A COLLECTIVE OF ARTISTS HELPING ARTISTS
The Order of St. Udio is an association (“collective”) of Christian artists helping one another to better understand the proper relationship between the Christian Faith and the Fine Arts so they may more effectively live out their calling as artists and followers of Jesus Christ.
The Order of St. Udio exists to foster community and collaboration between members so they may better succeed in their craft, business, and ministry through utilizing their artistic and spiritual gifts for the common good of those inside and outside the collective and the Church:
To create, share, appreciate and sell art that reveals God’s divine order and beauty as well as conveys man’s suffering and yearning for redemption in a fallen world; art that gives words, shape, color and sound to our imagination and experiences; art that comforts and heals the weak and broken-hearted, and makes the saving truth and love of Jesus Christ known and lived; art that speaks for itself, and in doing so, speaks for God, the artist, and those who appreciate the art; art not for art’s sake but for the sake of everything else; in short, art that lives the questions as well as the answers.
The Order of St. Udio is a community of MONKROCK in partnership with Monkofonic, Oblates of the Last Martyrdom, and the common mission that binds them all together.
THE NAME
The Order of St. Udio is not a real religious order. Its name is a play on words inspired by the true story (published “A Severe Mercy”) of Van and Davy Vanauken at Oxford in the late 1940’s – early 1950’s, who with the help of C.S. Lewis became Christians.
The couple lived in a small “studio” apartment on campus – “The Studio” was even written on the door – that became a regular gathering place for ongoing discussion among students and friends, ala the “Inklings” – a literary discussion group in Oxford consisting of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and others.
As it was common to name buildings and rooms on campus after a particular saint, it was fitting and clever to refer to The Studio as “St. Udio” [Saint OodeO].
PATRONS
Our Lady of the Annunciation, Bl. Pope John Paul II the Great, St. Michael the Archangel, St. Luke the Evangelist, St. John of Damascus, St. Catherine of Bologna, St. Clare of Assisi, St. Cecilia, St. Hildegard of Bingen, Bl. Fra Angelico, Pope St. Gregory the Great, as well as G.K. Chesterton, Flannery O’Connor, J.R.R. Tolkien, Thomas Merton, C.S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer, Madeleine L’Engle, and many other great Christian artists and lovers of art.
RESOURCES
Recommended readings include: “Letter to Artists” (Bl. Pope John Paul II), “Letters to a Young Poet” (Ranier Maria Rilke), “Walking on Water” (Madeleine L’Engle), “Art and the Bible” (Francis A. Schaeffer), “Leisure: The Basis of Culture” (Josef Pieper), etc.
WORK-IN-PROGRESS
The Order of St. Udio is still work-in-progress. All information is subject to change. Application for membership will be available soon. We welcome your participation, prayers, and support.
“In the beginning, God created…”
Kevin Francis Bernadette Clay
Founder of the Order of St. Udio