Lectures | |
| Iconography lectures are a wonderful part of sharing knowlege and introducing the sacred image to an audience wanting to learn about the art of theology and the theology of art. The communication of knowledge is an important part of ministering to the public about the historical, religious and spiritual significance of the icon. | |
| Thomas Xenakis has been investigating academically the icon since 1987. He spent a year in Greece with a senior Fulbright Fellowship Research Award in the Contemporary Application of Byzantine Media: The Neo Byzantine. He studied the works of the Greek Neo Byzantines such as Fotis Kontoglou, Stylianos Kartakos, Petros Vamboulis, among others in their circle. Thomas Xenakis was trained in iconography on the Holy Mountain, Athos in New Skete, with Father Nikon in 1995. Additionally, he trained with Konstantinos Xenopoulos of Katerini, Greece, the state icon painter for the Hellenic Republic at that time. He is trained in the theology of the icon and has researched extensively the history of the icon, the Orthodox Church, and the Byzantine Medieval Arts. He has traveled throughout Greece and the Balkans studying Byzantine and post-Byzantine art. | |
| He has lectured with slides to a variety of audiences on themes of iconography and the Byzantine Arts. A selection of topics include: | |
| a. Journey to Athos. A look at the beauty of Mount Athos of the Center of Orthodox Monasticism on the globe. The sacred image in a sacred environment is looked at in a variety of perspectives. | |
| b. The Devotional Icon in Prayer and Meditation, a lecture introducing the living legacy of hte use of sacred images and their historical and spiritual significance through an Eastern Orthodox perspective. | |
| c. The Byzantine Art Tradition, a lecture that highlights the art of Byzantium and its living artistic and religious traditions today throughout the world. | |
| Mr. Xenakis is currently adjunct lecturer and visual arts instructor at Georgetown University and Marymount University in Arlington, VA. | |
May 16 - June 6, 2012
Thomas Xenakis teaches watercolor painting for a study abroad program in Antibes, France.
Painting and Drawing on the French Riviera sponsored by The Center for Global Education, Marymount University, Arlington, Virginia