Apostles Window: St. Matthew

The final two windows on the East wall of the Apostles Chapel are linked by their blue background.  Second from the right (South) is St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist.

St. Matthew:  Let your light so shine
 before men that they may 
see your good works" (Matt 5:16)

St. Matthew carries the book of his gospel and holds a purse, suggesting his calling:

"As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, Follow me.  And he rose and followed him" (Matt 9:9).

He is again described as "Matthew the tax collector" in Matthew 10:3, in the list of the 12 disciples.  

The purse, therefore, represents the work he abandoned to follow Jesus.  

Christian tradition from the early 2nd century identifies Matthew as the author of the gospel that bears his name, although some scholars today question this belief.  

Tradition also places Matthew as a missionary to Ethiopia; his tomb is located in the crypt of Salerno Cathedral in Southern Italy.

His feast day is September 21.

Prayer from the Lutheran Book of Worship:

Almighty God, your Son our Savior called a despised collector of taxes to become one of his apostles.  Help us, like Matthew, to respond to the transforming call of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Apostles Window: St. Paul

St. Paul:  "Blessed be God the 
Father of Mercies" (II Corinthians 1:3)

The fourth window from the left, paired with St. Peter in terms of color (a red background), presents St. Paul.  Although not one of the original twelve, St. Paul considered himself an apostle because he also saw Jesus in person on the road to Damascus, and he was commissioned by Jesus to preach to the Gentiles.  

Many of his letters begin, "Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ..." (I Cor. 1:1), and he defines his "calling" in Galations 1:15-16: "But when it pleased God...to reveal his Son to me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles."  

The Lord similarly defines his calling in Acts 9:15:  "For he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel."

In the image medallion, Paul carries a sword, the symbol of his martyrdom:  he was beheaded in Rome by order of Nero, sometime between AD 64-68.  

According to legend, his head bounced three times, and a fountain sprang up each place the head touched.  The Church of St. Paul at the Three Fountains was built at the site of his martyrdom in the 5th century; today the three fountains are capped because of pollution, but are still visible.

Therefore, Paul also carries a book (which reminds us of his many letters in the Bible) with the three fountains depicted on its cover.

St. Paul has two celebrations in the Church calendar: 

 (1) The Conversion of St. Paul, celebrated January 25 

(2) The Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles, celebrated June 29

Prayer (from the Lutheran Book of Worship):

Lord God, through the preaching of your apostle Paul, you established one Church from among the nations.  ... [W]e pray that we may follow his example and be witnesses to the truth in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Apostles Window: St. Peter

St. Peter:  "The word of the Lord 
endureth forever" (I Peter 1:25).

The third window from the left presents St. Peter, holder of the keys to heaven.  The key is depicted in the center of the panel, quite large and topped with a cross, which reminds us that salvation (and heaven) comes to us through Christ's sacrifice on the cross.

The keys of heaven are granted to Peter because of his recognition (confession) that Jesus is "the Christ, the son of the Living God."  Jesus says of him, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  And I will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of heaven..." (Matt 16:16-19).

Peter is among the first of the disciples called by Jesus, and he figures prominently in both the gospels and the first part of Acts as leader of the the apostles and the new Christian faith.  Peter disappears from the biblical account after Acts 15, except for several comments in I Corinthians that suggest he travelled to and taught in Corinth, possibly with a wife (see I Cor 9:15).  

Tradition places him in Rome during Nero's rule, claiming he was crucified, head downward, in about 64 AD.  In 1950 bones of a 60 year old male from the first century were found beneath the altar in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, which Pope Paul VI identified as St. Peter's in 1968.

Although not all scholars agree, St. Peter is traditionally viewed as the author of two epistles bearing his name.

St. Peter has two feast days in the Church calendar:  

(1) The Confession of St. Peter, on January 18  

(2) The Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles, on June 29

Prayer (from the Lutheran Book of Worship):

Almighty God, you inspired Simon Peter to confess Jesus as the Messiah and Son of the living God.  Keep your Church firm on the rock of this faith, that in unity and peace it may proclaim one truth and follow one Lord, your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Apostles Window: St. James (the greater)

 

St. James the Greater:  
"Every good gift is from above" James 1:17

The second window, paired with the first in terms of color (blue), is of St. James the Greater, so named to differentiate him from the other James who was also an apostle.  It might be that he was older, taller, or became a disciple earlier than the other James; it does not mean he was in any way better.  

