Aidan has been a professional icon painter, carver and fresco painter for over 20 years. Born in England, he was raised in New Zealand, where he gained a degree in English literature and later worked as a professional sculptor. On becoming a member of the Orthodox Church he returned to England and for 12 years explored as a novice the monastic life. He has studied the art of iconography in Britain, Thessalonica and Mount Athos. Among his major commissions are works in the collections of HRH The Prince of Wales and His Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeios. He has had icons and frescoes commissioned in over 15 countries. He is a visiting tutor for The Prince's School of Traditional Art, London, lectures regularly at the Cambridge University International Summer School, and runs two icon courses a year in Shropshire. He has lectured widely, has had numerous articles published, and has curated four exhibitions of old and new icons. He is currently preparing a book to be published by Gracewing on the techniques of icon and fresco painting.