About Aphrodite

Aphrodite Faye Peponis has spoken for religious, cultural, and community groups and led tours of historic Orthodox Cathedrals and churches throughout the Chicagoland area. A respected lecturer and presenter of icons and iconography, she enthusiastically and knowledgeably shares her love for the theology, symbolism, spirituality and artistic attributes of the icon, enhanced by travels to churches of Greece, the Holy Land, Mt. Sinai, Istanbul, Cappadocia, Italy, Sicily and Russia.

She has led tours of Orthodox Cathedrals in conjunction with the Field Museum exhibits “Heaven on Earth” and “Kremlin Gold”, and has lectured for the National Hellenic Museum of Chicago and the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, Massachusetts.   Serving as tour guide for the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Chicago, she has coauthored Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Chicago, History and Iconography, in commemoration of the 125th Anniversary of the founding of the Cathedral and Orthodoxy in Chicago with her late husband, Harold Peponis. She has published articles on iconography in Christianity and the Arts and Praxis magazines and written the Iconography Section for the book, ECCLESIA, Greek Orthodox Churches of the Chicago Metropolis, authored and photographed by Panos Fiorentinos. She serves on the Board of Ecumenism Metro Chicago as the Greek Orthodox representative and has served on the National Board of the Ladies Philoptochos Society of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Her education includes a Bachelors Degree in Education from DePaul University, Masters Degrees in Education from Purdue University and in Applied Theology and Iconology from the University of Balamand through the Antiochian House of Studies.