Human Trafficking & Slavery

I recently found the website of Shared Hope International:

"Shared Hope International exists to rescue and restore women and children in crisis. We are leaders in a worldwide effort to prevent and eradicate sex trafficking and slavery through education and public awareness."

The information on the website, including the online documentary, reveals a horrendous plague within our culture and throughout the world that is harming the souls and bodies of women and very young girls. May the Church reach out to the hurting victims to heal them and also help those who, enslaved to the lustful passions, do harm to themselves, their families, and the strangers whom they abuse.

Also check out HumanTrafficking.org for information on the immoral exploitation of human beings, who have been created in the image of God.


The Goose Girl is a painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau. The painting is in the public domain.

St. John Chrysostom

Today is the 1600th anniversary of the falling asleep of St. John Chrysostom, recognized as one of the greatest preachers in the history of the Church. The name given to him, "Chrysostom," meaning "golden mouth," testifies to his eloquence.

Information on the life of St. John Chysostom is available at Orthodoxwiki. You may read writings and homilies by St. John on the website of the Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

A "New" Women's Movement

Read the Washington Post article, "How to Be Good," a review of Wendy Shalit's new book, Girls Gone Mild. I'm glad to see that young women are becoming more self-aware of the problems within our culture and the consequences of living according to warped cultural values. While I hope to see a strong trend among young women toward "traditional morality" and ethical living, even those who reject the harmful cultural values don't have a complete understanding of what "good" means, why being bad is harmful to their own souls and to others, and why it's good to be good.

American culture is like a ship in a wind-tossed sea. We can see over the last several decades how the pendulum has swung from one movement to another, reacting against the one before. Within the Orthodox Church, however, a certain continuity has been maintained for 2,000 years. What young women in secular American culture are rediscovering, we have known since the beginning. Orthodoxy offers a holistic understanding of the self and life that can help young women live truly good lives for their own benefit and the benefit of their families.


Copyright © 2007 by Dana S. Kees. (Italian Girl Drawing Water, by William Adolphe Bouguereau, is in the public domain.)

The Falling Asleep of the Mother of God

Today we commemorate the Dormition ("Falling Asleep") of the Most Blessed Theotokos. Here is a reading from a sermon by St. John of Damascus (+760 AD):

What is this great mystery about you, O holy mother and virgin?

"Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb."

Blessed are you for generations of generations; you alone are worthy to be called blessed. Behold, all generations do call you blessed, as you have said. The daughters of Jerusalem – that is, the church’s daughters – saw you, and the royal princesses – the souls of the just – proclaimed you blessed and will praise you for all ages.

The Prophets, then, proclaim you. The Angels serve you, the Apostles revere you, the virginal mouthpiece of God takes care of the ever-virgin who was Mother of God. Today the Angels minister to you as you go home to your Son, joined by the souls of the just, of Patriarchs and Prophets. The Apostles are your escort, with a countless throng of inspired Fathers gathered from the ends of the earth as in a cloud, by your Son’s divine command, in this holy and sacred city, Jerusalem. In their godly enthusiasm, they sing holy hymns to you, the source of the Lord’s body that is for us a stream of life.

Oh, see how the source of life is carried over into life, through the midst of death! See how the one who overcame the defining limits of nature in her childbearing now gives way to those same limits, and submits her unsullied body to death! It was only right for that body to "lay aside what is mortal and put on immortality" (I Cor. 15.53), since the Lord of nature Himself did not refuse the test of death. He died in the flesh, and by that death destroyed death, bestowed incorruptibility upon corrupt nature, and made death the source of resurrection. See how the Maker of all things receives into his own hands her holy soul, now separated from that tabernacle that received God. He rightly honors her who was by nature His handmaid but whom by His saving plan He made to be his mother, in the unfathomable ocean of His love for humanity.

The Christian Artist in the World

I recently discovered the article, "The Christian Artist in the World," by Deacon James Bryant. The article presents a perspective on art by an architect who is a deacon in the Orthodox Christian Church.

