The series introduces ancient writing traditions as pathways to dialogue between the three Abrahamic faiths.

The spiritual importance of calligraphy or “beautiful writing” in Judaism and Islam, and of painting or “writing” divine and holy persons in Orthodox Christianity is examined in a series of lectures/demonstrations by noted calligraphers Rabbi Rachel Dvash Schoenfeld and Elinor Holland, and the distinguished iconographer Father Silouan Justiniano. The series, sponsored by La Salle’s School of Arts and Sciences, introduces these ancient traditions as pathways to dialogue between the three Abrahamic faiths.

“Sacred writing and painting transform our relationship to art, faith, and beauty,” Philosophy Professor Cornelia A. Tsakiridou, Ph.D., said. “This series of lectures on Sacred Writing is an opportunity for our students and the La Salle community to learn more about the ways in which Judaism, Christianity, and Islam envision the divine word and presence”

Each event is free and open to the public.

Writing the Torah
Feb. 27, 2024, from 12:30-2:00 p.m.
Location: Union Music Room

Rabbi Rachel Dvash Schoenfeld
Congregation B’nai Tikvah Beth Israel, Sewel, N.J.

Rabbi Rachel Dvash Schoenfeld is a soferet (Torah scribe and repairer of Torahs) and trained mediator. She is passionate about making the world a better place through kehillah (community), tikkun olam (world repair) and tzedakah (sharing resources). Rabbi Rachel adores learning and teaching about the tangible and “hands-on” nature of Judaism.  

Rabbi Rachel was ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 2005. Since then, she has served congregations including most recently Shir Hadash, in Newton, Mass.  She has also been an education director at a humanist congregation, Kahal Braira, and a campus rabbi at Hampshire College. Rabbi Rachel adores learning and teaching about the tangible and “hands-on” nature of Judaism.  

Writing the Qur’an
March 5, 2024, from 12:30-2:00 p.m.
Location: La Salle University Art Museum

Elinor Holland
Calligrapher of Arabic and Latin Scripts

Elinor A Holland received her Ijaza, or diploma, in two forms of Arabic script in 2013 from Master Calligrapher Mohamed Zakariya. She teaches regularly for the NY Society of Scribes as well as at colleges, art centers, and museums in the U.S. and Canada, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, and The Smithsonian Institute. She has exhibited in Kuwait, Sharjah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and the throughout the U.S.

“Writing” the Face of God?
March 7, 2024, from 12:30-2:00 p.m.
Location: Union Music Room

Father Silouan Justiniano, MFA
Monastery of St. Dionysios the Areopagite (ROCOR), St. James, N.Y

Originally from Puerto Rico, Fr. Silouan Justiniano is a priest-monk, icon painter, and writer. He obtained a BFA from the School of Visual Arts (N.Y.) and an MFA in painting from Hunter College of the City University of New York.

Fr. Silouan’s formative years as a painter began with graffiti. He has also experimented with various styles of figuration and abstraction. He transitioned from contemporary art to icon painting once he embarked on the monastic life. His icons entail the synthesis of multiple styles, both within and outside the confines of the Byzantine tradition, including a dialogical approach towards modern painting. 

Fr. Silouan’s articles have appeared in various publications in the US and abroad, including Analogia, Zhivopis, The Gifts Almanac, Sacred Web: A Journal of Tradition and Modernity, and Luvah: Journal of the Creative Imagination. He is also an editor and contributor to the Orthodox Arts Journal. He has received grants and awards from the Catholic Art Institute and the Joan Mitchell Foundation.