Vladimir Grygorenko's Orthodox Iconography

St. Seraphim Cathedral Murals focus on Moscow Art Conference

Vladimir Grigorenko — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:21:00 CST

St. Seraphim Cathedral Murals focus on Moscow Art Conference

Wednesday, December 31 1969

On January 28, as part of the XVIII Annual International Educational Conference named “Christmas Readings” held in Moscow, Russia, over 50 iconographers from Russia and Eastern Europe, art critics and iconography teachers gathered to discuss the role of Church Art. The five-hour session was led by Alexander Kopirovskiy, PhD, M. Div, Professor of St Philaret Orthodox Christian Institute, Moscow and Irina Jazikova , PhD, Professor of Christian Art in St. Andrew Institute, Moscow.

One of the most interesting presentations was, amongst others, a talk by Prof. Alexander Kopirovskiy, “Iconostasis and Murals by Vladimir Grygorenko in St. Seraphim Cathedral, Dallas, TX”

Immediately after its beginning, the talk went far beyond the borders of an “academic report” and focused instead on the through discussion of icons of the Cathedral and the problems concerning the development of contemporary Church Art in general. The meeting noted the high skill shown by Vladimir Grygorenko, who successfully managed to adopt a traditional system of church decoration into a complex and unusual architectural interior of the Dallas Cathedral.

Several compositions written by Mr. Grygorenko for St Seraphim Cathedral were discussed for their uniqueness including the location of the composition “The Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles” above the Altar, which makes that image a central theme in the whole system of the Cathedral’s iconographic presentation, the icon of “The Bosom of Abraham” which includes portraits of Holy Missioners, and icon of “Conversation of St. Seraphim with Motovilov.”

The discussion of the murals in St Seraphim Cathedral (which took twice as long the conference schedule provided) concluded that a significant result in church decoration was accomplished in following an approach that did not impose deadlines that could compromise the overall project and, most importantly utilized an active and open collaboration with the iconographer the parish and the bishop.

As the meeting continued, renowned iconographer Alexander Chashkin opined that many priests and even bishops in Russian Orthodox Church still consider ancient iconography as “appalling” or “horrifying” while preferring naturalistic looking imagery.

Artist and Theology teacher Lilia Ratner spoke of the spiritual and aesthetic vision of beauty of the prominent twentieth-century Orthodox theologian Olivier Clément, Reflecting on the well-known expression of one of the heroes of Dostoevsky’s “Beauty will save the world”, Clément came to the conclusion that the only inspired beauty with salutary benefits are those directly inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Chairman

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Life in St. Seraphim

Vladimir Grigorenko — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:57:00 CDT

Life in St. Seraphim

Wednesday, December 31 1969

Many people from the USA and, especially, from overseas, ask me how Orthodox life in Dallas looks like… That is why I decided to put up a sideshow with images of our everyday life at Saint Seraphim Orthodox Cathedral in Dallas, Texas.

There are pictures from last two years - regular services, Pascha Celebration, concert in Parish Hall, Prosphora baking - and many more…

Not many years ago, one young American who visited our parish in the first time said:- “There is life here…” I think he was right. Now you can see it yourself from the sideshow, or, even better, come and experience this in person.And, I am truly blessed to be part of that quiet but profound life.

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Narthex in St. Seraphim

Vladimir Grygorenko — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 20:10:00 CDT

Narthex in St. Seraphim

Wednesday, December 31 1969

At this time I am working with murals in the Narthex of St. Seraphim Cathedral. There will be images from Old Testament - starting from the first days of Creation. The work is still not finished - visit this page again and watch the progress!

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Miniatures

Vladimir Grigorenko — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 22:35:00 CDT

Miniatures

Wednesday, December 31 1969

Some images of book miniatures from my last visit to Florence.

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Video of work at St. Seraphim's

Andrew Johnson — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:04:00 CDT

Video of work at St. Seraphim's

Wednesday, December 31 1969

Watch Embedded Video Here

This post tagged with: Dallas Morning News, Promo, St. Seraphim's Cathedral, and Video | 1 Comment | Permalink

Pictures from Mid-Pentecost

Andrew Johnson — Fri, 22 May 2009 11:53:00 CDT

Pictures from Mid-Pentecost

Wednesday, December 31 1969

Mid-Pentecost in Dallas was wonderful!

Whole Sinod of Bishops of Orthodox Church of America was present, headed by our beloved Metropolitan Jonah.Here are some pictures.

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