At the Intersection of Human Creativity and Holiness

 The State of the Sacred Arts

AUGUST 2025

Dear Friends of the Sacred Arts,

One of the joys of the intersection of the arts with the sacred is that it transcends geographical and historical borders. I write these words after an eventful few weeks encountering the sacred arts across Estonia and Finland. From June 5–8, I enjoyed a brief residency at the Arvo Pärt Centre outside Tallinn, Estonia. While there I spoke with an audience of around 25 people, including the renowned musicologist Toomas Siitan and his students. I summarized for them a talk that I would give the following week in Finland that looked in-depth into Arvo Pärt’s 2010 composition Adam’s Lament. While there, I also hiked into the Estonian forest with photographer Kaupo Kikkas to witness an exciting installation in progress.

With Arvo and Nora Pärt

Deep in the Estonian forest with Kaupo Kikkas

I then ferried across the Baltic to Helsinki for the conference of the International Society for Orthodox Church Music, at which I delivered the keynote address entitled "Another Paradise, Fairer than the Old: Adam’s Lament through Silouan, Sophrony, and Pärt.” Apart from a number of fine academic presentations the conference featured a concert by the world-class Latvian Radio Choir, which included compositions by Arvo Pärt and the Society’s founder Fr. Ivan Moody, in whose memory the conference was held. The conference also featured a tour de force performance by pianist Paul Barnes, with compositions by Moody as well as Philip Glass.

At this conference the Society elected by acclamation its new chair Dr. Alexander Lingas, who is my cherished colleague as associate director of the Institute of Sacred Arts and one of today's leading music scholars and choral conductors. Last month, Dr. Lingas was also decorated with the Order of the Imperial Saints Constantine and Helen by the Patriarchate of Romania. 

With Alexander Lingas and Archbishop Elia of Finland (an SVS alumnus)

On my return to the States it was a great delight to see our newly renovated Sacred Arts Room bustling with artistic creativity and learning, as George Kordis brought his Writing the Light school of iconography for its annual workshop at St. Vladimir’s Seminary. My second public conversation with George will soon be available as another episode of Luminous: Conversations on Sacred Arts. 

You can listen to my Luminous podcast conversations with several of the people mentioned above:

The newly renovated Sacred Arts Room bustling with iconography students

The conference and encounters in Finland and Estonia were reminders of the international reach and significance of what we do. Through our faculty, students, publications, and events, our work feeds into the life, thought, and creativity of artists, musicians, scholars, and people everywhere. But whatever our institute contributes to these worlds is far outweighed by what we gain and learn from our sisters and brothers across the globe.

Thank you for being a part of this vital community at the intersection of creativity and holiness.

On behalf of my team,

Peter Bouteneff
Director, Institute of Sacred Arts