5 o’clock. Spear and rope. My best guess is Thomas, who is often referred to as doubting Thomas. The tradition is, that Thomas eventually traveled to India to spread the Gospel. The spear refers to Thomas’ martyrdom by being run through with a spear. While the spear definitely fits with […]
If you find yourself in Portland, Oregon on a Sunday morning, consider stopping by All Saints Episcopal Church for worship. Why Kerry? First, it is a place where you can spend time with God. Second, the Rose Window in the sanctuary. The window I have been blogging on. This time […]
OK, I went back and added links to the art for John and Andrew in the prior two blogs. Sorry I didn’t do it earlier. I don’t have a good excuse. 4 o’clock. Tau cross and basket. Philip. The basket refers to the feeding of the 5,000 in John 6. […]
3 o’clock. Wood and rope. Andrew, the brother of Peter. It was Andrew who brought Peter to meet Jesus (John1:41-42). Traditional holds that Andrew was martyred by being tied to an X shaped cross and crucified. The painting entitled The Crucifixion of St Andrew by the Italian painter Mattia Preti […]
2 o’clock. Snake and chalice. John, the brother of James the Greater, the son of Zebedee and Salome, and known also as one of the sons of thunder. Tradition holds that John was the one apostle to live to an old age and not die a martyr’s death. John is […]
1 o’clock. Traveler’s staff and scallop shell. James the Greater, brother of John. The scallop shell was used for collecting drinking water, so the staff and shell are used here to represent someone who was on the road. Sometimes a sword and scallop shell is used for James. Note on […]
Twelve vines with fruit flow out from the central Cup of Christ symbol to the outer twelve symbols in the window. The vines call to mind Jesus’ statement: “I Am the True Vine”. The red backdrop (red dots in the figure) behind each of the twelve outer symbols also […]
In the center of the All Saints Episcopal Church window is the Cup of Christ. We see a chalice and wafer against a red backdrop. It would be possible to read this element as a reference to Holy Communion. Because of the overall context of the window and the red […]
The All Saints Episcopal Church window is beautiful. This mandala incorporates lesser known Christian Symbols. Careful research went into the creation of this window. The line drawing I’ve included shows the overall structure of the window. There are twelve symbols around a central symbol. The outer twelve symbols often refer […]
A quick review before we begin. Symbols are a shared visual language in a culture. As we have seen in the previous stained glass windows, Christians also have a unique set of symbols which serve us as a common language. For Christians, the beauty of Christian Symbolism is that it […]
