Vladimir Grygorenko's Orthodox Iconography

Nativity Mural for St. Gregory of Nyssa Church

Vladimir Grigorenko — Mon, 02 Dec 2013 23:33:00 CST

New mural for Seaford, NY

Today I finished new mural for St. Gregory in Acrylic with mineral pigments - whole piece will now dry for a week until two coats of varnish will be applied. Hope they will receive it before Nativity!

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My Personal Exibition

Vladimir Grigorenko — Tue, 26 Nov 2013 21:26:00 CST

My Personal Exibition

Wednesday, December 31 1969

In my 14 years practicing iconography in US, I have made hundreds of panel icons, many icon screens (in Eastern Church we call them “iconostasis”), and decorated several Churches with large wall murals. Since most of my works are wall murals or large panel icons involved in active Liturgical life, I would not be able to display them here.

However, iconography is a very labor-intensive process, during which you need to make a full size sketch of each image before you start to make actual icon or mural. Some of these sketches were destroyed in the process, while others survived and have been stored in my studio for years until my dear friend Ms. Lawan Glasscock found them and convinced me to display them at the Advent Show.

These are the very sketches you see here today. They have been used for work preparation in three large Churches in Texas: Saint Seraphim in Dallas, Saint John the Baptist in Euless, Saint John the Forerunner in Cedar Park and Holy Apostles Mission in Bixby, Oklahoma, as well as in a number of private commissions.

Please, do not be confused with the rather “rough look” of some images – they were used (sometimes even abused!) while I work with them, but I believe this only adds authenticity to their appearance. You can find photographs of the finished work below most of the sketches.

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Vladika Dmitri Photos

Vladimir Grigorenko — Sat, 02 Nov 2013 16:59:00 CDT

Vladika Dmitri Photos

Wednesday, December 31 1969

This morning we have celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the grave of Archbishop Dmitri (Royster). As it happens three times a year, many people from all across Dallas Metroplex gather together at the Cemetery to share Divine Gifts with our beloved Father in Christ….For my family, Vladika was not only a spiritual father for 11 years – by his own example he taught us what the American Orthodoxy really is… and not only us - every member of Diocese of South are his spiritual fruits in the Lord.I have been fortunate enough to travel with Vladika thought the Diocese and serve him as a Subdeacon. Most of the time I have my camera with me – so below are some pictures of few last years of his life. Early images of Vladika had been graciously offered to us by Ms. Olga Zebrun.

I believe that eventually Vladika Dmitri will be canonized by the Church as North American Saint…

Today, November 2, would have been Vladyka Dmitri’s 90th birthday. May God grant that his memory be eternal! His soul shall dwell with the blessed, and his memory is from generation to generation!What a privilege it was to get to know Vladyka Dmitri, to serve with him and to be under his direction. He had attained profound wisdom and pastoral understanding. Vladyka Dmitri’s vision constituted the Diocese of the South; his pastoral guidance equipped the priests and other clergy, and inspired the faithful. He had an authentic vision of conciliarity, actualizing true hierarchical leadership in the community of the faithful. Real conciliarity is always synergy, cooperation out of love and respect, in a spirit of obedience. It unites and transforms. We see in hierarchs such as Vladyka Dmitri one who not only received the charism (gift) of the Holy Spirit to discern, to direct and to lead; but one who was not afraid to use it.Surrounded by his disciples in a state of authentic Christian love and obedience, Vladyka inspired a whole generation of clergy and faithful to take up the yoke of Christ, the preach the Gospel and to work sacrificially to incarnate the Church. It was a task undertaken together, as a united body, with a common life and common vision, with a common obedience. May the Lord grant him a worthy successor, who shares this vision and who will maintain the legacy our blessed father in

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The Sacrifice

Vladimir Grigorenko — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 22:59:00 CDT

The Sacrifice

Wednesday, December 31 1969Here comes new mural in St. John Church in Euless: it is The Sacrifice of Melchisedec, Abel and Abraham. The main idea was to show three most important Sacrifices of the Old Testament. Each one of them were “proto-types” of the ultimate Sacrifice of Christ. First, He was a Priest by the order of Melchisedec. Second, being the Son of God, as Isaac was a first-born son of Abraham, He was crucified willingly, and third, He was judged to death unjustly like Abel was killed by his brother without guilt…

I made one picture at the end of each day of the work, starting from the color sketch you can see first, and up to the finished mural you can see last -all work progress day-by-day.

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Pentecost Mural Completed

Vladimir Grigorenko — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 22:53:00 CDT

Pentecost Mural Completed

Wednesday, December 31 1969

Murals in St John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church in Euless, TX are finished! Scaffolding is removed and I finally was able to make some pictures.

During last few days I was able to complete the Platitera, which was left undone due to lack of time before the “Tirannixia” (blessing of the Church). Originally, I planned to add inscriptions and make some touch-ups, but when I was able to get there, I have all faces repainted instead… I hope it looks better now….

For those who are interested in technical details: These murals are done in KEIM silicate paint over lime plaster. I like this material - even though it is more difficult for an artist to use its permanence and authentic appearance definitely worth it. And: you have to work on-site, from scaffolding, which has its own benefits – artist would be able to adjust the composition and colors in accordance with surroundings.

Please, come to St. John to view the result!

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Altar Murals in St. John in Euless

Vladimir Grigorenko — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 22:09:00 CST

Altar Murals in St. John in Euless

Wednesday, December 31 1969

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The Tirannixia (Blessing of the Church)

Vladimir Grigorenko — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 22:22:00 CST

The Tirannixia (Blessing of the Church)

Wednesday, December 31 1969

The new Church building of St. John The Baptist Greek Orthodox Church had been blessed today!Many Years!

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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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