Yonkers, New York, November 17, 2023
Photo: instituteofsacredarts.com
St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press has begun assembling a book highlighting the North American Orthodox liturgical art, which it intends to publish next year.
The project is under the direction of the editors Dr. Peter Bouteneff (founding director of the Institute of Sacred Arts, professor of theology at St. Vladimir’s Seminary) and Andrew Gould (liturgical designer, founder and owner of the Orthodox Arts Journal, and of the design firm New World Byzantine).
They write about the work:
The aim is to produce a treasure trove of images of liturgical art and architecture. This book will narrate how our founders built and decorated our churches then and now, and will show how our forebears creatively adapted Old-World Orthodox tradition to New-World contexts. It will celebrate the wide range of visual arts used to support Orthodox liturgy and worship, from architecture to icons, liturgical furnishings, vessels, textiles, manuscripts, and more…
We feel that the time has come to present American Orthodoxy as an artistically distinct phenomenon, with discernible styles. These styles are still emergent, to be sure, but enough good examples of uniquely North American Orthodox art and architecture now exist that it is possible to characterize, highlight, and promote these styles as our own.
And the editors are looking for help from the faithful to identify these “good examples of uniquely North American Orthodox art and architecture” for inclusion in the book.
In particular, they are working for works that clearly represent adaptation to the North American setting, as opposed to simply copying Old World art; works of historical significance; important contemporary works; and works of “sheer beauty.”
Learn more about the project and about how to submit worthy examples of liturgical art preferably by December 1 at the site of the Institute of Sacred Arts.
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