The Field

Ignatius Brianchaninov (1807Ð1867) was a prolific author of Orthodox Christian ascetical works. Published toward the end of his life, his writings continued to grow in popularity long after his death. Along with his contemporary, St. Theophan the Recluse, Ignatius is now considered a foremost authority on Orthodox spirituality. He was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1988. Deacon Nicholas Kotar is a recent graduate of Holy Trinity Seminary and an assistant editor at Holy Trinity Publications in Jordanville, NY. He also has a degree in Russian Literature from UC Berkeley. Having begun conducting with the youth choir in the Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco, Nicholas helped establish the St John of San Francisco Men’s Chorale, which has released two disks to date: Rejoice in Song and Chrysostom. Currently he conducts the monastery and seminary choir at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville. He is also a founding member of Conquering Time, an ensemble of performance, visual, and literary artists inspired by the Inklings that stages original works of storytelling and traditional music and publishes new poetry and prose.