The article originally appeared in The Handmaiden Vol. 8 No. 4.

Photo Copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees

Women, Health & the Orthodox Mission

According to a report on FOXNews, "Mental health experts say more and more youngsters are being influenced by the 'sexualization of girls,' a term coined in a report released earlier this year by the American Psychological Association." Apparently, mental health professionals are realizing that the message sent to young girls through the media and affirmed by the actions of some female "role models" have negative effects on the mental health of girls. Read "Young Girls Going Wild, But at What Consequences?"

We also live in a world where some people actually advocate eating disorders as a way of remaining physically thin. See the BBC Report on "Seeking 'thinspiration' ."

Without the active, spiritual experience of our Creator in our lives, human culture declines and people suffer.

These articles highlight the importance of the Orthodox Christian mission in society. As the Church, the body of Christ on earth, we have been called to reach out into the world with love and compassion to bring those around us into the safe haven where souls are healed and life is renewed. We have the anthropological knowledge and understanding of the world necessary to help young girls (along with their parents) and young women know what it means to be a healthy person in body and soul. Through education we can offer a worldview for the mind, but even more importantly, we can provide a place for the nurturing of innocence (not naivete) and a way of healing from the scars that have already been inflicted upon heart and mind.

A lot of secular people probably think that Orthodox mission and evangelism is about making converts that belong to the same organization and think the same way. This misunderstanding is unfortunate. The Orthodox mission is a medical mission. Our common vocation is to bring healing through divine grace so that people live healthy lives. If anyone ever wonders why our society needs the Orthodox Church, look around at those in need. If we're honest with ourselves, we don't have to look very far.

Evangelical Protestants & Art

I recently read, “Evangelicals Start Push in the Arts” (also available here), an Associated Press article written by Eric Gorski. The piece explores the emerging place of the arts in certain Evangelical Protestant circles.

Some Evangelicals are trying to give art a central place in their communities and worship. The article dates skepticism about art within Evangelical Protestantism back to the Protestant Reformation, when the Protestants reacted against Roman Catholicism, thereby initiating the Protestant movement that has produced thousands of denominations, groups, associations, and independent congregations.

Instead of trying to come up with a new philosophy of art or develop innovative uses for art in Evangelical culture, Evangelicals should look back beyond the beginning of both Protestantism and Roman Catholicism to discover the Orthodox Christian Church. Within the Orthodox Church art has continued to be central to the Christian life. Evangelicals have the opportunity to discover what Christians have been doing in the East for centuries and what the West, dominated by Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and secularism, has forgotten. The Orthodox Church expressed the theology of sacred art and defended the place of holy image in the Christian Church centuries ago, long before either Roman Catholicism or Protestantism existed.

In the article, an artist named Makoto Fujimura is quoted as saying,

“I’m a Christian….I am also an artist and creative, and what I do is driven by my faith experience….But I am also a human being living the 21st century, struggling with a lot of brokenness – my own, as well as the world’s. I don’t want to use the term ‘Christian’ to shield me away from the suffering or evil that I see, or to escape in some nice ghetto where everybody thinks the same.”

This statement captures the discontinuity in people’s minds between their religious life and their “real life” in American culture. Within the Orthodox way of life, no such distinction exists between our “faith experience” and our life in the world. Our life as Orthodox Christians is the experience of God within the creation. The Orthodox life is the path of healing from brokenness that allows us to become truly human in the fullest sense of the word. The term “Christian” isn’t a word that “shields” us from suffering and evil, but because we are Christians we have an understanding and sense of the meaning of suffering and evil. To be a Christian is to face suffering and evil, help others through it, and to ultimately overcome it. Being an Orthodox Christian doesn’t mean withdrawing to a “ghetto where everybody thinks the same,” but it means being the Church together, sharing a common faith and life.

