Catholic bishops throughout Europe have also expressed support for
“At this extremely delicate time, we ask Christians to pray for the gift of peace in Ukraine so that those responsible may be filled with, and radiate, a peace that is ‘contagious’ and that the crisis will be overcome exclusively through dialogue,” the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences said.
Ukraine, which has a population of 44 million people, borders Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Belarus, and Russia.
Archbishop Borys Gudziak (the current Archeparch of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia) said that modern Ukrainian art addresses the damage experienced by the Ukrainian community during Soviet times. “Decades of brutal totalitarianism disrupted many of our traditions, left many wounds, and traumatized the body and soul of our people and our Church. It is so joyful and enlightening to see those who restore the traditions, who heal wounds through beauty”.
ULYANA TOMKEVYCHwas born in 1981 in
I try to maintain and preserve the old tradition of Ukrainian sacred art. Thus I work in the tempera technique, using egg emulsion and pigments.
Sacred art gives me a wide variety of subjects concerning deep moral and ethical questions of love, sacrifice, faith, and doubt...
I feel entirely free. But to feel free and not make mistakes, you need to know a lot. One must know what can be changed and what cannot."
(Both icons of Mary with Jesus- Ulyana Tomkevych)
KHRYSTYNA KVYKwas born in 1994 in Drohobych (Lviv region,
In 2014 she finished the Sambir College of Pedagogy (specialty in Fine Arts). In 2020 graduated from the Lviv National Academy of Arts (Master of Arts, specialty of sacral art). She has been the winner of many prizes for her art, notably in
"The original task of the icon was to inform uneducated people about the doctrine of the Christian faith. Now, it serves as a supplement to the doctrine because most people are now educated. But the main purpose of iconography is the same: conveying the faith to as many people as possible.
Icons help to improve my understanding of the Christian faith. It requires learning and reflecting all the time and it shapes my faith. Through painting icons, my understanding of the metaphorical meanings and complex symbolism of Christianity has grown so much. My passion to create art and my faith coexist in symbiosis.
I must admit that I’m happy to take part in the revival and development of Byzantine iconography in particular Ukrainian iconography. Also I’m happy to be a representative of contemporary iconography...
It’s normal when artists express themselves and their views in any kind of art. We all are humans with our imagination and ideas. We are created in the image of God so we are created to create. Every person is talented and it’s important not to bury the talent in the ground.
The modern iconographer rethinks many symbols and makes them available to contemporary audience.
A large group of artists, in particular my colleagues from LNAA approach the icon dynamically and innovatively, paying tribute to the contemporary ethos of the artist and the style of contemporary art. Between the two views – more conservative and innovative – everyone seems to tends to one or another pole."(Quotes all taken from an interview with Kevin Antlitz- Transcendentalish Blog, 2021)
