by Alex Ionescu
Theophanes the Cretan's influence spans
continents and centuries. The sixteenth-century
painter and Christian Orthodox monk Theophanes
Strelitzas Bathas (1527-1559), was born into a family
of artists who fled from southern Greece to the
safety of
Venetian-occupied Crete after Constantinople fell in
1453. He worked on icons and murals at monasteries
on Mount Athos from 1535 until 1546. "The
presence of the Cretan painter Theophanes was a
turning point in the history of art on the Holy
Mountain." (Titos Papamastorakis, p.98 'Icons of
the Holy Monastery of Pantocrator', Mount Athos,
1988.)
The multi-national monastic environment on
Mount Athos received and spread artistic influences
to and from all corners of the Orthodox world. The
Orthodox Christian art also influenced Western
Europe; western artists created valuable works of art
in the so-called "maniera greca" (the Greek manner -
Giorgio Vasari, 16-th century).
Theophanes the Cretan's life, his teaching and his
wondrous icons and murals sparked an increase in the
quality and quantity of Orthodox sacred art in
Southern and Eastern Europe in the second half of
the 16-th century, from Greece to Romania and
Russia - strengthening Christian Orthodox peoples'
spiritual resistance to the invading Islamic armies of
the Ottoman Empire. After the fall of Constantinople,
the cultural and military center of the Orthodox world
a hundred years earlier, there was an increase in the
resistance and resolve to live free for the Orthodox
people in the rest of the Orthodox world.
Theophanes the Cretan used art to help counter
violence in a peaceful way.
The direct adversity of the Islamic Ottoman
Empire toward religious freedom from 1350 to 1918
ended up strengthening the faith of the Christians in
the
Southern and Eastern parts of Europe, so they
continued to maintain their Orthodoxy throughout
centuries. Meanwhile, the Western world felt free to
change its Christian beliefs in response to internal
pressures over time. The direct adversity of the
atheist Iron Curtain toward religious freedom in
Central and Eastern Europe from 1918 and 1945 to
1989, also ended up increasing Orthodox peoples'
spirituality and the resilience of their faith.
Early Christians practiced their faith literally
underground, in Catacombs in
Rome, or in entire underground cities in Cappadocia. Christians under
the Iron Curtain
tried to practice their faith in ways that made it
possible to survive under the military occupation of
dictatorial regimes. For their faith, some people were
killed, imprisoned or forced to do hard labor in
inhumane conditions; some people fled the country or
were forced to leave, while others took refuge in the
wilderness when the atheist oppression intensified -
but most people in Central and Eastern Europe had to
find a way to live under the Marxist dictatorships of
the 20-th century.
The religious freedom gained in democratic
countries
allows the _expression of all cultures, sometimes in a
way that makes them all seem irrelevant, with all
values relative and almost everything negotiable.
Educating people about their own culture increases
their respect for culture in general, and the respect
of other cultures. A better, more peaceful life is
possible through balanced education of the young
generations.
Critical thinking and art education,
("street smarts" combined with "book smarts") allow
the individual to be less easily deceived in the "gray
areas" between good and evil. It has been said
that "you know trees by their fruit" and people by
the results of their actions. While direct aggression
and oppression make it easier to recognize evil by its
actions, it is harder to make choices when any choice
seems equally good in a free society. The
Christian way of countering the good with good, and
also countering the bad with good only, makes it
easier to live - since one only has to do good
regardless of circumstances.
Since religiosity is not Orthodoxy, Orthodox
Christian education is necessary both when there is
freedom of religion and when Orthodoxy is oppressed.
Given the
variety of messages exchanged in a free society both
on the big screen and on the TV screen, it is worthy
to add the Orthodox message in the style that it has
used so effectively for thousands of years. Today's
rapidly advancing tools and technologies present
challenges and opportunities for creative artists and
communications professionals.
It has been said that "the pen is mightier than
the
sword". Since "a picture tells a thousand words", the
painter's brush is thousands of times stronger than
words alone in making peace. Theophanes the Cretan
made the most of the tools, techniques and materials
of his time, creating sacred art objects and murals
that have lasted hundreds of years already. Today's
high resolution photographic cameras, high definition
video recording equipment, or special effects
computer systems seem that much more powerful
visual communication tools, compared to words or
single images alone. But how can photos, motion
pictures or special effects show "images of the
invisible", or "open windows on the Kingdom of
Heaven", like humble wood, glass or fresco icons and
murals have done so far for centuries?
Using "animated icons" or combining live actors
and
computer-generated special effects to create
theologically correct Orthodox materials is entirely
possible nowadays. Using today's digital visual media
tools and techniques to communicate Orthodox
Christianity's message of peace is a worthy research
and development topic.
IconWriter.ComTM will continue to
use
traditional techniques and materials, while exploring
the use of new tools and materials. For example,
IconWriter.ComTM replaced
woodcarver's chisel with the router bit to create the
raised edges on solid hardwood icon panels,
increasing the speed of delivery while keeping the
high quality needed for traditional icon panels.
IconWriter.ComTM projects such as
a "virtual reality" navigable model of a 16-th century Romanian
Orthodox church with full-mural (inside and outside)
Christian Orthodox iconography, or a 3D "digital
Orthodox icon" of the Transfiguration of Our Lord
Jesus Christ (celebrated each year on August 6), are
positioning IconWriter.ComTM for
spiritual and technological growth in today's Digital
Age.
Theophanes the Cretan used the visual arts
of his time to communicate clearly and concisely Orthodox
theological truths. Theophanes' achievements in
icon and mural painting in monasteries on the Holy
Mountain inspired countless other artists to increase
the quality of their Christian Orthodox sacred works
of art. His icons and murals continue to educate
believers and to encourage Orthodox Christian artists
to produce high quality works.