The faith-expressing art described in this article isn’t clearly religious art, but abstract modern art influenced by the artists' faith. The philosophy among some Evangelical artists seems to be that in order for secular people in our culture to relate to art that reflects our faith the art we produce cannot clearly express our faith, but our faith must be ambiguously hidden within it. Instead of disguising our faith in abstraction, we need to plainly reveal the faith to others. The iconography of the Orthodox Church proclaims a clear message for anyone willing to discover it. Many casual observers may dismiss an icon as an example of irrelavent religious art, but the deeper meaning of icons can touch the soul of anyone who seeks beauty and healing. We don’t have to subversively sneak a spiritual message hidden in unintelligible images on a canvas into the unsuspecting minds of unwary observers . Abstract modern art may have value in expressing the Faith, but such abstract art is not necessary for communicating the Faith to non-Christians. For centuries, iconography has effectively communicated the Orthodox Faith and expressed the Mystery of Divine Beauty.

Fujimura says that “The Bible is full of abstraction….Think about this God who created the universe, the heavens and the earth from nothing. In order to have faith you have to reach out to something, to a mystery.” The Bible communicates a clear message. The Scripture is not analogous to a canvas splattered with lines, streams, splotches, and swaths of paint either strategically or randomly applied. (Unfortunately, abstract art often mirrors the confused, disoriented views of a corrupted, broken secular culture more than the Christian experience of Mystery.) The authors of Holy Scripture, the mystic theological poets (like St. Ephraim the Syrian and St. Symeon the New Theologian), and the great iconographers throughout history have expressed the Christian Faith both creatively and clearly, revealing the Divine Mystery they intimately experience.

This article includes an explanation of the role of movies among Evangelicals. We don’t have to search for traces of spiritual themes in secular art, or as the article puts it, try to “find holy moments within mainstream movies.” Instead, we can beneficially find holy moments in Orthodox Christian stories about people who genuinely have holy moments. Why try to find the theme of repentance in a Hollywood flick, or an indie film for that matter, when I can tell someone the amazing story of St. Mary of Egypt, a sensual urban party girl who turned away from her self-destructive lifestyle to become a desert-dwelling holy woman who found peace, enlightenment, and union with God? (Artists may be interested to know that an icon placed an important role in her conversion.) Certainly, a lot of movies offer incredible metaphors of the Christian experience, but the most powerful stories are found within the life of the Church. Unfortunately, most Evangelicals have never even heard of these stories and continue to be disconnected from the continuing life of the ancient Church where sacred art and stories are central to our daily existence.

Those who are thirsty for Beauty should come to the place where the fountain flows unceasingly. If Evangelicals want a Church where art is central to worship and prayer, they don’t need to invent something new. They can instead walk through the doors of the ancient Church where these things have been preserved from generation to generation since the earliest times.

One problem within contemporary art culture is that art is often driven by self-centered egotism. Artists may have an “I’ve got something important to say and I have a right to express it” attitude. Their art is about me and my experience. Compare that attitude with the correct attitude of an iconographer in the Eastern tradition. One who paints icons isn’t concerned with his or her own ideas or experience, but our common faith and common experience as the Church. Since our Faith is constant, a familiar continuity is present in the sacred art produced down through the ages.

There is a place for personal artistic expression in the Orthodox Christian life, but not individualistic expression because we are not independent individuals but persons within a community. There is even a place for the Western art styles, from realistic to abstract, within the Orthodox life. The importance of an artist understanding and experiencing Orthodox iconography within the life of the Church is that he or she can know the meaning and nature of truly spiritual art and be influenced and guided by it. Knowledge of iconography, an expression of our life together, will help artists to better understand how to accurately and express their own experience through other media for the benefit of others.

May artists, Evangelicals, secularists, and the “spiritual, but not religious” types discover the source of Beauty and the expression of sacred Beauty found within the Orthodox Church.

The Mouse, the Bee & Islamic TV

What if Mickey Mouse taught Islamic values? Well, if you lived in Palestine and watched Al-Aqsa TV you could find out by viewing Tomorrow’s Pioneers. This is not Sesame Street. Check out one of the latest efforts to turn innocent children into violent Islamic Radicals. Watch an episode with Farfour the Mouse. When Farfour the Mouse is killed, his cousin, Nahoul the Bee replaces him. (Nahoul, more dangerous than an Africanized honeybee.)

