1656. On the left are the images of Saint Emperor Constantine the Great, Tsar Alexey Mikhaylovich and Patriarch Nikon. To the right: Saint Empress Helena and Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna.

         In 326AD St Empress Helen, (mother of St Constantine the Great) discovered the Cross on which Christ had been crucified. It was found with other artifacts  such as the  nails and the board which bore the inscription ordered by Pilate.  It was further verified by the miracles that accompanied it, namely the raising of a dead man and the healing of a woman in its shadow.

The Relic is in the Golden box on the stand on the right of the candles in the photo.

We  were blessed recently with a tour of the Relic of the Holy Cross throughout England.  It was  an honour to have the opportunity venerate such a relic. Although the church was standing room only at times I was told that had this been Russia the queue would have been several hours long!


There are links here to much better photographs of the Tour and the Relic itself.
Photos by James Hyndman on Flickr of the visit of the Holy Cross to Oxford


Visit of the Relic of the Holy Cross to London Russian Orthodox Church Abroad’s Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God and the Royal Martyrs.

Also a  Sermon preached by Fr Stephen Platt before the Relic of the True Cross