In his final year of law school, he dropped out and began training as an artist. He was so interested in how the master artist worked, he went back for coffee again and again. He was at law school in Athens when he met an iconographer and visited his studio out of curiosity. When he was younger, Diamantopoulos wanted to be a lawyer. "You can't tell me you walk in here and not be moved." Christopher Constantinides, presiding priest at Holy Trinity. "Iconography is theology in color," said the Rev. From ground level you can see it clearly - Jesus washing the feet of his disciples before the Last Supper. One, with the pool of water, is hung on the north side. Virtual School Graduation Brings Together Hundreds of Texas Students From Around State Tall scaffolding line the transepts of the church - the east-west arms of the sanctuary - where the iconographer and his crew stand high above the pews and roll out the canvases he created back in Greece. In Dallas it takes a crew of six, including Diamantopoulos, 20 days to attach the canvases to the walls with special adhesive. It took a year and a half for Diamantopoulos and three assistants to write the icons before rolling them in bubble wrap and sending them halfway across the globe to Texas. "Someday after I finish the whole project, I'm sure this church will be a landmark site for Texas," he said.Īfter years of planning and fundraising, the icons are being prepared for Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Dallas. On a second-story balcony, he can look down at the image - better perspective for how it will look on the ceiling of a Dallas church. He's writing stories.Įvery so often, Diamantopoulos stood up and ascended a small spiral staircase. The Dallas Morning News reports he's not painting pictures, he said. Slowly, the story started to come together. Theodore’s work has spanned 40 Years and is considered an Iconographic Master as he continues to paint, design and learn.Leonidas Diamantopoulos put brush to a large canvas spread out on the floor of his Athens studio, etching out images of a pool of water and a man standing beside it. Metropolitan Yurij, Archbishop Seraphim, The late Master Iconographer, Bishop Daniel and many, many others.įr. Theodores accolades include such notables as Mstislav Rostropovich, Solzhenitsyn, the late Metropolitan Lavros, Metropolitan Philip Saliba, Metropolitan Isaiah, Theodore is noted for his strict adherence to authentic Byzantine Iconographic tradition both in Greco and Slavic Byzantine styles.įr. Theodore has received the patronage of many Hierarchs and is in the private collections of many the least not being the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartolomew.įr. He is considered an international Iconographer of Renown.įr. Paul’s University of Ottawa, interviewed by coast to coast TV program “Man alive” by Ron Bornesten. Theodore guest lectures include “The Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies” at St. Theodore also taught a “Byzantine art & architecture” course at Toronto Greek Orthodox Seminary, and was been “Guest Lecturer” guide at The Royal Ontario Museum on numerous occasions.įr. Koufos was transferred to a Toronto, Ontario, church and continued to paint many churches, to numerous to list, under many jurisdictions.įr. Theodore taught at local college for three years and was ordained to The Holy Priesthood in 1974.įr. He received BA and MFA Degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo, received a teaching assistantship at the State University of South Florida, Tampa, graduating with a Master Degree in Fine Art.įr. where he also studied iconography with the eminent masters Archimandrite Cyprian and Archbishop Alipy. Theodore Koufos was born in Boston, Massachusetts, 1940.Īttended Seminary at Holy Trinity Orthodox Monastery, Jordanville, N.Y.
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