This June, the Seminary’s Institute of Sacred Arts (ISA) brought back world-renowned iconographer Dr. George Kordis and his icon-painting school, Writing the Light.
Twenty-four people participated in Writing the Light’s workshops, held June 16–20 at the Seminary’s recently renovated Sacred Arts Room. The group included students from both Writing the Light’s certificate program and other independent students.
“For so many reasons, this week was a delight and an enrichment for our seminary and our Institute of Sacred Arts,” said ISA Director Dr. Peter Bouteneff. It reaffirmed our longstanding relationship with one of the great iconographers and theologians, and a personal friend. Plus, seeing our renovated Sacred Arts Room bustling with creativity felt like a special joy!”
Writing The Light video highlights
On the evening of June 17, Dr. Bouteneff and Dr. Kordis held a public discussion at the Fr. Georges Florovsky Library. The conversation was recorded in its entirety for ISA’s Luminous Podcast. The episode will be available soon. (Click below to hear last year’s discussion.)
LISTEN NOW TO GEORGE KORDIS ON LUMINOUS (2024)
During the conversation, Dr. Kordis spoke about his own journey with the sacred arts.
“My teacher, Fr. Symeon, told me from the very beginning—maybe the first class I had with him—he told me that if you want to be an iconographer, you have to love Christ and the saints. Love Christ and the saints,” Kordis recalled. “Not just know formation and then, whatever. All these are useful things, but basically it is a matter of love. If you don't love Christ, you don't love the saints, you don't love the Church life, you can't be an icon painter. You can produce icons, but how is it possible to go beyond that and render, you know, the Spirit, the ethos of the Church? I don't think that that is very easy.”
Kordis was the ISA’s artist in residence and offered workshops on campus in the spring of 2022. He also offered workshops at St. Vladimir’s Seminary in June of 2024.
ABOUT DR GEORGE KORDIS
Eminent iconographer George Kordis has the rare distinction for a practicing artist of a complete academic training in theology, with advanced theological degrees from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Boston and the University of Athens, where he was assistant professor in iconography (theory and practice). His training as a painter preceded and motivated his move into theology: During the 1980s he worked with the Cypriot master iconographer, Fr. Symeon Symeou, and also studied painting at The School of Fine Arts at The Museum of Boston from 1987–89; and even while obtaining his doctorate (Athens) in 1991 he continued his studies in painting and engraving under Fotis Mastichiadis. Dr. Kordis has been a visiting professor teaching icon painting courses at Yale University, the University of South Carolina, the University of Bucharest/Department of Orthodox Theology, and Ukraine Pedagogical University, Odessa, while continuing to create major church programs of iconography—including several in the US (see Holy Trinity in Columbia, SC and, recently, Holy Trinity in Pittsburgh and panel icons, which have been seen in numerous prominent exhibitions at Yale University and elsewhere). Kordis is also a prolific author with wide-ranging interests: theory and practice of Orthodox iconography, Fayum mummy portraits, Theophan the Cretan, Andrei Rublev, Fotis Kontoglou, Greek folk art, and many other topics.
Read his full CV and explore his expansive work.
