By Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Church, Trenton, NJ
Windows To Heaven Iconography Tour
St. Vladimir Orthodox Church, 812 Grand Street, Trenton, NJ will be hosting "Windows to Heaven, Gospels in Color and Light!" an Iconography Tour and Reception on Saturday, September 21, 2013. Tour times are 11:00 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. The 90-minute tour will begin in the church with presentations and discussions on Orthodox iconography given by Father John Diamantis, Rector, Father Paul Shafran, Pastor Emeritus, and accomplished iconographer, Lynette Hull.
The tour will be followed by a reception next door in Daria Hall. Ethnic food and beverages will be available and are included in the ticket price. The cost of the tour is $20 for adults ($25 at the door), $5 for students 12 -18; no charge for children. Tickets may be purchased at Daria Hall (at the corner of Adeline and Stanton Streets) on Sunday mornings after Divine Liturgy (12-1 pm), or by contacting:
Nina Laushell Phone (215) 428-2177 or via e-mail: [email protected]
Darice Keyes Phone (267) 987-5156 or via e-mail: [email protected]
If corresponding via e-mail, please put ICONOGRAPHY TOUR in the subject line. Information is posted at http://www.saintvladimir.com
Icons hold an important role in the religious practice of Orthodox Christians. They provide access to the divine and enhance a viewers understanding of God and the heavenly hierarchy. The word, icon, originates from the Greek word, eikon, which means, “Image.”
Saint Vladimir Orthodox Church was constructed in 1914. The Byzantine icons and murals within the church were written (painted) by well-known Russian iconographer, Pimen Sofronov, during the years 1954-1956. Mr. Sofronov was born in Estonia in 1899. He began an apprenticeship at the age of 11 with a Master Iconographer. He moved to Yugoslavia where he restored old icons and painted new icons and murals in many churches. He later lived in France where he was in charge of a school to train iconographers. Just prior to World War II, he was invited to the Vatican to paint murals in a Byzantine chapel. He worked as an iconographer at the Vatican for about seven years. He came to United States in the early 1950’s to first paint Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church in Syracuse, NY. Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Church was the second church that Mr. Sofronov painted in the United States.
Sergei and Nadezhda Gavrish, of Philadelphia, who were trained in the science of icon and art restoration in Russia, laboriously restored the iconography in 1998-1999.
The tour is offered as an outreach to the greater community and will provide an explanation of the particular icons and frescoes in Saint Vladimir Orthodox Church and the meaning they hold as “Windows to Heaven.” Tour participants will be able to experience the beauty and remarkable example of the eternal presence of the holy.
Additionally, local iconographer, Lynette Hull, will explain what it means to be an iconographer as well as the actual process of writing an icon. Attendants of each tour session will have the opportunity to participate in a Silent Bid for an icon that will be written by Mrs. Hull to the image of the winner’s choice during the reception.
