Tomorrow I will be starting a course in ikon painting, at the monastery of the Community of the Resurrection, in Mirfield.* It is likely that I will not be posting again before the week-end, for various reasons. Certainly I have not decided to become a monk, but I did seize enthusiastically the opportunity to join this residential course when I came across it.
I have had an interest in ikons for many years now, dating from my travels in various Balkan countries in connection with my work, during which I encountered the Orthodox churches. Although I have done a certain amount of reading about this topic, this will be the first opportunity I have had to really engage with it intellectually, spiritually and technically. Naturally I am looking forward to it enormously, although the prospect of having to attend “holy office” four times a day is somewhat daunting. (Fortunately we will not be following the pattern laid down for the old mediaeval monasteries, getting up in the middle of the night for a service.)
One element of my motivation here is to learn something about painting in tempera, which is a medium I’ve never encountered directly. Many years ago my wife kindly bought me a lovely set of colours suitable for this medium without realising their specific purpose. I look forward immensely to the possibility of putting them to some use at last, and hope that I will be able to do them justice.
No doubt you will be able to read all about it when I get back.
*You might well have encountered them before, as the CR was the home base of Trevor Huddleston, who made a significant contribution to the fight against apartheid many years ago. The Community is an anglican order.