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| The Official Publication of The Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and South East Asia | |||
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- Under the Spiritual Jurisdiction of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate -
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| The Censer | |||
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Hong Kong Volume 5, Issue 5, July 2001 |
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H.E.
Metropolitan Nikitas
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Editor: Gruia
Jacotă
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For
some, it may seem strange to talk about religious art as a means of
fostering inter-religious harmony. But in reality, religion is about art,
for art is a means of creation and the venues of expressing one’s
identity. All we need to do is to go back to the very beginning and to
recall the words of Genesis and the initiative of God to bring all into
being – the idea of creation. This might be understood as the very first
artistic expression. Of course, religious conservatism would argue against
this. But, we are not here in a meeting of theological debate, trying to
resolve dogmatic issues, nor are we in the company of extreme
conservatism. Rather, we are here in search of the creative means that
will bring us to a better understanding and appreciation of each other.
There
is a story in the Russian Primary Chronicle of how Vladimir, Prince of
Kiev, while still a pagan, desired to gather and give his subjects a faith
tradition. We are told that he sent his followers to visit various nations
and to report to him their findings. When his followers spoke to him of
what they found in the great Church of the Holy Wisdom (Agia Sophia) in
Constantinople, they said the following: "We knew not whether we were
in heaven or on earth, for surely there is no such splendor or beauty
anywhere upon earth". While in the Church of the Holy Wisdom, the
representatives of Vladimir not only encountered the celebration of the
Divine Liturgy, they also experienced a much greater encounter – one
that touched the total person. In the liturgy, the emissaries not only saw
the clergy serve, they heard the choir sing, and they smelled the sweet
incense and more. But, this was not all that moved them. Staring down from
above, was the icon of Christ the Almighty. And, the heavenly hosts and
the Saints, who were depicted in the traditional Byzantine style of art,
surrounded them. If anyone today would wish to know and understand the
real Orthodox expression of life and worship, he/she should relive that
same experience of one thousand years ago – that is the total experience
of "spiritual and sacred art" in a liturgical setting. In the
Orthodox Church, especially in the great Church of Saint Sophia,
architecture, iconography and psalmody, everything spoke of a different
world – not the material one, which is our present time and space.
With
the Turkish conquest of Constantinople in 1453, Agia Sophia became a
mosque, and in subsequent years all the interior figure mosaics were
obscured under coatings of plaster and painted ornaments; most of
the Christian symbols elsewhere were obliterated. The four slender
minarets, which rise so strikingly at the outer corners of the
structure, were added singly and at different times; the crescent
supplanted the cross on the summit of the dome, and the altar and
the pulpit were replaced by the customary Muslim furnishings.
As
a relatively newcomer into the religious scene in Singapore, the Holy
Orthodox Church has already made a home for herself here. The parish of
the Holy Resurrection has taken on a cosmopolitan face, following
Singapore’s ethnic and racial diversity. As a result, the parish has
been enriched with different cultures blending together. After becoming
Orthodox, not only have I learnt to embrace the fullness of the truth, I
have learnt to respect and admire the diverse and unique cultures of
countries from the farthest corners of the world, thus opening and
enriching my mind.
Being
a newcomer to Orthodoxy, I have much to learn from and about this
amazing ark of salvation. Frankly, until very recently, converting to
join another church was the last thing on my mind. I was brought up in a
loving Methodist home where I was taught to go to church regularly, to
read the Bible daily and above all to love God. I was very involved in
church and in my school’s Christian Fellowship. At the same time, I
was an avid reader about the ancient world. One of the civilizations
that attracted me was the Byzantine Empire within which the Orthodox
Church flourished. I had a book on Byzantium that showed some of the
icons produced during that period. One of the icons that particularly
attracted me was that of the Christ Pantocrator. Here was a picture of
Christ that was different from the normal Protestant pictures of Christ.
Somehow, this icon drew me to search deeper into the Christian faith, to
find out more about early Christianity. As a result, after researching
on the Internet and from books, I was convinced that the Orthodox Church
was the New Testament Church. Thus I began joining the Orthodox in their
services in January 2000, and was recently baptized this year, at
Pascha. In short, I converted to Orthodoxy because I wanted to be in the
church that had existed since apostolic times. As this church grows in
Singapore, I look forward to sharing Orthodoxy with my family and
friends, who have been very supportive.
