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mysterium fidei
an installation by
Patrick Ellis and Friends

October 24 through December 16, 2005

The Goal of this Exhibition

The late Pope John Paul II declared October 2004 – October 2005 the Year of the Eucharist. He asked that the year be a time of intense reflection and reorientation toward a life and faith centered in the Eucharist practice and piety. Like so many pastoral theologians (both Catholic and Protestant) of the last century, John Paul II recognized the transformative power of the table fellowship that was so central to Jesus’ public ministry and ultimately to the life of the church.

But, regrettably, this past year has not witnessed to the Eucharist’s transformative and unitive power. Rather, the year saw divisive quarrels and a deepening division within the Christian community concerning table fellowship. Too often Eucharistic practice and piety was a litmus test for orthodoxy, and not a means of communion. Mysterium Fidei is not an attempt to enter into this painful debate, but rather it is a visual theology of the Eucharist as the inclusive source and summit of Christian life. The artists/theologians whose work comprises this installation witness to a life and faith in deeply rooted and nourished at the Lord’s table. They remind the viewer of the beauty and complexity so great a mystery, and ultimately its transformative and unitive potential.

The Aesthetic

An artist I admire once told me that he didn’t understand the popular image of God as source of light to which all people are drawn. Instead, he suggested that God’s presence was like being lost in a pitch black void in which the darkness came at you from every direction – a presence that was both all-encompassing and frightening. I have attempted to draw on his observations about God’s all-consuming presence for the aesthetic of this installation. In the rhythm of Eucharistic prayer and a biblical faith, God’s encounter with humanity is often represented as chaotic, violent, and even frightening. I believe that it is precisely in this attempt to hold chaos and the calm, life and death, fear and hope, in a fragile tension that we can best articulate an aesthetic that is both liturgical and biblical.

The Space

Like the liturgical environment, this installation is processional space, where meaning is found in the space between the juxtaposition of words, objects and images. This sacred space is first encountered through a stained glass menorah (or tree of life) which recalls and makes present the Jewish roots of our Christian faith and practice. This temple light continues to illuminate the central place in which the “living stones” of the Christian assembly encounter the presence of their God.  The silk banner containing the words of the Eucharistic prayer admonishes us that our assembly is not a solitary journey or a personal piety. Rather, the assembly is a collaborative action of the whole community, and seeks transformation of the whole community.  These words remind us to look beyond ourselves and our particular communities to find this communion’s fullest meaning.

The space in inhabited by the saints who also assemble with us around the table. This great “heavenly choir” … the social activist (Francis of Assisi), the god bearer (the Sorrowful Mary), the theologian (Martin Luther), the preacher (John Wesley), the contemplative (Buddha), the prophet (Martin Luther King) and the artist (Ade Bethune) … sings with the angels a never ending hymn of praise. The men and women gathered here witnesses to the rich variety of Christian discipleship and the churches constant need for growth and reformation.

The biblical narrative of the freedom, journey/struggle and ultimately the salvific promise of a faithful God is the reality of this (and every) Eucharistic feast … and becomes the reredos of this sacred space. The re-presentation of God’s saving mystery (from covenant to Calvary) is made present in the assembly gathered around word and table. Present too are the gifts that we offer to be transformed … bread and wine … and our own hearts … for only what is offered can be transformed.

And finally, the table … that eschatological vision of the banquet in which all people will gather at the table … people from every nation and tongue. This is the goal of our communion … not quarrels and divisions … but all God’s people united in fellowship.

Together let us proclaim the mystery of our faith…

Patrick Ellis

The Eighth Day, Saints, and Trinity,
acrylic on sewn and shaped canvas, by Patrick Ellis
Table, acrylic on wood, by Patrick Ellis
Banner, calligraphy on silk, by Karin Tunnell
Plates, acrylic on wood, by Sister Mary Grace Thul
Menorah, stained glass, by Mitchell Bond
Offering, acrylic and copper on wood, by Deborah Sokolove

Curator’s Statement

Mysterium Fidei is a meditation on that part of Christian worship that is variously called Eucharist, Holy Communion, or the Lord’s Supper. The words, mysterium fidei, are a Latin phrase that means, literally, “the mystery of faith.” In many churches, when the leader invites the congregation to “proclaim the mystery of faith,” the congregation replies with a short verse, called the memorial acclamation, recalling the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In this installation, Patrick Ellis surrounds a large, black table with somewhat abstract, low relief, images, also painted black, representing seven people who many people—Christians and others—consider holy. The Saints stand up to their knees in the water of baptism (or is it a flood?), with skulls on their breastplates suggesting death to self. Behind the table, a black screen or wall recalls the exodus from Egypt and baptism/resurrection—the central images in the Judeo-Christian tradition of death and transformation through water—in layers of shaped canvas, meticulously sewn onto the surface and studded with large nail heads.

Ellis first came to Wesley Theological Seminary in 1992 with BFA from the University of Georgia. As the Magi Artist-in-Residence, he was commissioned to create a screen that was installed in one of the chapels at Catholic University. He served as the Curator of the Dadian Gallery from 1992 to1994, while also pursuing a Master of Theological Studies degree, which he completed in 1996. He then went on to further study at Drew University, earning the Ph.D. in Liturgical Studies in 2003. Now, in addition to his work as an artist, he teaches on the religion faculty at Archbishop Carroll High School and is the coordinator of the Arts for Theology program at the Washington Theological Union.

While at Wesley, Ellis’s strong belief in the value of collaboration and community frequently led him to encourage other artists to work with him on worship visuals for Oxnam Chapel, as well as for a variety of liturgical events in non-traditional locations. He also instituted “art night,” a regular gathering of artists and others who wanted to learn and share new techniques. Since then, he has continued to draw other artists into his process, working with them to turn auditoriums, convention centers, and other public places into temporary spaces for worship and to create altar-tables, baptismal fonts, and other liturgical art for churches and chapels.

Some of the participants in art night and other long-time collaborators are the “and friends” of the exhibition’s title, invited by Patrick to contribute elements to this installation. They include Karin Tunnell, M.Div. 1998, and currently pastor of a United Methodist Church in Middletown, DE; Mitchell Bond, MTS 1992 and currently Registrar of Wesley Theological Seminary; Sister Mary Grace Thul, OP, a Dominican nun currently living in New York; and myself, Deborah Sokolove, MTS 1998 and Curator of the Dadian Gallery. It has been a delight to work with Patrick again, this time both as curator and as participant, as he returns to Wesley once more as an artist, transformed by the mystery of his faith.

Deborah Sokolove
Curator, Dadian Gallery 

send comments or questions about the gallery to the curator at:
dsokolove@wesleysem.edu

the copyright of individual works of art belongs to the relevant artist
please do not copy or distribute