The Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain was represented by Presbyter Gregory Florides at the Iconography Workshop organised by the Honora School of Iconography in partnership with the Association of Iconographers of Ireland.
The opening event and reception took place on Sunday, 27th July 2025, at the parish of St Columba, Derry, graciously hosted by Bishop Donal of Derry.
The five-day workshop (Monday 28th July – Friday 1st August) was led by Thessaloniki-based iconographers Panagiotis and Demetrios Christodoulou. It brought together participants from a wide variety of Christian traditions, who were able to explore not only the technical process of icon-writing but also its theological depth and spiritual benefits.
In his address, Fr Gregory congratulated the Honora School and the Association of Iconographers of Ireland, especially organisers Ann Karakatsanis and Clair McReynolds, for coordinating such an important and unifying event in the city of Derry. On behalf of Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain, he also extended fraternal greetings to Bishop Donal of Derry and presented him with an icon of St Sophrony of Essex, the contemporary saint of the Orthodox Church in the British Isles.
Fr Gregory underlined the living and dynamic nature of iconography, remarking: “The study of iconography is more than distinguishing between the Cretan or Macedonian schools, or the late Byzantine Paleologian renaissance. It allows us to enter the very life of Christ, to encounter true beauty—the beauty of God’s incarnation, His kenotic presence in creation—and to participate in His uncreated energies. Iconography is a living tradition, an expression of the Church’s life and teaching. In our own times we see new and innovative expressions of iconography: in the newly consecrated rotunda church of St Sophrony in Essex; in the refurbished Archdiocesan Chapel of the Transfiguration in London, which features numerous local saints of the British Isles; and in the resurrected chapel of St Nicholas at Ground Zero, with its Icon of the Virgin Mary Embracing New York City.”
He concluded with the words of St John of Shanghai: “An icon is an image which leads us to a holy, God-pleasing person, or raises us up to Heaven, or evokes a feeling of repentance, compunction, prayer—a feeling that one must bow down before this image. Its value lies in the fact that, when we approach it, we want to pray before it with reverence.”
The Archdiocese’s participation in this workshop not only reaffirmed support for the Association of Iconographers of Ireland but also demonstrated the Archdiocese’s ongoing commitment to inter-Christian witness and dialogue in Northern Ireland, strengthening fraternal bonds with Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Reformed communities in a spirit of love and peace.