These three episodes are compliments of the Middle East Media Review Institute (MEMRI), well respected for their translation of Arabic language sources into English.

The Tomorrow’s Pioneers show inspires me. (Please, let me explain....) If some people in the world are putting so much effort into corrupting young minds and inciting the innocent to commit murder (which often includes suicide), how much more should Orthodox Christians zealously teach their children the values of love, beauty, and peace. How can we creatively communicate to our little ones the importance of praying for our enemies, doing good even to those who hate us, and helping our neighbors, who include those not like us. Additionally, how much effort should we spend to educate parents in these values so they can pass them on to their children?

Let us teach out kids about the real Martyrs who shed only their own blood when faced with persecution.

Zeal is good when guided my Truth. Misplaced zeal is self-destructive and dangerous to others. May we neither neglect our children nor teach them the way of destruction (by word or by example), but spiritually nurture them in the way of the Saints.


(The image of the TV from Wikipedia is in the public domain.)

Beauty & Healing: Houston, TX

Video: The Orthodox Western Rite

Sometimes the Orthodox Church is called the Eastern Orthodox Church. Although our roots are in the East and most of our communities in America follow the Eastern (Byzantine) Rite, some follow the Western Rite. There is only one Orthodox Church for the whole world, East and West.

What a lot of people would consider an old Roman Catholic way of worshipping predates Roman Catholicism, which began in about AD 1054. This way of worshipping is actually an ancient Orthodox way of worshipping in the Western world. Western Rite worship looks more Anglican or Roman Catholic than the Eastern Rite, but the Western Rite is Orthodox.

If you're curious about the Western Rite of the Orthodox Church, I recommend that you watch the brief video about St. Paul Orthodox Church in Houston, TX.

You may also read an article I wrote last summer on "Ancient Spirituality in the British Isles."

Podcast: The Story of Byzantium

A series of history lectures on the Eastern Roman Empire (aka Byzantine Empire) entitled, "12 Byzantine Rulers" is available online. Since the story of the Byzantine Empire is an essential part of the story of the Orthodox Church, it's worth listening to.

You can hear an interview with Lars Brownsworth, the lecturer, on NPR's Hear and Now. Another interview is available on The Scriptorium.

In addition to this podcast, you may also find Byzantium: The Byzantine Studies Page interesting.

Beauty & the Healing of the Soul: Charleston, WV

If you look at advertisements, watch TV and movies, or read magazines, you can tell that our culture is full of messages about physical beauty, how to become more attractive, and what a beautiful lifestyle looks like. Many of these messages that shape how we think about ourselves and see others are actually harmful to us and our relationships. While trying to be beautiful according to American standards, in reality we are confused and hurting inside. Self-centeredness, loneliness, lust, loss of direction, anger, relationship problems, eating disorders, violence, addiction, depression and other issues are plaguing many of us.

Beauty and the Healing of the Soul explores the problems we face and the hope found in the Orthodox way of life, the ancient way of spiritual healing.

If you live near Charleston, WV, join us on Friday, June 8th at 7:00 PM.


(Photo in ad by Jocelyn Mathewes. Used by permission. This photograph is part of her Women with Icons series.)

Orthodox Study Bible Cover Design

I look forward to the publication of the complete Orthodox Study Bible, including both the Old Testament and New Testament.

Visit the Thomas Nelson, Inc. website to vote for the cover design of the new Orthodox Study Bible

(I endorse cover design option #1.)

Beauty and Self-Esteem

I recently discovered an article by San Juanchos on the Blogcritics Magazine site entitled, "Ladies, Ten Ways to Boost Your Self Esteem." The last suggestion on the list (#10) is worthy of note:

"Understand that the most important part of beauty comes from within. Outer beauty fades through time, but inner beauty lasts throughout your whole life. Cultivate your spirit, read, soar, and don't spend so much time in front of that TV!"

