Andrew Tregubov

The very reverend Andrew Tregubov (born 1951, Moscow) is an archpriest of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) who is a renowned Russian-American master iconographer, author, and lecturer.

Biography

Since his childhood he had been drawn to the images of ancient Christian art that he saw in museums and churches. As he grew older the mystical and philosophical aspects of Christian teaching revealed by this art became more and more the focus of his interest.

Andrew and his wife, Matushka Galina, who embroiders icons, immigrated to America in 1975, and the following year Andrew entered St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York. At St. Vladimir's Seminary he had the opportunity to study with such famous teachers as professor Serge Verhovskoy, Rev. John Meyendorff, and most especially Rev. Alexander Schmemann, an internationally renowned scholar and important leader of the Orthodox Church in America.

Studying the theory and history of iconography at St. Vladimir's, Andrew began to convert his artistic skills into the practical work of writing icons. In the absence of reputable schools of iconography, he gathered knowledge of various techniques and styles from a number of well-known professional iconographers, especially Leonid Ouspensky, Maria Struve, and Elizabeth Osolin, all from Paris, France.

In 1979, Andrew was ordained to the priesthood of the Orthodox Church and was assigned to a parish in New Hampshire. The Nobel-Prize–winning Russian writer, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, and his family became parishioners and close friends of Father Andrew and his wife, Galina. In the same year, on a trip to France, Fr. Andrew encountered the works of a genius 20th century iconographer, Monk Gregory (Krug). This very important personal discovery was a turning point in the development of Fr. Andrew's individual iconographic style.

In 1984 Fr. Andrew and Galina received a grant from the Russian Social Fund of Solzhenitsyn to make a comparative study of ecclesiastical arts in the Orthodox communities in France and England. The result of this project was a unique collection of photographic transparencies made of the iconographic works of Gregory Kroug and a number of other contemporary masters of iconography.

Upon his return from Europe, Fr. Andrew began to lecture on iconography before various audiences such as church communities and universities around the United States.

In 1990 Fr. Andrew wrote a book, The Light of Christ: Iconography of Gregory Kroug, published by St. Vladimir's Seminary Press.

Since the late 1970s, Fr. Andrew, in addition to being a parish priest, has continually worked as a professional iconographer, receiving commissions from individuals and church communities all over the United States and in Europe. His larger projects include St. Nicholas Church in Norwich, CT; Christ the Savior – Holy Spirit Church in Cincinnati, OH; All Saints of America Mission in Salisbury CT; New Skete Monastery in Cambridge, NY; St. Gregory of Nissa Church in Wappingers Falls, NY; St. George Church in Trumbull, CT; Christ the Savior in Woodbury, CT; Ss. Cyril and Methodius Church in Terryville, CT; St. John of the Ladder Church in Greenville, SC; Holy Resurrection Church in Clinton, MS; and St. Andrew's Church in Delta, CO.

Father Andrew has worked in a variety of media aside from the traditional egg tempera icons. He also has done mosaic icons in ancient Byzantine style, most notably for Christ the Savior Church in Pearl River, NY. More recently he began monumental icon engraving.

In 1995 he was awarded the New Hampshire Council on the Arts' Discovery Award. In his nomination, Burt Feintuch, Director of the Center of Humanities at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, wrote, "Celebrated in American church communities, passionately devoted to his art, Fr. Tregubov is not known widely in the secular world. We should 'discover' this excellent artist, recognizing and appreciating his very significant contribution to a highly valued art form..."

In 1997 he was a visiting lecturer at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, NY.

He was elected as Dean of the Northern Deanery in October 2007. He is currently the rector of Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Claremont, New Hampshire.

Source

• Fr. Andrew Tregubov

Books

• The Light of Christ: Iconography of Father Gregory Kroug by Andrew Tregubov ISBN 0881410969

The icons in this book, reproduced by a special printing process on glossy paper, are the work of the great iconographer, Fr. Gregory Kroug. Fr. Kroug (1909-1969) was born in Russia and lived in France. A reclusive monk who lived in great poverty, he participated in the "Russian religious renaissance," which was, in part, a movement to rediscover the theological significance and artistic beauty of Russian iconography. His work reflects the pure form and content found in the golden age of Russian iconography (14th-16th centuries).

• The Incarnate God: The Feasts of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary by Paul Meyendorff, Andrew Tregubov, Catherine Aslanoff ISBN 0881411302

External links

• IconMotif: Orthodox Icons, Monuments, Embroideries, Books, Prayer-books, and Cards
• St. John the Baptist by A. Tregubov
• Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church