This James is the brother of John, a son of Zebedee, famously called by Jesus to leave boat and father behind to become a "fisher of men."  Tradition says his mother is Mary Salome, sister to Jesus' mother, making him one of Jesus' cousins.  Jesus nicknamed him (and his brother John) "sons of thunder" because of their enthusiastic partisanship.

James was martyred in Jerusalem in AD 44, the first of the apostles to face martyrdom.  One tradition says that he had traveled to Spain prior to his martyrdom, and his followers took his body back to Spain; another tradition says that his followers took his body in a rudderless boat, and they buried his body when the boat reached land, again in Spain, in Galicia.

His remains were discovered in the 9th century, and a church was built there, the destination of many pilgrims over the centuries to come.  

Therefore, James wears a pilgrim's hat with a scallop shell on the brim, the badge of a  pilgrim to Santiago de Compostela.  He carries a pilgrim's staff with a hook at the tip to hang a water gourd, the medieval version of today's water bottle.

The pilgrimage to his grave site became one of the most popular pilgrimages in Western Europe, beginning in the 9th century.  Called "The Way of St. James," the pilgrimage still draws travelers today.  In 2018, 327,378 pilgrims registered as having completed the final 62 mile walk.

James is the patron saint of Spain; his feast day is July 25 in the church calendar.

The text used for this panel, "Every good gift is from above," comes from the Epistle of St. James.  Bible scholars indicate that James the Greater is not the author of this letter; it's much more likely that another James (perhaps James the Lesser, or James, the brother of Jesus) wrote it.  One good reason to make this assumption is the fact that James the Greater was martyred so early in the life of the church, and scholars believe that this letter was written later than AD 44.  

The use of the passage from James 1:17 underlines for me the confusion among scholars and various writers regarding which James is which; a passage from one of the gospels regarding James the brother of John and son of Zebedee might have been a safer, more accurate choice.

Prayer (from the Lutheran Book of Worship):

O gracious God, we remember before you today your servant and apostle James, first among the Twelve to suffer martyrdom for the name of Jesus Christ.  Pour out upon the leaders of your Church that spirit of self-denying service which is the true mark of authority among your people.  Amen.

Apostles Window: St. John the Evangelist

St. John the Evangelist:
 "Love one another, for love is of God" (I John 4:7).

The first window on the east wall, moving left to right, depicts St. John, Apostle and Evangelist.  

Following the tradition of medieval art, he is depicted as a beardless youth; tradition calls him the youngest disciple, but some suggest that the appearance of an androgynous nature helped make him more relatable to women.

According to Christian tradition (which apparently many scholars disagree with today), he was John, the "beloved" apostle, author of the gospel of John, three letters, and Revelation.  

He, along with Peter and James, were the leaders of the early church in Jerusalem.  He is said to be the only apostle to escape martyrdom, being exiled to Patmos in about AD 95, where he wrote the book of Revelation.  He died in Ephesus sometime after AD 98, and a church (now a mosque) was erected over his burial site.

In this window he is presented with his traditional symbols of the chalice and serpent:  this represents an apocryphal story that John was challenged to drink from a poisoned cup to demonstrate his faith; when he blessed the cup, the poison rose from the cup in the form of a serpent.

Much of John's writings focus on God's love -- the memorable John 3:16 is one such example ("For God so loved the world, that He gave his only son...").  Another example is the text presented on this panel:   "Love one another, for love is of God" (I John 4:7)

St. John's Feast Day is celebrated on December 27 in the church calendar.

A 2nd century apocryphal book, The Acts of John, was the resource for many legends about St. John as depicted in medieval art and literature.  This book, for example, records the poisoned chalice incident described above.  There are some later legends about St. John, as well, including one that Edward the Confessor (11th century English king) gave a poor pilgrim a valuable ring, and the pilgrim then turned out to be St. John.  The incident is commemorated in a stained glass window in the Church of St. Edward the Confessor (Westcott Barton, England).  In this representation, St. John also holds the serpent and chalice, and maintains his youthful appearance.