This suggestion points the reader in the right direction. It encourages the nurturing and healing of the soul. Here's the problem: While many people within secular culture who read the article would probably agree that cultivating the spirit or nurturing the soul is something good, what these things really mean probably escapes most people. They may have a vague notion of cultivating the spirit, but their understanding would likely not reach very deep.

By living the Orthodox way of life we can diagnosis the root causes of our unhealthy self-image and receive the medicine that both heals our self-image and restores our inner beauty. Cultivating the spirit and nurturing the soul involve synergy, the cooperation between God and us. We don't need 10 ways to improve self-esteem, but we need the One who can allow us to see ourselves as we really are and heal us.

Copyright © 2007 by Dana S. Kees. (The painting by William Bouguereau is from the Art Renewal Center.)

The Beauty of Personal Change

Cosmetic plastic surgery is apparently becoming increasingly popular. I've seen a few video clips recently on CNN and FOX NEWS related to the subject. Most of us may not be surprised that "the Stars" are trying to look younger or just change how they look, but Fox News reported that cosmetic surgery among teenagers, even high school students, is on the rise. People are seeking to change even the smallest details of their appearances. Self-obsession with regard to outward appearance isn't just a problem among women. A report on Fox News indicates that more men are seeking Botox treatments to improve their looks. (Where is authentic manhood?)

Our society nurtures unhealthy attitudes about the human body. So many people have a corrupted view of what they really look like. The problem is not the outward appearance, but the sickness of the soul. We don't see the world, including ourselves, with clear vision. Instead of seeking clear vision to see themselves as they really are, people are changing their outward appearance so that the outer appearance conforms to their warped, blurry vision of themselves. Why alter a healthy body instead of seeking to cure the soul?

Orthodox Christians recently commemorated Christ's healing of the blind man. We chanted the prayer, "Lighten, O Lord, my supersensuous eyes, made blind by the gloom of sin. Anoint them, O compassionate One, with humility; wash them with the tears of repentance." True beauty in all its richness and depth isn't seen only with the physical eyes of the senses (sight is one of the five senses), but with our "super-sensual eyes," also called the "spiritual eyes" or the "eyes of the soul." When we turn away from our own self-conscious and prideful self-centeredness toward the One who is the source of Beauty, Love, and Life , we can see ourselves and the world around us with new eyes, enlightened by divine light.

Some people might say, "Don't think you need to change yourself. Just be proud of who you are." I'm not saying that. We all should seek to change who we are, striving to become more beautiful, loving, and full of life. This requires looking deep into our own souls. The transformation of the whole person can't be achieved by a medical procedure that affect only the body (and maybe the self-esteem). Personal transformation is acheived through the spiritual therapy that transfigures the soul and opens the eyes of the heart to see everything as it really is. If we are willing to embrace humility instead of feeding our egos then we can begin to walk down the path that leads toward real beauty and the achievement of our full human potential.

Copyright © 2007 by Dana S. Kees. (A Classical Beauty (1909) by John William Godward is from the Art Renewal Center Museum. Used by permission.)

The Search for Beauty's Holy Grail

Check out a CNN video report on the "Miracle Cream" that has inspired the British. The Daily Mail has published a piece on what the paper says has become "the Holy Grail of beauty treatments." The Guardian Unlimited and The Scotsman have also published articles on the subject. What if the British, the Europeans, and the Americans enthusiastically invested so much energy and hope in the beauty and healing of their souls?

The beauty of the body isn't bad, but the beauty of the soul is far more important and long lasting, affecting also the beauty of the body. This is an icon of St. Anastasia, who holds in her pure hands the medicine that heals both the body and the soul. May our generation find inspiration in St. Anastasia and all the Saints who show us the inner way of true beauty.

Copyright © 2007 by Dana S. Kees. (The icon of St. Anastasia is from the IconoGraphics ColorWorks Library, Theologic Systems, Theologic.com. Used by permission.)

