When Symeon was ordained as an iconographer in 2002, he was given a two-part commission by his teacher—First, to go and set up a studio (which became Conestoga Icons) and second, to evangelize by developing a style of iconography translated for the Americas. Realizing the way in which the land has inspired every culture through mankind’s history, Symeon made the choice to root his studio’s iconographic practice to the land upon which it stood in the little village of Conestoga in Ontario, Canada. And, through years of adventure, learning, and toil, he came to receive from the land all the lumber, pigments, and binders necessary to create an icon’s panel, paint, and varnish. It is because of this approach to making an icon that the studio has affectionally received the unofficial motto, “There must be a harder way to do this.”
As was hoped, working with such wonderful local materials and listening to their colours has blessed Symeon’s hand and eye. Through the influence of these local colours and the study of liturgical styles based on such beautiful limited means—such as the Romanesque or ancient Coptic—a distinctive style of iconography which resonates with many people living in North America continues to be practiced and developed in the studio. Through this style, the studio hopes to bring the real presence of Jesus Christ and his saints—those men and women fully alive in the Spirit—into the lives of those living here.