To be good iconographers we need to understand what we are doing. The best way to achieve this is to learn the history of iconography and Christian art in general. Improving and deepening our knowledge of the tradition we begin seeing the true meaning of our work. The Early Christian Art course is the first one from a series of theoretical courses dedicated to the Theology and History of Iconography. It's an online self-paced interactive course which consists of:
Our 30+ minute lectures are heavily packed with dozens of slides and information on historical context, theological background and unique artistic properties of each of the chosen phenomenon. All the lectures are recorded, links to them will be shared in the Google Classroom.
Students are invited to share their questions in two ways: during live zoom sessions right after the lectures and in the stream of the Google classroom. The answers are given sequentially.
Students are suggested to share their own opinions and participate in discussions both during the zoom sessions and in the Google Classroom.
Summary section at the end of each lecture copied to PDF file to make sure the knowledge was absorbed.
All the recorded video lectures will be available to you during the course and for 1 more year after the end of the course. After the last lecture you will be suggested to download a PDF with the course Summary.
Each lecture is accompanied with a detailed summary with links to external resources for further learning.
For everybody interested to know the history, theology and theory of early Christian art from a practical point of view. The course provides an extensive amount of information covering different aspects of the chosen topics, it will be useful for those, who have very little knowledge, and also for those who feel they have an extensive knowledge in narrow fields.
$80 USD or €70 Euros for:
6 Live Zoom Lectures 30+ minutes each
Recorded version shared on the next day
PDF summary + extra resources for each lecture
Comprehensive answers to individual questions.
6 weeks
Zoom Lectures are performed on every Saturday, starting on September 12 and finishing on October 17, 2026. The answers to your questions in the Classroom are given until October 24, 2026 (included).
Live zoom lectures. Recorded Full HD versions of the lectures available on the next day. Summaries of all lectures with links to extra materials shared through Google Classroom. All the videos remain available to the students for a minimum 1 year after the end of the Course.
During the period of the course the lectures will be held online on every Saturday and recorded. To check the availability of the live sessions for your location please check The List of Time Zones below.
Learners are suggested to either participate in live zoom sessions or watch the recorded versions on Youtube. Personal answers from the lector are given during the live sessions right after the lecture or in the Classroom during the whole period of the course until October 24, 2026.
Learners are suggested to join the live zoom sessions with any device with a working zoom app, however it is better to use tablets or other devices with larger size screens to see specific details of the slides better.
We pack our lectures with as much information and images as we can, yet we keep them up to 40 minutes max. However, to allow students to get most out of every lecture we suggest our students ask questions. If you like to ask your own questions or want to hear questions of your fellow students, you can do it either in zoom right after the lectures, or in the Classroom.
Every lecture is made of several parts, covering practical and theoretical aspects of the subject. We always start by briefly defining the historical context, and after showing a series of slides with most characteristic images, we analyze their artistic qualities, giving emphasis on artists' purposes and preferences. Taking into account all of the above, we exemplify the theological content of the images (or architecture), connecting it with relative references produced in other media and/or arts of the time. Having done that we analyze how they were produced, sharing practical information with our students.
Every lecture is finished with theoretical and practical conclusions regarding the significance of the phenomena for todays' iconography and its meaning in the context of Christian art in general.
The Introduction:
Predecessors of iconography: Frescoes of Dura Europos & Fayum Portraits.
September 12
September 19
September 26
October 3
October 10
October 17
Online Iconography Course History and Theology of the Icon. Early Christian Art costs $80 USD or €70 Euros.
It is realised as a series of live zoom lectures, starting on Saturday September 12 and ending on Saturday October 24, 2026
To register for this course we invite you to pay $5 US dollars (or €4 euros), so we will add your name and email to the list of students, and the rest ($75 or €66) some days before the course. We will send you a special payment link.
Making your registration payment, please provide a valid email address, - it will also be used to send you a personal invitation to Google Classroom and all the further communications.
For payments in Dollars:
For Payments in Euros:
If within 80 days from the purchase date you experience health issues forbidding you to participate in the chosen course, we will fully refund the cost of your order.
Please, let us know if you have any questions.
If you wish to be informed about our future courses and other events, get in touch with us (top-right of this page) or subscribe to our regular Newsletter at the bottom of this page.
Iconographer, iconography instructor and web-site administrator.
Second-generation iconographer with M.A. from State Fine Art Academy of Saint Petersburg (faculty of Theory and History of Art).
2001 co-founder of Sacred Murals Studio (St. Petersburg, Russia).
Teaching iconography in the US, Italy, Australia and other countries since 2005.
2006 Member of the Union of Artists of Russia.
2009 - 2022 Professor at Institute of Theology and Sacred Arts (Saint Petersburg).
2021 November - December Head of Iconography School of St Petersburg Seminary.
March 2022 - Present. Freelance iconographer and iconography Teacher.
