SJU Hill Monastic Manuscript Library Sponsors Speaker on Russian Icons

Collegeville, Minn. - Dr. George Majeska, associate professor of history emeritus at the University of Maryland, will speak at the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library (HMML) on the Saint John's University campus on Friday, Nov. 2. A reception will begin at 3:30 p.m. and the talk will start at 4 p.m. The talk is titled "Icon as Artifact" and focuses primarily on Russian icons from a pre-modern period.

Majeska received his undergraduate degree from the City University of New York-Brooklyn College and went on to complete his graduate studies at Indiana University-Bloomington. He specializes in Byzantine, Early Russian, and Eastern Church history. Majeska is the author of Russian Travelers to Constantinople in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries as well as major articles and the entry on the medieval history of the Balkans in the Encyclopedia Britannica. In his talk on Nov. 2, Majeska will give a general introduction to what icons are, how they are used, how to "read" them and additional discussion about style. The lecture will include slides and is open to the public.

Related to Majeska's talk, starting on the Nov. 4, the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis will have an "Icon Festival" that includes an exhibit of icons available for public viewing and HMML will also have an exhibit on display starting in Nov. 2001 through Jan. 2002. It is titled "Russian Icons and Religious Works of Russia." The exhibit is a display of original icons, from the 17th through 20th centuries, alongside orthodox manuscript materials, folk arts, and other related materials of the religious traditions of Russian orthodoxy gathered from the collections of HMML, Arca Artium, and other SJU special archives. The HMML Giftshop regularly carries a large selection of icon reproductions and original works by icon artists along with other gift items. For more information on the speaker or exhibits, contact HMML at 320-363-3514 or 320-363-2075.

The College of Saint Benedict for women and Saint John's University for men are partners in liberal arts education, providing students the opportunity to benefit from the distinctions of not one, but two nationally recognized Catholic, Benedictine, residential undergraduate colleges. Together, the colleges challenge students to live balanced lives of learning, work, leadership and service in a coeducational environment.