A Summer of Beauty & Healing

A semester of formal study is coming to a close and summer vacation approaches. God willing, this summer I'll have a generous number of opportunities to speak on "Beauty and the Healing of the Soul" within the Orthodox way of life. I like writing on beauty and healing, and I've enjoyed conducting my research on the topic this year, but all of my effort is rooted in a simple desire to practically help people with the real problems that face them in American culture. May some good result from my effort.

St John Chrysostom: On Personal Beauty

St. John Chrysostom (4th c.) on the beauty of the body, the beauty of the soul, and how inner beauty can transform the outward appearance. (St. John refers to the soul here in feminine terms.):

For it is not the body wherein the beauty lies, but the expression, and the bloom which is shed over its substance by the soul.... I would have thee mark how all is hers that is beautiful. For whether she be pleased, she showers roses over the cheeks; or whether she be pained, she takes that beauty, and involves it all in a dark robe. And if she be continually in mirth, the body improves in condition; if in grief, she renders the same thinner and weaker than a spider’s web; if in wrath, she hath made it again abominable and foul; if she show the eye calm, great is the beauty that she bestows; if she express envy, very pale and livid is the hue she sheds over us; if love, abundant the gracefulness she at once confers. Thus in fact many women, not being beautiful in feature, have derived much grace from the soul; others again of brilliant bloom, by having an ungracious soul, have marred their beauty. Consider how a face that is pale grows red, and by the variation of color produces great delight, when there is need of shame and blushing. As, on the other hand, if it be shameless, it makes the countenance more unpleasing than any monster.

For nothing is fairer, nothing sweeter than a beauteous soul. For while as to bodies, the longing is with pain, in the case of souls the pleasure is pure and calm. Why then let go the king, and be wild about the herald? Why leave the philosopher, and gape after his interpreter? Hast thou seen a beautiful eye? acquaint thyself with that which is within; and if that be not beautiful, despise this likewise. For surely, didst thou see an ill-favored woman wearing a beautiful mask, she would make no impression on thee: just as on the other hand, neither wouldest thou suffer one fair and beautiful to be disguised by the mask, but wouldest take it away, as choosing to see her beauty unveiled.

This then I bid thee do in regard of the soul also, and acquaint thyself with it first; for this is clad with the body instead of a mask; wherefore also that abides such as it is; but the other, though it be mishapen, may quickly become beautiful. Though it have an eye that is unsightly, and harsh, and fierce, it may become beautiful, mild, calm, sweet-tempered, gentle.

This beauty therefore let us seek, this countenance let us adorn; that God also may “have pleasure in our beauty,” and impart to us of His everlasting blessings, by the grace and love towards man of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and might forever and ever. Amen.


- St. John Chrysostom (Orthodox bishop, 4th century), Homily XXXVI on Matthew, from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library website or the Nicene & Post-Nicene Fathers series, volume 10, second edition (Peabody, MA: Hedrickson Publishers, 2004), 231. The image of St. John Chrysostom is in the public domain.

The Work of an Iconographer

I previously published an article about iconography written by my friend, Dan Cassis, a Greek iconographer. The following article was written by another friend, Dimitri, a young iconographer who is native to Russia:

An Orthodox Christian icon is an image of the invisible made visible through paint. It is rendered in egg tempera on a hardwood panel. One of its purposes is to be the Gospel in visual form. Icons are not present in churches and homes just for decoration or custom: it is an object of veneration. The icon is an indispensable part of our worship, which itself functions as an icon by revealing the divine presence to the faithful and uniting the earthly and heavenly Church.

To make an icon I must begin with meditation to calm my body and heart in order to become more attentive. I study the icons that have already been made, and select one as the basis for my sketch. A person or event in Scripture or in the life of the Church may be painted. Currently, I take my sketches from existing icons. I would never paint an icon of a new, original subject (person or event) without the blessing of a bishop. New subjects are most often painted when the Church recognizes that someone who has died is a Saint, a “holy one.” When a Saint is recognized, an iconographer will paint an icon of the person. Even these new images are painted according to Tradition, the life of the Church. When we paint we unveil the teachings of a way of life that has been passed down from generation to generation for 2,000 years, and we are responsible for doing so accurately.