Prayer (from the Lutheran Book of Worship):

Merciful Lord, let the brightness of your light shine on your Church, so that all of us, instructed by the teachings of John, your apostle and evangelist, may walk in the light of your truth and attain eternal life.  Amen.

The Chapel of the Apostles (Overflow Room) -- Concept

Chapel of the Apostles Windows, as installed on the East wall of the Chapel;
Photo taken in full sun, so colors are somewhat washed out.  The effect of white in allowing maximum illumination from these windows is easy to see!

The Chapel of the Apostles windows were ordered separately, and installed in June 1949.  The decision to order them was made on October 4, 1948, when the Church Council authorized the Council president to sign a contract with Connick and Associates "for 6 windows for the East wall of the Chapel amounting to $1500.00" (Council minutes Oct. 4, 1948).  So far I have not found any plaques or mention of memorials/dedications for these windows.

The concept for these windows was to differ from the aisle windows in presenting single, significant figures rather than events, focusing on six specific apostles (as noted in the order document):

• St. John the Evangelist (chalice and serpent)
• St. James (pilgrim's staff and gourd; shell of baptism)
• St. Peter (keys)
• St. Paul (sword and book inscribed with the fountain)
• St. Matthew (book of his gospel and purse)
• St. Thomas (carpenter's square)

The header panels contain "symbolic flames of divine zeal," and each window presents one of the apostles in a large oval medallion, with a representative text for each in the open book below the medallion. The vine and grapes border, used for the nave and sacristy windows, is maintained.

The windows were designed to be rich and colorful, but still light and brilliant to admit a maximum amount of illumination.  This was managed, in part, by the large amount of white glass used as background for all six.

Each window is pictured and described in detail and the blog page for each apostle is linked to the text in the bulleted list of subjects, above.

The Narthex: Christ the Good Shepherd

 The Narthex window, facing south and located near the main doors on the south side of the building, is unlike any of the other windows in that it lacks either medallion or scripture identification.  Part of the original design plan (see Aisle Concept page, where it is marked with an X), it was completed in February 1949.

Narthex Window:  
Christ the Good Shepherd

According to the original order, the window "is devoted to Christ the Good Shepherd, with the Shepherd's crook and the lamb in his arms." 

As the image on the left shows, the main panel presents a full figure of Christ, as described in the order, wearing a red mantle and white gown, similar to his appearance in the Chancel window.  

He has the tri-radiant halo, signifying his membership in the Trinity.  The three bands are red, rather than gold, which differs from most of Christ's halos shown in the aisle panels, except the nativity, where the bands are also red.  Not sure what this means, except that Charles Connick indicated that red symbolized "divine love, passionate devotion, and self sacrifice" (see Project Concept page), all of which are qualities of Christ the Good Shepherd.  NOTE:  see the photo of the full window, below, where the bands appear gold instead of red.  Perhaps this has something to do with the amount of light flowing through the window?  I will have to look at it more closely, under different light conditions to figure this out!

Likewise, the prevalence of deep blue provides an over-riding sense of peace, allowing us to rest in the promise that, with the Lord as our Shepherd, we shall not want (Psalm 23).  The colored border glows in the sunlight like gems without distracting from the calm of the blue background.

Above the main panel, the header panels include flames in the center of each oval, suggesting the flames of divine love, or, perhaps, the presence of the Holy Spirit.

While the panel is titled "The Good Shepherd," referencing the text of Window 6a (I am the Good Shepherd), the colors and imagery remind me more of the assurances found in Psalm 23, especially when I read the dedication, which is given in memory of a young man by his parents:  surely they found some peace in seeing Jesus holding the lamb in his arms, knowing that their child was safe in Christ's loving arms.

Psalm 23 (RSV)

Prayer:

Gracious Lord, thank you for your continued and comforting presence in our lives.  Help us remember that you hold us in your arms, through good times and bad, and that you have prepared for us a place in your heavenly kingdom.  Help us rest in the calm blues of your care, even when our lives and the world around us are turbulent. Amen.

The full window installation,
showing the header and dedication.

Window Dedication:  

Given in Memory of Melvin Earl Nelson
 by his Parents Omar and Ottilie Nelson