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AVVAKUM ART
HIERARCHS, PATRIARCHS AND BASILICAS
Historical Sketches by Felix G. Kuehn
Welcome to
Avvakum Art
Thank you for
visiting my website. Avvakum Art is a collection of historical sketches depicting the history and heritage of Eastern Christianity - Holy, Orthodox, Catholic and Apostolic. Many of these sketches are illustrations for articles I have written on the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Eastern Catholic Church and the history - glorious and tragic - of the fall of Constantinople and the fate of the most
beautiful Hagia Sophia, mother church of all
Byzantine Christians. My goal in creating this artwork - and now placing it on the Internet - is to share my passion for the unsurpassed richness of Holy Horthodoxy - "the faith which upholds the universe" - and to provide you with an opportunity to deepen
your understanding of the history of the Eastern Church in Byzantium, Russia,Ukraine, Serbia, Greece, Syria and Egypt.
You may purchase copies of any of my sketches. In addition to
being perfect for your home and office, Avvakum Art should be in your church
hall, Sunday School, monastery and parish classrooms.
I hope that you
will take the time to visit all eleven
Galleries of this site,
and that you will find something that you would like to add to your collection
of historical artwork. In the first nine galleries you will find my artwork
that is being offered for sale; the artwork of the
tenth gallery is free.
The eleventh gallery tells “
About Us.”
The Purpose of This Website
The purpose of this
website is to share my own passion for the history of the Eastern Church and
my artwork on that subject. Most of the drawings on this website are
illustrations for publications I have written or articles I have published or
am still working on. Each drawing on this website is accompanied by a short
explanation. Those of the
Second Gallery, “When the Wall Opens Again – Past Tragedy; Future Glory”
also have a more comprehensive commentary, one which relates the 1453 Fall of
Imperial Constantinople.
A Clue
The photo at the
top of this Homepage will give you a clue to the origin of my religious,
historical and artistic interests. During the nineteenth century my family,
originally Lutherans from northern Germany, were residents of the Russian
Empire, first in Poland and then in what is now the Ukrainian province of
Volynia. Thus in this photo, in addition to two pieces of my artwork, you will
see several documents from my collection of Old Country family papers. Among
these are a “Certificate of Praise,” a nineteenth-century Russian graduation
certificate, and “A Prayer for His Imperial Highness Czar Alexander III and
the entire Imperial Family.” Beside them is an Old Believer Russian Orthodox
Cross which my wife purchased some years ago when she visited Greece during
Great Lent and Easter.
What You Will Receive
When you purchase
any drawing from Avvakum Art, in addition to my signed artwork you will
receive one or more pages of interpretive commentary. This material will fully
explain the significance of the drawing to you.
These illustrations
are all top-quality laser prints, reproduced on 24 lb. paper. You have a
choice of size in the illustrations and we are also happy to offer a
laminating service.
The Presentation of This Website
Although one of the
definitive characteristics of my artwork is careful attention to fine detail,
in order to speed the download time of these images (and - frankly - also to
thwart the “pirates!”) most of my drawings on this site have been scanned at a
relatively low resolution. As a result, much of the detail of these sketches
has been sacrified. However, if you visit
Gallery Ten to check
out the free designs, you will be able to click on a link to view a detailed
picture of each of these designs. By doing so, you will get an idea of the
fine detail that is a part of each and every work of art on this website.
100%
Satisfaction Guarantee
Although it has
never happened so far, there may be a first time. Therefore, if, for any
reason, you are not fully satisfied with your purchase, please contact us and
we will be happy to immediately refund your money.
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The Avvakum Art logo
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Why the name Avvakum art?
The autobiography
of the seventeenth-century Russian Orthodox Archpriest Avvakum Petrovich
Kondrat’ev is one of the most remarkable documents I have ever read. This
website is named in his honour because I believe his life deserves to be much
more widely known – not only among Eastern Christians – but among everyone
fascinated by such virtues as moral courage, loyalty and perseverance. These
were three of the many extraordinary qualities of his complex personality.
Although the following synopsis will be of interest, I warmly encourage you to
read his autobiography, The Life of the Archpriest Avvakum Written by Himself.
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Click here to link directly to The Life of the Archpriest Avvakum
◊ Gallery One - A Witness to the Elect
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Gallery Two - When the Wall
Opens Again - Past Tragedy - Future Glory
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Gallery Three - The Saviour
and the Gospels: Christ, the Mother of God, and the Cross
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Gallery Four - Fathers and
Saints of the Universal Church
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Gallery Five - Saints and
Historians of the Church of Ancient Rus'
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Gallery Six - Metropolitans, Confessors and Patriarchs of the Ukrainian and Russian Church
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Gallery Seven - Popes and
Patriarchs
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Gallery Eight - Churches
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Gallery Nine - Texts
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Gallery Ten - Free Designs
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Gallery Eleven - About Us
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Copyright FGK 2005
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