Paper short abstract:

In this paper, I explore epistemologies of (un)certainty for the followers of Our Lady of Soufanieh. I argue that the experience of the miraculous not so much is to be seen in terms of different ontologies, as different epistemologies where thresholds of certainty circumvent standard orientations.

Paper long abstract:

Since late 1982 the Christian stigmatic Myrna Akhras on numerous occasions has received messages from Virgin Mary. Myrna also has been the source of miraculous healings as well as holy oil oozing from her body and an icon in her home. From the very beginning the messages have underscored unity [wahda], love [mahabba], and faith [iman] as basic tenets addressing not just local Christians in Soufanieh, the predominantly Christian quarter of Damascus where Myrna lives, but a worldwide audience.

For the followers of Our Lady of Soufanieh, as the phenomenon soon was named, the focus has been on how to spread the message of Our Lady of Soufanieh. This has been a laborious task which still is not fulfilled as lack of unity and even outright division and discord has been part of the historical legacy in the Levant. The followers of Our lady of Soufanieh, however, all have been touched by the messages and miracles and find a certainty in countering doubt and discord.

In this paper, I explore the epistemologies of (un)certainty for the followers of Our Lady of Soufanieh. Christian traditions with a mystical bend have often focused on the experiential path which takes individuals from certainty in the world to a radical uncertainty in the very same world, only to lead to certainty in God and distrust in the world. This, I argue, not so much is to be seen in terms of different ontologies, as different epistemologies; epistemologies where thresholds of certainty circumvent standard orientations.