Mary Jane Miller’s In Light of Women, One Woman’s Journey with Icons is a provocative addition to the growing body of work (both image and text) that is extending the reach of the icon beyond the boundaries of the Orthodox tradition. Following a brief introduction to the history of the icon, and a lyrical meditation on the properties of the earth pigments and egg yolk that she mixes to create her colors, she offers a selection of her icons arranged in three chapters: Mary Icons – The Most Popular through the Ages; The Gospel of Mary Magdalene – Icons Inspired by the Gnostic Text and Creative Insights and Image from Traditional Theology; and Feminine Voice – Classic Icons Interpreted with the Focus on Women. Each icon is accompanied by Miller’s reflections, short essays that fuse theological with personal ruminations.
Miller has developed an exquisite and distinctive voice as a writer of icons, adapting the style and subjects of the Orthodox tradition to express her personal spiritual journey. She boldly substitutes women for men in traditional scenes such as the Foot Washing and the Garden of Gethsemane and creates such entirely new subjects as Christ Teaching the Women. As a writer of icons and of words she draws inspiration from the Bible and from such extra-canonical sources as the Gnostic Gospel of Mary Magdalene. She conveys her feminist arguments with passion and ingenuity, offering a critique of the position of women in the historical church that echoes many of the arguments of feminist theologians and biblical critics.
Review by Bruce H Parker
