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Iconographer prayers7/11/2023 Photo: Meg Pierįather Kallinikos was impressed with the process employed at Saint Katherine’s and practices it today. These portraits, created in the first century on wood and cloth, were the early prototypes for icons, which Christians adopted.”Īn icon painting used for worship. The Greeks and Romans wanted to paint pictures of their dead rather than create mummies. Classical writers observed that the Egyptians painted with molten wax, using special tools. “He has visited many of the ancient sites where Byzantine icons have been preserved, including the Holy Monastery of Saint Katherine on Mount Sinai in Egypt. “He is 90 in body but in his mind he is a young man, still searching for lost techniques,” Vassos said. Her mother, the priest’s sister, painted too.įather Kallinikos held up an icon painting and spoke in Greek. The monk’s niece, Stamatia Zannikon of Athens, had come for the summer to study icon painting with him, something she has done for the past eight years. In his small and cluttered studio, the monk was in animated conversation with Vassos Christophides of Nicosia, who had been the head of a handicraft organization and has known Father Kallinikos for 30 years. In a small outbuilding apart from the monastery, I found Father Kallinikos with company and a twinkle in his eye. Image Credit: Library of Cyprus University of Technology Iconographer Father Kallinikos at Stavrovouni Monastery in the 1950s. When I met him, Father Kallinkons was 90 years old, and he said the years of wall painting standing on scaffolding had affected his knees. He studied techniques at various places such as Mystras, Meteora, Berroia, Thessaloniki and Mount Sinai. After being released from prison he moved to Athens and took courses from another great icon painter, Fotis Kontoglou. He took part in Cyprus’ liberation struggle from 1955 – 1959 and was arrested by the English, tortured and imprisoned. In 1946, he went to Mount Athos where he took courses in icon painting. I was eager to meet Father Kallinikos, who had come to the monastery in 1940 when he was 20 and at 22 had started doing wall paintings at Stavrovouni. 90-Year Old Iconographer Father Kallinikos Is An Icon Himself Happily, a hand-painted sign outside Father Kallinikos' studio affirmed “Entrance Allowed for Women”. This rule is called avato and emulates a similar code at Mount Athos, which is designed to keep the monks isolated from temptation. Ironically, women are not allowed to enter the main part of the monastery, but can visit the adjacent chapel. Permission to enter the monastery granted for women. Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, who stopped in Cyprus on her return from the Holy Land. It is believed that this monastery was founded in 327 by St. The syllables “stavro” at the beginning of a church’s name means that it possesses a piece of the “true cross,” on which Jesus was crucified. The Monastery sits atop a steep mountain that resembles a pyramid, overlooking Larnaca Bay. I met Father Kallinko at Stavrovouni Monastery, which he first entered as a novice monk when he was 21 years old. Meeting Iconographer Father Kallinikos at Stavrovouni Monastery "īyzantine Icons are frequently referred to as Eastern Orthodox Christianity's art (the branch of Christianity originally from Byzantium, Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, Jordan, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and Russia). Icons have remained nameless for the most of Church history, although in recent years, some iconographers have started signing their work "Through the hand of. Since the goal is to perpetuate tradition by faithfully recreating earlier icons within set parameters, individual interpretation should be limited to a minimum. Traditionally, iconographers fast, pray, and steer clear of worldly excitement while they labor. Icons have so traditionally been mostly produced by monks and nuns. They should ideally be devout people who have received holy fathers' training. Iconographers write or paint the icon using consecrated brushes, paints, and materials in order to interpret revealed scripture and divine truths into pictorial pictures. The word iconographer means "image writer", and comes from the Greek εικον (image) and γραφειν (to write). Yet when I met the monk shortly before his death, he was a humble and gracious host.Īn iconographer in Orthodox Christianity is a practitioner of iconography, the art of icon painting. He was himself considered an icon for his role in restoring Byzantine art techniques during his 91 years. Mammous, was an Orthodox monk in Cyprus, and one of the most important icon painters of the modern age. Iconographer Father Kallinikos Stavrovouniotis, whose birth name was Kostas P.
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