Which Mary? Eastern Christian Women Bringing their Mary into the Lebanese Protestant Church

Abstract

Marian images are powerful and active in the lives of many faithful Christians. This research looks at the role of Mary in the lives of a particular kind of Christians who have a complex liturgical make up: Lebanese women who come from Orthodox and Maronite backgrounds and who by marriage join Lebanese Protestant churches. While one would suppose that Protestantism and Marian devotion should exclude each other, we show that in this case a creative ambiguity is at work where images of Mary help qualify the relationship with the divine.