NOW IN REGISTRATION FOR 2027!
RHYTHM & LIGHT
Icon Painting in the Byzantine System with Dr. George Kordis
May 31 – June 4, 2027
Princeton Theological Seminary | Princeton, New Jersey
Make Your Deposit Here
PROGRAM UPDATE — PRINCETON RESIDENCY
Registration remains open for the Princeton Residency with Dr. George Kordis, scheduled for May 31 – June 4, 2027, even though visa processing delays that have affected Dr. Kordis’s travel to the United States. We are continuing preparations for the Princeton residency in anticipation that the necessary visa arrangements will be completed well in advance of the program.
We remain optimistic and look forward to welcoming participants to Princeton. Should there be any changes affecting the residency, all registered participants will be notified promptly in early 2027.
Overview
Writing the Light is delighted to announce RHYTHM & LIGHT, a special five-day residency with internationally renowned iconographer Dr. George Kordis, to be held on the beautiful campus of Princeton Theological Seminary.
Through an intensive week of drawing, painting, lectures, and artistic dialogue, participants will enter more deeply into the living visual language of Byzantine painting and the principles that have shaped Dr. Kordis’s work and teaching for more than four decades.
At the heart of the residency will be the exploration of rhythm and light—not simply as techniques or aesthetic effects, but as fundamental elements through which the icon establishes movement, relationship, and presence.
Working directly with Dr. Kordis, students will explore how line generates movement; how forms enter into relationship with one another; how rhythm brings unity and life to a composition; and how light and color participate in creating the particular presence of the icon.
Drawing and painting will become the means through which these ideas are encountered in practice. Daily studio work will be accompanied by demonstrations, teaching, conversation, and opportunities to consider the larger artistic and theological principles underlying the Byzantine visual system.
The residency is intended to offer something increasingly rare: sustained time to work alongside Dr. Kordis within a community of painters, allowing drawing, painting, observation, and conversation.
Princeton Theological Seminary provides an especially fitting environment for this encounter—a peaceful academic setting in which artistic practice can unfold alongside reflection, dialogue, and community.
Dr. Kordis will also be giving an evening conversation open to the public during the week.
We are also planning to have one optional group catered dinner on-site (for an additional fee). More information will be shared in Spring 2027.
TUITION & REGISTRATION
The five-day residency cost for tuition is €975, including daily breakfast and lunch.
Lodging is booked separately, with encouragement to stay on campus at the convenient Erdman Center (see more below).
Writing the Light Certificate Students may register now and secure their place with a €300 deposit.
Make Your Deposit Here
NOTE: At this time, registration is open to Writing the Light Certificate Students until November 1st, 2026.
Those outside the Certificate Program are warmly invited to complete our Pre-Registration Form. Pre-registered students will receive the full program details first and will be notified as soon as general registration officially opens.
Final tuition will be billed in late February 2027.
ACCOMMODATIONS & MEALS
Comfortable on-campus accommodations will be available at Princeton Theological Seminary’s Erdman Center, where we have reserved a block of rooms for Writing the Light students at a special discounted rate.
See room rates here
Students can call the Erdman Center at 609-497-7990 and reserve their rooms with the group block number of 137825.
For those who prefer to stay off campus, the beautiful town of Princeton offers a variety of hotels, inns, and guest accommodations within easy walking distance of the Seminary.
Breakfast and Lunch will be provided each day and are included in the tuition, giving participants an opportunity to remain together throughout the residency and continue conversations initiated in the studio.
NOTE: If you are attending the residency with a friend or spouse who will not attend the residency, but who would like to join you and participate in breakfast and lunch, please contact us to reserve this option with an additional charge arranged through us at Writing the Light.
Evening meals will be handled independently, with plenty of options in downtown Princeton.
MATERIALS
An icon board, paper and pigments are provided. Each student will only need to bring their own brushes – a list of recommendations will be sent to registered participants. Participants can bring a portable easel or work flat for the week. We will share some portable easel options in the Spring.
A WEEK OF PAINTING, STUDY & ENCOUNTER
RHYTHM & LIGHT will offer five days devoted to the concentrated study and practice of Byzantine painting with one of its most important contemporary masters—in a setting uniquely suited to artistic and intellectual exchange.
We look forward to welcoming you to Princeton in 2027 for an extraordinary week of painting, learning, conversation, and creative community with Dr. George Kordis.
REGARDING REGISTRATION & REFUND POLICY:
- If a Certificate student needs to cancel attendance to a residency, they can have a refund of their residency deposit (usually non-refundable) minus the equivalent of $100 as long as the cancellation is made within four weeks of the residency start date, otherwise the deposit is non-refundable.
- For tuition already paid for a student-cancelled residency, ALL students may have the paid tuition portion refunded (beyond the non-refundable deposit) if notified within a one month’s notice to the start date in writing. For last minute cancellations with less than 30 days notice, we suggest requesting for the paid tuition to be pushed out to the following year (with a 100 Euro administrative fee) or students may choose to receive 50% of their tuition paid beyond the non-refundable deposit.
- We understand that unforeseen events may prevent your travel and we will try to work with you. We hope to have you join us for this opportunity to learn iconography from master George Kordis. NOTE: IF YOU REGISTER AND DO NOT RECEIVE AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT LETTER WITHIN 24 HOURS, Please email Keri at keri@writingthelight.com and/or check your spam folder.
Thank you!
Any questions? Please contact Writing the Light Director Keri Wiederspahn at keri@writingthelight.com.
