St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary - News Releases News Release Seminary Group Receives Private Tour at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Crestwood, NY—A group from St Vladimir's Seminary community was offered an extraordinary opportunity on Monday, May 3, 2004. On a day when the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is closed to the public, nearly seventy students, faculty, staff, and friends of the seminary, as well as a group from St Nersess Armenian Seminary, were granted a private tour of the special exhibition "Byzantium: Faith and Power (1261-1557)." This exhibit, which is a collection of more than 350 Byzantine masterpieces from some thirty nations, held special meaning for those present, who considered the collection not merely expressive of aesthetic beauty, but of Orthodox faith and theology.

The tour was arranged and led by iconologist Prof. Richard Schneider, associate professor in history and humanities at York University in Toronto, Canada, and visiting professor at St Vladimir's Seminary, where he teaches courses in iconology. Joining him in leading the tour was Hieromonk Justin, a monk of St Catherine's Monastery on Mt Sinai, who is in New York for the duration of the exhibition overseeing the icons that are on loan from his monastery.

During the seven-hour tour, the group explored the thirteen rooms of the exhibit while listening to the commentary of their tour guides. Participants were also encouraged to ask questions and dialogue. Prof. Schneider offered theological interpretations while Hieromonk Justin was able to share interesting historical anecdotes linked to various pieces. Prof. Schneider made the significant assertion that "This exhibit is not art. Icons, vestments, and vessels used in worship, are all functional, and their aesthetic value is not an end in itself. Like Holy Scripture, patristic writings, and canons, icons function to reveal the Kingdom of God to us. Engaging with the images, we are given to enter the Kingdom here and now." Participants returned home illumined and inspired. St Vladimir's Seminary is grateful to have been given this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

For more information about this exhibition, visit the website of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.