In his new book Harmonic Poetry of Byzantine Art Forms, the distinguished iconographer and painter Yiannis Mitrakas, Archon Iconographer of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, presents the fundamental principles of his art and guides us step-by-step in discovering the aesthetic rules and symbolism that govern iconography and Byzantine painting from their inception to the present day.

Thanks to this richly illustrated book, which features numerous icons and paintings from the artist's long journey as well as drawings with purely educational purposes, accompanied by enlightening instructions and analyses of the "what" and "how" of an art form that is both demanding and fascinating, the reader is almost naturally initiated into a world that has not ceased to emit spirituality and grandeur up to this day.

The work is aimed at both professional artists and art critics, as well as the simply art-loving reader or amateur painter. The author's declared goal is to pass on a part of his long experience to younger generations and, as he puts it, "to give the empress of Byzantine arts the freedom to reclaim her rightful place on the global cultural map."