Lectio Divina (2025)

Lectio Divina is a performance that unveils the political dimensions and hegemonic practices of the Catholic Church in Maumere, Flores. The work interrogates how the Church, often positioned as a moral pillar and guardian of compassion, in reality also operates as a social, cultural, and political force that frequently deviates from the ethical and spiritual principles it proclaims. This performance opens a space of critique against the double face of religious institutions, which simultaneously function as both the sustainer and the controller of communal life.

Lectio Divina was presented at Maumerelogia 2025 as part of Shohifur Ridho’i’s residency at Komunitas Kahe in Maumere, Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Indonesia. During the residency, Shohifur collaborated with actors from Teater Pata, a performing arts group based in Maumere.

The work was created and developed from the actors’ experiences and observations, with the support of local researcher Erich Langobelen, a poet, philosophy lecturer, and social and political observer whose work is particularly concerned with the social and political contexts of East Nusa Tenggara.

Producer
Eka Putra Nggalu

Director
Shohifur Ridho’i

Researcher
Erich Langobelen

Actors
Amel Mare
Elias Ledo
Isabella Daos Kadaty
Florianus Dhika
Maria Rosari Kolit
Petrus Taena
Yelita Usboko
Yohanes FR. Sola

Light designer
Juan Carlos

Sound engineer
Marchelius Yansen

Stage manager
Wilfridus Stefanus Dumi

Co-Production by
Komunitas KAHE, rokateater, and Teater Pata 

Photos by Yeremias Aloysius (doc. Maumerelogia)