three female Christian visionaries in the Middle East
- Categories
- Article/Artikel
- Magazine Title
- Journal of Eastern Christian Studies
- Magazine Year
- 2011
- Magazine Number
- nr. 3-4
- Creator
- Jansen, Willy
- Shelfmark
- D 203/9
- Description
- A number of scholars have attempted to bring to light the forgotten and neglected history of religious Christian women in the Middle East. For this paper the author will review this literature and compare the life stories of three female mystics in order to understand whether and how these women challenged the contemporary religious hierarchy, the authorities and the gender structures by demanding a space for women using a visionary discourse. The mystics discussed are the Roman Catholic Sister Marie-Alphonsine (1843-1927), who founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Rosary in Jerusalem after visions of Mary instructing her to do so, the Maronite Hindiyya ‘Ujaimi (1720-1798) who during episodes of ecstasy communicated directly with Christ, was blessed with his stigmata and felt called to form the Order of the Sacred Heart on Mount Lebanon, and Boutrosiya Shabaq al-Rayes (1832-1914), better known as Saint Rafqa.