Oksana Fedorova revives traditions of ancient icon-painters in Ufa

Popular TV-presenter, the winner of the “World Beauty Show-2002” Oksana Fedorova helps to revive the ancient Russian tradition of measured icons in Ufa. She arrived in the capital of Bashkiria on Tuesday together with the chairman of the Russian Christian Patrons Club Andre Poklonsky for opening the exhibition “Measured Icon: traditions and up-to-dateness” at “GOSTINY DVOR”.

“We started to revive the tradition of measured icons four years ago” – she said- ”Originally we could hardly imagine that our activity in this direction would be able to reach such scales. We intended to hold several exhibitions in several Russian cities during one year. But the reality surpassed all our expectations. The exhibitions of measured icons have already taken place all over Russia and in London, Paris, Riga, Tallinn, Athens, Berlin and other cities. Thanks to such actions we revive our ancient heritage and consolidate interrelations with our compatriots, living abroad”.

According to M-r Poklonsky the idea to revive the tradition of measured icons arose among the members of the Russian Christian Patrons Club several years ago after they had discovered several unusual icons in the Trinity-Sergey Monastery.

“Those icons were rather small in size but at that disproportionately long” – Andre Poklonsky said – “The monks explained to us that these were the so-called measured icons, which painted in case of child birth. Therefore the child received the icon of his heavenly protector – the saint, by whose name he was christened – from the very birth and for the whole life. The icon was painted to the full-length of the newly-born child and that’s why such icons were called the measured icons”.

At present time the studios of measured icons are opened already in many Russian towns. In Ufa this work runs for three years and the first studio is opened by the blessing of the Archbishop of Ufa and Sterlitamac Nikon. Today its masters presented 17 works to the visitors by the permission of the children, for whom the icons were painted, as well as their parents.