A nearly 150-year-old stained glass window depicting Jesus Christ and other figures with dark skin is attracting attention from many Americans, AP reported on May 14.
This stained glass window has been installed at St. Mark’s Church in Warren, Rhode Island, since 1878. It is one of the first decorative stained glass windows to portray Jesus as a person of color.
Stained glass depicting Jesus Christ as a person of color. (Photo: AP).
“That window is unique and quite extraordinary,” said Professor Virginia Raguin from Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts. “I have never seen such imagery from that era.”
The window, measuring approximately 3.7 by 1.5 meters, also depicts scenes of Jesus speaking with women from the Bible, who also have dark skin.
The stained glass had been forgotten until it was discovered by the new owner of the building in 2020. The church had closed its doors in 2010 after 180 years of operation.
The owner was surprised to find the skin tones of the figures.
“The skin color is completely different from the white Jesus image you often see,” said Hadley Arnold, the new owner of the building, who is also an architecture lecturer.
Professor Raguin and other experts confirmed that the skin tones of the figures are original and were created intentionally.
Arnold believes that the skin color on the window reflects Jesus’ origins from the Middle East. However, some people hold different opinions.
“As an American with both African and Native ancestry, I think (the window) represents both,” said Linda A’Vant-Deishinni, former Executive Director of the Rhode Island Black Heritage Community.
Victoria Johnson, a former principal in Rhode Island, argued that the figure in the window is “almost certainly Black.”
“(The window) was created at a time when white churches in the North only acknowledged Black individuals,” she remarked.