In an icon, every line, shape, and color – every layer of paint, has meaning and is itself part of our teaching. Even the tools we use teach us.

I begin the work by making a sketch. This sketch may be a tracing of a previously painted icon or a tracing from one of my teacher’s sketches. The sketch consists of penciled lines. It takes a long time to learn how to render the lines, and these lines are everything to the icon. There are elaborate circular lines and long straight lines. Each line will have varying thicknesses, and in this way the painting can resemble calligraphy. What is rendered in pencil on paper will be traced onto the wooden board. Once the tracing is complete, the painting will begin.

Let me describe the board, the painting surface: It is called an ark, and is symbolic of the story of salvation. The board may be poplar or oak – wood free of natural faults that can be sanded very smoothly. I begin with a preliminary sanding. Then, I apply to the board linen or cotton cloth that has been stretched by being immersed in gesso, a solution made of marble dust, rabbit skin glue, and water. Several layers of gesso are applied, and will be allowed to dry without artificial heat. Next, I will sand the gessoed, clothed board many times; finishing with 400 & 600 grade sandpaper.

Finally, the drawing will be traced onto the board. I etch the lines of the drawing onto my board very carefully with a large needle, a fine nail, or an engraver. I have to be sure that the lines are etched thickly enough to be seen under one or two layers of tempera paint, but thinly enough to have grace. The lines will be painted several times.

I take a measurement from the center of the figure’s face, and with a compass draw a circle around the entire head. The circle, a halo, represents holiness. I cover the halo area with a solution of “boule” or clay. Ingredients in the solution may include garlic or a certain kind of vodka. These solutions are sticky or damp, and are applied to the panel to make the gold leaf stick to the halo. I breath onto the panel and wet the clay. Then I apply gold leaf to the halo by laying the sheet of gold leaf (with paper backing) face down onto the clay. To ensure the gold leaf adheres to the surface I gently press the leaf down by rubbing the paper backing. Very carefully I use a soft wide brush to remove surplus particles of gold. Sometimes the gold adheres easily, sometimes it doesn’t.

At this point I make my paint. I begin by separating an egg yoke from the whites. Carefully, I rinse the yoke, holding it in my hand. When it is completely free of the white and moves in my hand like a smooth jellied ball, I drop the yoke into a small bowl or cup. I add a small amount of vinegar to the yoke, which slightly thins and preserves it. A powdered pigment, the color, is also added. The pigments are ground pieces of earth and rocks from all over the world. The pigments are expensive, but tempera made in this way lasts for centuries.

I begin the actual painting using a muddy-colored thin wash of paint with a rather small brush. This paint looks earthy and reminds me of the creation, especially the earth, made by the hands of God. The icon looks formless at this point. I either use a technique called petit lac (“little lake”), or “puddling” to make the icon’s background. This layer will dry either as a glossy texture, or a smooth receding background, according to how I apply the paint.

After the background has been painted, I begin to “build” the paint. I mix colors and apply the paint smoothly in several layers, moving from dark colors to light, with the pigments that are very finely ground on the top layers. The lines are traced three times in black paint and dark colors, using a fine brush made of squirrel hair or similar material. I apply lighter areas of paint next to dark areas to build the form of the figure, but the figure will not be in 3D, for we are not trying to render an exact representational form. The finished form will actually appear inverted to the eye, but by gazing at the image the viewer will be taken in to the painting by this technique.

As I paint, I begin to recognize a draped figure. Each kind of drapery (clothing) we paint has a meaning. Its color tells us something. Dark reds and greens are used to drape Christ and the Theotokos (the Virgin Mary). The Theotokos is covered in the red of Divinity. Christ, who is Divine, is covered in the greens of the earth to tell us about His humanity. Sometimes we clothe angels to remind us of their help and their presence. The figure may hold a scroll, a cross, or some other object that tells us about his or her work on earth. Some, who were healers, are painted holding a medicine jar.

