IN THE NEWS:  Virginia, Illinois, California, Massachusetts

Midlothian, Virginia:  Iconography project completed at St. Cyprian Church

Midloth
Midloth
Midloth

Wall-painted icons of saints and martyrs, together with portrayals of important moments in the life of the Church, build up to “a great cloud of witnesses,” said Archpriest David Arnold, Rector of Saint Cyprian of Carthage Church, Midlothian, VA, where newly completed frescoes were recently blessed.

The work of iconographer Seraphim O’Keefe, 32, the frescoes are modeled after icon panels painted for the parish by Maria Struve, a Parisian iconographer, after it was initially planted in Richmond, VA the 1970s.  When the faithful relocated to Midlothian in 2009, her work went with them.

O’Keefe began studying art in high school.  During the summer between his junior and senior years, he studied naturalistic painting in the Republic of Georgia.  After graduation, he returned to Georgia, where he served as an apprentice from 2000 to 2009.  The opportunity to learn more about iconography came while he was in residence at a monastery after he embraced the Orthodox Christian faith.  In 2010, he decided to make icon painting his full-time vocation and was commissioned to paint the interior of Holy Cross Church, Linthicum, MD.  After moving with his family to Midlothian in 2014, he began his work at Saint Cyprian’s.

O’Keefe plans to enroll in Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, Yonkers, NY, to deepen his understanding of theology and iconography.

Additional images and details related to the iconography at Saint Cyprian Church are available here.

Palos Hills, Illinois: Chicago-area faithful minister at Native American Indian Reservations

Palos

From July 10 through 17, 2015, Archpriest Andrew Harrison accompanied adult and youth parishioners from Saint Luke Church, Palos Hills, IL, to Navajo reservations in Gallup and Thoreau, NM, where they offered social support services and engaged in building projects.

The mission trip was facilitated by the “Young Orthodox Christian American Missions Adventures” by the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh.

“Each year over 100 missionaries travel to these two reservations ready and able to assist families in need of our help,” Father Andrew said.  “Our mission team was part of a 45-member team made up of members from four Greek Orthodox parishes.  Participants from Saint Luke’s included Steven and Emma Hansen, Robert and Dan Zubenko, Jonathan Tatooles, and Joe, Nichol, and Conrad Szpakowicz.

Palos

The team provided health screenings for some 700 preschool children in Head Start programs in three locations; sorted and distributed food at the Gallup Community Food Bank, where they also cleaned the grounds and raked weeds; replaced the shingle roof on one of the school buildings at Saint Bonaventure Indian school, Thoreau, NM; built a new floor in a hogan—a Navajo Traditional House; and visited and distributed food to the elderly in their hogans.

“This was the sixth team we sent on these mission trips with YOCAMA,” Father Andrew added.  “All who have gone have had a profound experience helping those in need and truly believe they have met Christ in the least of these people that were ministered to.  They ministered to us.”

Additional information on YOCAMA may be accessed here.

California:  Volume of Maia Aprahamian’s Sacred Choral Works released by Orthodox Music Press

Orthodox Music Press—a subsidiary of Musica Russica—recently released Volume 1 of Maia Aprahamian’s Selected Orthodox Sacred Choral Works.

Maia Aprahamian (1935–2011), a graduate of the prestigious Manhattan School of Music in composition and a composer of several operas, ballets, instrumental works and a considerable body of choral works, was received into the Orthodox Church in 2001 and became a member of Saint Nicholas Church, San Anselmo, CA.  In the last ten years of her life she devoted a lot of energy to composing for the Orthodox Church.  She attended the Summer Institutes of Liturgical Music and Pastoral Practice at Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, Yonkers, NY, and developed a close friendship with the monks of Saint John of Shanghai Monastery, Manton, CA, where she is interred.

Writing in the introduction to the volume, His Eminence, Archbishop Benjamin of San Francisco and West, describes Maia Aprahamian’s musical style as “rooted in traditional Orthodox chants, but… refreshingly new….  Her compositions are always tasteful, modern and American, yet always respecting the moment in the Liturgy for which they were written….  Working within and with the constraints of the Liturgy, Maia was able to express herself and employ all the craft of her art….  Her work lifts up the words of the common prayer of the believers and gives them voice.  Maia leads us in prayer through her music.”

The 36-page collection contains eight of Maia Aprahamian’s works and sells for $8.00.  Copies may be purchased on-line at www.musicarussica.com.  For more information, please contact Musica Russica at 1-800-326-3132 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Brookline, Massachusetts:  Call for papers for OCAMPR’s annual conference in November

The Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology, and Religion [OCAMPR]—an international, pan-Orthodox organization endorsed by the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America—invites interested parties to submit one-paragraph proposals for papers (lasting 20 minutes) to be presented at its annual conference at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline, MA, November 5 - 7, 2015.  Proposals should be sent to Dr. Brenda O’Reilly at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) no later than September 1.

The theme of the conference is “Caregivers as Confessors and Healers.”  While paper topics typically highlight current theme-related work on theories and practices of Orthodox care by clergy, physicians, psychologists and other healthcare practitioners and researchers, they also may focus on any topic related to OCAMPR’s mission.  All presentations will be made available on-line and considered for publication in the conference proceedings.

Additional information on OCAMPR may be found here.