|
Stained Glass
|
|
St John the Baptist, St Helena and St James the Minor
.
Window located in the Sacred Heart Chapel . The three figures are St John the Baptist, St Helena and St James the Minor . This is a memorial window for members of the Matson Family - Helena, John and James. The figures depicted on the higher level panels can be identified by symbols located on the panels below.
St James the Minor : ( Panel below ) Apostle. Cousin of Jesus. Brother of Saint Jude
Thaddeus. First Bishop of Jerusalem. One of the first to have
visions of the risen Christ. Commonly represented
with a book and with clubs. The panel below the figure of St James the
Minor shows
crossed clubs. One tradition has it that James achieved martyrdom
by being clubbed to death.
St Helena : (Panel
below) . She was the
mother of Constantine co-Regent of the West . She died in about
330AD and was initially buried in Constantinople. From the time of
her conversion she had an earnestly Christian life. Tradition
links her name with the building of churches in the west notably
at Rome and Trier . Also in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Her
stay in Jesusalem proved the starting point of the legend
regarding the discovery of the true cross
St John the Baptist : (Panel
below) The Lamb of God symbol on the lower panel relates to the figure above
of St John the Baptist. Jesus is often represented by a lamb
in which case the head of the lamb is usually surrounded by a
cruciform halo. As St John the Baptist was the first to call Jesus
'The Lamb of God', he may be identified by the lamb.
It is
regarded as an expression of care that God has for humankind and
the guidence he gives - but also the power he has over his flock.
The lamb is often shown in a position of triumph, standing with
its leg hooked around the pole of a flag made up of a red cross on
a white background and topped with another cross . The image is
meant to convey the message that Jesus is the sacrifice that has
triumphed.
|
Back
to top