Inauguration of the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture
Photis Konotglou Exhibit Celebrates Byzantine Style Icon Painting
Brookline,
Massachusetts (Oct. 3, 2010) – The Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine
Art and Culture was inaugurated yesterday on the campus of Hellenic
College and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology.
Archbishop
Demetrios presided over the inaugural ceremonies for the new Center
which began with a $3 million donation from The Jaharis Family
Foundation two years ago, and will serve as a premier international
research center for the promotion of Byzantine art and culture and host a
series of academic programs including seminars, conferences, visiting
scholars, special events and art programs.
The inaugural
celebrations began with the opening of its first exhibition of icons by
Greek painter and iconographer Photis Kontoglou, entitled Kontoglou: The
Return of the Byzantine Icon, curated by the Very Reverend Dr. Joachim
Cotsonis.
Mrs. Mary Jaharis cut the ceremonial ribbon
accompanied by her husband Michael Jaharis, her son Dr. Steven Jaharis,
his wife Elaine and her daughter Kathryn Jaharis. Metropolitan Methodios
of Boston attended the events. Many other guests in attendance included
clergy, officers and officials of Archdiocesan organizations, close
friends of the Jaharis’ Family, the Consul General of Greece in Boston
Konstantin Bikas and the Consul General of Cyprus in New York Koula
Sofianou.
A program followed at the Maliotis Center presented by
Dr. Maria Kouroumali, the director of the Mary Jaharis Center for
Byzantine Art and Culture. Archbishop Demetrios in his opening remarks
expressed gratitude for the generous gift of the Jaharis Family and
extolled Mrs. Jaharis’ philanthropic service and example. His Eminence
explained the importance of this center within the environment of the
Holy Cross School of Theology and described the establishment of the new
center as “a seed which has been sown in the field of Hellenic College /
Holy Cross.” He further expressed his belief and certainty that “this
seed will grow multifold with God’s help and will become a large and
fruitful tree as in the parable of the mustard seed so that the birds of
the air come and perch in its branches.”
Greetings of gratitude
and enthusiasm were offered by Fr. Nicholas Triantafilou, the president
of HC/HC, Fr. Thomas FitzGerald, dean of Holy Cross School of Theology,
Dr. Demetrios Katos, interim dean of Hellenic College and Prof. Margaret
Mullett, director of the Byzantine Studies program at Dumbarton Oaks.
Two
lectures followed. The first was entitled “Byzantium and Kontoglou” by
Dr. Helen C. Evans the curator of the Mary Jaharis Byzantine Art
galleries at the Metropolitan Museum and the second entitled “Photis
Kontoglou and the Revival of Byzantine Painting” by Dr. Ryan P. Preston,
Professor at the Newberry Library.
The second part of the
program included an introduction in Byzantine music in the form of a
lecture entitled “From the Narrow Path to Broadway: Visual overtones and
Sound Theology” given by Nektarios Antoniou, a graduate of Holy Cross,
artistic director of Schola Cantorum, a Byzantine chant group. A musical
concert featuring Schola Cantorum and the Silk on the Road Ensemble
followed and included selections from the Byzantine sacred and secular
musical traditions.
“The Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art
and Culture will approach issues of Byzantium from the perspective of
orthodox theology, scholarship and the arts,” said Dr. Helen C. Evans, a
Mary Jaharis Center Administrative Board Member and curator of the Mary
and Michael Jaharis Galleries of Early Christian and Byzantine Art at
the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. “It will be instrumental in
showing how relevant Byzantium is in the modern world.”
Photos of the events can be seen at: http://photos.goarch.org/main.php
Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Press Office