(Posted October 23, 2006)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. - Reverend Simon of St. Gregory of Sinai Monastery in Kelseyville, Calif. will be giving a lecture on \"Art and Architecture of the Greek Orthodox Church,\" at 8 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 25 in the Sill Board Room in the von Leibig Center for Science on the Juniata campus. The lecture is free and open to the public. Rev. Simon also will give two workshops on iconography, fresco painting and egg tempera painting at 3 p.m. in the ballroom of Ellis Hall, and 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26 in the lounge of Oller Center. The lecture will address some of the misconceptions surrounding the role of iconography in various religions. The workshop will focus on the language and the symbolism of religious icons. It will also reflect the tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Christianit,y and how the church uses art in its traditions. The event is sponsored by several offices, including the Unity House, Club Mediterrano, Student Government, the art and religion departments at Juniata, as well as the spiritual ministry group. Rev. Simon is an artist and scholar in iconography. He wrote \"The Rediscovery of the Icon: The Life and Work of Leonide Ouspensky.\" He has given lectures internationally, including France and Greece, and in the United States at the University of California, Berkeley and other universities. He graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a bachelor\'s degree in painting. He joined the Orthodox Church in 1980 and began training as an icon painter. He received the Certificate in Ikonography of the Moscow Patriarchate in 1986. He went on to teach iconography as adjunct professor of sacred art at the Orthodox Institute in Berkeley, Calif. from 1993 to 1999. Demetri Patitsas, president of student government at Juniata and organizer of the Rev. Simon\'s visit, said the lecture is important because there is little representation of the Eastern Orthodox sect of Christianity on campus. He said it would be a good opportunity for the students to learn more about this unique art and the symbolic meanings that are carried behind it.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.