Programs and Events
of the Mount Angel Institute

Iconography Exhibit | Writing the Divine

Practicing & Preserving the Sacred Art of Iconography

July 2 – 29 | 9 am – 4 pm
Mount Angel Library

The focus of this exhibition is to decode the symbolism of the icon, helping guests see icons in a new light.

Highlights of the exhibit include:

• Fruits of Christ’s Passion: a 19^th century Russian icon, egg tempera on wood, with inscriptions in Old Slavonic Cyrillic.
• Map of Holy Jerusalem: an 18^th century wooden panel icon painted with egg tempera and natural earth pigments. It is both hagiographic and geographic, meaning it tells the stories of saints and sacred events from both Old and New Testaments on the sites of their geographic location in and around Jerusalem.

The exhibit is on loan from the Classical Iconography Institute, which is holding an iconography retreat at Mount Angel from July 7 through 12.

Beginning Intensive Iconography Retreat

with the Classical Iconography Institute

July 7 – 12, 2024

Please see Classical Iconography Institute’s website for course fees and registration, or call Christine Thum Schlesser at 503.710.8800.
Registration deadline: June 7, 2024.

The Classical Iconography Institute returns to Mount Angel with class sessions organized around the Liturgy of the Hours and monastic mealtimes. Beginning students start the program by first writing The Mandylion (Holy Face of Christ).

Classical Iconography Institute is dedicated to training iconographers capable of writing liturgical icons for the Church. The Institute continues the legacy of the Iconographic Arts Institute, founded at Mount Angel Abbey in 1987, which focused on the most ancient tradition and methods of sacred iconography from instruction by master iconographers. In 2022, the Iconographic Arts Institute nonprofit experienced a change in leadership and a new location, expanding its scope to year-round traditional instruction in sacred iconography. Classical Iconography Institute’s teaching studio is currently at the Holy Rosary Parish campus in Portland, Oregon.

Saint Benedict Festival 2024
Feast | Pray | Meet the Monks

Noon Prayer to Vespers | Saturday, July 13

The Saint Benedict Festival at Mount Angel Abbey begins with midday prayer with the monks in the Abbey church, followed by a leisurely buffet picnic on the Abbey lawn. Experience classic Benedictine hospitality, live music, and good conversation with friends and family. Deepen your understanding of the Benedictine way of life through the special events of the afternoon:

• The Abbey Experience booth provides a glimpse into the cloister.
• An iconography exhibit in the library foyer portrays art and prayer.
• A selection of the Abbey’s illuminated manuscripts is a glimpse of ancient monastic prayer.
• Enjoy Benedictine Brewery beer and local Oregon wines.
• Visit the Abbey’s bookstore and coffeehouse.

The afternoon closes with a procession with the monks, chanting the litany of St. Benedict and carrying a statue of St. Benedict into the church before vespers.

Find more information and ticket form on the Saint Benedict Festival web page!

Children’s Book Club: The Little Way of a Pilgrim

July 20 | 3-4:00 pm
Mount Angel Library

Join us for a family afternoon and book reading with monks and Jennifer Anna Rich, author of the children’s book, The Little Way of a Pilgrim.

Travel alongside our pilgrim in this whimsically illustrated retelling of the Russian classic, The Little Way of a Pilgrim. Here is a serious adventure poised to embed the love of the Jesus Prayer in the hearts of children and their bedtime readers alike. As he sets his curious feet forward, our pilgrim is tenacious in his quest for prayer. His winding path leads him into a deep love for all creation, offers tools to overcome anxious thoughts, and reveals surprisingly simple ways of experiencing the joy of being with God.

There will be snacks and beverages for children and wine and cheese for the adults. Along with the reading, there will also be activities such as coloring and drawing.

Please Note: A parent or guardian must be present during the book reading and all activities.

Abbey Bach Festival

July 24, 25, & 26, 2024
and a Children’s Concert Saturday morning, July 27

We have a very exciting program planned for this summer that promises to continue with surprises. Johann Sebastian Bach has influenced composers and musicians throughout Western music for more than 300 years. Join us on our inviting Willamette Valley hilltop for an evening with Bach concerts in the church, a delicious picnic buffet, and feature concerts hinting at Bach’s influence. And, the Friday night surprise – a jazz concert – Bach to Gershwin!

Daily Festival Schedule

5:20 pm           Vespers
6 pm                Church concert
6:30 pm           Picnic buffet supper
8 pm                Feature concert

Please see the Abbey Bach Festival page for full details for the evening concerts, July 24, 25, and 26, as well as the Children’s Concert with Alon Goldstein and the Guy Mintus Trio on Saturday morning, July 27.

