Juliana, she trained in iconography as a way to help her church and has been assisting Shkolnik and his crew six days a week since they arrived in town.Д«ethancourt said he hopes eventually to paint icons over all of the inside of the church, but noted В“it may be yearsВ” before that happens, and it might not happen in his lifetime. В“It is a joy,В” said Celeste Ryder, one of the volunteers.ДЄn artist and parishioner at St. Juliana of Lazarevo Russian Orthodox Church who have stopped by to help. Shkolnik said he has found Santa Fe, which he called an В“art mecca,В” to be a welcoming place with wonderful people, including the volunteers from both Holy Trinity Orthodox Church and St. В“ItВ’s an ancient art developing in modern times, so weВ’re always looking for samples through the 2,000 years of Christian art tradition and taking the best samples for our work,В” he explained, adding that the iconographers have made the icons more modern. His inspiration for the project at Holy Trinity comes from ancient icons done in the Byzantine style in a cathedral in Sicily. He has worked on restoring old icons and he said he constantly is learning new things. В“It was my passion, my art, which started from my early childhood,В” he said. Shkolnik studied theology and art at Holy Trinity Seminary in upstate New York. Just like the priest does what he does, iconographers give a spiritual gift to the church.В” В“ItВ’s part of their spiritual offering and their spiritual life.

В“ItВ’s not just painting for them,В” Bethancourt said. The iconographers are devout Orthodox Christians. В“We feel something special about this church,В” Shkolnik said. He noted that the architecture (the building was designed by Michael Bertin of Architectural Harmonics in Boulder) was particularly fascinating because it blends traditional Santa Fe elements with the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, a fusion that Bethancourt calls В“Southwest Byzantine style.В” They expected to finish with the first phase last week.Дmitry Shkolnik, an iconographer for 25 years and head of the group, has painted more than 12 churches, but said he has found Holy Trinity Orthodox Church to be special. 1 painting the inside of the churchВ’s dome and its apse. Iconographers from the Bay Area in California, all originally from Russia, have been working six days a week, 12 hours a day since Nov. John Bethancourt, founding pastor at Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, called it a В“dream come true.В”ДЇor 15 years, he has been imagining the day when the interior walls of the Cordova Road church would be covered with paintings of Jesus, Mary, saints and angels.Д¬limbing down from the scaffolds in the middle of the church recently, he said, В“IВ’ve been praying with all of these icons in my mindВ’s eye since we built the church, and now IВ’m seeing them come forth.В” All the while, parish members waited anxiously for 3 months, worshipping in a gymnasium as their Orthodox Cathedral was being renovated.Д«elow are a fewВ pictures of this unique and intricate project that was completed in July 2015.SANTA FE (AP) В– The Very Rev. An astounding sixty feet of scaffolding was erected in the interior dome of the church, so a world renowned Russian iconographer, Dmitry Shkolnik could start the tedious work of hand painting detailed designs on the SanctuaryвЂ™s walls and ceiling. The Sanctuary in its entirety and adjacent rooms received a new painted finish, and the pews were removed and refinished offsite while the restoration took place. The AltarвЂ™s existing carpet was removed to reveal the original wood flooring, which was then sanded and refinished along with installation of new treads and risers. Many unique challenges were presented in the renovation of the Cathedral. MaryвЂ™s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Sacred buildings are often large-volume spaces that have unique structural, mechanical, acoustical, and lighting requirements. Building and modernizing sacred spaces has been a big part of McGoughвЂ™s business for more than five generations.

Dmitry shkolnik iconographer