Page 54 - AECA.org.uk ¦ Koinonia 67

Why the sacred art of icon painting is thriving in
Britain

MICHAEL BINYON

EASTER CAME late this year for Orthodox Christians, but for the Greek
community in London it was worth waiting for. A recently built Greek
Orthodox church in Harrow has unveiled magnificent painted icons, covering
the altar, dome and some of the walls, demonstrating to the growing Orthodox
community in London that the ancient sacred arts are flourishing in the 21st
century.
The traditional tableaux printed on canvas, by a master icon painter
from Greece, took four months to fix to the church walls and ceilings, and were
completed in time for the congregation to celebrate over Easter and Holy
Week, at the beginning of May. Vivid, vibrant and familiar in their strictly
traditional depictions, they follow the age-old rule of icon-painting, which
govern the colours, positions, gestures, expressions and symbolism of the
saints, apostles, archangels and prophets.
The church itself opened only 2012. It was built from scratch in the
Byzantine style of churches in Greece and across the Orthodox world – most
other Greek churches in Britain have been bought or borrowed from the
Anglicans. The building was completed with the help of donations from the
members of the 10,000-strong Greek Orthodox community in north-west
London. However the interiors were left white.
The church is named after saints Panteleimon and Paraskevi – one of the
icons shows them cradling a model of it. The priest, Father Anastasios
Salapatas, was determined that there should be traditional decoration and
appointed Theodoros Vogdanos, one of the best-known icon painters in
Greece.
The designs were drafted and painted in his workshop in Thessaloniki.
The use of canvas is now common throughout Greece – not only does it make
the icons more durable, but when the canvas is glued to the walls, it is more
resistant to cracking or wear. The Harrow icons are brighter than normal
because Vogdanos looked at the grey skies that mandate most British winters
and wanted the colours to shine out more than in Greece. Smoke from the
candles will, over time, darken them anyway.

52