The Moving Icon is hosted by Chris Vlahonasios, media writer and founder of the Orthodox Filmmakers and Artists blog. This series discusses issues relating to media, social trends, the arts, and all aspects of human expression and creativity from an Orthodox perspective. Chris also interviews various Orthodox artists about their work, inspiration, and faith.
The show’s title refers to the fact that we are all living icons of God, in His image and likeness. As images of God, we are capable of creating and appearing in all artistic works, such as film and photography. And have you ever noticed when the flame of a vigil lamp flickers, the image appears to move, as if alive?
In this episode of Moving Icon, Chris Vlahonasios interviews Ben Anderson, a convert to Orthodoxy. Ben Anderson is the author of an Orthodox-inspired fantasy trilogy about the McGunnegals, a strange family with even stranger secrets. In the tradition of C.S. Lewis and Tolkien, the McGunnegal Chronicles takes the reader on Read more…
DEVOUT is a documentary film directed by James Higginson, who captures the lives of monks and devotees living within the monasteries of the Khashuri and Kareli districts, Georgia. This region has the largest concentrated number of monasteries in Georgia whose original construction dates back to the 11th century. Mr. Higginson Read more…
In this episode of Moving Icon, Chris Vlahonasios interviews Jordanian-American and Orthodox poet Hadel Ma’ayeh, about her latest book From the Heart: A Journey of Love. Hadel describes her connection to the famous St. George’s Church in Madabah and how her cultural heritage and Orthodox Faith inspire and inform her writing. Read more…
In this episode of Moving Icon, Chris Vlahonasios interviews Finnish Orthodox photographer and therapist Juha Roisko, who is a trustee of the Uspenski Cathedral in Helsinki, the largest Orthodox Cathedral in Western Europe. Mr. Roisko describes how all the various layers of his life – artist, therapist, and Orthodox Christian Read more…
Apps have become a booming market with the expansion of smartphone use. Like the internet generally, as well as social media, there needs to be an Orthodox presence in this field. In this episode of The Moving Icon, Chris Vlahonasios interviews Joachim Vesely, an Orthodox app designer and filmmaker who Read more…
In this episode, Chris Vlahonasios interviews Serbian Orthodox filmmaker Ivan Jović and his wife screenwriter Monja Jović. Their film “The Healing” (Isceljenje) has been released and is receiving accolades for its portrayal of an Orthodox monk grappling with the aftereffects of war in his homeland. The interview explores the filmmakers’ Read more…
In this episode, Chris Vlahonasios follows up with Orthodox composer Anastasia Pahos following a concert in Melbourne, Australia which featured her classical composition entitled “Eliksiir.” Chris was able to attend the concert and asks her to explain the theological underpinnings of the piece. She explains that she was expressing how Read more…
In this episode, Chris Vlahonasios interviews Jacob Clark, a theater actor based in New York. Jacob’s family converted to Orthodoxy when he was a child, and his father is a retired priest. They discuss how his Orthodox faith and his acting career intersect and inform each other. Jacob also shares Read more…
In this episode, Chris Vlahonasios interviews fellow Australian and Orthodox composer and musician Anastasia Pahos. Ms. Pahos reflects on how her faith came increasingly to inspire and inform her musical career, leading to her self-identification that her genre and style now is “Sacred Music.” She explains how “Sacred Music” is Read more…
In this episode, Chris Vlahonasios interviews Orthodox filmmaker Stephan Robinson, whose short video pitching a film about the Three Wise Men is currently in an online contest. Stephan Robinson’s pitch presents that story in a “reboot” format, retelling it as a search that three computers coders are making, searching for Read more…
In this episode, Chris Vlahonasios takes on the topic of the persecution of Christians around the world, but especially in the Middle East. He discusses the issue by way of his review, first, of the 2009 indie file, “Amreeka,” which tells the story of Palestinian Christians as they leave their Read more…
“The Priest” (Russian: Поп) is a 2009 Russian drama directed by Vladimir Khotinenko. It tells a little-known story from the German occupation of Soviet territory during the Second World War. Between 1941 and 1944, a small group of priests were dispatched by the Orthodox Metropolitan of Latvia on a mission Read more…