THE BYZANTINE VIRGIN MARY (STRA-4645)

Theology through Poetry and Art

Throughout history Eastern Christians have developed a unique vision of the Virgin Mary honoring her as “Mother of God,” “Champion General,” “Ever-virgin,” “Steadfast Shelter and Refuge,” “Joy of All Who Sorrow,” “The One Who Guides,” and they continue to address her with many other titles. These images were produced by theologians, empresses, monastics, poets, and pious believers. The figure of the Theotokos (Mother of God) continues to influence all phases of life for Byzantine-rite Christians including worship, spirituality, theology, culture, social justice, art, literature, feminism, music, and personal devotion. Today many Christians have forgotten her crucial role in the divine plan for restoration of creation.

This class will consider the various ways in which the medieval Greeks and the Orthodox peoples in general remember, talk about, and represent the life of Virgin Mary. We will approach the topic diachronically and across a wide geographic span-from the Near East to Greece and Italy and from North Africa to Russia. We will study the main theological and liturgical texts pertaining to Mary’s life and will consider also a number of artistic representations and their ability to not only illustrate but also to exegete. The course will revolve around the formation, content and icons of Virgin Mary and the main Marian feasts of the Orthodox Church. Thus the Annunciation, the Presentation in the Temple, Mary’s role in the Incarnation and the Passion, will be thoroughly investigated through reading the writings of church fathers and liturgical poetry, and through looking at and with images on wood panels, in churches and manuscripts.
This course is designed for M.A. students interested in exploring theological understandings of the Virgin Mary and how they are expressed through iconography and poetry. M.Div. students will discover many vibrant perspectives on Mary that will enrich their ministry of teaching and preaching. Ph.D. students will develop skills in theological analysis of significant literary texts (homiletic and poetic) and Byzantine iconography. This course will combine lectures and seminar discussion. Evaluation will be based on class participation, one in-class presentation, one brief research paper, and a final synthesis paper.