Showcasing Elias Icons, the work of English Iconographer Ian Knowles
and of the Arbor Vitae Icon Academy
I have a life-long passion for icons, as 'thin spaces' where God comes close to us in the Person of Jesus Christ. As a professional iconographer I attempt to offer my very best in artistic skill for the worship of God through making fine pieces of Liturgical art, and as a teacher of iconography to make this wonderful art of the Church accessible to as wide a range of people as possible. All of this is, for me, a form of evangelisation, of making God known.
On this website, you can find all sorts of information about icons, their history, their use in worship, and their spiritual power. You can see icons I have painted and order one for yourself. You can discover how to paint icons according to traditional techniques, and join a worldwide community of students going deeper into the Mystery that icon presents to us.
Whether you seek to learn a bit more, to purchase an icon, or just explore the living world of iconography, I hope this site gives you an enriching and blessed experience. Enjoy!
Ian Knowles
Ian is a practising Roman Catholic, a graduate of theology from Oxford University, has a diploma in Pastoral Theology from Heythrop College, spent a decade in Palestine where he founded the Bethlehem Icon School, and is the author of the Icon Painter's Handbook. He currently is living in Italy.
During my time there I also got to know the priests and sisters of the Institute of the Incarnate Word. One of their priests, Padre Gabriel, is now the parish priest in Gaza. Every night the late Pope Francis would call him and the parishioners at 8pm, a source of immense encouragement for them at a time when all food, medicines and basic amenities have been cut off.
During the funeral of Pope Francis I designed this new icon of Our Lady Who Brings Down Walls, combined with Our Lady Who Undoes Knots, an image close to the heart of Pope Francis. I designed it knowing that the people in Gaza had lost more than a pope, but a true Father.
I spent over a decade living in Bethlehem, and grew to understand the complexity and suffering of the situation that Christians face there. I painted the icon of Our Lady Who Brings Down Walls on a strip of the separation wall for a group of local Christians who pray every week. I explain more in this short video:
My hope is that as many people as possible will ask Our Lady to break down the walls that isolate the people of Gaza, bringing about a ceasefire, the supply of food and medicine, and the chance to rebuild their homes and live without coercion or violence. As Pope Leo XIV has said, 'No more wars!'
If you would like to join me, I pray a short prayer for the priests and people in Gaza every night at around 8 pm, the time the late Pope Francis would call them.
Maybe, like the fall of apartheid in South Africa, the Palestinians and Israelis can discover a better way to live together.
The Academy is a home for anyone who loves Byzantine icons, especially those inspired with iconography as a vocation to make good liturgical art.
An international community drawn together through the Academy Course in Icon Painting, members meet for regular lectures, tutorials, online and in-person courses, to share their work and generally to encourage each other.
Members come from across the Christian community, and from as far apart as the USA, Australia and South Africa.
The Academy is a home for anyone who loves Byzantine icon painting, especially those inspired by iconography as a vocation to make good liturgical art.
Members come from across the full breadth of the Christian community and beyond, and from as far apart as the USA, Australia and South Africa.
Sign up for one of the Academy Modules to join.
Or you can request to join one of the Tutor Groups which meet weekly.
Or enrol in one of the residential courses scheduled for July and November this year, and April 2026.
Or come for a sabbatical.
Or sign up for the Newsletter for notification of events.
Members' Websites
