One hundred years ago, In Light of Women could not have been published with holy images created by a female iconographer. “Women should remain silent in the churches. They may not speak…” 1 Corinthians 14:34. The New Testament includes plenty of verses that ultimately prohibit women from serving in positions of authority. The likes of which have affected every woman’s place in society for 2,000 years. In actuality, beginning as early as the fourth century, the dominant Christian leaders and those in control of Iconography in the early church were all men. They distorted Holy Scriptures to thwart the ascendant positions and influence of women. Religious hierarchy in Christian societies set the stage for our tragic silence and perpetuate it even today.

The underlying teachings of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, Moses, and the prophets all call for the proper and fair treatment of God’s children. It is not God’s commandment they women are not heard or seen in a sacred text or image. As an iconographer of three decades, I have always known in my heart and soul that women are not inferior to men. God loves humanity equally. I have not had to look far to see that this glorious tradition has failed to include women. The images depicted by men often lacked the inclusion of women, in principal events like Baptism, Pentecost, and The Last Supper. However, women were present at the resurrection, and were the first to go to the tomb, with no fear of death, and willing to serve.

In Light of Women is one collection of images and text that contributes to this great sacred art form’s survival. 21st Century Women iconographers like myself are graced with the desire to paint from sacred text; we have an obligation as prayer practitioners to re-examine how or why women were barely mentioned. When the feminine voice and new icon images are ushered into today’s spiritual communities, books for Christian Women will be an addition that benefit all of us.

In Light of Women: A Book Review for Mary Jane Miller

Reviewed by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D. Profiles in Catholicism Mary Jane Miller writes with immense freedom and expression, about the absence of Women in the traditional church. This book, In Light of Women, is a courageous attempt to accept many forms of God’s manifestation regardless of gender. Without ignoring the accepted visual cannons of iconography, a reader is offered a fresh perspective on the stories portrayed in the New Testament and a new way to look at women in the Bible. The concise language of icons sparks the imagination and provides new creative opportunities to contemplate the enigmatic workings of the Spirit in one’s life.

Simplicity is often the best way to reach the depths of our soul and connects us to our ancestral memory, in which the honoring of the sacred feminine is imprinted. This book reconstruct the meaning of the role of women in Christianity, not only in light of women’s traditional social role assigned to them by society. She goes further to include devoted followers, community leaders, preachers, saints, healers, and mystics in the immediate context of historical epochs. In the religious tradition, the Divine grants authority to those who choose to push towards unification and love.

Miller opens her book In Light of Women with a treatise on Mary, the Mother, and her message of love and surrender.

“ The wisdom women have learned through their years of service and witness has been kept in a soundproof room for too long. It is time for women to speak out and be heard on issues that matter to them. Mary receives a divine gift, nurtures it, and ultimately surrenders that gift to the world. By her example, humanity, in turn, will learn to recognize the divine gift within us, nurture it, and let it go, knowing that it was never ours to own but rather to share.

The encounter with sacred images has the potential to transcend space and time and to transport our consciousness to a higher, expanded spirituality. The evocative power of icons can be a starting point to re-examine cannons and symbolism, to open our minds to possibilities beyond what we know and accept without question. As you immerse yourself in the divine images in this book, let them

speak for themselves. Allow this meditative process to take you into the depths of your psyche where spiritual truth about the power and mystery of the sacred feminine can be revealed.”

Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D., continues: Christians and lay people will look at the image and read their stories as an exercise in prayer, a voyage of the spirit in conversation with God. They find a place where the reader comes to God and discovers God’s coming to him. In the presence of an icon, we are invited to practice that wonderful insight of St. Benedict, “to listen with the ear of your heart.”

Both as a person of faith and as an artist, Mary Jane Miller is one who brings to this ancient art form both a deep understanding of and love for the icon tradition of Eastern Christianity and a modern sensibility of expression. If there is a book the reader wants to invest in once in his/her lifetime, this is the book. I felt tangibly mesmerized by what I was seeing and reading. I thank God for giving Mary Jane Miller this radical voice.

Bio. Mary Jane Miller is a Byzantine-style iconographer with over three decades of experience. Her interpretations of sacred art are contemporary, unique, and unorthodox at times. Her collections and lectures are provocative, especially when she offers her 5-day immersion workshops using egg tempera. The work has been exhibited in Museums and churches in the United States and Mexico. As an author, Miller writes luxuriously, blending historical content and personal insights to arrive at contemporary conclusions about faith. The past decade, she has devoted her work to the voices of women and care for the Earth.

The post I Was Inspired to write In Light of Women. appeared first on San Miguel Icons.