Artist-in-Residence Exhibit

The Project for St. Patrick Church, Sketches, and Other Works

Tomasz Misztal
Mount Angel Abbey | September 6-20

Tomasz Misztal was born in Poland and currently lives and works in Portland, Oregon. He earned his Master of Fine Arts and PhD from the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk, Poland, and taught as a faculty professor there from 1982 to 1993. He has also taught art privately throughout his career.

Misztal has worked in many international museums and institutions, including Sachseln, Switzerland; Lisbon and the Azores, Portugal; Berlin, Germany; Warsaw, Gdansk, and Warka, Poland; and most notably, the Vatican Collection.

Misztal’s talent has been recognized numerous times, including with the silver medal in the category of Work on Paper at the 2011 International Biennale of Modern Art in Florence, Italy. He has also had several solo exhibitions in the United States and abroad.

Because of his focus on sacred art, Misztal has created artworks for many commissions, for private and public entities, including many churches and monasteries. You can find his Last Supper sculpture in our guesthouse dining room. His piece in the Vatican Collection was commissioned for the Solidarity Movement on behalf of the Gdynia dock workers as a gift for Pope John Paul II in 1987.

Sacred Art, New Evangelization, and Sacred Scripture: Reflections and Stories from My Life

Tomasz Misztal
Mount Angel Abbey | September, date TBD

Join us for a talk with our artist-in-residence, Tomasz Misztal, who will share how art and its creation has transformed and affected his life. Focusing on the sacred and incorporating figurative and abstract elements in his pieces that express the human condition and spirit, we will hear how his artistic approach has transformed and evolved over time.

Tomasz Misztal was born in Poland and currently lives and works in Portland, Oregon. He earned his Master of Fine Arts and PhD from the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk, Poland, and taught as a faculty professor there from 1982 to 1993. He has also taught art privately throughout his career.

Misztal has worked in many international museums and institutions, including Sachseln, Switzerland; Lisbon and the Azores, Portugal; Berlin, Germany; Warsaw, Gdansk, and Warka, Poland; and most notably, the Vatican Collection.

Misztal’s talent has been recognized numerous times, including with a silver medal in the category of Work on Paper at the 2011 International Biennale of Modern Art in Florence, Italy. He has also had several solo exhibitions in the United States and abroad.

Because of his focus on sacred art, Misztal has created artworks for many commissions, for private and public entities, including many churches and monasteries. You can find his Last Supper sculpture in our guesthouse dining room. His piece in the Vatican Collection was commissioned for the Solidarity Movement on behalf of the Gdynia dock workers as a gift for Pope John Paul II in 1987.

MAI Symposium

The Sea and the Stars: Navigating the Modern World

with Rev. Stephen Rowan, PhD
October 25-27, 2024

This Mount Angel Institute Symposium offers a unique cultural and philosophical retreat, with a rich program of lectures, meals, and conversation, as well as joining the monks in chanting, prayer, and meditation. The title, The Sea and the Stars: Navigating the Modern World, links Dante’s theme of navigating the Divine Comedy with the challenges of navigating the modern world.

Rev. Stephen Rowan, PhD, will lead the retreat. A priest of the Archdiocese of Seattle and a professor of English, Fr. Rowan served as the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Portland. Since 1977, he has held several academic and educational positions: Associate professor of English, Chair of the English Department, and then Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Seattle University; Interim President of Carroll College in Helena, Montana; Vicar for Education, Superintendent of Catholic Schools, and Chair of the Board of the Fulcrum Foundation for the Archdiocese of Seattle. Father Rowan holds a doctorate in English from the University of British Columbia.

Space is limited to maintain the symposium-style atmosphere of this retreat. For information on registration, please email Br. Anselm Flores.

How to Pray When You’re Too Busy:
Living a Contemplative Life in the World

Jennifer Anna Rich
November 16 | 3- 4 pm
Mount Angel Library

How can we, as Christians, practice stillness, ceaseless prayer, and being with God in a busy and often distracted world? Embedded in her Orthodox tradition of praying the Jesus Prayer in ways both fixed and free, Jennifer Anna Rich will share some insights on how she strives to live a contemplative life in a complex and busy world with wisdom from the Philokalia.

Jennifer Anna Rich is an author, scriptorium book artist, and urban farmer. She holds a master’s degree in Theology and has been a lifelong student of contemplative prayer. Rich leads Orthodox prayer retreats and pilgrimages with a deep desire to help others love their prayer lives. She is the author of Prayer Spa: Ancient Treatments for the Modern Soul, and The Little Way of a Pilgrim, recently released by Ancient Faith Kids Publishing. She oversees Oblation Papers & Press with her husband and occasionally their two grown daughters and offers letterpress prayer cards from her private studio, Poustinia Press.