Fig. 1. Joseph, from the genealogical sequence in the choir clerestory of Canterbury Cathedral. By kind permission of the Chapter of Canterbury.
Starting on May 1st, Canterbury Cathedral Stained Glass Studio will host a series of six presentations by leading public speakers looking through and at Canterbury Cathedral’s stained glass windows, the biblical figures they illustrate and their relevance for today. The lectures will include:
1 May: Rabbi Dr. Deborah Kahn-Harris (Principal, Leo Baeck College) ‘Who Do You Think You Are?: The Use of Genealogies in the Construction of Identity from the Bible to the BBC’
8 May: Professor Vincent Lloyd (Villanova University USA) ‘Ambivalence of Charisma: Moses from Hollywood to Canterbury’
15 May: Professor Ben Quash and Dr Michelle Fletcher (King’s College London) ‘Where Do I Turn? Genesis 19 on When Things Fall Apart’
18 September: Professor Tod Linafelt (Georgetown University, USA) ‘What Does it Mean to be Human?: Adam (and Eve) Inside and Outside the Garden’
25 September: Neil McGregor (Founding Director Humboldt Forum, Berlin; former Director of the British Museum) ‘The Shepherds, the Magi and the Presentation in the Temple’
2 October: Paula Gooder (British theologian, Canon Chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral) ‘On Veiling and Unveiling: Church and Synagogue in Stained Glass and the Writings of Paul’
The talks are supported by The Friends of Canterbury Cathedral in association with the University of Kent, and will take place in the Canterbury Cathedral Stained Glass Studio. Arrive at 6.30pm in the Cathedral for a guided tour of the windows (or at 5.30pm for Choral Evensong beforehand). Each talk will begin at 7.00pm. Tickets cost £8 per talk or £35 for the full series. Entrance is free for school students and teachers. Booking is required. For further details and to book tickets, see the Cathedral website.