A series of articles describing the meaning and teachings behind the stained glass windows at St. John’s:

The teachings in the Chapel  

The beauty of the stained glass that adorns our church building has been appreciated by thousands of members and guests over the past 70 years. In the coming months this series of posts will highlight the meaning and purpose of these windows.  This month: the Chapel Windows.

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Recent renovations means that our chapel is used more often not only for worship but also for bible study and meetings. The six windows along the exterior wall of the chapel celebrate the work of six of the most important persons in the history of the early church: the four evangelists as well as St. Paul and St. Peter.

St. Matthew the Evangelist began his gospel by tracing the human genealogy of Jesus, through many Old Testament families. Due to his highlight of Jesus’ humanity, and fulfillment of the prophecies about his lineage, he is connected to an image of a human man with wings.

The wings represent the divine inspiration from God which led to the writing of the gospel.

St. Luke the Evangelist is portrayed as a bull for his emphasis on the sacrificial work of Jesus. His gospel opens with the sacrificial offering done by the priest Zechariah. His emphasis of the sufferings and death of Jesus are symbolized by an ox because of their role as a Levitical sacrificial animal.

Luke’s gospel is only the first half of a more extensive “research project” undertaken for one named “Theophilus” (literally “God’s beloved”).

St. Mark the Evangelist is represented by a lion, a sign of his courage and the power of his writings. The lion is also a reminder of Jesus’ resurrection, as they sleep with their eyes open like the tomb. His writing of the royal dignity of Christ is also symbolized in the lion, often a sign of royalty and leadership.

Mark is the most “simple” of the gospels, leaving out any mention of Jesus’ birth and ending without any clear mention of the resurrection.

St. John the Evangelist is represented by an eagle due to its symbolism of strength. The eagle’s far-sightedness also reminds of John’s vision of the end times. The heavenly soaring of the eagle reminds us of the wide spread of the Gospel through the writings of St. John.

The gospel of John is the most complex theologically and it appears as though the order of events matters very little to the author.

St. Peter the Apostle’s authority as God’s priesthood is shown by the two crossed keys. “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on Earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on Earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19)

He was the leader of the early church in Jerusalem. The gold key alludes to the heavenly power, to bind and loose sins. The silver key alludes to the earthly power, to lead and care for the church on earth.

St. Paul the Apostle is connected with the Latin words Spiritus Gladius, which means “sword of the Spirit”, and the open Bible which represent his missionary work to spread the Gospel to the gentiles.

The sword is representative of his manner of death, as he was beheaded in Rome after assassination plots by the Jewish elite in Jerusalem.

Next month: Clerestory windows (lecturn side) PRAEPARATIO EVANGELICA: The Preparation for the Gospel, 12 Sons of Israel (Part 1)