The Visual Museum of Women in Christian Art

Sandra Glahn

Lynn Cohick and Sandra Glahn recently joined David Capes on The Stone Chapel Podcasts to talk about a new initiative and project, The Visual Museum.

Dr. Lynn Cohick is Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Director of the Houston Theological Seminary at Houston Christian University.  Dr. Sandra Glahn is Professor of Media Arts and Worship at Dallas Theological Seminary.

To hear the podcast click here.

What is the Visual Museum?

This project began with Sandra Glahn taking students to Europe to study medieval art and spirituality.  What she and her students noticed in the artwork were images of women taking on leadership positions in the church. 

Often the written record does not tell much about this, but the art does.  It is a lost part of the church’s history. 

So, Sandra, Lynn and her team have created a website to tell that part of the story.  You can find it in Beta version at visualmuseum.gallery

Lynn Cohick

Women in art and the early Christian church

Not only do you see good quality images of this artwork, you also are introduced to the stories of these remarkable women. 

Not all can be identified, but the art is clear in representing women at high levels of leadership. Now this is true not only in the medieval era; it was evident in earlier centuries as well. 

The Visual Museum is about gathering these images and telling these stories.  Others who are traveling to Europe are taking photographs and doing some research for them. 

Students are researching and writing.  In addition, to learning something of art history, they are learning about their own history.  Make sure you hear the two touching stories at the end.

More Resources

Lynn Cohick (with Amy Brown Hughes), Christian Women in the Patristic World: Their Influence, Authority, and Legacy in the Second through Fifth Centuries (2017)

Sandra Glahn, Nobody’s Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the New Testament (2023)

To hear the podcast click here.

For a transcript of this podcast, click here.

More resources

Want more Stone Chapel Podcasts on some great topics. Just click here.

What’s more, you can get information on upcoming lectures at Lanier Theological Library. Just click here.

Home Again by a Different Route: Finding Resilient Leaders in the Book of Lamentations

Dr. Margaret Diddams

My friend and former boss, Dr. Margaret Diddams, recently came to the Lanier Theological Library for a two week research break to investigate some of our great resources on the book of Lamentations. By training Dr. Diddams, Margaret, is an industrial organizations psychologist and she has noticed a number of similarities between the academic literature on resilient leaders and lament. Her thoughts on the subject are fascinating and helpful. This needs to be a book and with time, I’m sure it will be. With Covid-19 especially, church leaders and others are trying to figure out what’s next. Whether people are being fired, laid off or flaming out, these are some insights you need.

To listen to her podcast on “The Stone Chapel” click here.

The Stone Chapel is a podcast of the friends and staff of the Lanier Theological Library in Houston, Texas.  It is hosted by Dr. David Capes, Senior Research Fellow at the library and former faculty member at Houston Baptist University and Wheaton College.  The purpose of the podcast is to bring to our audience great conversations from the world’s leading experts in theology, biblical studies, archaeology, Church history, the Dead Sea Scrolls, ethics, ministry, and a host of other topics close to the mission of the library.

The Lanier Theological Library is a magnet for scholars, church leaders and influencers.  For the last ten years, it has welcomed hundreds of academics and church leaders from across the globe for public lectures, study, panel discussions, consultations, and encouragement.

These podcasts as well as the Lanier library and the Stone Chapel are generously underwritten by Mark and Becky Lanier and the Lanier Theological Library Foundation.  If you have questions or comments, please be in touch: Email david.capes@lanierlibrary.org