Mary As Prophet page:
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Depicted as African women, Mary and Elizabeth embody the Seminary's ties with churches in Africa and reflect the composition of the Anglican Communion.
And this depiction of Mary and Elizabeth as ordinary (rather than idealized) women, reminds viewers of the church's call to "lift up the lowly."
The Archbishop of Canterbury, consecrating the sculpture, remarked that he sees these same women in refugee camps and other areas of conflict and deprivation.
This interpretation of the Visitation - Mary as Prophet - is without precedent in the visual arts; previous depictions show the scene as a tender,
intimate exchange between two women. This new reading reflects the prophetic strain still vital in African-American preaching.
And it echoes the prophetic mission of both church and seminary: to "fill the hungry with good things."
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