Stained

stained glass

Coloured glass used to make decorative windows and other objects through which light passes. Stained glass is often made in large, richly detailed panels that are set together in a framework of lead. Like all coloured glass, it acquires its colour by the addition of metallic oxides to molten glass. A purely Western phenomenon, stained glass originated as a fine art of the Christian church, beginning in the 12th–13th century, when it was combined with Gothic architecture to create brilliant, moving effects. A decline set in after the 13th century, when stained-glass artists began to seek the realistic effects sought by Renaissance painters, effects to which the technique was less suited and which diverted artists from exploiting the all-important light-refracting quality of glass. More recently, stained-glass artists have again achieved high quality: during the 19th-century Gothic revival, in the Art Nouveau designs of Louis Comfort Tiffany, and in the work of such 20th-century artists as Marc Chagall.

Learn more about stained glass with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Stained-glass ceiling

The stained-glass ceiling is a sociological phenomenon in religious communities similar to the concept of the "glass ceiling." This concept revolves around the apparent difficulty for women who seek to gain a role within church leadership. The use of the term "stained-glass ceiling" is metaphorical, indicating a certain level of power or authority within church structures that women tend not to rise above within church hierarchies. This could range from a group's de jure barring of women from positions like priest, bishop, pastor, rabbi, or similar clerical figures, to gender discrimination at the level of local congregations that prevent women from rising to any role of particular status or power.

The stained-glass ceiling is a particular aspect of a broader trend of gender segregation and discrimination in religious communities, by use defined social roles and barriers typically justified by either tradition, dogma, or doctrine of the church group.

The phrase "stained-glass" refers to the frequent placement of stained-glass artwork in places of Christian worship.

Relevant Statistics

The highest level of resistance to clergywomen has been in the position of Senior Pastor in large church settings. For example, in the United Methodist Church only two clergywomen have ever led churches with membership numbers within the top 100 of United Methodist Churches in the U.S. The most recent national data (2005) indicates that there are no clergywomen currently leading top 100 membership UMCs. Resistance has eased more rapidly for the position of Bishop in the United Methodist Church. For 2004-2008, 15 of the 50 (30%) United Methodist Bishops serving the U.S. are clergywomen.

Notable Persons

Bishop Marjorie Swank Matthews - Elected Bishop in the United Methodist Church in 1980. She was the first clergywoman elected as bishop by a U.S. mainline Christian denomination.
Rev. Julie Pennington-Russell - Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church (Decatur, Georgia)(8/2007-date). The largest church affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention with a clergywoman as Sr. Pastor. (Weekly Worship Attendance of 483/ 2,696 members "1,804 resident and 892 non-resident").