Church's "Anti-War" Paintings Draw Fire
New stations of the cross representing Christ in the midst of modern armed conflicts, including the Iraq war, have drawn angry denunciation and high praise.
(PRWEB, August 23, 2005) - Angry e-mailers and callers to Saint Paul's
Episcopal church in Norwalk, Connecticut have repeatedly invoked 9-11 in
response to articles about their new stations of the cross. Conservative
Christians have denounced the paintings as a political statement inappropriate
for a house of worship.
"They are not a political statement, but a
theological statement about suffering in the world," responded Rev. Nicholas
Lang, rector of Saint Paul's. "The reality is that war, no matter why it is
being fought, has got to be viewed as tragic."
The paintings were
commissioned by Saint Paul's in March 2004, from New York City artist Gwyneth
Leech. "I was asked to combine the traditional stations iconography with
elements of the world we live in. This brief eventually led to my vision of
Christ as a prisoner of war, and as a hostage tortured by insurgents. The crowds
are refugees. The people weeping at the foot of the cross are grieving Iraqis
and Americans who have lost family members to bombs and to violence," Leech
said.
At Saint Paul's the congregation has embraced the new stations of
the cross, dedicated in Lent of 2005. "They were startling, but they were very
moving," said Ann Watkins, a longtime parishioner. However, among those who have
served in the military there has been a difference of opinion about the images
of soldiers carrying rifles along streets girded with barbed-wire and references
to the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib.
"My understanding of the
teachings of Jesus is that we might want to love and forgive others rather than
kill them," wrote David Gilroy in a recent letter published in the Hartford
Courant, responding to an article about the paintings at St. Paul's. "Of course
this is still a radical notion after 2,000 years, and many among us are not
happy with the concept.
"However, to imply that an anti-war statement
could be inappropriate in a place dedicated to the teachings of Jesus implies
what must be a willful denial of what Jesus actually taught. Either that or
maybe there was more than one Jesus."
The stations of the cross are now
on permanent display at Saint Paul's, which is open to the public seven days a
week.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/8/prweb274092.htm