When I’m close to finishing the painting, I apply the “life-giving lines” to the figure, face and clothing. These are small, delicate lines painted with a very lightly colored pigment, usually tints of yellow and white. They appear around the hands, joints, and especially the face and neck, lighting the figure. This enlightening represents the love and presence of God. (Christ is described as Light in the New Testament.)

Finally, I letter the icon in red with the name of the person depicted. These titles appear in the upper third of the icon plane. I may trace the halo with a round line of red paint that some people say is symbolic of the blood of Christ. In an icon of Christ Himself, the three Greek letters that form the words translated “The One Who Is” or "The Existing One" are painted in a halo that surrounds Christ’s head.

The board will be given several weeks to dry in a dust free place. It will then be varnished and given to a priest who will bless the icon through ancient prayers and set it on the altar table in the holy sanctuary of an Orthodox temple. Upon the altar table, the icon will rest in an atmosphere of prayer and encounter divine grace during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. Afterwards, the icon will be given to the recipient or placed in the church for the viewing, contemplation, and veneration of the faithful.

The Great Canon: An Ancient Healing Prayer

This week, Orthodox Christians gather together in the evenings to pray The Great Canon together. St. Andrew of Crete wrote The Great Canon around the year 700. The heavy words of this prayer reflect the human experience, help us look into our hearts honestly, and can lead us to becoming better people, more spiritual and more human. We all sin, turning away from God, who is the source of life. Sin produces darkness and confusion within us. We need to repent, turn around back toward God, to find true life. The sins we commit are like self-inflicted wounds that injure us deep within, but through repentance (turning away from the death within us toward our life-giving God), we can begin walking back toward the One who heals us and restores our beauty. With our whole hearts and minds, let us pray:

Come, wretched soul, with thy flesh to the Creator of all. Make confession to Him, and abstain henceforth from thy past brutishness; and offer to God tears of repentance.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have rivaled the transgression of Adam, the first-formed man, and I have found myself stripped naked of God, of the eternal Kingdom and its joy, because of my sins.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Woe to me, miserable soul! How like thou art to the first Eve! For thou hast looked in wickedness and wast grievously wounded; thou hast touched the tree and rashly tasted the deceptive food.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Instead of the visible Eve, I have the Eve of the mind: the passionate thought in my flesh, showing me what seems sweet; yet whenever I taste it, I find it bitter.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I confess to Thee, O Savior, the sins I have committed, the wounds of my soul and body, which murderous thoughts, like thieves, have inflected inwardly upon me.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Though I have sinned, O Savior, yet I know that Thou art full of loving-kindness. Thou dost chastise with mercy and art fervent in compassion. Thou dost see me weeping and dost run to meet me, the Father calling back the prodigal son.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I offer to Thee, O merciful Lord, the tears of the harlot. Take pity on me, O Savior, in Thy compassion.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

With the lusts of passion I have darkened the beauty of my soul, and turned my whole mind entirely to dust.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have torn the first garment that the Creator wove for me in the beginning, and now I lie naked.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have lost the beauty and glory with which I was first created; and now I lied naked and ashamed.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have adorned the idol my flesh with a many-colored coat of shameful thoughts, and I am condemned.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have cared only for the outward adornment, and neglected that which is within—the tabernacle fashioned by God.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

With my lustful desire I have formed within myself the deformity of the passions and disfigured the beauty of my mind.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have discolored with the passions the first beauty of the image, O Savior. But see me, as once Thou hast sought the lost coin, and find me.


Christ said, “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15.8-10, RSV).



Photo of an icon of Christ by Dana S. Kees. The above selections from The Great Canon, also known as The Canon of St. Andrew of Crete are found in The Lenten Triodion, Trans. by Mother Mary and Bishop KALLISTOS, Great Compline for Monday and Tuesday of the First Week of Lent (South Canaan, PA: St. Tikhon’s Seminary Press, 2001). These selections are printed, with commentary, in First Fruits of Prayer: A Forty-Day Journey Through the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete by Frederica Mathewes-Green (Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2006), Chapters 1, 5, & 6. The passage from Holy Scripture is from the Revised Standard Version.