Stained Glass

The beautiful “saints” stained glass window depicts saints that are relevant to our lives at All Saints’ Church. Who are these saints and what does each of the symbols represent?

The three female figures located in the upper section of the window represent the three women guilds at All Saints’ Church.

The center figure is The Virgin Mary. The honor paid to Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus Christ goes back to the earliest days of the Church. In Mary, Virgin and Mother, God gives us a sign that Jesus is both truly God and truly Man. A right regard for her will always direct us to Him Who found in her His first earthly dwelling-place. The feast day of The Virgin Mary is 25 March, The Annunciation.

The figure on the left is Saint Anne. Saint Anne, meaning “favor” or “grace” was the mother of the Virgin Mary, according to Christian tradition. Anne is often shown as the matriarch of the Holy Kinship, the extended family of Jesus. She is the Patron Saint of housewives, grandmothers, cabinet makers, and women in labor. The feast day of Saint Anne is 26 July.

The figure on the right is Saint Theresa. She is remembered both for her practical achievements and organizing skill and for her life of contemplative prayer. Her books are read as aids to the spiritual life by many Christians of all denominations. In the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila (“Life Written By Herself,” 1565); she speaks of an angel coming to stab her with a flaming arrow and thereby lighting in her heart the flame of God’s love. Her monastic habit points to her role as the co-founder of the Order of Discalced Carmelites (OCD). The feast day of Saint Theresa of Avila is 15 October.

The five medallions across the lower section of the window contain symbols of Saints that represent the different ministries at All Saints’ Church. Beginning on the left side and moving to the right are the following symbols, saints and ministries:

Saint Cecilia is the patron saint of musicians and church music. She is one of the most popular Roman saints. Cecilia’s musical fame rests on in her legend that she praised God, singing to him, as she lay dying a martyr’s death. The harp attributed to Saint Cecilia, is the symbol representing our music ministry. The feast day for Saint Cecilia is celebrated on 22 November.

Saint Andrew and his brother Peter were fishermen by trade, hence the tradition that Jesus called them to be his disciples by saying that He will make them “fishers of men”. Andrew is referred to as being present on some important occasions as one of the disciples more closely attached to Jesus. Andrew had been crucified on a cross of the form called Crux decussate (X-shaped cross) and commonly known as “Saint Andrew’s Cross”; this was performed at his own request, as he deemed himself unworthy to be crucified on the same type of cross on which Christ was crucified. The fishing hook and X-shaped cross, a symbol for Saint Andrew, represents the men’s group at All Saints’ Church. The feast day for Saint Andrew is 30 November.

Saint Catherine of Alexandria, also known as Saint Catherine of the Wheel is a Christian saint and martyr who is claimed to have been a noted scholar in the early 4^th century. It is said that she visited her contemporary the Roman Emperor Maxentius and attempted to convince him of the error of his ways in persecuting Christians. She succeeded in converting his wife, the Empress and many pagan wise men. The Emperor ordered Catherine to be put in prison; and when the people who visited her converted, she was condemned to death on the breaking the breaking wheel (an instrument of torture). According to legend, the wheel itself broke when she touched it. The spiked wheel is a symbol of our Christian Formation ministries at All Saints’. The feast day for Saint Catherine is 25 November.

Saint Peter was a leader of early Christian church, who features prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. He was a Galilean fisherman assigned a leadership role by Jesus and was with Jesus during events witnessed by only a few apostles, such as the Transfiguration. Before Peter receives the keys, he is told by Jesus: you are “peter” (i.e. “rock” in Greek), and on this rock I shall build my church” Matthew 16:18. Saint Peter is often depicted holding the keys to the kingdom of heaven, explaining the symbol for the church, building, organization, etc. The keys are a symbol of our facilities and stewardship ministries at All Saints’ Church. The feast day for Saint Peter is 29 June.

Saint Paul, also called Paul the Apostle was together with Saint Peter and James the Just, the most notable of early Christian missionaries. According to the Acts of the Apostles, his conversion took place on the road to Damascus. Thirteen epistles on the New Testament are attributed to Paul. The symbol used for Saint Paul is the book and sword. The book refers to the word of God; the sword is the sword of the spirit. This is referred to in Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians (6:11-17). The book and sword symbolize spiritual formation. The feast day for Saint Paul is 25 January.

More detailed information about each of these saints is located in the Christian Formation room in the Parish Building. Learn more about the saints that influence our ministries at All Saints’ Church.