Singapore
was first mentioned in a 3rd Century Chinese account, which described it
as "Pu-luo-chung", or island at the end of the peninsula. In
the 7th Century, a Malayan Buddhist Empire was established on the island
of Sumatra. Temasek (Sea Town), as Singapore was then known, was a
prosperous trading outpost of this empire. However, it is said that in
the 13th Century, a member of the Royal family, Sang Nila Utama, was
searching for a site to build a new city. Arriving on the sandy shores
of the island, he mistook a tiger for a lion. Taking this as a good
omen, he decided to build his new city here, naming it Singapura, the
Sanskrit words for Lion City. Singapore’s modern name was thus born.
I
come from Georgia, from the country where Christianity was brought in
the first century, by the Holy Apostles Andrew the First-Called, Simon
of Cana and Matthias. Later, in the fourth century Georgia became a
Christian country when St Nina, Equal-to-the-Apostles, came to preach
there. Old churches in Georgia – of which there are an incredibly high
number, for such a small country – and the beautiful frescoes in them,
made me wish to be able to create such a fresco on the walls of our
church.
Now
I live in Singapore and am a parishioner of the Community of the Holy
Resurrection here. I have painted the Resurrection icon for the parish,
together with those of the Apostles Peter and Paul, and Timothy for the
latest Singaporean to become Orthodox – Timothy Tan, who was baptized
last Pascha. There is also interest among our community to learn more
about writing icons and so I may have the opportunity of sharing what I
know, and handing on what I have learned, to new Singaporean Orthodox. I
thank God for giving me the opportunity to do something for the newly
established church in Singapore.
I
believe that it is more appropriate to speak about "writing"
rather than "painting" icons. This is a direct translation of
the word used in Greek (iconographos, icon writer) and in Georgian, and
also reflects the word used in many Orthodox groups. This is primarily
because the process of writing an icon is not, at its core, a
creative process. If done correctly, it is really a collaborative effort
between God, the Saint whose icon is being written, and the
iconographer...with the iconographer consciously working simply as the
‘tool’. As such, it is an attempt to reveal a spiritual reality,
normally through the use of a pattern. In my case, as for many
iconographers, this pattern usually is another icon or icon print, or a
detailed description. The use of ‘write’, therefore, differentiates
from the usual form of painting, which takes shape through the creative
process of the artist’s imagination. Interestingly, we are also said
to "read" an icon: to interpret the spiritual meaning of
colour, gesture, detail and so on. Thus the writing and reading of icons
(similar to the processes of encoding and decoding) allow us to
participate more fully in the worshiping Tradition of the Church.
Recently
we were able to send some of our icons to Jakarta to be exhib St Nicolas
the Wonderworker (the chapel in the parish house is dedicated to St
Nicolas). I am now working on a set of the Twelve Great Feasts – six
are finished already and I am now doing one for Transfiguration. I have
also painted icons for other people and occasions including St Metrophan
of Beijing for the Cathedral in Hong Kong, St Nektarios of Pentapolis
for our priest Fr Daniel for his ordination, St ited as part of the JakArt@2001
art festival. These included icons by me as well as other contemporary
icon writers. The parish hopes, too, to arrange a similar exhibition in
Singapore soon. However, as you probably know, iconographers rarely sign
their work, because they do not believe that they paint the icons alone;
the producing of an icon is not an artistic pursuit but, rather, an act
of prayer. This I knew before I started work as an iconographer, but now
I feel it: when I look at ‘my icons’, I know that I could not do it
alone, without God’s help.
[OMHKSEA]-
Between 27-29 June, His Eminence Metropolitan Nikitas participated in a
Seminar entitled: Interreligious Dialogue on Art and Religion: Vehicle
for Creating World Peace, organised by the municipality of Jakarta,
Indonesia, on the margins of the Art Festival JakArt@2001..jpg)
The
JakArt@2001 Festival is a cultural and artistic year-long forum hosting
successive events that bring together artists from around the world.
Events include themes from the following domains: Architecture, Dance,
Film, Inter-Faith Dialogue, Music, Music and Education, Theatre, Visual
Art.