Event

Illuminating Words

The Midwest Conference on Christianity and Literature invites presentations that explore the challenges and opportunities that beauty offers to our culture. At a time when the world, and especially the Church, lacks confidence in beauty, the illuminated Saint John's Bible stands as a remarkable, counter-cultural affirmation of what Pope Saint John Paul II describes as art's "unique capacity to take one or other facet of the Gospel message and translate it into colours, shapes and sounds which nourish the intuition of those who look or listen." In reviving a tradition of scriptural illumination that has been nearly absent for five hundred years, the Saint John's Bible seeks "to be a prophetic witness to the glory of the Word of God" as well as to "ignite the spiritual imagination of believers throughout the world." What makes the Saint John's Bible a work of art, according to the Pope's definition, is its ability to translate or, quite literally, transform the biblical message "without emptying the message itself of its transcendent value and its aura of mystery."

In addition to literary scholars, we hope to draw artists and biblical scholars to contribute to our understanding of the way in which the Gospel is illuminated as it is mediated through particular forms. We welcome proposals for individual panel presentations, full panels, roundtable discussions, and poster sessions that address issues related to this theme. Besides scholarly papers, we are also looking for artistic or creative presentations that reflect on the role of beauty in illuminating the Sacred Scriptures and Sacred Doctrine. Submissions by undergraduates are welcome.

Keynote speakers: Professor David Lyle Jeffrey and Father Michael Patella