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In honor of this being the last day of Black History Month, we share with you an educational, edifying and eye-opening documentary on the long history of Christianity in Africa. This feature-length film takes an in-depth look at early African Christianity and its enduring heritage in African diaspora communities in America, dispelling the notion that Christianity is exclusively a 'white man’s religion.' Director Christopher Lamark and his team interview historians, religious

This Sunday, the last Sunday in the Epiphany season, is focused on Jesus' Transfiguration, which provides us with a vision with the glorified Christ before entering Lent. Here are two videos which explore the theological implications of the Feast, with special attention to its depictions in art and iconography.   This video records a discussion from the Princeton Scala Foundation conference that took place in April 2023 with the title, “The Transfiguration: Glory and Grace in

Emil Nolde (German, 1867–1956),  Dark Red Sea , ca. 1938 Mon Dieu, protégez-moi, mon navire est si petitet votre mer si grande! Lord, help me . . . Because my boat is so small, And your sea is so immense.   This anonymous prayer collected from a Breton sailor—or fisherman, as some anthologies cite—is found in Émile Souvestre,  Les derniers Bretons  (The Last Bretons), vol. 1 (Paris: Charpentier, 1836), p121. Though “boat” and “sea” were likely meant first and foremost literal

The Theological Virtues: Faith, Charity, Hope Italian (Umbrian) Painter, Italian This  Sunday’s lectionary reading  from the Epistles is 1 Corinthians 13:1–13, which presents the three "theological virtues." In this art, each of these virtues are represented by young women, accompanied by an attribute: at the feet of Faith a dog, a common symbol of fidelity; at the feet of Charity a pelican symbolic of Christ's sacrifice; and at the feet of Hope a phoenix, symbolizing Christ'

Epiphany marks the end of the Christmas season in many Christian traditions, but it is also observed as celebrating the Visit of the Magi (Luke 2). In the West we have few traditions surrounding this Feast (King Cake, anyone?). But in Eastern (Orthodox) Churches, Christians commemorate the day with a surprising custom.   In  Greece , Epiphany (Jan 6) is a public holiday, and is focused not on the Visit of the Magi but rather marks the Baptism of Jesus Christ. In the Blessing

Considered the leading painter in the region of Emilia-Romagna, Correggio painted the “Assumption of the Virgin” fresco inside the Romanesque Cathedral of Parma. Peter Heidelberg/Shutterstock By Michelle Plastrik 10/14/2024 Ceilings are often referred to as the “fifth wall” in today’s interior design world, but decorative schemes for ceilings are nothing new. The illusionistic style of ceiling frescoes known in Italian as “di sotto in sù,” meaning “from below to above,” can b

Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300–1350 ,  Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 13, 2024–January 26, 2025: “ Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300–1350  examines an exceptional moment at the dawn of the Italian Renaissance and the pivotal role of Sienese artists—including Duccio, Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti, and Simone Martini—in defining Western painting.   In the decades leading up to the catastrophic onset of the plague around 1350, Siena was the site of phenomenal artistic i

LUKOVA, Czech Republic — A 14th-century church in the Czech Republic that was once in ruins is getting a new life from tourists who want to see the eerie visitors from beyond the grave. In 2012, art student Jakub Hadrava used St. George’s Church in the village of Lukova as the location for his senior arts thesis. He filled the unused church’s pews with ghostly figures, made from plaster casts of live models draped in white cloth. The effect is chilling. He called the work “My

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (Spanish, 1618-1682),  The Holy Family with a Little Bird , c. 1645–1650 The great Spanish painter Bartolomé Esteban Murillo was the youngest of fourteen children of a Sevillian barber, Gaspar Esteban, and his wife, Maria Peres. In 1627, his father died, and a year later came the death of his mother. Because his elder sisters and brothers had already grown up and left home, the ten-year-old Bartolomé was adopted into the family of his aunt, who was m

Jean-Franҫois Millet (French, 1814–1875),  The Angelus , 1857–59   The Angelus  is a traditional Christian prayer whose name comes from its opening words in Latin, “Angelus Domini” (The angel of the Lord). For centuries it was prayed by the faithful three times a day—at 6 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m.—the times announced by the ringing of bells from church towers. In the 19th-century, Millet famously painted two peasant farmers at dusk pausing from their labor in the fields to bow t

"André Kamba Luesa (Congolese, 1944–1995),  La résurrection  (The Resurrection), 1992 In this scratched painting from Congolese artist Luesa, the risen Christ bounds victoriously over the pit of hell—using his cross like a pole vault! The flaming abyss has been conquered, cleared. Having crossed over from death to life, Christ brings humanity with him. That’s why the men, women, and children lift high their hands in celebration. His victory is ours!   The Gospel of Matthew d

“For the hour is coming, when all that are in the tomb will hear His voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life.”  John 5:28–29 There are not many works of art that capture the moment of resurrection. The work that for me is most memorable is a sculpture called “Resurrection” by American Lutheran artist Paul T. Granlund. You’ll find “Resurrection ”  on the sidewalk outside the First Lutheran Church in downtown Pittsburgh. In this imaginative w

The Baptism of Christ, early 6th century. Ceiling mosaic, Arian Baptistery, Ravenna, Italy. Photo: Peter Milošević Mark 1:1-8   John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his wa

“The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God: 2  As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, 3  the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’”   4  John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and we

Matthew 25:14-30   Jesus said:   “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field,  but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.  And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to the

Alexander Louis Leloir (1843-84), Jacob Wrestling with the Angel, 1865 Genesis 32   22 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, an