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Modern-day Michelangelo is at work

BY RON OROZCO

McClatchy Newspapers

FRESNO, Calif. - High above the pews at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Fresno, a Russian painter is breathing new life into the church's sanctuary, creating inspiring images of Jesus, prophets, evangelists and angels on the ceiling and arched walls.

You can imagine the comparisons to Michelangelo, right?

Valery Butyrsky, 44, an iconographer from St. Petersburg, Russia, says the only connections between him and Michelangelo -- who turned the Sistine Chapel's ceiling into a masterpiece with his frescoes of biblical images -- are box-like pallets, scaffolding and long hours.

"Every day, I'm working on the ceiling, not talking much," he says.

Stroke by stroke, however, he has been making strides on an iconography project -- Christ Pantocrator -- that has been a long time coming at St. George.

The Pantocrator is the iconic image of Jesus as "God Almighty" or "Ruler of All" -- and a fixture in Eastern Orthodox churches. However, St. George's sanctuary, built in 1955, was without the Pantocrator, its ceiling bare, all these years.

Butyrsky has been painting the ceiling for a year and a half. Although delays have pushed St. George's iconography project months behind schedule, he says he is 75 percent done, and he estimates he needs just two or three more months. This is good news at this time of year, when Orthodox Christians celebrate Pascha, or Easter.

The church's pastor, the Rev. Jim Pappas, says congregants are excited as they sense the end of the project.

"We're completing a labor of love that started more than 50 years ago, and generations to come will be able to appreciate what others are getting accomplished now," he says.

In Orthodox churches, icons are a centuries-old tradition that convey the tenets of the Christian faith. Initially, they helped those unable to read to have a better understanding of God's love and the church's foundation.

"In Orthodoxy, this art form conveys Scripture and the historical life of the church," Pappas says.

The centerpiece of Butyrsky's Pantocrator is Jesus, of course. Butyrsky shows meticulous detail in presenting Jesus with a hand raised in blessing. Butyrsky also shows Jesus holding the Scriptures. The image adorns the center of the ceiling -- 38 feet, 6 inches above the floor.

Butyrsky surrounds Jesus with images of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the evangelists and traditional authors of the Gospels that open the New Testament. Butyrsky also presents them with symbols -- a man with Matthew, a lion with Mark, an ox with Luke and an eagle with John -- that are described in Revelation 4:6-10.

Butyrsky's work also features angels, the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Elijah, and dozens of medallions and splotches of gold leaf that resemble mosaic from the floor.

"It inspires me toward a great sense of holiness," Pappas says of Butyrsky's work. "When you see the prophets of the Old Testament and the evangelists of the New Testament, it gives me great hope."

Marie Antoniou, a church member for 26 years, says everyone has had to be patient while attending services amid scaffolding and plastic drop covers.

"You look up at the scaffolding -- and you know he's been up there a long time working," she says.

As Antoniou sees the continual progress, she says she is reminded of the Pantocrator at her former church, St. Sophia Cathedral in Los Angeles.

"Some people think St. George is so ornate, but that's part of the church," she says. "Icons are important to us. They are a learning tool."

Antoniou says she knows the first thing she will do when the Pantocrator is completed: "I'll have to find just the right place to see it all."