Deacon Nikita Andrejev is an iconographer and instructor working out of Estonia and the United States. He heads the Tallinn, Estonia, studio of the Prosopon School of Iconology and teaches intensive workshops in Europe and North America. He paints commissions, both portable icons and murals, and designs mural programs. He also lectures on iconology. In 2017, Nikita was ordained a deacon of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.
Nikita aspires to the spiritual and artistic culture of ancient Byzantine icon painting in its various historical manifestations. As an iconographer of the Prosopon School, he strives for the living continuation and expansion of the tradition of Orthodox iconography rooted in the understanding of the inner principles of this art.
The principles of iconography have their source in Christian theology and anthropology—in the sensitivity towards Divinity and in the understanding of the ultimate potentials of humanity. Every icon begins with “canon,” a flexible set of guidelines from tradition regarding depiction and techniques. The end result must manifest convincingly the Countenance of God shining through the human face and mode of life (garments, surroundings), since man, according to the Christian faith, must live “according to the image and likeness” of God. Iconography is therefore not simply the reproduction of archaic art forms, nor simply the production of objects needed for religious devotion. The ancient prototypes which survive show that the icon in its fulness can be a powerful manifestation of the Divine Presence and of the truths of the Christian faith, moving the viewer to spiritual contemplation. A lofty standard in an age in which the rebirth of authentic iconography is still in its early stages!
EDUCATION
2013-2015 • St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, New York, USA: MA in Theology
2001-2005 • Saint Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute, Paris, France: Licence in Theology
1993-1997 • Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA: BA in Classics (Greek)
From 1988 • Apprenticeship with his father, Vladislav Andrejev, founder of the Prosopon School
CONTACT
prosopon.tallinn@gmail.com
+372 5331 2569
